Farewell, My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living (2008)

by Doug Fine

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Like many Americans, Doug Fine enjoys his creature comforts, but he also knows full well they keep him addicted to oil. So he wonders: Is it possible to keep his Netflix and his car, his Wi-Fi and his subwoofers, and still reduce his carbon footprint? In an attempt to find out, Fine moves to a remote ranch in New Mexico, where he brazenly vows to grow his own food, use sunlight to power his world, and drive on restaurant grease. Never mind that he has no farming, mechanical or electrical skills. Whether installing solar panels, defending goats he found on Craigslist against coyotes, or co-opting waste oil from a local restaurant to fill the tank in his Ridiculously Oversized American Truck, Fine's undertaking makes one thing clear: It ain't easy being green. In fact, his journey uncovers a slew of surprising facts about alternative energy, organic and locally grown food, and climate change.--From publisher description.… (more)

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I listened to this on playaway but didn't find it interesting enough to take much away from (apart from the cleverness of goats in getting into escapades). (

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reader1009 | Jul 3, 2021 |

Entertaining, fast read. Plenty of feeble attempts at wry clerverosity. Overall an interesting attempt at getting off the grid. (

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Sandydog1 | Aug 4, 2020 |

I found this story hard to read because the author tried so hard to be funny I found it got in the way of the story. (

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KamGeb | Dec 7, 2013 |

This book is a man's story about living locally and sustainably. It is an interesting and entertaining story of a man raised in New York who purchases a 40 acre ranch in New Mexico in order to live and grow his own food. There is a lot to be learned from the thinking that goes into starting your own ranch/farm even if you don't have the seemingly limitless amount of money needed to undertake this on your own. I found it a little odd that money was not once mentioned in the sense that it was running out. I guess some people are lucky this way.

Unlike many of the enviromentalists tomes this book maintains a level of positivity that I enjoyed. It was not all doom and gloom but rather how to make changes to make things better. The book was funny at times and clearly written by a liberal who doesn't mind taking cheap shots at the previous administration any more than I mind reading cheap shots at the previous administration. Shouldn't a certain liberalness be expected? After all the guy is giving up his Subaru, going off the grid and raising/growing his own food.

The afterword includes several list of thing that can be done and things that he learned while getting his ranch up and running. From these lists even the most hardcore anti-environmentalist could learn something. Overall it was a good book that entertained while enlightened. It's true measure of greatness will be seen if it inspires others to make some changes in their lives even if they are only minor.

Here is a quote I rather enjoyed:

"The actual egg laying was a pretty big event to the chickens, by the barn rattling sound of things. Were they killing each other in there, or just ejecting eggs?" (

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dtn620 | Sep 22, 2013 |

thinks he's a lot funnier than he actually is. educational none the less (

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Kathy.Newton | Sep 7, 2013 |

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Canonical title

Original title

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Original publication date

2008

People/Characters

Important places

New Mexico, USA

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Epigraph

In three minutes, 98 percent of all the matter there is or will ever be has been produced. We have a universe. It is a place of the most wondrous and gratifying possibility, and beautiful, too. And it was all done in about the time it takes to make a sandwich.
--Bill Bryson,
A Short History of Nearly Everything

If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing.
--Homer J. Simpson

I want to put a ding in the universe.
--Steve Jobs

Turn Around, Don't Drown.
--New Mexico State public service pamphlet advising against driving across flooded rivers, found in a drawer on the Funky Butte Ranch upon move-in.

The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become in the course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time.
--Rudolph Diesel, died 1913

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Dedication

For Sally McGuire, who, in asking me to housesit one fateful week in the early twenty-first century, allowed me to discover my affinity for the goat mind

First words

As I watched my Subaru Legacy slide backward toward my new ranch's studio outbuilding, the thought crossed my mind that if it kept going – and I didn't see why it wouldn't – at least I would be using less gasoline.

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

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McKibben, Bill

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▾Book descriptions

Like many Americans, Doug Fine enjoys his creature comforts, but he also knows full well they keep him addicted to oil. So he wonders: Is it possible to keep his Netflix and his car, his Wi-Fi and his subwoofers, and still reduce his carbon footprint? In an attempt to find out, Fine moves to a remote ranch in New Mexico, where he brazenly vows to grow his own food, use sunlight to power his world, and drive on restaurant grease. Never mind that he has no farming, mechanical or electrical skills. Whether installing solar panels, defending goats he found on Craigslist against coyotes, or co-opting waste oil from a local restaurant to fill the tank in his Ridiculously Oversized American Truck, Fine's undertaking makes one thing clear: It ain't easy being green. In fact, his journey uncovers a slew of surprising facts about alternative energy, organic and locally grown food, and climate change.--From publisher description.

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Book description

From the jacket: Like many Americans, Doug Fine enjoys his creature comforts, but he also knows full well they keep him addicted to oil. So he wonders: Is it possible to keep his Netflix and his car, his Wi-Fi and his subwoofers, and still reduce his carbon footprint?

In an attempt to find out, Fine up 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 drive on restaurant grease. Never mind that he’s never raised so much as a chicken or a bean. Or that he has no mechanical or electrical skills.

Whether installing Japanese solar panels, defending the goats he found on Craigslist against coyotes, or co-opting waste oil from the local Chinese restaurant to try and fill the new “veggie oil” tank in his ROAT (short for Ridiculously Oversized American Truck), Fine’s extraordinary undertaking makes one thing clear: It ain’t easy being green. In fact, his journey uncovers a slew of surprising facts about alternative energy, organic and locally grown food, and climate change.

Both a hilarious romp and an inspiring call to action, Farewell, My Subaru makes a profound statement about trading today’s instant gratifications for a deeper, more enduring kind of satisfaction.

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