Tuesday, September 15, 2009

No Impact


Finding myself truly inspired by Colin Beavan and his No Impact Man project. For one year, Beavan and his family, in a radical gesture of urban eco-friendly living, produced no trash, unplugged from the electric grid, travelled exclusively by bike, push scooter, or on foot, and bought nothing, aside from food, all of it grown within 250 miles of their home. That home? NYC, the Big Apple. 

I'm finding Beavan's book "No Impact Man" , documentary, and blog to be stunningly sincere, intelligent, didactic, and motivational. Extreme? Yes. A stunt? Without question. But I ask, where's the harm in that? Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon's "100 Mile Diet" was nothing short of an extreme stunt. So was Thoreau's "Walden." Sometimes self-directed extreme acts produce the most profound catalysts for change and large-scale examination.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful concept. More to give it a try!

marshall p said...

that's really cool. I almost think all of that would be easier in NYC than some other parts of the country.

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

"Extreme? Yes. A stunt? Without question." ........ "So was Thoreau's "Walden."

I appreciate your frankness.

And hope this No Impact Man project, has ripple down effects. Some of us are already trying. Many of us, are not, yet.

Let's hope...

But btw, doesn't the No Impact Man have a blog? Mmmm, how does that run, by "candle power"?

Gentle hugs,
Aunt Amelia's Attic