by Nicole Kindred
For one year Colin Beavan attempted to live a zero-waste lifestyle in New York City with his family. By the end of his year he had a blog, a book, a movie, and had earned the title of No Impact Man. Central to his thesis is the notion that deep-seated individual behavioral change leads to both cultural change and political engagement. Living low-impact provides a clear entry point into the environmental movement.
At the end of his year Colin started the No Impact Project (http://noimpactproject.org). The No Impact Project is a nonprofit which aims to promote behavioral change, engage individuals in the need for change, and enable the public to experience their own No Impact Experiment.
The No Impact Experiment is a one-week carbon cleanse which aims to address our unsustainable levels of waste and consumption. It is a chance to see what a difference no-impact living can have on quality of life. It’s not about giving up creature comforts but an opportunity to test whether the modern “conveniences” we take for granted are actually making us happier or just eating away at our time and money. If we continue to consume at our current rates, polar ice and glaciers will disappear, sea levels will rise, coral reefs will die, and plant and animal species will become extinct.
The United States has the largest per capita emissions of any country in the world, at over 5.2 metric tons CO2 equivalent. Our wasteful habits are a threat to our natural heritage and communities.
In 2009, the No Impact Project launched the No Impact Experiment online with the Huffington Post. More than 5,000 users engaged in the No Impact Experiment and reported that by challenging themselves to live more sustainably, they could actually improve the quality of their lives.
Through the success of the online experiment, it became clear that an even bigger step towards no-impact living can be made if people are brought together to share their experiences. The No Impact Workshop began as an intentionally experimental endeavor to engage people to work together, support each other, learn, and share as they build a community of practice around how to live in alignment with their personal values and with the environment in mind.
During a weekend in early January, I joined Colin Beavan along with 20 environmental leaders from around the country in Rosendale, NY. The focus of the weekend was to find ways to lead a successful No Impact Experiment with members in our communities, share our experiences, meet new like-minded people, and collectively consider how we can make a difference in our own lives and our communities. The No Impact Experiment is about getting people to move beyond just feeling concerned to acting concerned. So many people feel that they are powerless.
I would like to share my experience with the members of the Sierra Club and invite the Atlantic Chapter membership to take part in a No Impact Experiment. This year is the 41st anniversary of Earth Day; I would like to extend the celebration to an entire week, April 17-24, and invite you to join me in a No Impact Week (see inset). In part, No Impact Week is about forming a supportive community where people can experiment together and discover that we do have the power to make a difference.
Nicole Kindred is a member of the New York City Group.
No Impact Week
April 17-24
During the week, participants will look at the waste they generate, the water and energy they use, and their overall consumption habits. Participants will engage in dialogue and discussion as they investigate their own lives and how they can contribute toward building a No Impact community. The end of the week will include a “giving back” day where we will come up with our own action to create change in response to a concern we identify in our community.
This No Impact Week will be held online, athttp://niwnewyork.wordpress.com/.
To join us, or to set up a No Impact experiment in your own community, e-mail Nicole Kindred at niwnewyork@gmail.com.
You can also join our community on the Activist Network.