tagged w/ No Impact Man
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Aspiring Environmental Sciences major, Schuylar Schwartz is a student of University High School San Francisco, and has spearheaded a program for local schools to screen environmental documentaries for their students and friends. Together with filmmaker Carolyn Scott and several other friends, Schuyler has created "The Imagination Film Festival" screenings potent award winning environmental documentaries and inspiring change in the community.
Schuyler and friends sell popcorn at the screenings, and collect money for local causes as well as handing out action kits to all audience members with information on how they can be more involved, make sustainable changes in their lifestyle and support environmental campaigns.
This inspiring group of high school students have created a movement for change locally, that is growing using films - one of the most powerful message purveyors.
See http://www.theimaginationfilmfestival.yolasite.com/ for more detailsAspiring Environmental Sciences major, Schuylar Schwartz is a student of University... more
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by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium Blogger
For the environmental community, this coming year offers a chance to regroup, rethink and regrow. Two years ago, it seemed possible that politicians would make progress on climate change issues—that a Democratic Congress would pass a cap-and-trade bill, that a Democratic president would lead the international community toward agreement on emissions standards. And so for two years environmentalists cultivated plans that ultimately came to naught.
What comes next? What comes now? It’s clear that looking to Washington for environmental leadership is futile. But looking elsewhere might lead to more fertile ground.
Our new leaders
On Wednesday, the 112th Congress began, and Republicans took over the House. They are not going to tackle environmental legislation. This past election launched a host of climate deniers into office, and even members of Congress inclined to more reasonable environmental views, like Rep. Fred Upton, now chair of the House Energy and Commerce committee, have tacked towards the right. Whereas once Upton recognized the need for action on climate change and reducing carbon emissions, recently he has been pushing back against the Environmental Protection Agency’s impending carbon regulations and questioning whether carbon emissions are a problem at all.
“It’s worth remembering that Upton was once considered among the most moderate members of the GOP on the issue,” writes Kate Sheppard at Mother Jones. “No longer.”
Good riddance
The climate bill is really, truly, dead, and it’s not coming back. But as Dave Roberts and Thomas Pitilli illustrate in Grist’s graphic account of the bill’s demise recalls, by the time it reached the Senate, the bill was already riddled with compromises.
And so perhaps it’s not such bad news that there’s space now to rethink how progressives should approach environmental and energy issues.
“It’s refreshing to shake the Etch-a-Sketch. You get to draw a new picture. The energy debate needs a new picture,” policy analyst Jason Grumet said last month, as Grist reports.
Already, in The Washington Monthly, Jeffrey Leonard, the CEO of the Global Environmental Fund, is pitching an idea that played no part in the discussions of the past two years. He writes:
If President Obama wants to set us on a path to a sustainable energy future—and a green one, too—he should propose a very simple solution to the current mess: eliminate all energy subsidies. Yes, eliminate them all—for oil, coal, gas, nuclear, ethanol, even for wind and solar. … Because wind, solar, and other green energy sources get only the tiniest sliver of the overall subsidy pie, they’ll have a competitive advantage in the long term if all subsidies, including the huge ones for fossil fuels, are eliminated.
No impact? No sweat
Federal policies aren’t the only part of the picture that can be re-drawn. Even as Congress failed to act on climate change, an ever-increasing number of Americans decided to make changes to decrease their impact on the environment.
Colin Beavan committed more dramatically than most: his No Impact Man project required that he switch to a zero-waste life style. This year, he partnered with Yes! Magazine for No Impact Week, which asks participants to engage in an 8-day “carbon cleanse,” in which they try out low-impact living. Yes! is publishing the chronicles of participants’ ups and downs with the experiment: Deb Seymour found it empowering to give up her right to shop; Grace Porter missed her bus stop and had to walk two miles to school; Aran Seaman found a local site where he could compost food scraps.
The long view
Perhaps, for some of the participants, No Impact Week will continue on after eight days. After Seaman participated last year, he gave up his car in favor of biking and public transportation.
On the surface, giving up a convenience like that can seem like a sacrifice. But it needn’t be. Janisse Ray writes in Orion Magazine about her decision to give up plane travel for environmental reasons. Instead, she now travels long distances by train, and that comes with its own pleasures:
Through the long night the train rocks down the rails, stopping in Charleston, Rocky Mount, Richmond, and other marvelous southern places. People get on and off. Across the aisle a woman is traveling with two children I learn are her son, aged twelve, and her granddaughter, ten months. In South Carolina we pick up a woman come from burying her father. He had wanted to go home, she says. She drinks periodically from a small bottle of wine buried in the pocket of her black overcoat. The train is not crowded, and I have two seats to myself.
Our true leaders
Ultimately, though, sweeping environmental changes will require leadership and societal changes. American politicians may have abdicated that responsibility for now, but others are still fighting. In In These Times, Robert Hirschfield writes of Subhas Dutta, who’s building a green movement in India.
“The environmental issue is the issue of today. The political parties, all of them, have let us down,” Dutta says. “We want to be part of the decision-making process on the state and national levels. The struggle for the environment has to be fought politically.”
One person who understood that was Judy Bonds, the anti-mountaintop removal mining activist, who died this week of cancer. Grist, Change.org, and Mother Jones all have remembrances; at Change.org, Phil Aroneanu shared “a beautiful elegy to Judy from her friend and colleague Vernon Haltom:”
I can’t count the number of times someone told me they got involved because they heard Judy speak, either at their university, at a rally, or in a documentary. Years ago she envisioned a “thousand hillbilly march” in Washington, DC. In 2010, that dream became a reality as thousands marched on the White House for Appalachia Rising….While we grieve, let’s remember what she said, “Fight harder.”
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the environment by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Mulch for a complete list of articles on environmental issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Pulse, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium Blogger
For the environmental community, this... more
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It's time, once again, for another Current blogs round-up. Sit back, let the tea steep, and let's dig in, shall we?
Current News
According to bansheewail's post earlier this week, prescription drug related deaths have actually overtaken traffic fatalities in 16 states. Andrew took a closer look on the Current News blog, and according to the CDC, that number has been on the rise lately. The question is, why? The AP points to changes in the way doctors prescribe painkillers, and this actually coincides with the season premiere of Vanguard on October 14th. In "The Oxycontin Express," Vanguard correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to Florida, "the epicenter of the prescription drug boom." Be sure to check it out.
Mariana van Zeller travels to Florida to investigate the prescription drug boom in Vanguard's premiere, "The Oxycontin Express"
Some of biggest news this week came out of the South Pacific, where a pair of earthquakes and a tsunami ravaged the Samoa Islands and Indonesia. Andrew pulled together raw video intel and followed the story closely. Take a look.
Current Music
The Current Music team is racing to the finish line in preparation for the premiere of Embedded, immediately following the season premiere of Vanguard on October 14th. Shana took a minute to share progress on the six-part special on the Current Music blog: apparently the team is knee-deep in post-production on the six episodes, as well as preparation for online distribution.
Also, Alex posted photos from The Dodo's show at the El Rey. Alex always takes amazing photos at shows, so head over to the blog and check them out. If you have a few extra minutes to spare, give this a look as well.
Current Movies
John has continued to make due on his festival coverage with dispatches from the New York Film Festival. A couple of excellent posts this week, one covering some of the influences and inspirations behind Harmony Korine's latest, Trash Humpers.
Additionally, John finally screens Lars Von Trier's Antichrist, the film that compelled Cannes audiences to collectively question, "Why?" Additionally, Von Trier went on record with this film, proclaim that "I am the best filmmaker in the world." Check out John's review here.
Current Tech
Over on Current Tech, Sarah Lane shed a little light on her shopping addiction with her exploration of your best online shopping options and deals. As community member aaronights pointed out, "No wonder you're always low on cash!"
In a far less costly post, Sarah takes a look at another obsession that is apparently taking over the world: Twitter Apps. More specifically, OneForty -- the Twitter App store that Twitter forgot to build. Seriously, take a look.
Current Green
Leah spent some time chatting with Colin Beavan (you may know him as No Impact Man from his Twitter account, blog, and the trailer of his new movie), and discusses the dedication it takes for someone like No Impact Man to commit to a lifestyle change of this extreme magnitude. All in the name of "green." It's quite remarkable.
Keeping in theme with environmental heroism, Leah caught up with photographer Ian Shive -- the man dedicated to saving our National Parks one photo at a time. If you haven't checked out "Photos Across America" yet, be sure to give this post a read.
Current Comedy
Thursday nights mean a new episode of infoMania. In case you missed it, you have Josh to thank because Fridays are "Hey check out what happened on infoMania" days on the Current Comedy blog.
Josh likes to combat claims of failure. In fact, you might even call him a FAIL adjuster. In the FAILspace, he is what an auditor is to accounting. Once again he's worked up another account of why some supposed FAILS are, in fact, not FAILS. Peep them here.
Vanguard
An added bonus this week, our friends in Vanguard are ramping up their blogging efforts, and to kick things off they've posted a couple gems for you to take a look at. First up, Vanguard correspondent Laura Ling shared her thoughts on Vanguard's mission during a live event in Italy. As an added treat, the full broadcast of the Italy event is embedded on the post, so if you've ever wanted to hear Mariana van Zeller speak Italian, make sure to watch beyond the intro.
Speaking of Mariana, her piece "The Oxycontin Express" is going to be our season premiere for Vanguard on October 14th, and as an added bonus the team was invited to tape an episode of Dr. Phil and discuss both her documentary and the prevalence of prescription drugs. Darren posted some photos from the visit to Dr. Phil, so go check it out. The Dr. Phil episode with Mariana will air on the same day as our Vanguard season premiere, October 14th.It's time, once again, for another Current blogs round-up. Sit back, let the tea... more
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After seeing our recent interview with Colin Beavan about his No Impact Project, my friend Dara sent me an email link from gourmet magazine (of all places) about W. Hodding Carter's extreme frugality series. (she told me she thought his initiative was way cooler in her humble opinion). In the intro to the series Carter confesses the state of his finances and how he and his family have been living outside of their means. As a result, they are forced to return to a "little house on the prairy" existence, where they are making their own candles, canning Cod, and other back to earth activities that you do when you are saving money.
Now is the moment when I should step in and mock this, right?
Truth be told, I have no desire to. (I'm secretly craving a dose of this experience myself.) When the green movement began the media mantra was to show people there was a way to care for the environment and address sustainability issues without giving up the creature comforts of their current life style. And so the great green spending spree began. The message was, "you can keep spending, but use your dollar to vote for the sustainability practices that support your belief system."
But is "extreme frugality" the latest emerging trend? Have we come to a place where we understand that (gasp) resources are limited: and the limited resources in our wallet could be the best metaphor to understand the limited resources on the planet?
As it turns out, while in the middle of writing this post I hopped on over to my personal email account to check in how many love letters I have received today (the answer is none btw), but what I did encounter was an email from my sister-in-law about a new initiative that launched today called "slow money." Frankly, after spending 10 minutes on their site I wasn't entirely sure of what they are up to but it has something to do with a grass roots effort to create a new economy and support sustainable agriculture and involves donating $5. Here's what they have to say:
The perfect combo about slow food, slow money and local sustainable foodsystems, this “Thrive, Don’t Just Survive” set is a loaded, how-to guide on destressing, eating healthier with less, the missing links to achieving healthy immune and eco-systems, personal and planetary transformation, and Feeding Ourselves, No Matter What!
Ok...so they say things come in threes....what do you think? Has "green" turned a new corner? Are we entering into the age of self reliance and frugality? (Meanwhile, I'm going to head on over to the library and check out a few of the Little House on Prairie books, and start studying...)
Related Posts:
Everything I learned about going eco I learned from Twlight
Saving Afganistan's WildlifeAfter seeing our recent interview with Colin Beavan about his No Impact Project,... more
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leahl
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2 years ago
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It could happen to you. You might just wake up one morning, and find a photo of a bunch of naked french people posing for photographer Spencer Tunick in the name of climate change.
That's what happened to me yesterday, and so I thought fine...I'll give in and do a post that celebrates just a few of the fabulous people out there willing to go the extra mile to raise attention for climate change.
Lets begin with No Impact Man, who, btw, gave me a hard time for calling his initiative of living off the grid a little crazy...
I went to Twitter for some inspiration...and @DaveBurdick pointed me to this awesome (and crazy) trend of people moving (their houses) via bike.
@enviroknow pointed me to this link about more naked people for climate change:
The very-active Avaaz Action Factory was in rare form recently when they showed up for a naked protest in front of the offices of DC's Astroturf King, Bonner and Associates. The point of their action was to not only get a nice shower but to drive home the point that Bonner and Associates is a naked fraud.
And last but not least, life wouldn't be complete if you haven't heard of David de Rothschild's plastic bottle voyage across the Pacific to raise awareness about ocean pollution.
Do you have examples of people going...over board..in the name of raising people's awareness about climate issues? Do tell! (After all, they are some of our favorite stories...)
Related links:
Apple Leave Chamber of Commerce over climate change stance
Everything I know about how to go green I learned from vampires
Health Haloween Candy IdeasIt could happen to you. You might just wake up one morning, and find a photo of a... more
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leahl
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added this
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I kept stumbling across No Impact Man (aka as Colin Beavan) over the past few months. He was on Twitter, via his blog, and then there was the trailer to his movie. Each time as I skimmed the stories or posts at high speed I thought to myself, “Cool stunt, I should interview him sometime soon," and moved on.
Then my dear friend Amy Wilson called me up and told me she was working with Collin Beavan while he was on book tour in the Bay Area, and said that he was “the real deal.” Amy eluded to something that his critics have spoken to, which is that now that the main stream sees there is money to made in the world of green (aka people learning how to live a more sustainably), that there are a lot of people out there figuring out to make a buck on green.
With that said, I have yet to come across someone who makes an extreme "green" life style change who isn't truly dedicated to the issue of raising mass awareness about the state of the environment.
And with that said, there is a place where the rubber meets the road, and there is a difference between people who preach green for their living, and those who actually live a sustainable lifestyle. Colin is a refreshing breath of air and embodies both.
I found Collin’s social experiment of unplugging from the grid fascinating. Mostly because all the people I know who made the choice to live off the grid live in Alaska or Northern Idaho or Northern California…you know…out in the boondocks. Colin chose to unplug, and stay right in the center of it all: New York City. And I agree with Amy, he is the real deal. Colin and his family invested a year of their life to showing the world there is another way, and confronts the most famous story of our time: that you need to buy more, do more, and work more in order to be happy. And he manages to tell the story in a charming, accessible informative manner absent of self righteousness.
What makes me stop in my tracks: he managed to stay in the heart of the city, but create a new pace of life that most of us are only capable of tapping when we leave the city.
Enjoy the interview (special thanks to our studio crew who wasn’t planning a drop in guest that day). You can follow Colin on Twitter @noimpactman, his blog, and on his impressive project website: NoImpactProject.org. Or just go crazy and read his book.
Meanwhile, I am posting this one week after meeting Colin, and the issues we discussed aren't leaving. So I was thinking, what the heck, I'm going to take on just 1 of the things Colin did for a year: for 1 week. Starting tomorrow: I'm going to eat locally for 1 week. What the hell. Anyone want to join me?I kept stumbling across No Impact Man (aka as Colin Beavan) over the past few... more
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leahl
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2 years ago
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We're barely through January and already we've hit the dreaded "day of no really good releases on DVD Tuesday" Tuesday! But thanks to some help from our friends at Rotten Tomatoes, we've got another DVDo and DVDon't ready for you.
Special Nostalgia Edition: Renegade The Complete First Season isn't a film, per se, but it is something I have a fond memory of watching when I was a kid. Along with Time Trax. Do you remember Time Trax? No? Well, tough.
DVDo's
-No Impact Man has the highest Tomatometer rating and is also the Green-est film out.
-Outrage was Kirby Dick's documentary that explored homosexuality, politics and the nature of being quiet on the entire subject.
-Chantal Akerman in the Seventies takes five films and boxes them up for your pleasure.
-Ché is the other Criterion out today.
-Gamer is one of Ludacris' Five Favorite Films and features an incredible dance number. It must be seen.
-Kingdom of Spiders has William Shatner and killer spiders. What more do you need?
DVDon'ts
-Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball is proof that Joe Carnahan will never recover as a director.
-Whiteout was equally bad.
-Pandorum is also out. You should just buy Dead Space and play that.
We're barely through January and already we've hit the dreaded "day... more
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After seeing our recent interview with Colin Beavan about his No Impact Project, my friend Dara sent me an email link from gourmet magazine (of all places) about W. Hodding Carter’s extreme frugality series. (she told me she thought his initiative was way cooler in her humble opinion). In the intro to the series Carter confesses the state of his finances and how he and his family have been living outside of their means. As a result, they are forced to return to a “little house on the prairy” existence, where they are making their own candles, canning Cod, and other back to earth activities that you do when you are saving money.
Now is the moment when I should step in and mock this, right?
Truth be told, I have no desire to. (I’m secretly craving a dose of this experience myself.) When the green movement began the media mantra was to show people there was a way to care for the environment and address sustainability issues without giving up the creature comforts of their current life style. And so the great green spending spree began. The message was, “you can keep spending, but use your dollar to vote for the sustainability practices that support your belief system.”
But is “extreme frugality” the latest emerging trend? Have we come to a place where we understand that (gasp) resources are limited: and the limited reources in our wallet could be the best metaphor to understand the limited resources on the planet?
As it turns out, while in the middle of writing this post I hopped on over to my personal email account to check in how many love letters I have received today (the answer is none btw), but what I did encounter was an email from my sister-in-law about a new initiative that launched today called “slow money.” Frankly, after spending 10 minutes on their site I wasn’t entirely sure of what they are up to but it has something to do with a grass roots effort to create a new economy and support sustainable agriculture and involves donatting $5. Here’s what they have to say:
"The perfect combo about slow food, slow money and local sustainable foodsystems, this “Thrive, Don’t Just Survive” set is a loaded, how-to guide on destressing, eating healthier with less, the missing links to achieving healthy immune and eco-systems, personal and planetary transformation, and Feeding Ourselves, No Matter What!"
Ok…so they say things come in threes….what do you think? Has “green” turned a new corner? Are we entering into the age of self reliance and frugality? (Meanwhile, I’m going to head on over to the library and check out a few of the Little House on Prairie books, and start studying…)
(this is the full post: but if you want links to everything mentioned: hop on over to the blog)After seeing our recent interview with Colin Beavan about his No Impact Project, my... more
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leahl
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added this
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2 years ago
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Excerpts:
"You may have heard something about "No Impact Man" or you may have heard about the guy who was going to live in New York City without making any environmental impact for a whole year (crazy, right?)."
More:
"Colin Beavan decides to completely eliminate his personal impact on the environment for the next year.
It means eating vegetarian, buying only local food, and turning off the refrigerator. It also means no elevators, no television, no cars, buses, or airplanes, no toxic cleaning products, no electricity, no material consumption, and no garbage.
No problem - at least for Colin - but he and his family live in Manhattan. So when his espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife Michelle and their two-year-old daughter are dragged into the fray, the No Impact Project has an unforeseen impact of its own."
Great example and definitely inspiring.
Join Organic:
http://current.com/groups/organicgreen/Excerpts:
"You may have heard something about "No Impact Man" or you... more
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Uh...no air conditioner?
hahahahaha....he doesn't live in Houston. He could NOT----NOT NOT NOT---- do that in Houston. People DIE without air conditioner here.
There are a lot of hypocritical nature in this entire thing...however, it's very noble, though. Not reasonable or efficient for daily living of all 7 billion, but it's telling. He did something that many could not do. It is an experience that will help some and make others roll their eyes at how pretentious it sounds.
Kudos to him and his uniqueness.Uh...no air conditioner?
hahahahaha....he doesn't live in Houston. He could... more
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What’s your preferred mode of transport: plane, train or car? What factors – speed, cost, environment - affect your choice?
What’s your preferred mode of transport: plane, train or car? What factors... more
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