Go See 'No Impact Man' and Get Inspired to Change Your Ways
You know those times when you suddenly notice that you've produced seven bags of trash in one week, or you calculate the carbon footprint of a bowl of strawberries from Chile and realize eating them is like 200 bazillion times worse than burning tires in your backyard?
Me too, and I always vow to do better, then don't get around to it. Colin Beavan was like us, filled with good ideas but fallible in the execution. Then he decided to really try to make a difference. For one year he did everything he could to make as little impact as possible on the Earth: Reduce the trash he produced. Only eat local, vegetarian food. Live without electricity or toilet paper ... in the middle on New York City.
Calling it the No Impact Project, Colin wrote a book about the experience, and kept a blog during the year. A documentary about the experience, called "No Impact Man," is about to be released in theaters across the country. Colin sets a great the example, but it's his wife, Michelle, who steals the show and makes you believe this kind of change is possible for everyone.
I identified with Michelle in so many ways. As the No Impact Project starts, she's about to turn 40, is a writer (for Business Week) and genuinely wants to live an environmentally-conscious life. She also loves Chloe boots, reality TV and going to Starbucks. These are hard things to give up, even just for a year.
Through the year, Colin, Michelle and their two year old daughter, Isabella, gradually eliminate things from their lives, in an effort to get to zero impact on the environment. It starts out simple, but tough, and just gets more difficult with each new phase.
The first phase is eliminating trash. By doing things like switching from shopping at the grocery store to buying food from the farmer's market and in bulk, with reusable containers, and switching from disposable to cloth diapers, they go from creating 90 gallons in a week to just a couple of scraps in a tiny waste basket. We see that the changes are obvious, but not easy to do.
As the year progresses, the trials get tougher, public opinion challenges their sincerity, and Colin and Michelle's marriage is tested. But they succeed, showing that it's possible to live a good life -- in some cases an even better one -- without creating a huge impact on the environment.
Definitely see "No Impact Man," buy the book, also called "No Impact Man" and check out the blog ... you guessed it, also called No Impact Man. At the very least, it will give you a whole new appreciation for electricity and toilet paper. At best, some of Colin and Michelle's dedication may rub off on you!
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