farewell my suburu

by Doug Fine

Farewell My Subaru is a funny, refreshing, firsthand account of The authors move to NM., to live a sustainable life off the grid. It's enlightening and a quick read. I especially love his crazy relationship with the land of NM, and his stories about his goats...i happen. To have two goats.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Environment, Humor, Sustainability, Food, Biography

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

After graduating from Stanford, Doug Fine strapped on a backpack and traveled to five continents, reporting from remote perches in Burma, Rwanda, Laos, Guatemala and Tajikistan. He is a correspondent for NPR and PRI. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Wired, Salon, US News and World Report, Christian Science Monitor, and Outside Magazine. A native of Long Island, Fine now lives in an obscure valley in Southern New Mexico alongside many goats and a few coyotes.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like the book. I did. Having given up my own car and adopted a simpler lifestyle, I was curious to see how that sort of tale would translate to the page to address the general populace. What I got was the stereotypical "idealistic liberal do-gooder gets back-to-earth and makes an ass of himself because he didn't think first" story that so many people like to mock. I mean, come on -- you want to buy a place in the country where you can be self-sufficient in growing your food, and you choose drought-ridden New Mexico??? And honestly, the repeated comments about trying to find a similarly-minded bedmate at the same time got old FAST. It takes a lot more than good intentions to make such a change, and he could have done a little homework first. (Oh, and those statistical tidbits scattered throughout the narrative, and the occasional recipe? Didn't help. AT ALL.)

Thanks for nothing, Doug Fine. Make the rest of us who are trying to live more lightly look ridiculous, why don't you?

[jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I appreciate the subject matter: reducing carbon footprints, bringing local food to the table, exploring alternative fuel use, participating in animal husbandry for the sake of self-sufficiency, and so on. I mean, that stuff is what I get into.

Mr. Fine tackles all those subjects with the bravado and swagger of American manifest destiny. He buys a ridiculously oversized american truck to run on biodiesel and replace his small, reliable, compact, good gas-mileage Subaru. Somehow, his chronicles of dating multiple women fit into his sustainable lifestyle memoir. He raises two dairy goats, sells his extra chicken eggs, and installs solar water heating and solar panels to generate power. Not everything he does seems misguided, over-ambitious, ignorant and self-centered, just most of it.

Hearing a straight dude talk about dates - boring. Hearing a straight dude find ways to talk about his dates in his carbon-footprint-reducing memoir instead of, oh, more than the merest mention of a vegetable garden? Mind-numbing.

Most memoirs of the new frontier of self-reliance are a family or at least a couple. Doug Fine's a modern bachelor, attached to his laptop. From that perspective, I expected that an insightful, NPR-contributing writer could tell a good-enough story with some thoughtful moments and a little humor. But it's just not. I perceived Doug to be an unaccountable egomaniac. His reflections and research seemed quite thin. His "adventure" into self-reliance was not much more than a series of compromises and consequences. His sense of community seems to begin and end at getting free used waste oil for his truck at a restaurant he doesn't seem to be a patron of, and selling his extra chicken eggs at the coop. I was never sure how his local community really benefited him, or how he benefited his community.

I definitely didn't feel inspired after reading this book. I didn't feel excited about the carbon neutral future and the possibilities it holds. I didn't feel connected to the earth and my fellow human. I didn't even especially like Doug Fine. I'm not sure what his goal was, but I don't think he reached it. I didn't enjoy the story. AND - He misquoted barbara kingsolver's animal vegetable miracle, which is just like, "????" Stop it. Just, don't. Please.

[Akkire55 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine is a surfer sounding travel journalist turned crunchy hippy writing about his exploits in going local in the New Mexican desert. His exploits and ideas and reasons are great and I wholeheartedly support him and others like him making changes in their lives. However, I am surprised this man's occupation was as a journalist because his writing ability apparently doesn't transpose well to novel form. I was bored by his tone, by his new agey surfer lingo and metaphors, and his total dropping of the proverbial ball when explaining things.

But at the same time, as a person, he sounds too sweet to not like. As a writer, can't stand him.

[Carol Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy and extremely enjoyable read about Doug Fine's experiment in green living. This is a humorous addition to the "sustainable living" genre.

[Ciara · Rating 1 out of 5]

hated this book. from the moment that the dude offered up a recipe for bruschetta & didn't even call it bruschetta because he seems to have never heard of bruschetta before (he presented the recipe as if it were a remarkable discovery he made whilst dicking around in his kitchen one day, as opposed to a standard fare appetizer at any half-reputable italian restaurant anywhere in the world), i knew i was in for a bumpy ride. the dude is apparently a journalist, which i find difficult to believe. his prose when he's trying to be funny & share an adventure dragged & bored me, but not nearly as much as his conclusion chapter, in which he tied all of his attempts at gentleman farming, running a veggie oil car, & living off the grid on solar power while raising goats & shacking up with a yoga instructor to climate change & wars over fossil fuels. *slow clap* inventive! original! wait...no. the dude claims that he hadn't even heard of veggie oil cars before 2006. really? how is that possible? you travel all across the world & back again on journalist assignments & you've never heard of veggie oil cars? & the fact that a biodiesel conversion would require a diesel engine escaped him as well. *sigh*

first, he adopts goats & names them after natalie merchant & melissa etheridge. later he adopts chickens & it takes him forever to realize that maybe he can sell their eggs & make a little revenue from having them, as opposed to eating fritattas morning, noon, & night. he drops thousands upon thousands of dollars converting his home to solar power, including his water heater. seriously, so much money. he didn't bother ecuring a source of veggie oil for his converted truck until he'd already had the conversion done, & throughout the book, he basically bumbles along like an ass. he spends several chapters trying to wean himself off the local wal-mart, referring to it as "wallyworld" like at least a dozen times. that was humiliating for me to read; i can't even imagine how it would have felt to be the moron who committed it to print. i am seriously AMAZED that this dude went out of his way to BUY A RANCH for the purpose of LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY & had even already invested in a couple of dairy goats before it occurred to him that many of the goods he purchases at wal-mart (including his addiction to rotisserie chickens) maybe aren't in line with his project. not to get up on my high horse, but it's been years since i set foot in a wal-mart, i manage to find alternative retailers for anything i might want to pick up there, & most wal-marts aren't even conveniently located for people (like me) who don't have cars in the first place! it's a self-fulfilling cycle & one that is really not that difficult to break with even the tiniest shred of self-awareness & discipline. ARGH!

maybe my favorite thing about this book is that it was included in a recent "new yorker" round-up of gimmick-y localvore/environ-adventure memoirs, along with plenty, no-impact man, sleeping naked is green, etc. all the article said about this particular book is that the author traded in his fossil fuel car for some goats, but he saw fit to write a defensive letter to the editor, trying to distance himself from eco stunt writers on the grounds that he's into his third year of "sustainable" living at the ranch & is raising his son on home-grown produce & goat milk. gee whiz! someone page al gore! i see a man who is FAR more deserving of his nobel award! god, this book was dreadful.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

My husband would HATE this guy. Punch him in the nose. I kept giggling to myself as I read this goofy lame-brained adventure book about a new yorker becoming a self-sufficient farmer in New Mexico, imagining the reception this earnest city slicker goofus had with the local ranchers. He shakes his head in wonder that Bush-supporters and Desert Storm Veterans could also be generous neighbors and biodiesel mechanics.

The author, his set up, and his whole shtick are almost too easy to mock. He's a liberal east-coast anti-oil zero-emissions greenie with no ag experience who picks, of all places NEW MEXICO for his change-the-world self-sufficient ranchette. And by the end of the book he's raised... a couple of chickens and a pair of goats who he intends, next year, to try and milk? He buys a truck, converts it to grease, installs some solar panels, saw a coyote...And he wrote a BOOK ABOUT IT?

So in that sense it's just the worst of the worst of Mother Earth News-- he's that guy that doesn't know anything, hasn't done anything, and dominates the conversation with strident, indignant, and ignorant opinions about the what the world's problem is and what everyone else should do to fix it.

So that said, I enjoyed the book. What can I say, he's funny. He swishes into the tack store with a daisy tucked into his cowboy hat. He sleeps in the goat pen and sings bob marley songs to his livestock. He puts on a hazmat suit to seal some PVC piping. But, you know what? Good on him. He believes that having a big carbon footprint is bad, and he sets out to change the way he lives to line up with what he believes is right. In the process he realizes, wisely, that there is no simple way around our human impact on the planet (he wonders, as he's installing his solar panels, what horrifyingly polluting processes made those eco-friendly panels). So he's goofy, but he tells you that from the start, and then tells us over and over about his mortifying farm screw-ups and the steep rural learning curve.

The goofiness masks a shrewdness in storytelling. By making himself such a buffoon readers of all political affiliations can either pity him, identify with him or enjoy him. He's not selling himself as the guy with all the answers, or a wise green guru. He's just some schmo messing around in the grease. So once we've accepted that our narrator is a fool, we are more able to hear the story he's telling about trying to understand our impact on the planet.

So, a fun, really quick read. I'd definitely recommend it to high school readers, and city slickers who wonder if there's a little desert ranchette out there calling their name.

[Jennifer Miera · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cutsey look at living off the grid and eating local. I thought the author tried a bit too hard to be funny. I chuckled a bit, and managed to finish the book, but it got a bit tedious. The experience wasn't even a good summary of his experience and definitely not chronological, which I found confusing. He'd be talking about egg production and I'd wonder where he was getting the egg supply - lo and behold - he had had chickens for months and never mentioned them. The garden is the last thing mentioned in the book, though, obviously, it will be the most sustaining of his food sources.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grow tired of journalists who go on a one-year experiment just to write a book, and if that's all this had been, we'd be looking at maybe ⭐⭐. But Fine, though he starts his account seemingly on the road to doing just that, quickly pivots to showing the effort he goes into learning to live on a ranch in desolate New Mexico. Fine's journey is chuckle-worthy and relatable; though written in 2008, the subsequent years have done nothing if not increase the growth and need for sustainability and self-reliance. What may have been quirky in 2008 is now a mainstream trend extending beyond hippies and prepper survivalists. Farewell, My Subaru is a fine read (no pun intended), though I'd like an edition with many more goat anecdotes.

[Brittany Jedrzejewski · Rating 3 out of 5]

“What a Green Adventure!”

I sought out this book, Farewell, My Subaru by Doug Fine after coming across an article that suggested it as a good “green” read. The environment is a topic close to my heart and I thought it might help me become more aware and propel action within our own communities.

The author takes us on his journey to live a green life by using less oil, powering his life by renewable energy, eating locally and not dying in the process. To do this, he moves to New Mexico and in a year’s time buys a ranch, some goats, chickens, plants, solar panels and a diesel-fueled truck that can also run on the grease from used vegetable oil.

Fine describes his experience using humor and quick wit intertwined with sharp sarcasm and quite a few political jabs. He also demonstrates his sensitive side, which I found really endearing, especially in his relationship with his goats.

Included in his journal are facts and tips relating to the environment. Some of this information seemed a bit out of context and could use a better frame of reference. However, there are some great things I learned. He even threw in a couple of food recipes. For example, did you know:
• Solar panels are mandatory for all buildings in Spain
• It takes about $40,000 of solar equipment to power an average American home by the sun
• Renewable sources of energy—solar, wind and geothermal—will supply nearly half of the world’s energy needs by 2050
• To ship store-bought organic tomatoes that were grown eight hundred miles away from New Mexico (in California), roughly a hundred and twenty gallons of fossil fuels were used

Fine also uses strong statements that back-up his cause. For example, he quotes Ralph Nader, “The use of solar energy has not been opened up because the oil industry does not own the sun.” He then proceeds to list Exxon/Mobile’s $9.28 first quarter profits for the first quarter of 2007.

The author’s encounters with Mother Nature were severe, but ultimately brought extreme joy to his life and reconnected him to Earth. “Living local and green was not an all-or-nothing proposition. Each day I had another chance to make good choices…”

You must check out the great ideas and resource list in the back of the book.

Caution: If you love George W. Bush, don’t read the book! The analogies the author uses frequently include references to either the former president or his staff.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many books and TV specials about going green today are so alarmist and doomsday, but Doug Fine's "epic adventure" is full of lighthearted, bumbling humor. It sort of made me want to buy a ranch and some goats and start making cheese and ice cream while driving around in my veggie oil fueled truck. I couldn't stop laughing throughout the entire book and I thought his own audio narration was on point with perfect comic timing. The moment I knew this was going to be a fun book was at the beginning when he talked about procuring two female baby goats and declaring that the first one would be named Natalie because Natalie Merchant's voice reminded him of a goat. My cackles of laughter at that statement made my husband look over at me and say, "Are you alright?"

The entire book is a look at his misadventures in attempting to live locally, but Fine does provide the reader with a nice afterword that gives a sort of editorial on what we as citizens can do to make sustainability a reality.

I thought he made an interesting point in the afterword when he said that sustainability is the new Civil Rights Movement in America and that in 2008 (the year the book was published) we're still in the age of Jim Crow.

Another good point he made was that politicians, lobbyists, big oil, and big corporations like to make it sound like sustainability will put Americans out of work when the reality is that renewable energy and green living will create jobs for our country and that we need to look at carbon reduction as patriotic.

Overall, I was highly entertained and educated at the same time.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doug Fine's thoughts and recollections on his first year of sustainable and eco-friendly living, Farewell, My Subaru, is an accessible, funny, sensible foray into environmentally thoughtful living and environmentalism recommended for everyone. Despite your political affiliations, views on gun control, or religion (unless you bathe in oil and club baby seals before your breakfast of genetically modified food pellets) you will find Fine's treatise on the simple and immensely rewarding joys of sustainable living, growing your own food and connecting to the earth around you a tempting and rational call to another way of life.

Not only charming, hilarious and heart-winning, it is peppered with factoids and garnished with mouth watering recipes Fine prepared with his own cultivated and carefully tended fruits of labor. His dedication to his goals and aspirations is inspiring to say the least. I mean, I love ice cream, and I love the homemade variety. But I don't know if I could go so far as to raise, vaccinate and shepherd goats for over a year in order to make it. And yet, when Fine describes it, it doesn't only seam possible, but enviable.

Fine weathers floods, droughts, hail, coyotes, loneliness, bureaucratic paperwork, clogged fuel lines, a runaway car, and all other unimaginable challenges with humor, grace and an indomitable spirit that keeps you cheering him on!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a light, quick read that I enjoyed and probably would give a 3.5 star rating to if I could. It's about Doug Fine's journey from normal East Coaster to New Mexican rancher over the course of 2007. Part of what made it enjoyable was its reference at times to current events, which made me feel like I was reading something so contemporary, it might be possible to do it myself.

Fine's very liberal stances cannot be hidden in his predilection for words. While in no way a conservative, I felt uncomfortable at times with his short rants and raves, but they were sparse enough throughout the book. The number of times he made me laugh out loud more than made up for it.

I expected this book to be more of a "how-to" than a quick overview of his green experiment, which, I think he is still keeping up to this day, so I came away dissatisfied with what I got from the book, but it was entertaining enough to make me glad I had read it. If only I had the money to buy $12,000 worth of solar panels, a used truck to promptly convert to vegetable oil and enough land to raise some chicks and a couple of goats, I might be convinced enough to try it :)

[MsBrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Farewell My Subaru follows the trials and travails of journalist Doug Fine in his efforts to truly 'live green' while also enjoying modern amenities Americans have become accustomed to such as car travel and the internet.

Fine's book truly shines both due to his incessant passion for preserving our earth, and through his hold no punches wit. Whether he's joking about the draft dodging righties, taking a knock at Diebold, or lamenting his rose eating young goats, Fine allows his nonchalant wit to take hold.

Even at the end of the book when Fine presents his "Afterward" it seems far more intriguing manifesto than didactic sermon. Fine's novel does well in both humoring and inspiring his readers to lead a greener life. I commend Fine for sharing his experiences with all and reminding environmentally conscience citizens such as myself that we are no alone.

Interesting note: While President Barack Obama's "The Audacity of Hope" purports to offer inspiration, I much prefer Fine's novel. Whereas Obama sycophantically praises ignobles such as felon Ted Stevens, Fine does not hold back in his views- leading to a far more interesting read.

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

I, like other reviewers, wanted to like this book. I'm all about people my age going back to the land without giving up the internet.

Doug Fine disappointed me, though. He seemed to spend more time thinking of getting laid than on how to live lightly. And, as he freely admits, he lived in "a spirit of contradiction." Getting a big honking truck just to use biofuel, for instance, seems pretty silly.

The book doesn't inspire and it doesn't elucidate how to live the good life, either. It just limps along, trying to be funny and randomly dropping useless trivia into the mix.

This is not a back-to-the-land adventure; it reminds me more of trust-fund-kid-goes-country. I wanted to like it, but in the end it just fell flat. Pretty useless, unless your a frat boy or newbie to the environmental movement.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doug Fine's Farewell, My Subaru is a quick read, a classic fish-out-of-water account of a Long Island-born boy who decides to live off the land.

He buys a ranch in New Mexico and, from the sound of things, I'll bet the sellers snickered quietly when they walked away with Fine's money.

He busies himself buying a pair of goats, installing solar panels and hunting down used fry oil for his retrofitted truck. He starts raising chickens--amazingly easy (until he learns about coyotes).

There are floods, but no famine. There are girlfriends. There is surely a mighty big checkbook somewhere to pay for all this set-up.

Fine's goal was to enjoy all the perks of his cell-phone-carrying, movie-watching, ice-cream-eating life without hurting Mother Earth. I had fun, even if he didn't convert me.

[Melody · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book both facile and deeply disturbing. Fine struck me as a whiny, yuppie with at best a half-assed commitment to the environment. I didn't like the tone, I didn't like the way he went about his alleged conversion, and I found most, if not all, of his conclusions completely flawed. I suspect that if I had read this before I was eyeball deep in the stunning, life-altering What We Leave Behind, I might have judged Fine more leniently. Fine's changes are superficial and don't address the fact that the cultural model itself is what's in need of dismantling. If Fine is an example of what we think we need to do to save the earth, we are in even worse shape than I feared.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was chosen as the summer read for the local high school, so I picked it up to be current with the kids. To be honest, I'm not sure how I'm going to incorporate it into my classes -- some of the mentions are not quite age-appropriate and I was surprised it was selected! -- But I think my biggest issue was the fact that, to me, it seemed like the author was trying to be funny/witty/sarcastic with every single sentence. It was exhausting, and it felt put-on. I felt that the writing improved, and the text actually started to gain momentum in the end, when he spoke more from the heart, and stopped trying to "be on" all of the time. Overall, the material is naturally engaging, timely, and interesting, I just wish it wasn't so forced sometimes.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" but shorter and funnier. This is the story of a man's start at living without fossil fuels and through self-reliant farming, hunting and living.
Fine purchases a property in New Mexico and attempts to tame the elements in order to raise chicken, goats, and vegetables. He changes to solar panels and a vehicle fueled with used vegetable oil.
The author's sense of humor is evident through the naming of his animals (a rooster named Dick Cheney) as well as his asides in writing. In referring to a coyote decimating his chickens, he writes, "He was sleek, fast, healthy and apparently without an anvil or an ACME product of any kind."
Not earth shaking, but an enjoyable, quick read.

[Blue · Rating 1 out of 5]

My city is having a "Green" challenge, with neighborhoods competing to see who can save the most energy (electricity/petroleum/water), and avoid waste. There is an app that you "buzz" when you complete a task, with points awarded for different tasks.

I've gotten weirdly competitive, and in an effort to score more points I found one of the books on the recommended reading list at the library.

I love sustainability issues, and I love reading, so I just assumed I'd love this. But no. The writing was meh, and I'm hoping that it is the author's lack of skill that makes him seem like a tool...rather than him actually being the sort of guy you duck behind the produce bins at the market hoping he won't see you and want to talk.

One word summary of the book : ugh.

[Tasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author kind of makes me want to pat him on the head and bless his little heart. He writes from a place of absolute privilege (Fine is living off savings; with this he buys a ranch, a truck that he has fitted to run on veggie oil, and sets of solar panels at $12k a shot), and has the audacity to imply that everyone has the ability to live as he does. He calls his experiment of living on a ranch a success after only a year, and I think he truly lost me when he wrote that his girlfriend is beautiful "in the way that only those who are truly in touch with the earth are." Right.

It's preachy, it's naive, and sometimes cliche and trite, but it also made me laugh aloud a few times.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn't say it was epic, but it was interesting and I was excited to hear about someone just going for it. I have a few how-to books written by folks that have been living green lifestyles for 40 + yrs and so it was nice to just hear the story of someone trying to get started in the lifestyle. The how-to books were daunting to someone who has always lived in the suburbs and who had their very first garden just a few years back (and a very little teeny tiny garden at that). This bumbling schmo gave me hope though - maybe I will get the nerve up to try some larger projects!

[erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars for the efforts Doug makes, but none for his writing, which tends to repetition and an inflated sense of hilarity. I came away from the book with my own interest in a greener lifestyle piqued, but unsatisfied - the contents were affable, but so superficial I didn't get the impression I'd learned anything from his experiences.

[Betty Kaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually I would give this book a three-and-a-half. The author describes in detail how difficult and expensive (initially) it is to go green. I don't think I could do it. He uses some clever similes and metaphors to keep it light and amusing.

[Vernalyn Schofield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful, humorous read

Our book club chose this book because we were in the mood for something light.
Reading about the authors learning curve while trying to ranch put a smile on our faces.

[Shan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awesome book. Reading this makes me want to become complete self-sufficient and off the grid. Even more, after reading this book I think I actually could become self-sufficient!

[Bridget]

Made me want to get some goats.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Like many Americans, Doug Fine enjoys his creature comforts, but he also knows full well that they keep him addicted to oil. So he wonders: Is it possible to keep his Netflix, his car and his Wi-Fi and still reduce his carbon footprint? In an attempt to find out. Fine ups and moves to a remote ranch in New Mexico, where he brazenly vows to grow his own food, use sunlight to power his world, and fuel his car with restaurant grease. Along the way he uncovers a slew of surprising facts about alternative energy, organic and locally grown food, and climate change. Whether he's installing Japanese solar panels or defending the goats he found on Craigslist against coyotes, Fine's extraordinary undertaking makes one thing clear: It ain't easy being green."
~~back cover

This was a delightful little book, the story of one man's attempt to reduce his carbon footp0rint to zero, told with wry humor. He was very successful, principally because he moved to New Mexico, where the sun shines almost all the time.

This book really opened my eyes about reducing one's carbon footprint. I try desperately to keep mine down: I got rid of my car (& living in the suburbs as I do, that was a huge shock!); I recycle everything I can, I buy clothes from thrift stores, I eschew plastic like the plague, I buy as many things in bulk as I can, I shop organically & am a localvore, and I use manual tools & appliances whenever I can to cut utility use, I only buy fruit & veg in season. It's not enough: I don't grow my own food, and food sucks up a lot of oil, given the production costs of packaging, and the transportation costs. This saddens me: I'm not physically able to put in a huge garden and then tend to it. I plant Sweet 100s cherry tomatoes every year but not enough of them to feed my habit (I eat them like candy during the summer months.) I do shop exclusively for produce at my local farmers' market, which really helps, but still ...

I highly recommend this book: you may not be thinking about how to reduce your carbon footprint, but you should be. And this book will ease you into the idea gently; even though the author is going for the big brass ring, you'll get the sense of living more organically, pick up some tips for how to get started, and have a lot of laughs along the way.

[Todd Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Farewell, My Subaru is a short book which describes Doug Fine's transition from a journalist to organic farmer while he attempts to live a more sustainable lifestyle in rural New Mexico.

To this end he:
- Buys and raises two goats
- Has his truck converted to run on biofuel
- Raises crops and chickens
- Installs solar panels and a solar water heater
- Fends off coyotes and rattlesnakes
Etc.

Nothing earth shattering there, but Fine attempts to liven things up with some self-deprecating humor, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.

The book is ok, although I feel compelled to point out that while Fine deserves credit for his attempts at sustainable living, such voluntary personal behavior has never solved a single global problem. There isn't enough used french fry oil on the planet to solve global warming. Only comprehensive measures by the world's governments can hope to put a dent in CO2 emissions to stave off the worst effects of the coming climate catastrophe.

[Angela Gyurko · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a locavore who uses her car only once a week at best and generates 60% of her own power via solar panels, I wanted to like this book, but the tone he chose for presentation was that off-putting. That said, if it makes other folks want to turn more to solar and wind power, have at it.

I might have appreciated the book more had Fine been aware of his white male privilege, but the overall tone of the book, his "regular guy" raised "on Dominoes Pizza in a New York suburb" (5) who has a globe-trotting career, grated after a while. He can fit in with his "UN-fearing neighbors" (5) and the self-described "patriot" who converted his truck to bio-diesel (72) in ways people who aren't white males can't, and does so with zero acknowledgement that what he is doing is impossible for most people.

[Milan M · Rating 3 out of 5]

A journalist turns to the New Mexico desert to make an attempt at local living and reducing his carbon footprint. He buys a ranch, gets some goats, chickens, raises a garden, goes solar (including the breadbox for his "water heater") and fuels up using vegetable oil.

The story is a nice peak into the life of going green and getting off the grid, so to say. The informality with which the author writes is abrupt and at times off topic/left leaning. Overall a decent read that gives you insight on how difficult it is to truly reduce your carbon footprint to near zero, yet shows you the benefits that make it all worth it - a new borne connection to the earth, your food and your community.