No Impact Man Blog

No Impact Man was an ambitious project. I have to admit I am a little bit prejudiced against the environmentalist stereotypes that undergo these sorts of projects, mostly because I feel like many of the members of the movement are inconsistent with one another, the message is impractical, green products are a scam, and the people involved are just a little nuts. However, this was an eye opening experience and at the end I found it to be interesting and parts of it to be humbling. At the start of the documentary you can tell the dad is the one whose idea it was to do the project. I sympathize a lot with the wife because her life really got turned upside down. She lost television, coffee, favorite foods and luxuries like the beauty salon. She had to start using cloth diapers for her daughter and basically live a campout lifestyle, which she was not very fond of.  It was easy for me to sympathize with her cravings for everyday commodities for most Americans like television, fast food, and coffee. But  revealing scenes showed just how much waste we produce and where all of it ends up, which really does drive home the point that the issue can't really be ignored. Furthermore, the growing experience the family shared throughout the year was pretty moving, they learned to depend on each other for pretty much everything which is a radically new concept for our society today. The family made a significant transformation in regards to their lifestyle and the environment but they also bonded as a family in a way that they would not otherwise have been able to do. They got to meet some interesting people and added many unique experiences to their lives. I'll bet the guy who showed him how to grow his food has gone on some wildly fascinating trips. Overall, the project inspired me to be more open to practical changes as well as to be more patient with the whole idea of being environmentally friendly in general.