No Impact Daughter. You have no doubt heard about the No Impact Man experiment (discussed on AT previously) taking place in an apartment on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Colin Beavan, Michelle Conlin, their two and a half year old daughter Isabella and dog Frankie are doing their best to live for one year without having a net impact on the environment. While everyone else obsesses about how they possibly live without toilet paper, we're more interested in how no impact living suits young Isabella.
No Impact Man
You can read more about their experiment on their blog, but the gist of it is that the family doesn't buy anything new, uses only foot-powered transportation (not even elevators), eats only food grown within 250 miles of their home, and has even phased out electricity.
Colin often mentions his daughter, Isabella, in the blog and reading about her is a good reminder that children's needs are simple and not having lots of "stuff" leaves them open to discover the beauty and wonder of their world. Here's an excerpt in which Colin answers a reader's question about how they entertain Isabella without television:
We sit on the steps to the neighboring building and talk to people walking by. Isabella chooses the particular step and says, “Sit here, Daddie.”
We talk about all the things we can see and say hi to them all: “Hi cars, hi buildings, hi sky, hi trees, hi dog, hi lady…”
We stomp the laundry in the bathtub together. “I’m splashing with my feet,” Isabella says.
(Read the full post here. )
On a recent firefly hunting expedition:
We sat around a while longer, and when about six fireflies circled around us, Isabella suddenly looked at me and said, “I’m so happy, Daddy.”
She never said that while we were watching television.
This was a joy we found because having no electricity (and therefore no TV) forces us to actively do things instead of just passively watching things.
Of course you don't have to forgo Colombian coffee or have a bucket of composting worms in your kitchen (which your kids, like Isabella, might actually love) to enjoy magical moments with your child. But, in a world in which we're increasingly disconnected from each other, our food sources, and our natural environment, children can be a conduit for our own rediscovery of these things. It's a reminder that green living isn't just good for the Earth, but, in many ways, good for us.
How about you? Do you have any stories of how green living has brought joy or discovery to your household?
Comments (7)
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I am amazed at this experiment....while I do my best to limit power usage and live a low-impact life (cfls, hanging laundry to dry, gardening, composting, washing my own dishes...) I am not at all ready to give up electricity altogether(!!)
We do raise our children not to be dependent on tv and video games for their sole entertainment (we don't have cable, but we do watch selective dvds once in a while) They play outdoors, love to get wet and dirty and explore our little urban oasis, they ride bikes and play kickball--but I never thought of this as being "green"....we were more interested in them using their own imaginations and enjoying their childhoods instead of being brainwashed by big bad media.
view polkadot's profile
Our electricity-free days, the days when the power has been out, have been relatively few but memorable in a magic sort of way. This winter, there was a storm that cut power to our home (in North America) for 2 days. We all loved hanging out in front of the fire, telling stories and cuddling, but I was acutely aware that our fireplace isn't the most energy-efficient way to burn a natural resource like firewood, and it did get tiring after a while. Our house has a well, so without power, we didn't have water, which is quite awful.
view mschatelaine's profile
Um, we don't use toilet paper, we use family wipes. The same as cloth diapers but for the family. When I'm not pregnant, I use cloth menstrual care as well. We wash our wipes the same as our diapers with a specific sanitizing cycle using tea tree oil and cider vinegar. Most people don't realize that toilet paper just doesn't dissolve--it's skimmed off the top at the water treatment plant and dumped into landfills--although I have heard of alternative uses for it. But still, yuck.
We do have 7th Generation toilet paper in the house for guests.
As far as the no impact goes, I would like to think that my son has had a minimal impact so far. And his father and I have done almost everything we can within our means to lessen ours as well--although there is always room for improvement.
view Loki Quinn's profile
Monika1's comments reminded me of the most magical days of my own childhood - snow days! Living in Western New York State we always had tons of snow and I can remember the whole family huddled around the radio waiting to hear if our school would be among the list with the day off. An unexpected day off was such a gift that it was never spent in front of the tv. It was usually spent in the snow and then inside with cocoa and some kind of arts and crafts. Thanks for sparking that memory Monika1!
view CMcB's profile
How does one blog without using electricity?
view Cakekim's profile
His laptop is solar powered.
view CMcB's profile
Are his readers' laptops solar powered too?
Nice post about sitting on the neighbors' stoop with his daughter, though.
view Shawn's profile