All Over Albany

No Impact Man

Imagine eliminating your use of electricity and modern conveniences for a day. Now imagine doing it for a year while living in one of the world's largest cities.

That's what Colin Beavan decided to do, along with his wife, their young daughter and the family's dog. And he's going to be in the Capital Region Wednesday to talk about how he did it.

Beavan spent a year living in Manhattan trying to avoid making any net impact on the environment. That meant no trash, no carbon emissions, no elevators, no air conditioning, no toilets, etc. He kept a blog called No Impact Man to document the experiences and that led to a book and a possible film. He'll be speaking Wednesday at Schenectady County Community College to share how he did and what he learned.

Beavan took a few minutes to chat with AOA this week.

He says he got the idea for the experiment after constantly reading about all the effects of global warming and human consumption. Hearing about polar bears drowning and 70 degree weather in January helped convince him that if politicians weren't going to take a more proactive stance, then he needed to try doing it himself rather than just sitting around being pissed off.

Beavan says it took some convincing to get his wife to agree, especially because they had a two-year-old daughter.

And while a year without modern conveniences might sound wretched, he says he discovered there were actually a lot of improvements in their lives because of their undertaking.

For example: "We gave up cars and trains, and found ourselves biking more and more,which meant we were healthier." Another positive outcome came from giving up television because it meant they spent more time outdoors, and more time with their friends and family.

"In general, if our culture was more sustainable, I think there'd be a lot of improvements," he says.

Even now that the year-long experiment has ended, Beavan says his family hasn't gone back entirely to their former lifestyle. They do use lights and the washing machine these days, but they still don't use air conditioning or freezers.

Colin Beavan at SCCC
7 pm in Taylor Auditorium
free

photo: Colin Beavan