No Impact Man

No Impact Man

Every Little Thing Counts
Colin Beavan made the ultimate life-changing sacrifice by doing the No Impact Project. In the book No Impact Man, Beavan’s methods were probably a little farfetched to the average Joe. One of the methods Beavan did was turning off all electricity completely in his apartment to stop releasing carbon in the air. Also, Beavan bought food from only a 250 miles radius and only used reusable grocery bags. Though Colin Beavan completely changed his lifestyle to make a positive impact on the environment, not everyone can completely change because of the lack of time, discipline or capital, but we can always cut down on the negative effects that we inflict on the earth.
One of the methods that put readers in shock was when Beavan decided that he needed to turn off all electricity in his apartment. This was one of the most unrealistic changes Beavan made that others will never consider trying. Instead of taking the easier step of just turning off certain lights in his apartment at a specific time, Beavan turned off all the electricity in his apartment (182). At first turning off the electricity seemed a bit over the head for even Beavan. All the basic gadgets that a regular family used were off: the microwave, the washing machine, the television, and laptop. Beavan even had to wash his family clothes in a tub by stomping on it while using baking soda as soap (179). However, the television was by far the hardest electronic to remove from Beavans family.   Beavan described that his family watched four hours a day of television. His wife explained “‘When your kid asks for Bridezilla, you know you’re putting your viewing pleasure before your parenthood’” (71). When the electricity in the apartment was turned off, Beavan realized that he had an extra four hours in his day. He could now play with his daughter Isabella more often and have one on one time with his wife more frequently. Beavan knows that everyone can’t afford to turn off their electricity...