Our Authors

Lyle Estill is the author of Small is Possible: Life in a Local Economy and Biodiesel Power: The Passion, the People, and the Politics of the Next Renewable Fuel.

He is the President and co-founder of Piedmont Biofuel Industrial, and has won numerous awards for his commitment to sustainability, outreach, community development and leadership. He has taught renewable energy classes, has a stake in a small hydro electric project, and is involved in a wind project in Canada.

Lyle "dropped out" of the global economy 17 years ago and has a deep commitment to local economies. His first recognition in North Carolina's environmental community came from his participation in an indoor/outdoor-constructed wetland in his facility on the edge of Jordan Lake. The system allowed the building to treat its own waste, and has been heralded as model since completion.

Lyle currently writes at his kitchen table in the woods of Chatham County, North Carolina. He has been publishing since 1979, and his prolific output includes news-editorial, short fiction, poetry, commentary, blog entries, newspaper columns, magazine articles and non-fiction books.

John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist are co-authors of Ecoprenuering and Rural Renaissance, innkeepers of the award-winning Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast, national speakers, freelance writers and co-partners in a marketing consulting company.

John Ivanko is also an award-winning photographer, freelance writer and author or co-author of numerous books, including the award-winning children's photobooks, To Be a Kid, To Be an Artist, Be My Neighbor and Animal Friends. Lisa Kivirist is a Food and Society Policy Fellow, author of Kiss Off Corporate America and freelance writer contributing to numerous magazines, including Hobby Farm Home and Mother Earth News. John and Lisa have also written a seasonal and sustainable cookbook entitled Edible Earth: Savoring the Good Life with Vegetarian Recipes from Inn Serendipity.

Former advertising agency fast-trackers, the husband-and-wife duo are nationally recognized for their contemporary approach to ecopreneurship, homesteading, conservation and more sustainable living. Based in Browntown,Wisconsin, they share their farm and Inn Serendipity with their son, busy bees thriving in the honey bee economy, and millions of ladybugs.

Pat Murphy is the author of Plan C: Community Survival Strategies for Peak Oil and Climate Change and the co-writer and co-producer of the award-winning documentary film The Power of Community: How Cuba survived Peak Oil.

He is also the Executive Director of Community Solutions, a nonprofit organization which focuses on achieving sustainability by reducing energy consumption in the household sectors of food, housing and transportation. The organization advocates for small, local, low energy communities as the basic societal response to peak oil and climate change. Community Solutions has hosted annual Peak Oil and Solutions Conferences since 2003 in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Pat was educated as a computer scientist and has worked in the aerospace, energy and construction industries. He is also a licensed building contractor and has had extensive experience in building energy efficient homes. He has been involved in community much of his life and sees it as the context within which sustainability can be attained. Pat lectures widely across the country on energy, peak oil, geopolitics and lifestyle solutions.