No Impact Man

I just watched a documentary titled No Impact Man. It was distributed in 2009 and tells the story of how Colin Beavan,  his wife, Michelle Conlin, and their infant daugher, Isabella, spent a year trying to make no impact on the environment. They went far beyond recycling and riding their bikes to work, though they did these things, too. They went from being fast-food, take-out eating, clothes shopping, t.v. watching, gas guzzling consumers to vegetarians who ate only locally and went without toilet paper, television, electricity, processed food, motorized transportation of any kind, and coffee, which isn't grown locally.

What struck me most about this film was the disdain that so many people had for this family's choices, including interviewers like Diane Sawyer. The hostility with which peopled viewed their experiment made me wonder what is it exactly that people fear? Does a conscious and ecological choice such as this push people's guilt about their own consumerism? Is it that being inconvenienced in our ever so busy lives is too much of a personal sacrifice to make so we judge those who attempt to make the sacrifice? I mean, let's face it, it's pretty hard to make no impact on the planet. We were born, we take up space, we use things, things wear out, we throw those things away. But I marvel that more people didn't commend this couple for so bravely facing their own story of consumption. In no way did I find this family judgmental of others' choices. It seemed they were conducting an experiment to test their own capability to survive without so many of the comforts we take for granted. That they hoped to inspire others to be cognizant of their own consumption did not come off as a diatribe, but as a sincere wish to help the planet, to slow down their own lives, and to search for meaning in life beyond designer clothes and the fast track to success.

The hardest part of their experiment for others seemed to be their choice to go without toilet paper because of the number of trees cut down every year to make this luxury item. Logging has environmental implications to be sure, and forgoing toilet paper is a sacrifice few of us would make. But why would we chastise them for choosing this route? People put their babies in cloth diapers and get green points for keeping plastic diapers out of landfills. Is forgoing toilet paper so very different? Why do we think it's ecological where babies are concerned but draw the line at adults basically using the same method, meaning using cloth for sanitation. We don't have to make the choice this family did, but we also don't have to horrified by the fact that they made it. I guess I couldn't understand why more people weren't cheering them on, learning from their process, and thanking them for the education they so generously provided. 

I consider myself pretty green. I reduce, reuse, and recycle. I bicycle commute almost everywhere I go through all the seasons.  I cut up old clothes and make new ones. I don't buy packaged or processed  food except for some raw food items I can't find locally. I compost. I grow my own food when seasons permit. I shop in the bulk sections of co-ops and at farmer's markets. I don't own a t.v. or a microwave. I take the stairs. Every third year I swear off buying any new clothes or shoes.  I do what I can. Yet I don't think I could have done what Beavan/Conlin family did. They inspired me to do more, to use less plastic and not rely on recycling as the answer, to make my own cleaning products ( I do some of that already but could do more), and to get to know the growers of my food. They made me want to be more inconvenienced and be grateful for it.

I can see the gifts in the sacrifices they made. Knowing who grows your food strengthens your connection to your community. Bicycling provides not only exercise but a slowed down pace, an intimate knowledge of your neighborhood, and an actual view of the scenery. As they talked by candlelight, I couldn't help but think of the possibilities for renewed romance. And if not that, then just think of how much more sleep they would get because who would stay up late by candlelight if not for romance?  In living more with the rhythm of the seasons, how could one not slow down, relax, and rest? In eating food locally grown, how could one not feel innately nourished? Really, who doesn't crave potatoes in the winter? And think of all the time saved not watching television or shopping. Time that could be spent nurturing their family, their friendships, their creativity.

It's been a few years since this experiment has ended for the Beavan/Conlin family I trust they found their own gifts and kept some of what they started. I hope for the rest of us that we have learned enough about the precipice we're on concerning the environment that we would now applaud the choice they made rather than ridicule it. And if the Beavan/Conlin clan hoped to inspire others, I can say they inspired me. I'll do more in my own little world. This is a revolution that requires action, not  just words. And as Colin Beavan says, "The most radical political act is to be an optimist." The next time we hear of someone bravely making the choices he made, let's be optimistic about it and support that person. Let's thank them for opening our own eyes and making us question what we everyday take for granted. Let's do our own part to live on this earth with as little impact as we can.