First I would say that the seventies were a different time than today. More people were concerned about future energy needs after the oil shock than they are today. The reality is that the problem is worse today than it was then but people don't think that way.

Secondly there seems to be a general dumming down of most commonly available books and magazines. A few weeks ago, someone posted a scan from either Popular Science or Popular Mechanics (don't remember which). I don't remember exactly how old it was but the article was filled with equations and science. You will not find any article like that in a popularist magagine. Popular Science today has effectively turned into a 'futurest' magazine. It sems to be only concerned with which new 'toy' you will be able to buy tomorrow and has zero science in it. Most of the AE books of the nineties were similarly dummed down to the level of first you buy box A, then you buy box B etc. None of the books attempt to explain how box A does its magic.

Another thing is the issue of liability. No one wants to tell you to put up your own tower incase you fall and sue them. No one wants to tell you to make your own inverter incase you electrocute yourself. It doesn't seem that there are any large publishers out there (and only large publishers can afford to sell to the large book stores) that want to risk a good hands-on book.

Finally, it seems that the people that you would most like to publish books are currently hosting web pages, posting on OTHERPOWER.COM and don't want the hassle of going through the 'old' methods to get their ideas out there.

In Finland they made a book called
'Kodin taitosanakirja' ('The Home Skill Book'),
which contains thousands
(the later edition had about 3700 entries)
of descriptions how to make
all kinds of toys, how to build
full-size boats, houses, furnitures
and ovens for your house,
how to fix your bicycle,
how to make paint,
how to make yourself glue,
how to make a small windmill...
and so on.
The first edition came out 1930.
There were other smaller books of its kind,
which told you how to make
even lead acid batteries yourself,
how make a radio and so on.

I've got also a pile of
'Popular Mechanics' magazines
from the end on 1950s.
They are really nice.  

I've got as well some cds
from the Homepower and from
the Australian magazine 'Soft Technology'.
They are really good.
Maybe not much worse than 'Popular Mechanics'
from 1950s?

I think that these two magazines have
already shown us a way to go.
We could easily publish here
on this site rough drawings
of our own technologies.
And then we could arrange a system
to edit those things on a cd,
which anybody could buy...

We need to arrange a system how to do it.
We already have got good technologies,
at least wind turbines.

The system might work somehow similarly as
'open source' code guys
have made computer programs?

We need different kinds of people.
Such people, who are skillful
to make and design things,
as well such kind of people,
who are fast to make
good illustrations and drawings.
(You know, people like JCP.)

Please see another thread here:
Beta testers required - Meter Dial program
http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2004/2/3/191649/8833