NAOMI LYNCH
Staff Writer
Have you ever thought about making no impact on, say, the world?
Colin Beavan, the self-titled “No Impact Man,” has.
In 2007, Beavan, his wife Michelle and their young daughter lived one full year making as minimal of an impact on the world as possible. This meant no meat, no flying/driving, no TV, no takeout, no internet, no electricity, etc. The list could go on and on, but anything that was a “want” was eliminated, and anything that was a “need” was minimized. The only real technology around were the cameras that documented the experience.
As a person who orders from Maria’s at least once a week, I was flabbergasted.
Beavan blogged about his experiences using solar energy and eventually picked up enough traction that he attracted the likes of Stephen Colbert, Diane Williams and other prominent reporters who found his mission amusing. For Beavan, this was the real deal.
His wife also thought he was crazy. She described herself as a daily coffee-drinking, sample-sale-happy shopping lady who loved to eat takeout.
“The paradigm is reduce, reuse, recycle,” Colin said as Michelle rolled her eyes.
“This is easy for Colin and murder for me,” Michelle told the cameras.
Over the year they were being filmed, the No Impact couple had a plethora of highs and lows. When they eliminated their TV, they spent more time interacting with the environment, friends and loved ones that came over. Instead of driving everywhere, they both walked, Colin’s daughter sitting upon his shoulders in almost every instance. Not eating takeout every day allowed them to look for local food that was tasty and helped the money return to the environment.
In terms of lows, Michelle was having a incredibly hard time at first. She worked for a large business magazine, and she was used to her morning coffee waking her up. When Colin turned off the electricity at the sixth month mark, she wasn’t too fond of reading by candlelight.
Her main concern was Colin’s apathy towards her dream of a second child while she was in agreement with Colin’s No Impact cause. During the documentary, we learn that Colin eventually compromised with his wife and she did get what she wanted, but in her words, “It’s not a perfect bow.”
Halfway through the movie, even Colin becomes deterred after his natural alternative to refrigeration goes astray and it’s Michelle that brings his spirits back up.
After the year transpires, there are a lot of things they both want to keep from this experiment, but a lot of things will not continue (Michelle brands herself a “hotdogderian,” saying she wants to keep the veggie lifestyle, but she also really wants a hot dog).
All in all, “No Impact Man” is an interesting way to see how we each impact the world around us, and Colin and Michelle open our tunnel vision for us to see how the world would be if we all took a little time to care for the Earth instead of getting Calio’s at 2 a.m.
Reducing your tech footprint: one class’ efforts
Colin has designed a No Impact Week experiment that I will be taking part in, along with my fellow students in Biology 115 and Communication 321 — and also, The Leader’s beautiful Mary Laing — that I am not looking forward to. I am a chicken-wing wielding, orange juice loving, Vanilla Bean frappuccino drinking warrior queen. I naturally get up at 6 a.m. every morning because I need to have my Tim Hortons before class; otherwise, anything I say is unintelligible. Next week will be very interesting, to say the least.
Some of us aren’t eco-warriors like Colin Beavan, but as the tech staff writer for The Leader, here are some tips for reducing your tech footprint!
Do: Try to purchase refurbished tech and accessories.
Amazon has an excellent program that inspects and ensures the products they ship out. With tech evolving every day, it’s okay to buy last year’s model. No one is judging you except your bank account, which will be happy that you are saving some money! A good rule of thumb about upgrades — wait at least two models after your current device before considering an upgrade. The reason these companies make so much money is that people flock to the “next big thing” (sorry, Samsung) when in reality, the camera life is two megapixels better and the phone adds a useless fingerprint sensor (not sorry, Apple).
Don’t: Leave your tech plugged in after it’s fully charged.
It’s fully charged. The nature of technology is the charge/recharge cycle. Keeping it plugged in doesn’t help the device and doesn’t help the battery life.
Do: Recycle your old tech!
Pass that old iPad to your annoying nephew! Give that old Galaxy S4 to your tech-illiterate Aunt Sally! If no one is in need of your device, go down to the Salvation Army, which is more than willing to take the donation. If the device is in pretty good shape, you can sell it to Amazon. You’ll get more money if you keep the original packaging, too! If your cell phone no longer functions, you can return it to your mobile provider for a small discount off your next bill. Radioshack also has a recycling program for tech. Never, ever, just throw things like this in the garbage. They need to be disposed of properly.
Don’t: Leave your plugs plugged in after you’re done using them.
Even if your iPhone charger is sitting there idly, it’s still pulling energy. Cut the flow and save some energy. As my mother used to affectionately scream, “Turn off that dang light! Con Edison (now known as National Grid) is not my friend!” As we enter the bill-paying stages of our lives, National Grid isn’t our friend. Let’s pay as little as possible.
In the words of Michelle, I’m rethinking everything that’s important. Will I survive a week without chicken? Who knows. I’m tired of being a comical #FirstWorldProblem. I hope that next week is the learning experience I’m looking for!