Before I tell you about Colin and his no-impact experiments, let me ask you a few questions:

• Can you live without making any NET impact on the environment?
• In other words, no trash, no carbon emissions, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no plastics, no air conditioning, no TV, no toilets…
• 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 fun or less fun? More satisfying or less satisfying? Harder or easier? Is it worthwhile or senseless? Are we all doomed or is there hope?

These were the questions that Colin Beavan hoped to find answers to. And more. In his own words:

No Impact Man is my experiment with researching, developing and adopting a way of life for me and my little family—one wife, one toddler, one dog—to live in the heart of New York City while causing no net environmental impact. To do this, we will decrease the things we do that hurt the earth—make trash, cause carbon dioxide emissions, for example—and increase the things we do that help the earth—clean up the banks of the Hudson River, give money to charity, rescue sea birds, say.

Colin, his wife and their daughter (and the dog) are an amazing lot. They have recently turned off their power and he’s only using a solar charger to power his computer. And they recently made their own bread!!

Hop over to the No Impact Man blog for the other half of his experiments.