Unplugged and Happy

Colin Beavan felt guilty about the environment; well, to be more accurate, Beavan felt guilty that he believed in protecting the environment, but he wasn't practicing what he advocated. From this guilt he conceived the no-impact plan. He and his wife, young daughter and dog would decrease their impact on the environment in stages until they were making no net impact — while living in New York City. That meant obvious stuff, such as producing no trash and using no plastics, and less obvious stuff, such as avoiding elevators (they use power, too, you know) and disconnecting completely from the power grid. The plan called for a gradual movement from eco-conscious to eco-extreme, with the hope that when the experiment was over they would return to living a modern consumer lifestyle with fresh eyes. Beavan documented their progress on his blog, No Impact Man, and the attention he garnered led to an upcoming movie, No Impact Man, and a book (can you guess the title?). Beavan visits the Schlafly branch of the St. Louis Public Library (225 North Euclid Avenue; 314-376-6731 or www.left-bank.com) at 7 p.m. this evening to discuss what he did, what he learned and why he's urging people to try the experiment for a week. Admission is free, and copies of No Impact Man will be available for purchase.
Mon., June 7, 2010