Wed Mar 03, 2010 at 21:01:40 PM EST
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(7:30am - promoted by RiaD)
Hello, my name is puzzled and I'm a bookaholic. I love books of almost all genres. Not so much the SciFi, but Ria's been working on me in that regard.
I recently finished reading "No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries he Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process" by Colin Beavan.
The first thing I noticed about this book when I was skimming the stacks at the library was that it doesn't look like the other books on the shelves. The cover is cardboard and cloth tape, and it looks like it's been around forever. But the materials with which the book is made are reflective of the contents. |
| puzzled :: No Impact Man |
| The author, his wife and small daughter embark upon a project to live for one year with as little carbon footprint as possible. They live in New York City, which provides both opportunities and challenges in their project. Living without a car in the city is easy, but foregoing the use of elevators, disposable diapers and...toilet paper provide some interesting moments.
But the book isn't so much about one man's holier-than-thou journey into asceticism, so much as it's an exploration of modern life, and carefully considering its drawbacks and benefits, rather than blind acceptance of consumerism.
The inward journey that the couple takes is almost more interesting than the story of their discarding of the external trappings. It made me think--is my stuff making me happier? Do all the cool toys and gadgets make life better or keep us from doing what's really important--spending time with people we love doing shared activities that we enjoy?
Let me leave you with a paragraph from the book's Appendix:
If you get nothing else from what I've written, I hope I've made clear that we need to go way beyond recycling, hybrid cars, compact fluorescent bulbs, and using "green" products. Nor can we simply vote in the right politicians. We need massive citizen participation in our cultural response to the evolving crises in our planet's ability to support human and nonhuman life. It is time for people to take up the reins of government and business and to force the change we want and need. We cannot wait for leaders. We are the leaders. |
