He is involved with Scottish land reform especially on Eigg and campaigned successfully against the Harris superquarry in Lingerbay.

Alastair also features on Nizlopi's mini album 'Extraordinary' on the track titled 'Homage To Young Men'.

[2] 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 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'.

His best-known work is his 2001 book Soil and Soul: People Versus Corporate Power.

His 2008 book on the psychology and spirituality underlying climate change "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.