Lyle Estill

This book is making some noise. We’ve spent much of the summer doing readings and radio interviews and talking to folks about local economy. We might be coming to a town near you–check out the Appearances page for details, and if not, drop us a line and we’ll see what we can do.

You can buy Small is Possible at your favorite independent bookstore. If your community is without one, you can also buy it from the big chain stores. If you have neither in your town, you can buy the book from the publisher, or from Amazon, or from the Abundance Foundation where proceeds from the sale go toward supporting the good work they do.

BIODIESEL POWER: The Passion, the People, and the Politics of the Next Renewable Fuel

Whether we are nearing the end of oil or merely nearing the end of inexpensive oil, it is becoming increasingly clear that we need to find alternative ways to meet our energy needs. Biodiesel is one such alternative — and is one of the fastest growing sectors of the US economy. Biodiesel in North America is in its infancy. As air quality deteriorates in major centers, governments are scrambling for ways to reduce emissions and are embracing biodiesel in their fleets. Conferences on biodiesel are often “inaugural,” as society begins discussing this fuel in earnest.

Biodiesel Power is a chronicle of this emerging industry. Lightly touching on the technical aspects of the fuel, its qualities and specifications, the book is largely about the people and stories of the biodiesel movement. It explores the tensions between:

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I’ve just finished Dmitry Orlov’s Reinventing Collapse; The Soviet Example and American Prospects (New Society, 2008).
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Move over Amazon, here are some review links and reader feedback which I think are telling:

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Here I am setting up a blog again. Feels just like 2003 when I fired up Energy Blog. Back then I was fishing around for a tool with which I could communicate with my students. Nowadays I am wanting to communicate with readers.

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A special guest book review by Camille Armantrout.  Richard Heinberg’s Peak Everything (New Society, 2007)

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I am just returning from a trip to Savannah, where I continued to flirt with biodiesel and the global marketplace.

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I just finished Michael Shuman’s book, The Small-Mart Revolution; How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition, (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2006) and I am pleased to report I was impressed.

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Girl Mark lives down the road these days. Which means she stops by from time to time. Once she left a strange little paperback book on the kitchen table called Voices from the Farm. (The Book Publishing Company, 1988).
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One thing I like about long flights is that I get caught up on my reading.

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