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No Impact Man by Colin Beavan

No Impact Man by Colin Beavan

Posted on July 24, 2017January 24, 2023

Today I’m sharing a must watch and a must read all at once. It’s about Coling Beavan and his family. That’s because Beavan names himself the No Impact Man. As Beavan mentions, his family and him used to be like most other American families. They barely cook their own food, don’t own a bike and work a whole lot to name a few things. But then they go on a journey! The journey to becoming a No Impact Man (or family really). Beavan doesn’t want to have a negative impact on the planet anymore (what I’d call an eco-positive lifestyle). The book and documentary I’m sharing today are about this journey towards that goal. Here’s No Impact Man by Colin Beavan.

No Impact

The book and documentary about Beavan and his family tell the story of them switching to a lifestyle with no impact on the planet. I’d say this is unrealistic. It’s just not possible. You can live within the earth’s capacity, but you’ll always have impact (maybe even positive impact!). But Beavan defines the term ‘no impact’ by not emitting any CO2 and not producing any waste. It’s a noble goal! The book tells the story during the period of a year and you see how the family slowly adds new sustainable habits during this project.

Sustainability and Health

In the first few months they first aim to eat local and vegetarian, so they’ll start cooking theirselves. This part really shows how sustainable switches can create healthy habits too. They go to the farmers market and cook more healthily. Coffee isn’t local and so you see the journey of quitting that too. They also go through their waste in this period, to see where to improve. By this insight, they start using reusable diapers for example.

Sustainability and Fun

As the story goes on, they keep on adding new habits. One of the last things they do is cut off the power! I found that so radical (but interesting to read!). But this story also shows that sustainability can be a lot of fun too and can bring you together (unexpectedly). Since the family doesn’t own a TV anymore they spend way more time together with family and friends. They get way more sleep because they sleep not long after it gets dark (and people even compliment them for looking so good and rested). They never take elevators anymore and choose to buy bikes to travel around. Life gets more fun and healthy, and more sustainable!

Why You Should Read It

I loved the book! I was sincerely sad when I finished it because I wanted to follow the family longer. But luckily a documentary was made about them too. This makes the story more visual (which I liked a lot). You really get an image of the journey, how the family lives and what they look like. I love how their journey is about doing things cold turkey. They choose to do something and they jump right into it. The No Impact project lasts one year in extreme form and then they evaluate which parts stay and which go. Some things seem radical at first, like getting rid of the TV, but in the end it turns out they like those things the most. Everything seems scary at first, but you can really see how the family gets happier over time.

Since it’s a personal story, it’s a book I really love. You get sucked into the family’s story. And at the same time I learned from them. All things I can do myself when I have my own home. You can follow Beavan via this website if you would like to. But first, read the book and watch the documentary!

Have you read No Impact Man by Colin Beavan?

Yours sincerely,
Romee

0 thoughts on “No Impact Man by Colin Beavan”

  1. セレネ says:
    August 14, 2017 at 6:28 pm

    Wat mij vooral opviel was dat zijn vrouw nog nooit had gekookt! Dat komt in Nederland iets minder vaak voor denk ik. Buiten de deur eten is hier echt veel duurder dan in Amerika en Japan… (al kunnen in Japan alle vrouwen sowieso wel wat koken, in Amerika blijkbaar niet?)

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ABOUT ME

 

Hi! My name is Romee Hoeksma and I am on a journey to an eco-positive life. An eco-positive lifestyle is a lifestyle in which I have a more positive than negative impact on the beautiful planet earth. On this blog you can follow my journey to a life with only positive impact. At this blog you can find all sorts of things, from tips to recipes to personal experiences, but most of all fun (I hope!). I write about how I want to change the world, but don’t look at it as if I’m judging you. If anything, I like responses from my dear readers the most, so don’t hesitate to contact me or respond to any of my posts!

Yours sincerely,
Romee

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Ik ga dit jaar weer de challenge aan om de winter door te komen zonder de warming aan te zetten. Hiervoor ging mijn essential, een warmwaterkruik 💦, kapot. In deze reel laat ik je zien hoe ik een ‘nieuwe’ tweedehands kruik kocht. Vandaag te lezen op whenateengoesgreen.com: een inspirerende documentary over Greta Thunberg: I am Greta. Een documentaire over hoop, maar vooral over doorzettingsvermogen 🔥. Lees het nu via de link in mijn bio. Meer vegan producten in de schappen, yay! Gisteren probeerde ik voor het eerst de vegan lentil tikki masala saus van Patak’s 🧑🏼‍🍳. Zie in deze reel wat ik ervan vond. Vandaag verscheen er een nieuw artikel op mijn blog over: 5 dingen die ik niet koop. Want we denken vaak dat we dingen écht nodig hebben, maar vaak is dat niet zo 🧠. Check het artikel via de link in miijn bio. Vorige week verscheen er een artikel op mijn blog over alles wat ik nieuw kocht in 2022. Dat is een groot deel van mijn negatieve impact. Deze week was het tijd om te kijken naar de andere kant van de medaille. Vandaag lees je op mijn blog een artikel over al mijn positive impact in 2022 🌞. Je vind de link naar het artikel in de link in mijn bio. Afgelopen week verscheen er op mijn blog een artikel over alles wat ik nieuw heb gekocht in 2022. Eén ding op de lijst waren deze onderbroeken (een stuk of 20). En nu denk je misschien: waarom zou je in één keer zoveel onderbroeken kopen? Op 31 december, nog net op de valreep in 2022, kwam er een video online op mijn Youtube-kanaal over voedselcoöperaties. Ik denk namelijk dat voedselcoöperaties ons voedselsysteem democratischer en eerlijker kunnen maken 🥦. Elk jaar stel ik mezelf als doel om geen nieuwe spullen te kopen. Er is weer een jaar voorbij, dus het was tijd om te evalueren. Is het me gelukt om in 2022 geen nieuwe spullen te kopen? 🛒 Je leest het vandaag op m’n blog. Ook tijdens het gourmetten kan je heel makkelijk vegan eten 🌱. Zie hier wat ik at als vegan op de tweede kerstdag 🎄. Gourmetten is een topoplossing als je niet uren in de keuken wilt staan. Lekkere snacks kopen, even snijden en alles neerzetten en bakken maar!

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  • Documentary: I am Greta
  • 5 things I don’t buy
  • My positive impact in 2022
  • All my new purchases in 2022
  • Eco-positive toilet paper: The Good Roll

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