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Small Stories, Big Changes: Agents of Change on the Frontlines of Sustainability Kindle Edition

by Lyle Estill (Author, Editor), David W. Orr (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 4 ratings
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The author of Industrial Evolution “has set aside his considerable voice and has conveyed new voices from the growing grassroots movement” (Jeff Barney, owner/chef, Saxapahaw General Store).

A remarkable cast of characters inhabit the pages of this book. Meet Tim Toben, who developed a high rise with the lowest energy consumption of any building in the southeastern United States, was foreclosed upon, and lost millions in the process. Gary Phillips held the line against real estate developers in Chatham County and was run out of office for his efforts. Elaine Chiosso has been protecting her watershed by fighting on behalf of the Haw River for twenty-eight years.

Unflinchingly honest and compulsively readable, Small Stories, Big Changes provides an intimate look at the personal experience of being a pioneer in the sustainability movement, laying bare the emotional, spiritual, and financial impact of a life lived in the service of change. Activist, farmer, publisher, philosopher or entrepreneur; each writer has a unique personal tale to tell.

Small Stories, Big Changes is a book written by ordinary people doing extraordinary things; whose lives have been transformed by their willingness to commit themselves unreservedly to the creation of a better world. Empowering, hopeful, and inspiring, this rich tapestry of voices from the vanguard of change is a must-read for anyone dreaming of a brighter future and seeking a counterbalance to a canon of work that is laced with doom and gloom.

“Estill chooses to share the baton with a select group of sustainability pioneers and the result is not only compelling and heartwarming, but historic and revolutionary.” —Carol Hewitt, author of Financing Our Foodshed
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  1. Print length
    219 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    New Society Publishers
  5. Publication date
    June 7, 2013
  6. File size
    4412 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A remarkable cast of characters inhabit the pages of this book. Meet Tim Toben, who developed a high rise with the lowest energy consumption of any building in the southeastern United States, was foreclosed upon, and lost millions in the process. Gary Phillips held the line against real estate developers in Chatham County and was run out of office for his efforts. Elaine Chiosso has been protecting her watershed by fighting on behalf of the Haw River for 28 years.

Unflinchingly honest and compulsively readable, Small Stories, Big Changes provides an intimate look at the personal experience of being a pioneer in the sustainability movement, laying bare the emotional, spiritual and financial impact of a life lived in the service of change. Activist, farmer, publisher, philosopher or entrepreneur; each writer has a unique personal tale to tell.

Small Stories, Big Changes is a book written by ordinary people doing extraordinary things; whose lives have been transformed by their willingness to commit themselves unreservedly to the creation of a better world. Empowering, hopeful and inspiring, this rich tapestry of voices from the vanguard of societal change is a must-read for anyone dreaming of a brighter future and seeking a counterbalance to a canon of work that is laced with doom and gloom

About the Author

Lyle Estill is the president and co-founder of Piedmont Biofuels, a community scale biodiesel project in Pittsboro, North Carolina. He has been on the vanguard of social change for the past decade, which has placed him at the heart of the sustainability movement. Lyle is a prolific speaker and writer, and the author of Industrial Evolution, Small is Possible, and Biodiesel Power.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00CNVOWMG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ New Society Publishers (June 7, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 7, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4412 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 219 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 4 ratings

About the author

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Lyle Estill

Lyle Estill

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Lyle Estill is a sustainability fanatic who lives in Chatham County, North Carolina. He is a founder of Piedmont Biofuels, which is one of the pre-eminent community scale biodiesel operations in America. He has published a wide variety of books, articles, essays, and newspaper columns which range from sustainable biodiesel to local economy. He has consulted for renewable energy projects across Canada and the United States, including advising the White House on green collar jobs and the importance of the "Fourth Sector" in America's economy.

He lives in the woods of Chatham County where he prefers to not drive, or fly anywhere in order to get his message out.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
4 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Pat Jobe
5.0 out of 5 stars How lucky we are to have these stories in one volume
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2014
Verified Purchase
A hundred years from now we will look back on these guys are drum majors for transformation. How lucky can we get? Stories, stories, stories, well told with humor and self-effacement. Saving the world, as it turns out, is the ordinary good sense and strong hearts of regular folks like you and me!
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The Queen of Beans
5.0 out of 5 stars Like getting a group hug from funny, smart people who are making a difference. Read it to rev up your courage.
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2014
Read Small Stories, Big Changes to rev up your courage, then pass it along to a fellow agent of change. Together, we can thrive. Lyle Estill is a force of nature and a natural connector. He loves bringing good people together to do great things. It's one of the most encouraging books I've read in a long time, giving real-life examples of the challenges and triumphs of people who are making the world a better place. Lyle introduces each writer with a personal, often funny tale. Taken together, the introductions give you a portrait of Lyle himself as an activist always on the lookout for synergy.

Dipping into Small Stories, Big Changes is like getting a group hug from funny, smart people who are making a difference. Some are famous, such as Mother Earth News publisher Bryan Welch. Some, like Lyle, I already know, so I can see that Lyle's portraits are spot on. The rest I'm glad to find in these pages and now hope to meet in person. Highly recommended.
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Jim Estill
4.0 out of 5 stars Another Great one
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2013
First, I declare conflict. Lyle (the author) is my brother. But I am a real Amazon reviewer, having reviewed over 200 books. And if you know the Estill brothers - we love each other but if anything, we can be harsh on each other.

The book is about sustainability and came the same day the NY Times ran an article on the mass forced movement of population from farms to cities in China. What a contrast.

This book is actually a series of chapters - each written by different authors. Lyle knits them all together. Lyle is a great writer/story teller. Doing the book this way did not let him get as much of his story telling out (although he did tell of going to a potluck with squirrel roadkill as his contribution - OK you really need to read it to get the full gist of it).

I like books written this way because you can put them down anytime and start a new chapter. So it is like a series of short, self contained stories. But of course I read it cover to cover in one sitting because it interested me.

I sense the book is meant to inspire and it does. Each author tells of their own small part they do to help the environment and help create a sustainable world. One quote from Mother Theresa was included which sums some of it up "We can do no great things - just small thing with great love". And it is the small things that add up.

I worry that there can be a snobbery even in the sustainability world where people look down on others as "not being real green". One of the authors tells of a government meeting where she was proud to have bought a Prius (this is what I drive too but I drive the Prius C so am even more friendly (See - I can snob too)) and one of the committee members was berating her for a Prius not really helping much.

Two of the chapters were written by my family members. Glen, my brother, wrote about Sky Generation complete with the intrigue of the anti green Power Workers Union hiring a big PR firm to spread untruths about wind power and nuclear.

My niece, Jessalyn, wrote about her Greenteam ad agency experiences. Her chapter had some of the best humor - like her adventures looking for an apt in NYC and learning to ask the right questions like "does a 2 bedroom really mean 2 bedroom or do we have to buy a wall?" and "is the bathroom really separate or is it in one of the bedrooms?".

Of course I am biased but I think it is a great book. I do think it would interest anyone who is interested in stories of sustainability.
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