‘No impact’ writer to bring ideas to Q-C

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By Alma Gaul | Saturday, October 4, 2008 7:36 PM CDT | () comments

In late 2006, writer Colin Beavan of New York City decided to try, as an experiment, living for a year in such a way that he, his wife, their 2-year-old daughter and dog would make no net impact on the Earth’s resources.

They would eat locally grown food, decline to buy anything with packaging, turn off their electricity, do without toilet paper and use only their feet for transportation. And they would try to offset unavoidable impacts by picking up trash or engaging in some other earth-friendly exercise.

The experiment captured the imagination of many. Beavan was profiled in The New York Times, appeared on national television, was named one of MSN’s “most influential men” in 2007, began a popular blog called noimpactman.com and is writing a book that will be published in 2009.

On Saturday, Oct. 11, Beavan will bring the message of what he learned to the Davenport RiverCenter when he speaks at the second Earth Charter Summit sponsored by the Congregation of the Humility of Mary.

Members of the Davenport-based religious congregation hope participants at the daylong conference on global climate change come away with “hope for the future and energy to make a difference,” said Lisa Bellomy, the congregation’s communications director.

In a telephone interview from his 750-square-foot apartment, Beavan’s words tumble over themselves as he tries to explain in minutes what a year’s worth of living taught him.

“It was a tremendous success,” he said of the experiment. “We learned so much.”

First, he learned that it is possible to live with a much lower impact and that individuals can make a difference.

“This has become explosive,” he said. “There’s something about just trying that has tremendous power.”

Second, he learned that there are limits. Some systems, such as transportation, packaging and electrical generation, make it difficult or impossible for individuals to make sustainable choices because, in many cases, choices do not exist.

Therefore, Beavan said, it is important for people to speak out and prod businesses and governments into changing systems. Such change would have tremendous benefits.

“There’s no reason, as a country, that we shouldn’t have a thriving renewable energy system,” he said. “Some people believe in global warming and some don’t. But the rest of the world does believe, and we have the opportunity to be the leader. Think of the jobs this would create, think what it would do for our economy.”

Retrofitting existing buildings for better weatherization would create many jobs, for example.

Third, he learned that what many people might think of as deprivations really are not hardships at all. In fact, a no- or low-impact lifestyle brought a measure of happiness that Beavan had not anticipated, and it can create a happier planet, he thinks.

Instead of vegging out in front of the television with takeout food in plastic tubs, for example, “my wife (Michelle Conlin) and Isabella (their daughter) would sit and talk while I cooked,” he said. “From step No. 1, it strengthened our family.

“If we work for a happier planet, we end up with happier people. If you believe in a creator, then how or why would (the creator) create a world in which the interests of people and the interests of the environment are separate?

“You have to believe that is what is good for the planet is good for people.”

Fourth, people need to get more involved for true progress, and we need to do that now.

Beavan said he is optimistic about human nature, but “what concerns me is people’s lack of involvement. We’ve withdrawn. Democracy can’t work without our help.

“We’ve learned so much in the last 200 years. We can watch videos on cell phones. But we’re done with that now. We’ve made enough of that kind of progress. Now we need to turn to getting water to people on the planet that need it. We need to take time to reflect.

“We as a society are in an emergency. We need to stop and ask ourselves, ‘What is the real meaning of progress?’ People basically want to do the right thing. It is time for the conservatives and the liberals to stop fighting. We all want the same thing. … All of us kind of know that something’s wrong.”

Alma Gaul can be contacted at (563) 383-2324 or agaul@qctimes.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Daylong Quad-City Earth Charter Summit, titled “Global Climate Change: Generating Hope and Energy”

When: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11

Where: RiverCenter, 136 E. 3rd St., Davenport

How much: $20, including an organic lunch; $10 without lunch

To get tickets: Call (563) 323-9466, e-mail

lbellomy@chmiowa.org, or visit qcearthcharter.org on the Web to download a registration form. Tickets are also available at the Humility of Mary, 820 W. Central Park Ave., Davenport, or at the door.

For more information: qcearthcharter.org

Iowa climate change adviser also will speak

In addition to the 1:30 p.m. talk by Colin “No Impact Man” Beavan, the Oct. 11 Quad-City Earth Charter Summit will include several other speakers and musicians:

- Dr. Jerry Schnoor, a University of Iowa environmental researcher and chairman of the Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council, will speak on “Global Climate Crisis: Solid Facts.”

- Cathy Bolkcom, a Quad-City activist and community organizer, will speak about environmentalism and social justice.

- The Rev. Bud Grant, professor of environmental ethics at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, will speak on “shades of a green spirit.”

- Lisa Zaynab Killinger, a professor at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport who embraced Islam in 1979, will speak on how health and the environment go hand in hand.

- Chuck Jacobsen, an interpretive naturalist for the Clinton (Iowa) County Conservation Board, will provide music during lunch.

On Friday, there will be an 8 p.m. concert at the River Music Experience, 129 Main St., Davenport, featuring Andrew Landers, Alan Sweet and Esme. The cost is a suggested donation of $2.

The Earth Charter is a guiding document created by the Earth Charter Commission, convened as a follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil. The charter declares respect and caring for life, ecological integrity, social and economic justice, and democracy, nonviolence and peace.

For more information, visit earthcharterus.org.

What, really, does ‘no impact’ mean

Colin Beavan, 44, is a Westport, Conn., native who lives with his wife, Michelle Conlin, a senior writer at Business Week, and daughter, Isabella, in Manhattan. He has a Ph.D. in applied physics and is a writer of historical nonfiction, including the origins of forensic detective work and D-Day.

Now that he has returned to a “moderate” impact life, he is writing a book on his “no impact” experience. It will include an appendix to guide people wanting to try a version of what he did.

Here are six ways Beavan and his family tried to reduce their impact:

- Turned off their electricity, relying on a solar panel on their building’s roof to provide electricity to power a light and his computer. They also used natural light and candles.

- Turned off their radiators. Amazingly, the heat generated by other radiators in their apartment building provided enough warmth during the winter.

- Tried to do without their automatic clothes washer, washing their clothes in the bathtub instead and squeezing them out by hand. That turned out to be “really, really hard,” and Beavan gave up after several months, returning to their clothes washer but using natural air-drying rather than the automatic dryer.

- Lived without toilet paper. Beavan hopes this perceived oddity does not take away from the issue. He made do with water and air drying. “The fact is, any kind of tissue is made from trees,” he said. “We are losing the Amazon at the rate of six football fields every minute. The Amazon is the earth’s lungs. Deforestation is the second-largest contributor to global warming.”

- Bought organically grown food that was produced within a 250-mile radius of Manhattan, the longest distance a farmer can drive in and out of the city in one day. Among other things, that meant no coffee and no eating in restaurants.

- Used no carbon-fueled transportation, relying on their feet and bikes.