Imagine living in the heart of New York City without transportation, electricity or even toilet paper.
That’s exactly what writer Colin Beavan, or “No Impact Man,” did with his family as part of an environmental experiment from 2006 to 2007.
Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein’s film documents Colin and Michelle Beavan’s efforts to completely eliminate their personal impact on the environment for an entire year. As part of the experiment, the Beavans cut out everything from cars and trains to newspapers and magazines. “No Impact Man” was screened in preparation for Earth Week at Elon University, to familiarize students with Beavan’s story before he presents “Saving the World, Being Yourself” April 19.
Beavan recorded his family’s progress on a blog. His entries eventually led to a book and attracted widespread media attention. Beavan’s motive behind the extreme lifestyle change was to attempt to live a life in line with his own values. His goal was to discover whether it was even possible to live without harming the environment.
During their year without impact, the Beavans became vegetarians, shopped at farmer’s markets and only ate seasonal, locally grown food. Beavan also kept a bin of worms in the house to help compost food materials. The couple created homemade cleaning products and did laundry in their bathtub. After six months, Beavan shut off the electricity.
Kristi Jacobsen, a senior environmental studies minor and the Education and Outreach Intern for Elon's Office of Sustainability, said she hopes the screening will inspire students to continue with their own environmental efforts.
“The movie is a good example of how we can all change for the better,” Jacobsen said. “Colin wanted to make an environmental difference and went all out. He was not an expert on environmental topics and living sustainably, but he learned as he went. It is encouraging to know that one person can make a positive difference by changing the way he lives and sharing his experience with others.”
[box]Earth Week at Elon Events Sustainable College Coffee – 9:40 a.m., April 17 Landfill on the Lawn – 12:30 p.m., April 17 Local Lunch – 11 a.m., April 18, Colonnades Dining Hall Giving Tree – 12 p.m., April 18 College Chapel with Colin Beavan – 9:50 a.m., April 19, Whitley Auditorium ECC Farmer's Market Opening Day – 3:30 p.m., April 19 Colin Beavan, "Saving the World, Being Yourself" – 7:30 p.m., April 19, McKinnon Hall [/box]
Senior Susannah Brooks agreed the movie has a strong message, especially for today's generation.
“I thought it was highly interesting and informative,” Brooks said. “It makes you think a lot about your personal impact on the environment and how you can work to save natural resources and have less of an impact.”
Elon has implemented several sustainable aspects to the university including the Biobus, composting food from dining halls, providing recycling bins across campus and recently installing solar panels.