Alastair McIntosh is a Scottish writer, academic and activist. He was brought up in Leurbost on the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

and is married to Vérène Nicolas. He is involved with Scottish

land reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

especially on

Eigg Eigg ( ; ) is one of the Small Isles in the Scotland, Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the island of Isle of Skye, Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With ...

and campaigned successfully against the Harris superquarry in Lingerbay. He is a fellow of the Centre for Human Ecology, an Honorary Fellow of the Schumacher Society, and helped to set up the

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...

based GalGael Trust of which he is Treasurer and a non-executive director. In 2006 he was appointed to the honorary position of Visiting Professor of Human Ecology at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

(Department of Geography & Sociology) – the first such post in

Human ecology Human ecology is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary study of the relationship between humans and their natural, social, and built environments. The philosophy and study of human ecology has a diffuse history with advancements in ecolo ...

in a Scottish university. Alastair also features on

Nizlopi Nizlopi were a British folk and alternative duo formed in Leamington Spa, England, by Luke Concannon on vocals, guitar, and bodhrán, and John Parker on double bass, human beatbox, and backing vocals. History Formation The duo grew up in ...

's mini album 'Extraordinary' on the track titled 'Homage To Young Men'.

Education

He holds a BSc in geography, submajoring in moral philosophy and psychology from the University of Aberdeen (1977), a financial MBA from the University of Edinburgh (1981), and in 2008 the Academy of Irish Cultural Heritages (of which he is a Visiting Fellow) at the

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

approved the award of PhD by Published Work based on ''Soil and Soul'' and twelve supporting publications presented with a short linking thesis, 'Some Contributions of Liberation Theology to Community Empowerment in Scottish Land Reform 1991-2003'. Parts of this were published in 2008 as Schumacher Briefing No. 15: 'Rekindling Community: Connecting People, Environment and Spirituality'.

Publications

His best-known work is his 2001 book ''Soil and Soul: People Versus Corporate Power''. In 2006 he published his collected poetry, ''Love and Revolution''. His 2008 book on the psychology and spirituality underlying

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

"Hell and High Water: Climate Change, Hope and the Human Condition" was described by Michael Russell MSP, Minister for the Environment in the Scottish Government as "a profoundly important book, just as ''Soil and Soul'' was a profoundly important book."Hell and High Water
Book launch, 25 June 2008

Bibliography

*''Healing Nationhood: Essays on Spirituality, Place and Community'', Curlew Productions, May 2000, *''Soil and Soul: People versus Corporate Power'',

Aurum Press The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countri ...

, October 2001, *''Love and Revolution: Collected Poetry'', Luath Press, September 2006, *''Hell and High Water: Climate Change, Hope and the Human Condition'',

Birlinn The birlinn () or West Highland galley was a wooden vessel propelled by sail and oar, used extensively in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland from the Middle Ages on. Variants of the name in English and Scots language, Lowland Scots inc ...

, June 2008, * ''Rekindling Community: Connecting People, Environment and Spirituality'', Green Books, September 2008, , Alastair McIntosh and colleagues in association with WWF International and the Centre for Human Ecology * ''Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service'', by Alastair McIntosh and Matt Carmichael, Green Books (UK), September 2014, . Published in North America by UIT Cambridge Ltd., October 2015, * ''Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey'', Birlinn Books (UK), . * ''Riders on the Storm: the Climate Crisis and the Survival of Being'', Birlinn Books (UK), August 2020,

References

External links

AlastairMcIntosh.com
– includes most writings and links to Soil & Soul and Love & Revolution
Centre for Human Ecology
– including MSc degree course
Vérène Nicolas's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McIntosh, Alastair 1955 births Living people People from the Isle of Lewis Alumni of the University of Aberdeen British non-fiction environmental writers Scottish political writers Scottish Quakers Scottish activists Scottish environmentalists Scottish non-fiction writers Scottish scholars and academics Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of Ulster University Land reform in Scotland

Education

Publications

Bibliography

See also

References

External links