The No Impact Project was conceived by Colin Beavan, following the success of his blog, book, and film, No Impact Man. He chronicled his family’s year-long experiment in zero-waste living in New York City. Now Colin and YES! Magazine are inviting you to join in the experiment for just one week, beginning January 2.
NIP is powered by the notion that deep-seated individual behavior change leads to both cultural change and political engagement. Living low-impact provides a clear entry point into the environmental movement. This thesis is the bedrock of NIP.
The Mission
Try the experiment, see if it changes your life, tell your friends to try it, see if it changes theirs…
Preparation Checklist
1) Register to receive the how-to manual. Read through it but don’t print it out and begin to prepare.
2) Invite your friends and family to join in.
3) Follow the No Impact on Facebook and Twitter to receive support messages, ideas and resources throughout the week.
4) Contribute to the conversation on the website and Facebook page, and use the #noimpact tag for your Twitter posts.
5) Take a brief eco-lifestyle survey (sent to you before the Experiment begins).
No Impact Week
1) Read through each day’s challenge the day before (i.e. on Sunday read Monday’s section). The how-to manual includes daily instructions: 5 daily steps and a page of ideas and resources to help you with that day’s challenge.
2) At the end of the day send No Impact a blog or vlog entry, share photographs, and talk to other participants about your experiences; read about other participants’ challenges and discoveries, and provide support and ideas. Stay tuned to the website and Facebook page for submission instructions.
Post Experiment Week
1) Take a brief post-experiment eco-lifestyle survey (this will be sent to you).
2) Sign up to become a No Impact Ambassador in your community.
3) Six-months later the No Impact Project will follow up with you to gauge the long-term impact of the Experiment.
Define your experience. Do as much as you can and adapt it to your life. Like most challenges, the more you put into this, the more you’ll get out of it.
