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By Patricia Curry and Leda Meredith
Green Edge members Leda Meredith and Patricia Curry recently completed the No Impact Experiment, a week-long 'carbon-cleanse' that gave them a chance to see what a difference No Impact living could make in their quality of life here in NYC. The No Impact Project was conceived by Colin Beavan, aka No Impact Man, following the success of his blog, book, and film which chronicle his family's year-long experiment living a zero-waste lifestyle in New York City. By depriving themselves of certain modern conveniences that many of us take for granted, Patricia and Leda hoped to see if all those modern amenities were actually making their lives easier, or merely consuming an awful lot of their time and money. The No Impact Project web site details the experiment and offers an on-line manual withdaily instructions on how to participate. Each nightparticipants get new'directions' for whatto give up the following day. Check out the challenges below and see how Leda and Patricia fared as they attempted to make less trash, use less fossil fuels and . . . stay off the Internet!
Day 1 - Sunday
Consumption: "Sunday's challenge is about doing more with less. People around the world are discovering that they'd rather spend time making social connections than buying new stuff."
Patricia: It's ironic, but this first day was the greatest challenge for me. I'm embarrassed to say that I like to shop; I like getting new things, I like seeing new designs, new ideas, pretty fabrics. It was easy for me to not make any purchases for one day or one week, but I admit that I knew it was just a temporary restriction. I'll probably buy whatever I want another time. I'd have a very hard time committing to making no purchases for any great length of time.
Leda: I thought this one would be easy for me since I don't buy a lot of new stuff and live in Park Slope where there are great stoop sales and second-hand shops. I was quickly proven wrong. Little household things tripped me up, like the kitchen sponge that needed replacing, cat litter (don't really see a way around that one), and candles in anticipation of Day 5.
Day 2 - Monday
Trash: "Find out if wasting less improves your life. Consider all trash bins off limits. Stop making trash. Reduce it. Reuse it. Recycle it. Just don't throw it away. Keep a special bag to collect the trash you make by necessity or by accident throughout the week."
Patricia: I was pleased to see that I didn't make a lot of trash today. I tend to spurn things that use excess packaging, and as a vegetarian I eat a lot of fruit & vegetables which leave only rinds, cores or peelings - which I can compost. (I did note, though, that what I didn't compost went directly into the garbage). I generally make an effort to not eat things that are individually wrapped. Also, as a non-parent my personal trash is minimal; if I had children I could foresee creating lots of garbage just by attending to them. Scooping the litter of my three cats made for a weighty trash bag, though! And I did find myself a few times reaching for a paper towel, napkin or tissue rather than using a cleaning rag or handkerchief. Bad girl! Time to revive the custom of carrying a handkerchief.
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| Leda Meredith: choreographer, author and urban forager. |
Leda: I, too, revived the custom of carrying a handkerchief and using rags instead of paper towels on this day of the project. I also started carrying a container for compostable scraps because although I have a compost bin at home, away from home those scraps had been going into the trash. I generated most of my trash today at work: I was teaching a class on Victory Gardens for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Sounds like a nice, eco-friendly class, but part of it included sending the students home with sample plants. The plants came in plastic containers that the city doesn't recycle and that probably ended up in my students' trash. The big plastic trays they came in went into my trash at home.
Day 3 - Tuesday
Transportation: "Burn calories, not fossil fuels. Think fewer emissions and more fun, free time and money. Let's hop to it and start brainstorming on how you can change your mode of transportation to have the least impact possible. And remember, you're still attempting to buy nothing new and make no trash."
Patricia: Ha! This is where being an unemployed New Yorker has its advantages! I walked or bicycled wherever I went today, BUT it'll be very difficult to maintain that throughout the week. While I won't need a car, I do regularly use the subway, buses and, (as little as possible) taxis. As well, I'm very cognizant of the fact that while I can walk to the store, everything I buy is brought there by truck, train, ship or airplane. Again, a huge reminder of how my consumption habits have a huge environmental impact.
Leda: I don't own a car and can't afford taxis too often, so I usually take public transportation or walk. However, during their No Impact year the Beavan family even did without public transportation. They biked or walked everywhere. I asked myself could I do the same and the answer was no. I work multiple jobs in multiple locations (sometimes Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Long Island on the same day) and there wouldn't be time for me to bike between locations. Never mind the environmental impact-that much travel time can't be good for my mental health! I'm determined to schedule more wisely next year, all Bronx work one day, only Manhattan gigs another, etc.
Day 4 - Wednesday
Food: "Healthy eating can also lessen your footprint. It's Wednesday! Are you hungry? You probably will be if you haven't planned for this in advance. We won't kid you, today is a toughie. Now it's time to focus your efforts on food. Eaters around the world are reinventing themselves as locavores, vegetarians, organic foodies and gardeners - and feeling better for it."
Patricia: This was easy for me, today at least. As a vegetarian (& near vegan) I didn't feel deprived at all by sticking to my normal eating habits. At the same time, eating only seasonally available produce can be difficult in the winter months - especially up here in the Northeast. I also prefer most veggies raw so it wasn't difficult to avoid using energy to cook.
Leda: I started this task on Day 1 and continued it for the entire week. Because I'd already done a year-long 250 mile diet and written about it in Botany, Ballet, & Dinner from Scratch: A Memoir with Recipes, I knew it would be easy for me. Even after The 250 my diet had remained about 80% local. It was actually fun for me to get back to the stricter version. Tip for NYC residents: there's a directory up at www.localfork.com called The Locavore's Guide to NYC that can help you source local ingredients.
Day 5 - Thursday
Energy: "Replace kilowatts with ingenuity - explore no-energy alternatives to accomplish your daily tasks. You've reached the 5th day of your No Impact Experiment, and you've made incredible changes; you are making less trash, getting around on your own steam, eating better, and cutting back on your consumption. If life without electricity sounds daunting, well, it can be."
Patricia: It was difficult to break out of my energy-consuming daily routine; waking up to NPR, using a blender to make my breakfast, reaching into the fridge for my soymilk. I was probably a little more cognizant of NOT turning on a light switch or a radio, and it's been excruciating to stay off the internet. Actually, I haven't stayed completely off the internet..... I cannot tell a lie.
Leda: This was the game-changer for me in No Impact week. First, I noticed how many things were on all the time, using up "ghost energy." For example, did I really need my wireless router to be running while I was asleep? Was I planning to access the internet in my dreams? I enjoyed cooking by candlelight, but at first missed the constant soundtrack of music that usually accompanies my life. I got rid of TV a long time ago, but still watch online, plus podcasts, music, and, well, it was really quiet in my apartment. After a while though, I started feeling something so unfamiliar that it took me a while to identify it: I felt peaceful. I often feel happy, frequently excited, but peaceful? That's not a usual part of my repertoire.
Day 6 - Friday
Water: "Soak up the personal benefits of using less water! Having looked at your trash, transportation, food, consumption and energy habits, there's one major daily lifestyle change left to tackle - water. In this economy, every flush counts! Turn off the tap. Believe us, you'll feel better about yourself."
Patricia: Water is, obviously, the very biggest challenge of all. I mean, we all need it to survive, and it's something that the vast majority of Americans take for granted. Living abroad for almost a year without access to a shower or bathtub made me hugely appreciative of the joy of a daily shower, and it also prompted me to be very thankful that I live in the age of flush toilets. I did not vastly change my habits today, with one exception being I did follow the "If it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down." rule
Leda: I followed the "If it's yellow, let it mellow..." rule, too. I also changed how I was doing dishes so that the water wasn't running the entire time. And I skipped the daily shower (I didn't stink, I promise).
Day 7 - Saturday
Giving Back: "Feel the benefits of service. By now, you've probably slaughtered some of your carbon footprint. Pat yourself on the back for coming this far and do a little dance: it's time to share some of your exuberance with others!"
Patricia: Having travelled extensively around the world I've always felt extremely fortunate, spoiled even, to be American. I have not often felt proud of it, though... and have sometimes even felt a little ashamed of our society's excesses. I agree that those of us who have healthful food to eat and clean clothes to wear should be mindful of how much we have and how much we have to share with others. And I believe I, and others who have what I have - a good brain, a strong healthy body - are obligated to share what we have, even if just our time & energy, with others. I believe in karma!
Leda: Like Patricia, I've travelled extensively (hello, carbon footprint!) and am acutely aware of the resources availabe to us in the U.S. that simply aren't accessible in some places. I volunteer each week as site coordinator for the Park Slope CSA, and those volunteer hours are some of my happiest. Thinking about what we can do to "save the world," I like the Dalai Lama's suggestion for a starting place: "We could be kinder."
Lessons Learned
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| Patricia Curry is the Coordinator of Adminisration for Green Edge NYC. |
Patricia: While I've always considered myself astutely environmentally aware- careful and conscious of my personal carbon footprint - following the No Impact Project 'rules' for a week highlightedthe ways I can be even more conscientious about reducing my own environmental impact. Colin's experiment took green living to an extreme, of course, but this brief experiment did make me stop and think ... whatchanges can I make right now in my daily habits? What small contribution can I make - today and everyday - that will add up to something bigger than me? Starting with baby steps, it's time for me to get connected, inspired and engaged in this essential worldwide human effort.
Leda: This week made me look at what I am and am not willing to do to reduce my carbon footprint. Local foods? No problem. Don't flush unless necessary? Sure. Forgo the car? Already do. Do all of my laundry by hand? Probably not. The week also made me aware of many small things that I am willing to do and just hadn't been doing because I hadn't thought of them. Do they add up enough to matter? Well, here's the equation in my opinion: doing nothing to change our lifestyles equals guaranteed environmental disaster. Doing something could be enough to make a positive difference and in the worst case scenario does no harm. Guaranteed disaster versus change for the better or at the very least no harm: kind of a no-brainer, isn't it?
By the way, if you'd like to participate in a No Impact week, there's another one starting on November 15th. You can get the details and sign up at http://noimpactproject.org/experiment/
About the Authors
Patricia Curry -- Coordinator, Administration
After ten years at Microsoft, Patricia happily left the corporate life behind to focus on causes she finds personally compelling, such as the state of the planet. Having traveled, studied, and worked abroad extensively, her experiences have made her enthusiastic about encouraging ways of living conservatively and consciously in our daily life. She is an ardent rooftop gardener, a lover of cats, and is thrilled to be a part of a citywide effort to bring methods of living sustainability to New York.
Leda Meredith -- Hostess of Green Edge NYC's popular program: "Urban Foraging with Leda Meredith"
Leda is an urban forager, committed locavore, botanist, choreographer and author of the book, Botany, Ballet and Dinner from Scratch. Leda frequently shares her wisdom about how to identify edibles in urban terrains like Prospect Park with Green Edge NYC members. She maintains the blog, Leda's Urban Homestead.
Do you know want to know more about the Green Edge NYC Coordinators? Meet them on our website!