Not Too Late To Make "No Impact"

Eco-friendlies -- start your alternatively-fueled engines!

The Huffington Post has kicked off its first-ever "No Impact Week" inspired by writer and environmental activist, Colin Beavan, whose book No Impact Manwas released in September, along with a documentary on his year-long experiment living a radically-paired down, eco-friendly existence.

But first, the backstory.

No Impact man was a year-long experiment Beavan launched in 2007 whereby he and his little family (wife and toddler) gradually eliminated all environmentally-damaging behaviors from their lives to see just how much of the so-called "conveniences" of the modern Starbucks-fueled wold were getting in the way of their happiness rather than enhancing it.

Primarily, the idea was to cut the family's collective carbon footprint down to zero. No mean feat (feet!). That meant no coffee (because it is not locally-grown), no electricity, no reality TV, no mass transportation, no Chinese take-out, no Pampers and no heat, among other eliminations (OK, so most of what they cut out had to do with going off the grid.) In place of those, however, came more time with loved ones, less time tuning out to mindless media, long bike rides through the city, and even some time spent quite literally "cultivating their garden" (remember Voltaire and his warning that we all must tend our garden -- Il faut cultiver notre jardin? If only we'd listened, we wouldn't be in this mess!!)

In any case, Beavan blogged about his daily triumphs and tribulations (using a solar-powered laptop, of course) and turned the whole experience into a book. Some friends of his and his wife documented the process in a documentary, also called No Impact Man.

And while some in the media have dismissed Beavan as a writer looking for publicity or an activist looking for a soap box, the Huffington Post is doing more than just support Beavan, it's teaming up with him and his non-profit No Impact Project to enlist members of the public to try a collective "No Impact Week."

As Arianna Huffington herself wrote in her first blog post about the project: "The goal is to demonstrate ways in which small actions in our daily lives can have a profound impact on our world."

Huffington -- and Beavan -- both emphasize that the No Impact lifestyle is not about self-denial, but rather about scaling down our consumerist way of life to its bare essentials so that we can actually better enjoy our both our inner and outer lives. I'm all for that. I think even just a media diet would help improve my happiness at this point. No phone, no TV, no internet, no email... But no trash?

Of course, living No Impact is no joke. Watching the documentary (in a disappointingly empty theater in Manhattan's SoHo) made me so painfully aware of how far out of control our lives have become that I felt convinced that no change could ever be enough change. It's hard not to feel like the eco-destroying train has so completely left the station that...

But we can change of our lives and we canchange the course of our planet's life -- especially if we do it step by carbon-footprinted step. And a No Impact Week, which started this Sunday, is a great way to start.

Those interested can sign up on HuffPost (now!) where you can download a complete guide to reducing your impact on the environment on a daily basis. Each day of the week will have a different focus, ranging from trash to transportation to giving back. Participants are invited to share their stories with HuffPost, which says thousands have already signed up (including entire offices). 

To sign up and participate, click here.

To download the No Impact Project's guide to the week, click here.