No Impact Man Flying to Paris, Dining on Fois Gras
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 11.20.07
I lunched on tofu yesterday with Vanessa of Green as a Thistle; we have written here about her project to do one thing each day that betters the environment. She has a hundred days left until her year is out, thinks she probably will make it, and is planning her celebration already. No Impact Man completed his "project to live with as low as possible an environmental impact for one year" today; what is Colin Beavan planning with his family? (I doubt Paris is in the cards) He writes (beautifully):
"It's been an utterly amazing year. With no TV, I've become a better father. With no light, I've learned to rest. With no laundry machine, I've learned that there are certain sacrifices people are not going to be willing to make! No Impact has impacted everything from my life philosophy to my family dynamics to my finances." and says he feels both excited and sad:
"But sad because, although I've met so many people who are trying so hard, I am worried that we as a country are moving way too slowly. Sad, because, a year after I stared this project, partly out of frustration with how slowly things were changing, still, very little has changed. Sad, because as a country, we still seem to be talking not about what we should do for the planet, but if we should do anything at all." ::No Impact Man
Bravo to Mr. Beavan AND FAMILY for their efforts and message.
Yes it is true, too many people have a mentality of entitlment, like something is owed to them. Why should THEY sacrifice in this age of excess?
No one sees the positive side, the benefits of doing more with less. They occur on a micro/ immediate and macro / eventual basis as his quote lays out.
There is nothing new and there is no rocket science... we as a nation went through sacrifices during WWII and the oil embargo. I am sure there will be a time soon when the need to sacrifice will be upon us before we are anywhere near ready for it. Power supply interruptions, regional droughts, banking $$ problems, and gas/oil price hikes are red LED light warning signs that we must fundamentally alter our habits.
But of course, I am preaching to the choir here. I doubt the core TreeHugger audience is one that subscribes to apocalyptic excess consumption.
All the more reason why Mr. Beavan's message is important. I think he was featured on a ton of 'main stream' shows and media articles.
Maybe 'Buy War Bonds' will be replaced with 'Buy Solar Bonds' or something like that.
Good Luck,
vsk
thank you
I was thinking about this very thing today. I'm a fair bit smug that the footprint for my entire family of four is less than the footprint of one average American. Is that my standard? The average American? I do feel entitled! I didn't even realize it. Privilege is a weird thing.
I am slow to fully incorporate changes into my life and yet I do things most people, even environmentally conscious ones, do not do. Additionally, the individualist take we approach the environment with just won't cut it. We need to affect changes in our infrastructure and regulate industry. It can be disheartening to make sacrifices when corporate, government, and individual entities aren't doing their share.
This is why I love these radical personal experiments with eating locally, not making purchases, or wearing the same little brown dress for a year. Their extreme adventures inspire me when I'm ready to integrate my next green step.
I was thinking about this very thing today. I'm a fair bit smug that the footprint for my entire family of four is less than the footprint of one average American. Is that my standard? The average American? I do feel entitled! I didn't even realize it. Privilege is a weird thing.
I am slow to fully incorporate changes into my life and yet I do things most people, even environmentally conscious ones, do not do. Additionally, the individualist take we approach the environment with just won't cut it. We need to affect changes in our infrastructure and regulate industry. It can be disheartening to make sacrifices when corporate, government, and individual entities aren't doing their share.
This is why I love these radical personal experiments with eating locally, not making purchases, or wearing the same little brown dress for a year. Their extreme adventures inspire me when I'm ready to integrate my next green step.
thanks all, for the nice read