Review: No Impact Man

Today, while I was recovering from "food poisoning" -- jalapenos I ate were cooked on the same pan as peppers wrapped in bacon which, as a vegetarian, my body did not approve of so I have spent the last 15 or so hours in pain -- I watched a documentary called No Impact Man.

This film followed the efforts of a New York family, the Beavans, attempting to live, for one year, without creating any kind of environmental impact.  No cars or motorized transportation, no buying anything new, no electricity, no coffee, no toilet paper.  Everything they consumed was local.  They didn't buy anything new at all; they only bought, borrowed, or were given used items.  They lived by candlelight and daylight, attempted a pot within a pot experiment for a refrigerator, and battled the backlash from non-environmentalists as well as environmentalists.  People hated them.

After their year long experiment, the Beavans evaluated their journey and decided what changes they had undergone that they wanted to maintain and which ones just weren't practical for them.  They kept the local foods and bicycling but decided to get rid of the worm bins they used for composting.

In the documentary, Colin Beavan teamed up with a man who owned a community gardening plot.  He taught Colin how to plant and harvest vegetables.  The one thing that really sort of bothered me about the whole film was something this man said to Colin.  They were sitting in a kitchen and Mayor, the man, said to Colin that it's basically naive (or something along those lines) for him to think he's making a difference because he uses the stairs instead of the elevator when his wife works for a news publication that is responsible for the demolition of millions of trees.  It's true; print news outlets are responsible for a hefty amount of deforestation.  Deforestation is bad.  Deforestation should stop.  I do not believe, however, that his wife's employment as a writer for a news magazine negates all of the good that this family is trying to accomplish through this project nor do I believe that the little things don't add up to make a difference.

I always encourage people to make those small changes because it is those small changes that add up and eventually may even add to bigger changes.  Using a reusable stainless steel water bottle instead of plastic/recycling/consuming less animal products/going to the farmers market/turning off the water when you brush your teeth/turning off the lights and other electronics when you leave a room/utilizing as much daylight as possible/using reusable cloth grocery bags instead of paper or plastic/planting a tree/etc., is the gateway drug to bigger acts of conservationism/environmentalism/sustainability/kindness.

Aside from that comment, though, I really enjoyed the message this documentary shared and I'm going to give it 3.75 out of 4 green eyes.  I recommend to you that you watch No Impact Man.  It is streaming instantly on Netflix.  Check out Colin Beavan's blog and see what else you can do to make a difference.

We all need to start somewhere.