Colin beavan divorce

Is it really possible to live eco-effectively? With No Impact Man, Colin Beavan tries to find out. He swears off plastic, goes

organic, becomes a bicycle nut, turns off his power, and generally tries to save the planet from environmental catastrophe while dragging his young daughter and his Prada-wearing wife along for the ride. He is No Impact Man, and this is his adventure: the surprising, delightful, deeply affecting story of one man’s decision to put his money where his mouth is and make zero net impact on the environment while trying to live an everyday life—in New York City, no less. That means no trash, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subways, no products in packaging, no air- conditioning, no television, no toilet paper . . . What is it like to live a no-impact lifestyle? Can it catch on? Is it satisfying, or

exasperating, to live this way? Are we all doomed to be conspicuous consumers, or can our society reduce the barriers to sustainable living so it becomes as easy as unscrewing a lightbulb? These are the questions at the heart of this whole mad endeavor, and Colin Beavan hopes to show the rest of us that no-impact living is worthwhile—and richer, fuller, and more satisfying in the bargain.

Colin Beavan posts regularly at www.noimpactman.com. He lives in a ninth-floor apartment in New York City.

http://www.noimpactman.com
Praise for NO IMPACT MAN

“No Impact Man is a deeply honest and riveting account of the year in which Colin Beavan and his family attempted to do what most of us would consider impossible. What might seem inconvenient to the point of absurdity instead teaches lessons that all of us need to learn. We as individuals can take action to address important social problems. One person can make a difference.”

—Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat

“Colin Beavan has the disarming and uniquely remedial ability to make you laugh while making you feel like a swine, and what’s more, to make you not only want to, but to actually do something, about it.”

—Norah Vincent, author of Voluntary Madness

“There’s something of Thoreau in Colin Beavan’s great project—but a fully engaged, connected, and right-this-minute helpful version. We’re at a moment when we need to have as little impact in our own lives as possible—and as much impact in our political lives as we can possibly muster. Beavan shows how!”

—Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy

“No Impact Man is a subversive book—not because it preaches a radical environmental agenda but because it gives the secret to personal rebellion against the bitterness of a man’s own compromises.”

—Arthur C. Brooks, author of Gross National Happiness

“Millions of Americans are now asking how their lifestyles are affecting the planet. If you’re one of them, Colin and Michelle’s remarkable odyssey through a year of shrinking their ecological footprint is an engrossing must-read. You’ll discover how what you eat, switch on, and throw out matters, but more important, how they found a much richer and happier life. Hop into the rickshaw for a hilarious, smartly informative, and deeply moving ride.”

—Juliet B. Schor, professor of sociology, Boston College, and author of the forthcoming Plenitude: Economics for an Age of Ecological Decline

“No Impact Man is an erudite, funny, and self-conscious Walden for our urban and postmodern age. Few of us will choose to replicate the experiment Colin Beavan took his family on, but we should be grateful to him for revealing the limits and possibilities for achieving happiness in an age of material excess.”