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. With No Impact Man, Beavan found that no-impact living is worthwhile--and richer, fuller, and more satisfying in the bargain.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
“The No Impact Experiment changed Colin Beavan and reading No Impact Man will change you.” —Annie Leonard, creator of “The Story of Stuff”
“Far from being a movement of self-denial and stern lectures about having too much fun, the 'no impact' mind-set is actually about increasing fulfillment and happiness by asking us to think about what makes us truly happy and what's really important in our lives.” —Arianna Huffington
“No Impact Man is 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 of What to Eat
“Profound . . . Beavan's project has significant emotional and ecological heft. No Impact Man works, most of all, because Beavan is intelligent, funny, provocative, and, above all, honest.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer
“There's something inspiring about a smart, committed person coming to an elegantly simple conclusion.” —Los Angeles Times
“You have to give Colin Beavan credit; the man put his money where his mouth is. A self-proclaimed 'guilty liberal' tired of the world's general ecological decline, he decided to change his life. And in no small way. Even better, he did it with a sense of humor.” —The Boston Globe
“There's something of Thoreau in Colin Beavan's great project--but a fully engaged, connected, and right-this-minute helpful version. It's a moment when we need to have as little impact in our own lives as possible--and as much impact in our political lives as we can possibly muster. Beavan shows how!” —Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy
“From their first baby steps (no takeout) to their giant leap (no toilet paper), the Beavans’ experiment in ecological responsibility was a daunting escapade in going green . . . So fervent as to make Al Gore look like a profligate wastrel, Beavan’s commitment to the cause is, nonetheless, infectiously inspiring and uproariously entertaining.” —Booklist
“With thorough research, Beavan updates his blog (noimpactman.com) with convincing statistical evidence, while discovering new ways to reduce consumption and his family’s environmental footprint . . . An inspiring, persuasive argument that individuals are not helpless in the battle against environmental degradation and global warming.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Beavan captures his own shortcomings with candor and wit and offers surprising revelations . . . [Readers] will mull over his thought-provoking reflections and hopefully reconsider their own lifestyles.” —Publishers Weekly
“Colin Beavan has the disarming and uniquely remedial ability to make you laugh while he's making you feel like a swine, and what's more, to make you not only want to, but to actually do something, about it.” —Norah Vincent, author of Voluntary Madness
“No Impact Man is a subversive book--not because it preaches a radical environmental agenda, but because it gives the secret to personal rebellion against the bitterness of a man's own compromises.” —Arthur Brooks, author of Gross National Happiness
About the Author
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.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Colin Beavan is the author of two previous books: 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 his No Impact Man website. He lives in New York City.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No Impact Man is a great read,
This review is from: 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 (Paperback)
As an incoming freshman at UNC Wilmington I was required to read No Impact Man over the summer. This book has changed the way that I view the environment and the carbon footprint that I leave on the planet. Colin Beavan is a brave individual for "going green" for a full year. This book follows him and his family as they abandon all of what are considered necessities to me. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an inspirational story that will hit close to home. Reading this book has encouraged me to think before I use up valuable resources that cannot be replenished. If more people read this book I think the planet would be better off.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No Impact Man,
By Brianna Soloski (Las Vegas, NV United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: 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 (Paperback)
No Impact Man starts out with the author, Colin Beavan, talking about how he and his wife, Michelle differ on certain things, such as her love of fur and his dislike of reality television. They make a deal that Michelle can watch reality television; as long as she didn't buy anything made of or trimmed with fur. He then talks briefly about global warming and the January day that inspired his decision to become "No Impact Man". After meeting with his book editor, he decides to embark on a life of no impact - no disposable products, no travel that caused carbon emissions, lowering the environmental impact of their food choices, consumer purchases, household operations, and water use/pollution.He admits that this project has forced him to change himself and the way he looks at things. He is honest and admits that he isn't perfect. He knows that he can't solve the world's problems on his own, but he is going to give it the best possible shot he can. No Impact Man is his chronicle of that shot. It provides us with a snapshot of his life prior to the changes, during the changes, and after the changes. In chapter three, Mr. Beavan talks about his trash. He and his wife collected their trash over the course of three days to see how much they actually generated. The result was an appalling ninety gallons. That is a lot of trash for a family of three - imagine what larger families must generate (even in one day). Another startling statistic, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, is that food packaging makes up 20 percent of waste nationwide; that includes take out packages and grabbing frozen meals from the grocery store, which tends to be easiest in these busy times (Beavan, 39). Chapter four covers his adventures in purchasing food for his family without using any disposable containers. It is both an exercise in frugality and ingenuity for Mr. Beavan and his family. He tries a variety of different modes of transportation for the food, before settling on organic muslin bags for transporting the bulk goods he purchases home. He also talks about the restraint he and his wife have to show - they can no longer cave to their every craving because it's not sustainable. For example, they must learn to go without their daily coffee fix if they forget the reusable cups at home. This chapter is also peppered with statistics about the amount of garbage in the ocean - statistics that are sickening, yet, given the disposability of our society are not that shocking. Although this has been an interesting read thus far, it is saddening to think about what we are doing to our planet. I think anyone reading this book would begin to question their habits; I know that I certainly have been (as I think about the plastic disposable cup I used from Starbucks a couple of weeks ago). Chapter five covers travel and reducing your carbon footprint via using non-emission producing modes of transportation (biking, walking). Faced with quite a bit of travel over the course of the no impact project, Mr. Beavan decides he must cancel several trips home. In doing so, he gets a lesson in slowing down and enjoying life for what it is and learning to live in the moment. I think this is a lesson that we could all stand to learn from. He's not saying that people should quit traveling, but that they should simply take a step back and rethink how they are trying to get where they are going. Longer, less frequent trips are a viable option that could make all involved much happier than a bunch of short trips. And, the planet will thank you for forcing fewer emissions into the environment. As we go through the remainder of the book, we learn about becoming sustainable consumers by not purchasing anything new. We also get a glimpse into life without electricity and living off the grid. I'm not so sure I could live off the grid, but I am definitely willing to make some changes toward living a greener, more sustainable life. The final chapter talks about water use: over the next 15 years, one of two things will happen - we will either run out of water entirely or the water will be so polluted that we won't be able to drink it. Mr. Beavan also talks about giving back - to our community and to our world. He does this through volunteer work at a variety of non-profit organizations. Helping our community is one simple way that everyone can give back a little something to the world. Although the changes we need to make are bigger than that, it's a small step toward creating a better world for future generations. No Impact Man also provides an appendix outlining how the average person can help make the world a little better. This section is broken down by chapter and provides a list of resources, books, and websites that people can visit to help them enact each phase of No Impact year on their own lives. This book has really made me think about how I'm living my life environmentally. It makes me kind of glad I don't have a car and that I can find other ways to get around. That is not to say I don't do more than my fair share of riding in cars and I travel a lot, which means planes and trains, but there is something about having to walk everywhere that makes you slow down and really take in the world. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. I learned a lot about the environment that I didn't know. It has definitely spurred me find ways to waste less and use fewer resources. I would recommend it to anyone who has any interest in environmentalism and doing well for the world, both locally and globally. I really felt connected to Mr. Beavan and his family. He added a lot of personal touches and stories which make his story relatable to anyone who reads it.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most inspiring accounts of "going green" I've read,
This review is from: 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 (Paperback)
I think this is one of the most inspiring accounts of "going green" I've ever read.It's not so much that Beavan finds the Perfect Solution to global environmental issues, or actually changes the world with his actions. What he does is better: he *tries*, and he lets us know how hard it is for an urban wannabe environmentalist to pull it off. He doesn't just switch to 'eco' coffee or buy grass-fed beef (the kind of things that most people I know do - and they all really do care). He stops using all food that comes with paper or isn't grown locally. He stops using cars and even public transportation. His goal isn't to be "Lower Impact Man" but instead be "NO Impact Man". He gets very close. One can argue (and I see that some reviews do) that his efforts are feeble. I disagree. Yes, living in a New York City apartment may not be the ideal platform to bring on an urban eco-paradise. But Beavan's project is even better: he starts WHERE HE IS. So many manifestos simply critique the current situation and describe an lovely impossible Utopia - educational but not *helpful*. Those works might articulate a *societal* road map but they are not very helpful as a *personal* road map. I really appreciate that Beavan doesn't come across as The Expert. Certainly he's learned a LOT, but he clues us in with his self-doubt, his circular mind-chatter - all the kind of stuff that trips us up when we try to change things. To watch another person have the same experiences and challenges we all do - and still muddle through - is hugely liberating.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
