The “No Impact” Experiment's Health and Happiness Perks
By Laurine Brown

Want to save money? Trim down and tone up? Have more time for meaningful things? Then, try the weeklong “No Impact Experiment”.
“Huh?” you say. “What does being an environmental do-gooder have to do with my own wellness?” “Plenty” says New York city-dweller, Colin Beavan, author of “No Impact Man”. He should know. Colin set off with his family on a year-long journey to live more lightly on the earth. He stopped making trash, swore off plastics and toxins, foraged for dinner in local farmers markets, biked and hiked everywhere, and turned off the electricity, while dragging his young daughter and Prada-wearing, wife along for the ride. Surprisingly, while attempting to make a zero impact on the environment, the family found hidden wellness treasures that made their lives fuller and more satisfying. Colin remarks, “Changing the way we lived was changing us.” Intrigued?
A year of No Impact Living may seem too daunting for most of us. But Colin's organization has introduced a one-week “No Impact Experiment”, complete with a handy step-by-step guide (see below). The way it works is you tackle one area daily. Each day builds on the next, so that, ideally, by week's end you've stopped consuming new goods and making trash, switched to non-polluting transport, etc, all-the-while discovering hidden lessons about what's important in your life. Here's a preview, along with hints at some wellness benefits:

o Day 1 (Sunday): Cut Consumption. Just for this week, try not to shop for any new items. Seek second-hand items, borrow them, or even make them yourself. Colin believes our consumption treadmill is a vicious circle where we “work our butts off” to buy stuff to keep up with the Jones's. But, along with the pollution created, “more stuff” isn't making us happier. Colin's wife Michelle began “shopping my in own closet.” She discovered that when you kick your shopping habit, you'll save money, have more time for family and friends, prevent clutter, and maybe you'll discover that less really IS more.

o Day 2 (Monday): Stop Making Trash. Find out if wasting less improves your life. You might first try collecting all your trash for a day. Then unpack it and ponder it. Is all this necessary? Colin stockpiled his family's trash for a week to figure out what disposable items they could stop using without much sacrifice. They ditched disposables and felt happier and more satisfied. Go figure.

o Day 3 (Tuesday): Re-think Transportation. Burn calories, not fossil fuels. Bike. Walk. Scoot. Glide. Hop on the bus. Carpool. The Beavan family found that such “active transport” was not only possible in New York City, but also preferable, less stressful (no traffic jams!), cheaper, burns tons of calories, and just plain fun.

o Day 4 (Wednesday): Lighten Your “FoodPrint.” The average bite of food travels 1500 miles from farm to fork. Aside from creating lots of pollution, the nutrient levels fade after harvest, leaving us short. Like the Beavans, seek out local, seasonal and mostly organic, plant-based foods. It was tough, but the Beavans loved the positive results - slimming down, feeling healthier, learning to cook, and sharing meals and enjoying the vibrancy of farmer's markets with friends.

o Day 5 (Thursday): Be Energy Wise. How many gadgets do you have plugged in that are unnecessarily sucking energy? Power down. The Beavans went to the extreme on this, cutting off all electricity, a daunting task. But, they also found their apartment was cluttered with electricity-sucking devices they didn't miss at all. They slept better following the natural rise and fall of the sun. Without TV, they found joy in other simple entertainment. For example, watching magical fireflies one evening, Colin's toddler looked at him and said, “I'm so happy Daddy”. Touched, Colin admits she never said that while watching TV.

o Day 6 (Friday): Be Water-Wise. You'll feel better about yourself and will join the 60% of Americans trying to save on water and electric bills. By simply changing the way you brush your teeth, water your lawn or wash dishes (plus using some water-saving appliances) you can cut your water use by 25%. Don't forget to choose tap water rather than bottled water which costs 1,000 times more, often comes right from the tap, and leaves us with all those junked plastic bottles. Crazy.

o Days 7 and 8 (Saturday and Sunday): Give Back to Your Community - Volunteer. Besides “just making you feel good” (as Colin says), according to over 30 peer-reviewed studies, volunteering boosts health, including lowering risks of heart disease and depression, and improving longevity. Finally, Rest. Stop “doing” and just “be”. Even if just for one day or one hour, don't buy anything, use any machines, switch on electronics, answer the phone, or gobble any resources. With the enforced downtime, you'll give yourself and the planet a much-needed break. Don't we all need that?



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