No Impact Man The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process

by Beavan, Colin

• ISBN13: 9780312429836
• ISBN10: 0312429835
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-05-25
• Publisher: Picador

Summary

What does it really take to live eco-effectively? For one year, Colin Beavan swore off plastic and toxins, turned off his electricity, went organic, became a bicycle nut, and tried to save the planet from environmental catastrophe while dragging his young daughter and his Prada-wearing wife along for the ride. Together they attempted to make zero impact on the environment while living right in the heart of Manhattan, and this is the sensational, funny, and consciousness-raising story of how they did it. WithNo Impact Man, Beavan found that no-impact living is worthwhile--and richer, fuller, and more satisfying in the bargain. Colin Beavanis the author of two previous books that have absolutely nothing to do with the environment:Fingerprints: The Murder Case That Launched Forensic ScienceandOperation Jedburgh: D-Day and America's First Shadow War. His writing has appeared inEsquire,The Atlantic, andThe New York Times, and he posts regularly at www.noimpactman.com . He lives in New York City. When the guilt about his high-impact lifestyle finally got to Colin Beavan, he swore off plastic, went organic, became a bicycle fanatic, turned off his power, and devoted himself to saving the polar bears and the rest of the planet from environmental catastrophe. The liberal New Yorker dragged his baby daughter and Prada-wearing, Four Seasons-loving wife along for the ride. And that's just the beginning. Bill McKibben meets Bill Bryson in this seriously engaging look at one man's decision to put his money where his mouth is and go off the grid for one year--while still living in New York City--to see if it's possible to make no net impact on the environment. In other words, no trash, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no air-conditioning, no television . . . What would it be like to try to live a no-impact lifestyle? Is it possible? Could it catch on? Is living this way more satisfying or less satisfying? Harder or easier? Is it worthwhile or senseless? Are we all doomed or can our culture reduce the barriers to sustainable living so it becomes as easy as falling off a log? These are the questions at the heart of this whole mad endeavor, via which Colin Beavan hopes to explain to the rest of us how we can realistically live a more "eco-effective" and by turns more content life in an age of inconvenient truths. "No Impact Manis a deeply honest and riveting account of the year in which Colin Beavan and his wife attempted to do what most of us would consider impossible. What might seem inconvenient to the point of absurdity instead teaches lessons that all of us need to learn. We as individuals can take action to address important social problems. One person can make a difference."--Marion Nestle, author ofWhat to Eat"Beavan pose[s] some serious questions: What can each of us do to improve the environment? How hard is it to change your lifestyle so that it's more sustainable over the long haul? To make a difference, do lifestyle changes have to be drastic? . . . In point of fact, a household can make changes that have a big planetary payoff without affecting the lifestyle at all . . . The plot line to this story is energy use and its connection to global warming."--Katherine Salant,The Washington Post "No Impact Manis a deeply honest and riveting account of the year in which Colin Beavan and his wife attempted to do what most of us would consider impossible. What might seem inconvenient to the point of absurdity instead teaches le

Author Biography

Colin Beavan is the author of two previous books that have absolutely nothing to do with the environment: Fingerprints: The Murder Case That Launched Forensic Science and Operation Jedburgh: D-Day and America’s First Shadow War. His writing has appeared in Esquire, The Atlantic, and The New York Times, and he posts regularly at www.noimpactman.com. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

How a Schlub Like Me Gets Mixed Up in a Stunt Like This	p. 3
Day One and the Whole Thing Is a Big Mistake	p. 19
What You Think When You Find Your Life in the Trash	p. 35
If Only Pizza Didn't Come on Paper Plates	p. 51
How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint and Anger Your Mom at the Same Time	p. 73
The Cabbage Diet Saves the World	p. 107
Conspicuous Nonconsumption	p. 141
Click and the Lights Go Out	p. 163
Trying to Do Enough Good to Outweigh the Harm	p. 193
Epilogue: Life After the Year Without Toilet Paper	p. 211
No Impact Project	p. 225
Note on Production	p. 229
Appendix: You Can Make a Difference!	p. 231
Notes	p. 247
Acknowledgments	p. 259
Index	p. 263
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.