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Not much alone, huge impact together
New York extremist has a point
By Leslie Peckham
If say one million people spent five minutes less in the shower each day that would make a difference. Of course that’s a logical method, but how do you tell one million people to do something?
Recently I was turned onto a blog by an interesting man living in New York. No Impact Man aka, Colin Beaven, experimented to ‘achieve equilibrium’ that amounts to the idea that negative impact plus positive impact equals zero. I was intrigued by this thought that you take out exactly what you put in. For one year, this self-proclaimed ‘guilty liberal’ swore turned off power, refused to use plastic and basically turned into a ‘tree-hugging lunatic’ in an effort to do his part to save the environment. These are relatively extreme measures, and, as I was discussing with a friend, No Impact Man’s efforts seem to do relatively nothing to combat conditions in New York City or elsewhere. No one, myself included, wants to compost their own poop to save the earth, especially not in the city. Nevertheless, the experiment raises some interesting questions.
One of the points brought up between my friend and I, was that one person cutting back on everything and ‘living green’, so to speak, is not going to make an impact. I’ve had this conversation a dozen different ways at least, and it’s always frustrating. One person won’t make a difference, but I ardently maintain that it can be a start. I can take shorter showers and turn off the faucet while I’m brushing my teeth, and it will change nothing. But if say one million people spent five minutes less in the shower each day that would make a difference. Of course that’s a logical method, but how do you tell one million people to do something?
By being conscious of the things you are throwing away you can make a big difference, even as an individual. For example, varying studies will suggest that the energy used in washing ceramic coffee mugs is just as bad as using disposable cups that won’t biodegrade for hundreds of years. Make up your own mind about this. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with rinsing the coffee mug and using it again, but that’s just me.
Another important factor to consider here is people’s obsession with novelty features. For instance, when it’s affordable the twelve-piece matching dining set looks really good, along with the matching tumblers, wine glasses and assorted other beverage vessels. This goes for the dining room table and chair set as well, as they sit adjacent to the kitchen with all its carefully purchased utensils bought for their highly specific uses. Each out-does a more simplified version of itself by boasting a load of consumer friendly 'features.' All of these commodities come with separate packaging, including cardboard, plastic and Styrofoam. You don’t need any of it.
Consumerism is an addiction that is forced upon us. It comes individually wrapped, in economy packs or individually sized. It’s bad for you, and you can’t stop it. No Impact Man may be an extremist, but he had an idea and followed through with it. One week after the experiment started, after the squabbles with his wife over who would walk to the store and buy milk sold in reusable bottles, after complaining that things their family needed for their infant daughter where too far away, Colin Beaven found that life against the grid maybe moved a little slower than he was used to. He found that his pace was now more likened to the slow build of classical music, rather than the fast churning of techno. It was good.
Not everyone is going to get on board with this kind of experiment. The end of the semester is coming, and everyone is strapped for time. But should you try this kind of experiment at some point, instead of thinking of what kinds of time you’re losing by doing things the ‘slightly more difficult’ way, try to think of what is gained. Hopefully you’ll find quality over quantity.
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