The experiment called 'No Impact Man' is now officially over.
One year ago an guy in New York City by the name of Colin beavan set out to try and live for a whole year making a minimal impact on the environment and to reduce his families carbon emissions by as much as they possibly could.
For the duration of one year they vowed to refrain from some of the simplest modern conveniences in order to see if they could reduce their impact on the planet and therefore possible for ordinary people to prevent the catastrophe that awaits us if we continue to consume resources and pollute the planet as we have been.
Colin and his family found that although there were some inconveniences, their lives actually improved in many ways due to the opportunities they discovered as a result of the experiment. Because thy had no TV, they actually engaged in more family and social time. By using bicycles, and a three wheeled man powered family vehicle (Pedicab) they were able to interact more with their community and the environment. By eating local, fresh foods their diets became more wholesome.... The list of benefits goes on. By sacrificing some conveniences they appear to have gained a real sense of belonging and connectedness to the place where they live and the people around them.
Congratulations Colin and your family. I hope you are able to find a reasonable balance now that the experiment is over. I am particularly impressed with your partner for supporting this experiment! Personal choice is one thing but when you cohabit with others it is not easy to achieve all these lifestyle changes if the other/s don't share your view. At home we (my wife) recently installed air conditioning. We live in the sub-tropics and it gets pretty hot but having done so I feel like we're only going to be making things hotter in the long run! Now I'm looking for ways to reduce our consumption in order to off-set the air-con!
You have given us a fantastic example of what can be done if we really commit to change. Good on you all.
One year ago an guy in New York City by the name of Colin beavan set out to try and live for a whole year making a minimal impact on the environment and to reduce his families carbon emissions by as much as they possibly could.
For the duration of one year they vowed to refrain from some of the simplest modern conveniences in order to see if they could reduce their impact on the planet and therefore possible for ordinary people to prevent the catastrophe that awaits us if we continue to consume resources and pollute the planet as we have been.
Colin and his family found that although there were some inconveniences, their lives actually improved in many ways due to the opportunities they discovered as a result of the experiment. Because thy had no TV, they actually engaged in more family and social time. By using bicycles, and a three wheeled man powered family vehicle (Pedicab) they were able to interact more with their community and the environment. By eating local, fresh foods their diets became more wholesome.... The list of benefits goes on. By sacrificing some conveniences they appear to have gained a real sense of belonging and connectedness to the place where they live and the people around them.
Congratulations Colin and your family. I hope you are able to find a reasonable balance now that the experiment is over. I am particularly impressed with your partner for supporting this experiment! Personal choice is one thing but when you cohabit with others it is not easy to achieve all these lifestyle changes if the other/s don't share your view. At home we (my wife) recently installed air conditioning. We live in the sub-tropics and it gets pretty hot but having done so I feel like we're only going to be making things hotter in the long run! Now I'm looking for ways to reduce our consumption in order to off-set the air-con!
You have given us a fantastic example of what can be done if we really commit to change. Good on you all.
Here is a link to his summary of the experiment ~ Time to live in the gray
1 comment:
I'm looking forward to my bicycle when I go back to Amsterdam.
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