No Impact Man
No Impact Man is 46-year-old author, Colin Beavan, who lives in New York that decided to live one year without making a net negative impact to the environment. His wife and 2-year-old daughter are along for the ride. By no net impact the family means they will not create any new environmental pollution. They are not using lights, their refrigerator, their car, drinking coffee, and he is not using toilet paper. Hey, don’t ask me. I missed the segment of Good Morning America that explained exactly what he was using. He has one single solar panel on the roof that powers his laptop. They live on an upper floor and have to climb 9 flights of stairs without the elevator.
What they’ve found half way through the experiment is that we are mistaken thinking we need all kinds of things. They’ve certainly become very fit, riding bikes everywhere and climbing stairs. Living by candlelight, and more than likely retiring early, they find they are outdoors much more than before. They make an effort to go to the park. And he says everything is much more romantic. The experiment has increased intimacy and connection. Of course, there are no diversions, with no lights, no TV, they have to talk and entertain each other. Now we know why 3rd world countries reproduce at such a high rate. There is nothing else to do. The number one thing that is missed is the refrigerator. Buying fresh food everyday and immediately taking it home to cook would be rustic to say the least.
If you’re curious and have any questions at all about what it is like without modern conveniences and going green to the extreme contact Colin at his website. I think I’m going to have to ask what it’s like in New York without A/C nine flights up. Ever been to NYC in July? Trapped heat is all I can say. Your feet get hot.
http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2007/02/what_you_need_t.html
June 27th, 2007 at 12:06 am
I thought about this and I gotta tell ya, it’s not for me. I like my comfy air conditioner on when it’s 91 degrees out. I also like to get in the fridge and grab a cold one. I like the idea of being more intimate though, but I’d like a warm shower or bath after. I guess I’m too spoiled by life’s amenities to make any significant sacrifice. However, give me some wax, board and decent waves and I’ll stay in the ocean the majority of the day. Of course I might get stuck with a nasty syringe but at least I would be one with Mother Nature.
June 27th, 2007 at 11:21 am
I know what you mean. But it just goes to show how spoiled America really is and how the wording for “An Inconvenient Truth” is so poignant. I grew up and went all the way through high school with no A/C in my parent’s house and it was the number one thing I said I’d never go without as an adult. If all of us keeping pulling power the way we do, and we don’t develop new technology faster in this country, we just might have a stretch somewhere along the line where we don’t get to flip a switch and cool off. That’s enough to cause me to turn off the A/C whenever it does cool off a little outside and flick on a fan in the room I’m in.
I can’t imagine living in Africa the way some people do.