Post Carbon Fellow Michael Shuman joins KRUU’s Writer’s Voices show to talk about his latest book Local Dollars, Local Sense.
Local Dollars, Local Sense, an interview with Michael Shuman
By Michael Shuman, originally published by KRUU
March 14, 2012
Michael Shuman
Michael Shuman is director of research for Cutting Edge Capital, director of research and economic development at the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), and a Fellow of Post Carbon Institute. He holds an AB with distinction in economics and international relations from Stanford University and a JD from Stanford Law School. He has led community-based economic-development efforts across the country and has authored or edited seven previous books, including The Small Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition (2006) and Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in the Global Age (1998).
In recent years, Michael has led community-based economic-development efforts in St. Lawrence County (NY), Hudson Valley (NY), Katahdin Region (ME), Martha’s Vineyard (MA), and Carbondale (CO), and served as a senior editor for the recently published Encyclopedia of Community. He has given an average of more than one invited talk per week for 25 years throughout the United States and the world.
Request an interview
Request as a speaker
View Michael’s speaking terms.
Tags: building resilient economies, local investing
Related Articles
How environmental destruction is built into corporate design
By Saskia Karges, Resilience.org
Modern corporations are legally and financially structured to prioritize profit over ecological stability. The result is a system that normalizes environmental destruction while diffusing responsibility across institutions and individuals.
May 11, 2026
Transition Towns are key to degrowth, but current movements remain too reformist
By Ted Trainer, Resilence.org
The Transition Towns movement has helped popularize local resilience, but current movements stop short of the structural change required. In a world of overlapping crises, it calls for more radical forms of economic relocalization and material simplicity.
May 5, 2026
Brazil’s cooperatives show how local communities can drive the climate transition
By Bernard Marszalek, Grassroots Economic Organizing
From low-carbon farming to community energy and Amazon restoration, Brazil’s cooperative sector is mobilizing millions to act on climate at a local level. The model highlights how existing co-op networks could be scaled to support a more just and resilient transition.
May 1, 2026





