Two for One! - Finished!

Finished! Ah, it feels good to say that. No Impact Man by Colin Beavan is officially read through, from the first chapter to the epilogue. I’ll have to admit this book has raised a multitude of emotions in me. Colin forced me to think about my beliefs, what my beliefs stand for, and how I’m acting on those beliefs. This book tackles some hard issues; not only does Colin dive into every aspect of an environmentally safe life but he touches over the meaning of life itself. “...So we don’t really know what our lives are for. We don’t know why we were created, or who created us, or anything.” (p 161)

Colin Beavan took on the challenge of living environmentally impact free for one year. Over the course of that year his family (him, his wife Michelle, and one-year old daughter Isabella) would work to exclude from their life, as much as they could, what harmed the earth and work to include better, more efficient substitutes.

Colin decided to make it a bit easier on him and Michelle and broke the project into phases. The first phase would be to make no trash. Sounds sort of simple, until you realize what that truly means. No paper or plastic products; so…no paper towels, toilet paper, paper plates, plastic utensils, plastic wrappings, plastic bottles or containers, plastic labels, and much, much more. The goal of the second phase was to use no carbon-producing forms of transportation. Meaning no planes, trains, or automobiles; public or private it was out. Phase three was to move to sustainable eating. Sustainable eating meant that the food had to be organic (like truly organic, not just USDA certified), it had to be local (because of phase two), which also meant it was going to be seasonal, and last it meant a lot more cooking. The next phase, phase four, was to not buy anything new. For phase five Colin and Michelle turned off the electricity and had to find new ways to power only the essentials. After the electricity went out they worked to conserve water and finally came the last phase, or as Colin called it “the giving-back phase”. In this phase he searched for ways to give back to the community and environment just around his area of New York.

Even though it was for school I enjoyed reading his book, it was full of witty comments, priceless stories, and loads of information in ways that were easy to understand (easy to digest though?? Not so much). As I said, Colin forced me to look at my own life. Like the fact that I go through a 24 pack of water bottles in about a week (by myself), the fact that I’d really like to make movements towards a more eco-friendly life but for something I just haven’t, and the fact that maybe I don’t always stand up as strong as I could for my beliefs about Jesus. I’m glad to say Colin is achieving his desired goal of making people think about their lives.

Writing alone, the book is an experience. I’m not sure if Colin actually had a plan for how he wanted each chapter to look or if the plan was to look like there was no plan but somehow it oddly came together. Tangent stories often disrupted the flow of his speaking and didn’t fit until a few pages afterwards. Strangely, I enjoyed it. Although the information Colin delivered wasn’t easy to process he managed to write it out in a way that anyone can understand. Environmental specialist or not. So for the writing, Colin gets an abstruse A+.

As I was entertained by his comical titles, his clever comebacks to the “standards” of our culture, and his matchless family stories; my heart was breaking for Colin and his battles. Colin focused a lot on how the way we live affects not just our planet but our happiness. He mentions multiple times the “hedonic treadmill” it’s the cycle that describes how humans choose to constantly buy new things in order to keep that original burst of “happiness”, the thrill of something new, alive. However, this “treadmill” only leaves us worse off than where we were at our first purchase. Colin states we’re only after love. He became determined to break through the thought process: “You suck, but if you buy this, you won’t, and then everyone will love you.” (p 157) And again, my heart broke. He started in on how just hanging out with friends and making more social connections will satisfy us and fix a good deal of the problem. I shouted into the book about how only God’s love can fully satisfy us. Even Colin, earlier in the book, approaches the physical and emotional waste in his life and wondered “was there some larger wisdom I could apply to my life that addressed itself to all this waste?” (p 43). Here, of course, he’s pointing to his spiritual and emotional waste, not the actual trash that piled up in his garbage bins.

“Collective action is nothing more than the aggregation of individual actions.” (p 220)

Many people wondered why Colin (or anybody) would attempt to make a change by themselves; they say “No one person can make a difference. It’s useless.” I liked Colin’s point above. He also states “But to suggest that collective and individual action are mutually exclusive, or even different, is wrongheaded and dangerous.” (p 220) In my belief, a group of believers are stronger than one. However, each person’s relationship with God is more important. The group is no good, if none of the people have a true, intimate relationship with and passion for God. The same thing applies to Colin’s statement. Collective action for creating a better system is essential, but it won’t work unless each person is working to the best of their abilities. The last quote I took from the book is this: “That, by the way, is one of the most important results of the project: that I’ve come to believe that I can make a difference.” (p 223) That belief in ourselves – I think – is what most of us are lacking. Besides, half the battle is just telling yourself you’ll win.

The epilogue begins with a short list of questions. These are the most-asked questions Colin has received about the project.

“1. What was the hardest part?

2. What aspects of the lifestyle did you keep?

3. How did the project change you?

4. What did you use instead of toilet paper?” (p 211)

Question number 3 is my favorite because if you read his book you’ll see him describe a multitude of changes. One of the things he seems to learn is that our problem is deeper than the surface. It’s deeper than just turning off the lights or not adding anymore trash to the overflowing dump heaps or making sure the polar ice caps stop melting so that the polar bears stop feeding on their young (that last part is explained on page 8). Colin learns that our problem is also in how we act; towards ourselves, towards each other, and towards the idea that MAYBE there’s something bigger than us all. But I wouldn’t want to put words in his mouth, so I’ll let him decide on that last part. On page 216 he notes another thing the project taught him “- that if I want to manifest peace in the world, I have to find peace in my own mind.” Colin, if you read this, I’ve got one thing to say, the only place you will find true peace is in God.

So if you want to learn a little more about the environment and ways you can help it and maybe a little more about yourself, check out Colin Beavan’s book No Impact Man.