Green Choices Wednesday

Want to learn a lot about green choices?  Check out the No Impact Project!  Consider participating in the next No Impact Experiment beginning August 29, 2010!


I first heard of the No Impact project in October, 2009, and participated in November, 2009.  Follow this link for previous posts about the No Impact Project and No Impact Week.    
Here's the premise of the No Impact Experiment:
"The No Impact Experiment is a one-week carbon cleanse. It is a chance for you to see what a difference no-impact living can have on your quality of life. It’s not about giving up creature comforts but an opportunity for you to test whether the modern 'conveniences' you take for granted are actually making you happier or just eating away at your time and money."

The manual is full of "green" ideas, and the idea is to use the manual as a guide, try things that work for you,  use the process as a learning excercise, and add your own ideas to it.  To me, the greatest value was that it made me pause to consider the impact of dozens of small activities.  The resulting evaluation of activities led me to make many small and relatively easy changes.

Try living No Impact for a week

Try living No Impact for a week!

Check out the links in this post!  The No Impact Project is signing up participants for another No Impact Experiment, a "one-week carbon cleanse."  It will begin on 10 January, 2010.

I read about the first one in October, and was intrigued.  I signed up for the second one in November, and found the process to be enlightening.  Even though I already participated in many Green activities, I found that simply focusing on the program for a week and trying new suggestions described in the How-To Manual heightened my awareness of additional waste that could easily be eliminated from my life.

Most participants won't be able to use every suggestion.  I wasn't able to.  But the value of the exercise is that it enables us to discover that there are additional things that each one of us can do to reduce our impact on the Earth.  Was I able to live zero-impact for a week?  No.  However, the process did help me learn how to further lower my impact in certain areas.

"No impact" is probably not doable for the vast majority of people, but "low impact" probably is.  And the collective effect of many people lowering their impact would be powerful.

Why not give it a try?

No Impact Week - Beginning November 15

Today, I signed up for the No Impact Week program, beginning November 15.

Last month, I posted information on the organized No Impact Week that ran from October 18 through October 25.  Looking at the No Impact website after yesterday's eco-post, I found that a November No Impact Week event has been organized, and will begin November 15, 2009.  Interested participants may register for the program through the website, or just choose some favorite Earth-friendly activites on their own to privately observe the week. 

The No Impact How-To-Manual is a very good collection of ideas, to use either for the week, or from which to adopt appropriate activities permanently.  Here are the daily areas of focus in the program:    

•      Sunday:  Consumption
•      Monday:  Trash
•      Tuesday:  Transportation
•      Wednesday:  Food
•      Thursday:  Energy
•      Friday:  Water
•      Saturday:  Giving Back
•      Sunday:  Eco-Sabbath

In October, I looked through the program for additional ideas, and tried to go a little beyond my typical eco-activities.  This week, I plan to follow the daily program as closely as I can.

No Impact Week

Sunday, October 18, 2009 marks the start of  No Impact Week.  According to the website, "It is a chance for you to see what a difference no-impact living can have on your quality of life. It’s not about giving up creature comforts but an opportunity for you to test whether the modern “conveniences” you take for granted are actually making you happier or just eating away at your time and money."

No Impact Week grew out of the No Impact Project, one family's fascinating "year-long experiment living a zero-waste lifestyle in New York City." The No Impact Man blog is also good reading.

Environmentally-concerned individuals may sign up via the website to participate.  Many people may find it is not possible to follow all of the "no impact" methods for an entire week (much less an entire year); however, I don't believe improvements are"all or nothing" propositions.  Follow the links and read.  See what works for you.  Where "no impact" isn't achievable, "low impact" is the next-best thing!  The collective power of many people just doing what they can is powerful.

The How-To Manual is published for the No Impact Week event, but is a nice collection of suggestions to live an eco-friendly lifestyle.  A lot of environmentally-conscious people already practice some or many of them.  It's a good reference to find ideas and choose ones that will work for you.