Becoming Environmentally Impact-Less

Colin Beavan made the documentary “No Impact Man” in 2009 to shed light on the lifestyle change he made for a year. Beavan committed to being as environmentally conscious as possible for an entire year. The goal was to live his life in an altered way to leave no trace of an environmental carbon footprint.

He blogged the year-long experience for those interested in how he lived a happy life while not impacting the earth negatively. The premise of the documentary was to demonstrate ways to live pre-industrially. Sure, it’s a cultural and inconvenient shift, but it’s doable with the right mind-set.

His wife and daughter joined him on his quest while living in New York City -challenging in any urban setting. While Beavan is not materialistic, his wife Michelle is. They expressed numerous times how difficult it was to go without the modern amenities we all take for granted. However, they agreed that living in an environmentally sustainable way can still be done comfortably.

Colin’s extreme measures included: not using electricity which meant walking twenty-four flights of stairs to get to and from his apartment, a makeshift refrigerator, no motor transportation, and no power in the apartment. They made homemade laundry detergent used to wash clothes in the bathtub, and they only ate locally grown food which ended up reversing his wife’s pre-diabetic condition.

The Beavan’s said after this documentary that they still live 60% of this extreme lifestyle!

The average American creates 1,600 pounds of trash every year. The environment is paying the price for humanity’s rapid progression in technology, industrial advancement, consumerism, and WASTE. Beavan demonstrates how humans can reverse the damage by giving up a few luxuries we don’t need. His efforts are extreme and not for everyone, but humans CAN positively impact the environment if they tried.

Colin Beavan- “Is it possible to have a good life without wasting so much?”

This documentary received criticism from people claiming Beavan to be radical and unrealistic. He used extreme examples to motivate people to find areas in their lives where they can make a future impact on the health of the environment.

Colin’s mission is to wake people up to ways of life and business that is healthier and happier for our society, and the world. Thank you, Colin!