I am impressed with the media blitz that has accompanied NO IMPACT MAN DOT COM in the last couple of days. Wooo. Buzz. Buzz.
I heard him this morning on NPR and saw the article in the Home section of the New York Times.
This guy, Colin Beavan, has a good story at the right time (global warming has reached the tipping point). A writer of historical fiction, he is, of course, writing a book about his year doing without. His wife is a writer at Business Week. He’s also blogging about the experience.
What he is doing is quite fascinating. Inspiring. My friend Red Eft is doing something like this a couple of days a week. Sunday is Power Off Day and Tuesday is No Driving Day.
Here’s what in and out at their West Village apartment a reported in the New York Times:
WHAT’S IN AND WHAT’S OUT
IN: Straight-edge razors, charades, scooters, bikes, string bags, worms, hand-me-downs.
OUT: Toilet paper, spices, olive oil, incandescent bulbs, disposable razors, newspapers, magazines, television, planes, trains, automobiles, elevators, plastic bags, anything new.
Sorry, Louise, I must disagree on this one: The NYT piece is the most self-indulgent article I’ve seen for a while.
I didn’t even know whether to take it seriously. They’re only doing it for a year anyway, so it’s transparently obvious that it’s a buzz builder for his book.
There’s a difference between really doing something on an on-going basis (which would actually make a difference) and grand-standing for effect. It’s not whether you don’t drive on one day that’s important (you’d just rearrange your schedule to match;) it’s reducing or eliminating driving overall.