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No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process
No Impact Man The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process Author:Colin Beavan A guilty liberal finally snaps, swears off plastic, goes organic, becomes a bicycle nut, turns off his power, and generally becomes a tree-hugging lunatic who tries to save the polar bears and the rest of the planet from environmental catastrophe while dragging his baby daughter and Prada-wearing, Four Seasons?loving wife along for the ride. And... more » that?s just the beginning. Bill McKibben meets Bill Bryson in this seriously engaging look at one man?s decision to put his money where his mouth is and go off the grid for one year?while still living in New York City?to see if it?s possible to make no net impact on the environment. In other words, no trash, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no air-conditioning, no television . . .
What would it be like to try to live a no-impact lifestyle? Is it possible? Could it catch on? Is living this way more satisfying or less satisfying? Harder or easier? Is it worthwhile or senseless? Are we all doomed or can our culture reduce the barriers to sustainable living so it becomes as easy as falling off a log? These are the questions at the heart of this whole mad endeavor, via which Colin Beavan hopes to explain to the rest of us how we can realistically live a more ?eco-effective? and by turns more content life in an age of inconvenient truths.« less
Jennifer C. (jenmaine) - , reviewed No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process on + 17 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Hypocracy = He tries to go no-impact for the purpose of writing a book about the experience.
Sandi K W. (Sandiinmississippi) reviewed No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process on + 265 more book reviews
It may be the author was more insightful than he might appear as this book has virtually 'no impact.' He tries. His project, born of desperation to find something which will sell, is pretty difficult: to convert his family unit of himself, wife & very young daughter, into a science experiment and leave 'no impact' on the earth in terms of pollution. I think his scientific facts (though rather limited in sources) are fairly sound. His reasoning as he plans the project, and as he forces his family into the experiment, perhaps less so. He comes off as charmless, self-involved, and very, very concerned with doing things perfectly. Some of the rambling about how to cut down waste is interesting, most not very useful. Mainly a liberal trying to live up to what he sees as a liberal's duty: showing others how good he is.
Kris L. (miss-info) reviewed No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process on + 386 more book reviews
I picked up this book because I was already of the live-mindfully persuasion, and wanted tips. I did not find very many of them. The author lives in New York City, which has access to year-round farmers' markets and stores that sell bulk food. He is physically able to walk or bike anywhere he wants to go. Not possible where I live. He also gets very preachy at several points, but I found those areas easy to skim. I read the first sentence of every paragraph, skipping the rest if it's an eco-sermon.
That said, I did like the rest of the book, the parts between the preaching. He writes well, the people and the events are real, many parts funny. I was inspired enough I'm going to keep this book.
I do not recommend this book as a method of getting non-eco people on the eco boat. I think they would find the preaching a turn off. I think it is better suited for those who already have some interest.
Kris L. (miss-info) reviewed No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process on + 386 more book reviews
I picked up this book because I was already of the live-mindfully persuasion, and wanted tips. I did not find very many of them. The author lives in New York City, which has access to year-round farmers' markets and stores that sell bulk food. He is physically able to walk or bike anywhere he wants to go. Not possible where I live. He also gets very preachy at several points, but I found those areas easy to skim. I read the first sentence of every paragraph, skipping the rest if it's an eco-sermon.
That said, I did like the rest of the book, the parts between the preaching. He writes well, the people and the events are real, many parts funny. I was inspired enough I'm going to keep this book.
I do not recommend this book as a method of getting non-eco people on the eco boat. I think they would find the preaching a turn off. I think it is better suited for those who already have some interest.