Have you heard of the No Impact Project? The idea is to join No Impact Man (yes, that’s what he wants to be called) for a week. In this week, you will learn to use less, buy less, and hopefully start walking, riding or public transporting to your work. The No Impact website has a How to Guide to help you walk through a week.
We do most of his suggestions in our house. It’s been a gradual march over the last eight or nine years. Sometimes we are more invested in things like “one light on at night” and other times we forget. Most summers, we eat almost exclusively from our garden. And sometimes we drive for miles just to have a fantastic Mediterranean meal.
Overall, it’s a fairly easy lifestyle to maintain. Our neighbors think our beehives, large vegetable gardens and low water front yard is ‘strange’ but we don’t pay their water bill either. The Joneses yard is perfect and our is not. I can live with that.
How does low impact relate to kindness? Letting go of the cultural press for “MORE” is one of the greatest kindnesses you can give yourself. Get off the treadmill of purchase to garbage. Give yourself the gift of whole, real food prepared simply.
If only for a week, go no impact. You’ll feel better for it and the world will rejoice in your kindness.
Wow! He has a lot of great tips. Some will work for our family, some will not. For instance, I cannot take public transportation or ride my bike to work – I have an hour long commute and the bus system doesn’t come to my neck of the woods!
However, we a re a recycling, light turning off, water sving family. With a few tweaks, we can become even more efficient!
Karin – I think that’s what I liked about his program – there are great tips. There’s got to be something that everyone can incorporate into their lives. Good for you for doing what you can!
What a great post….I will try to follow this program as much I can! Glad I am subscribed to your blog!! You always have such neat subjects!!
How interesting, thanks for sharing! (My hubby was featured in the neighborhood news letter for being green b/c he and a neighbor share our electric lawn mower… being green is so cool these days eh?)