#noimpactman

¡Haciendo cosas pequeñas, pero pueden cambiar el mundo!

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Colin Beavan, a professional writer is best known for his 'NO IMPACT PROJECT'. The movie, which was made to publicize the book. The movie highlights the shift of luxurious and wasteful living to sustainable, salt of the earth existence. In an Ultra Urban city of NY, he has challenged himself and his family to leave behind their wasteful ways and embrace a live off the land living. 

Psychologically urban, this adaptation is difficult for the couple along with their toddler and dog. Renouncing basic civic amenities, did not come easily. Reducing one's carbon footprint in a city like NYC is unimaginable. Some instances are: removing elevators and carbon emitting transport in maze of skyscrapers, avoiding non reusable diaper for a toddler that can be best described as the fastest food processor, etc. The shift had a heavy impact not only on their lifestyle but also their relationship.

Gimmick or not, the documentary forcibly enlightens the viewer's mind about our society's mindless wastage in the name of luxury. A week or a month is difficult for us, minute to minute trash creators. If practices such as these do not find their way into our routine lives, they will take us by storm very soon, rendering us helpless in the face of a severe lack of basic resources. Although some practices are questionable at first, debunking them provides deep insight into the processes that we usually overlook. It is a unique step that most of us only imagine to take one day. 

Going off the grid, is not easy as it sounds. it has found its way into nooks and crannies of our day to day existence. The American mindset is short sighted. Due to its lack of lacking resources, the thought of sustainable living is comical.

The movie, No Impact Man is a documentary on the lives of an upper class family living in New York City, who take an initiative striving to achieve a zero net impact on the environment. The documentary showcases Colin, an activist writer who undertakes a one year project entitled “No Impact Man.” In due course of his project, Colin aims to have lived an organic, biodynamic lifestyle in New York City by means of reducing the consumption of goods and services which create environmental damage – be it just reading the newspaper or even throwing all your trash away. One might think of this as something absolutely ridiculous, I mean of course, how can you not throw away all your trash?  How can you survive without basic requirements such as a cup of tea/coffee or even using detergent to do your laundry? Colin is successful in answering all these questions quite smoothly, giving organic and healthy alternatives for each one of them. In a broader sense, the movie revolves around difficulty and sacrifice when it comes to making a choice about sustainable living. Our generation is so spoilt, that hardly any of us realise the impact we create on the environment around us. The writer is clearly able to attract a large group of audience, convincing them to be a little more environment friendly. He believed in the school of thought that everyone should be the difference they want to see in the world around them, rather than hoping for a change to come along.  He’s quite stern on the belief of why we wait; wait for either the Congress, the Government or some big shot multi-millionaire to do something? Why can’t we be the change not only today, but in all the tomorrows which are yet to come? I think the movie was a marvellous portrayal of how the extreme advances in technology and commodities being so readily available have resulted in a majority of citizens having a don’t-care attitude towards the environment in which they live. In some cases, this could be subconscious too. For example, many of us don’t really realise how even the most minimalistic activities which are a part of our daily routine, reduce sustainability in a large context. However, it’s the paradigms of this movie which were an eye opener; well at least to me. I realised how we merely “think” that things like a television, a mobile phone or takeout food for that matter are things we CAN’T go without. However, we do not realise how such objects are simply the comforts of modern living and didn’t actually exist back then. For a fact, the more one is exposed to, the more he desires. I strongly believe that, once you decide to quit a certain activity which isn’t a necessity, it’s not that difficult as one assumes it to be. We would definitely be able to make a huge different, only if we only started thinking globally, and acted locally. Little things like drinking from a glass bottle rather than disposable paper cups. Or even, making your own cleaning detergent rather than buying goods which are processed, or come from faraway places. It’s a human tendency to just neglect certain aspects because we’re ignorant of its ultimate result onto the environment.

It’s great how Colin was able to convey the importance of having an opportunity cost. For instance, when he sold off his television, he chose to share the same time and space (home), with his group of friends. I think that doing something which is more social, id not only healthier for an individual but also beneficial to your surrounding environment. He proudly questioned,             “Can I live on this planet with doing more good than harm?” It was absolutely awe-striking when Colin was able to convey his message of being a “No Impact Man” to people all across the globe. In a world where the internet has taken over us social beings, it’s very important to use what’s available to us wisely, how Colin portrayed in this movie. Personally, I was amazed to see the worm bin concept. Since it was something I was completely unaware of, even though it seemed pretty disgusting, I felt that it’s extremely important to get to know Mother Nature, and be friends with her. It was interesting how by simply allowing waste to be composted by worms, you can save the environment by returning what one perceives to be “garbage”, thereby reducing the amount of toxins created. Nonetheless, everything definitely has a positive as well as a negative take to it. Similarly, although I was influenced and inspired by quite a few of the go-green activities and ecological choices made by Colin, I was certainly against the fact how he persuaded his wife to give up on coffee completely. I personally felt that she could simply reduce her intake, and have it filled into her own mug, for example.