rhetorical analysis

Tr e e H u g g e r ’s O f f i c i a l

D i s c u s s i o n a n d R e s o u r c e G u i d e t o

C O L I N B E AVA N ’ S N O I M PAC T M A N : T h e A d v e n t u r e s o f a G u i l t y L i b e r a l W h o A t t e m p t s t o S a v e t h e P l a n e t , a n d t h e

D i s c o v e r i e s He M a k e s Ab o u t H i m s e l f a n d O u r Wa y o f L i f e i n t h e Pr o c e s s

I N T R O D U C T I O N

What would your life look like if you made a commitment to have zero impact on

the environment? Self-proclaimed guilty liberal Colin Beavan tackled this question

in his own life, embarking on a yearlong experiment that affected his wife, their

toddler, and even the family dog. They nixed takeout food to avoid reams of wasteful

packaging; walked or rode bicycles; used no electricity in their apartment—no TV,

no home Internet access, no air-conditioning, no refrigerator, no brightly lit living

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978-0-374-22288-8 288 pages

“ A riveting account of the year in which Colin Beavan and his wife attempted to do what most of us would

consider impossible. What might seem inconvenient to the point of absurdity instead teaches lessons that all

of us need to learn. We as individuals can take action to address important social problems. One person can

make a difference.” —Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat

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Q U E S T I O N S F O R D I S C U S S I O N

room late at night; bought seasonal, local groceries that carried the smallest possible

carbon footprint; switched to cloth diapers; and otherwise reinvented twentieth-

century living. By turns poignant and provocative, No Impact Man reports on the

surprising results of this journey, with inspiring words for anyone who has ever

wondered what difference “just one person” can make.

Whether you read the book with friends, with a community-action group, or on

your own, this guide is designed to get the conversation started about how we can

become more eco-effective as a society. Just as Beavan’s experiment has led to the

launch of the No Impact Project, this guide is filled with hands-on ways you can

help. We hope it will enrich your experience of No Impact Man and the eye-opening

questions it raises.

1. At the beginning of the No Impact experiment, Colin Beavan asks, “Is it true

that a guy like me can’t make a difference? Or am I just too lazy or frightened to

try?” What answers to these questions did he come up with by the end of the book?

Which of the family’s actions made the most significant impact?

2. Beavan’s experiment took green living to an extreme. If you were to choose just

a few of his actions to implement in your own life, what would they be? Which

conveniences or behaviors should society change in order to reduce our collective

environmental impact?

3. Is there such a thing as a lifestyle that makes no impact on the environment?

How much impact is too much? How much personal obligation do we each have

in reducing our individual carbon footprints? For great ideas on ways to leave a

smaller carbon footprint, visit 1Sky at www.1sky.org and Carbon Shredders at

www.carbonshredders.org.

4. Beavan traces much of our wasteful culture back to consumerism and the “hedonic

treadmill,” the notion that there is always something better out there than what was

just purchased. Can you identify purchases or habits in your own life that fit this

psychological profile? What consumer products truly improve your life? What are

the true necessities? What could you do without altogether? To learn more about the

relationship between consuming responsibly and enhancing overall quality of life,

A B O U T T H I S G U I D E

visit the Center for a New American Dream (http://newdream.org) and take a look

at Buy Nothing Day (www.buynothingday.org) and the Alternative Gift Registry

(www.alternativegiftregistry.org).

5. Food plays a major role in this story. How much of the food you eat is locally

grown? Organic? Processed? Did No Impact Man inspire you to change your eating

and drinking habits? Learn more about food health and safety issues at Food and

Water Watch (http://fwwatch.org).

6. Beavan runs into many situations in No Impact Man regarding the profusion of

packaging waste: paper or plastic at the grocery store, paper plates at the pizza joint,

delivery in Styrofoam clamshells. How much packaging waste do you accumulate?

How does your community manage landfills and recycling programs? Should it be

up to individuals, businesses, or governments to reduce waste? One way to help is

to take the Pledge to Break the Bottled Water Habit, organized by the Center for a

New American Dream (http://water.newdream.org).

7. At first, Beavan’s wife, Michelle, is a reluctant partner in the No Impact experiment.

Discuss her transformation. Why do her attitudes change over the course of the

year? How would the project have been different if Beavan had tried it solo?

8. Did Isabelle have a harder or easier time than her parents in adjusting to the No

Impact lifestyle? Did the perspective of a child make the project more challenging,

or less? Would you consider transporting your child by bike or on foot? What would

the world be like for Isabelle’s generation if all parents set the No Impact example?

9. The Beavan family spends a lot of time considering where all their stuff—especially

packaging and anything disposable—comes from and goes to during manufacturing

and after it gets tossed away. How much do you know about the origins of your

stuff? Has this knowledge caused you to change your buying habits?

10. Colin and Michelle run into friction with their respective families for proposing

that flying for twice-yearly visits is too carbon intense. Colin’s sister is especially

rankled to learn that her brother won’t be at her baby shower. Are they right to

be mad? Have your own actions and principles, environmental or otherwise, ever

gotten you in trouble with people you care about? How have family expectations

changed since the rise of interstate highways and the airline industry?

11. For most people, giving up a car would be a complicated life change. No

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Impact Man aspires to give up all fossil-fuel transportation. What would be your

biggest adjustments if you sold your car, gave up taxis, buses, trains, and planes,

and commuted entirely by bike or on foot? What would spur you to do this?

What would the drawbacks be? The Alliance for Biking and Walking (www.

peoplepoweredmovement.org) has great tips for making this change, including how

to create communities that are practical and safe for bicyclists and pedestrians.

12. Happiness forms a theme in No Impact Man. Would you be happier if you

slowed down, dispensed with the instant conveniences, and did more things the old-

fashioned way? What are your options for slowing down? What holds you back?

13. Colin Beavan’s experiment is similar to Henry David Thoreau’s sojourn to

Walden Pond in the mid-nineteenth century. Is it human nature to want a simpler

life (Thoreau craved it before the Industrial Revolution), or is it natural to want to be

a consumer? What difference did it make when Thoreau decided to remove himself

from society, while Beavan consciously remained an active part of his community?

How would the No Impact experiment look in a rural location? What were the

challenges and benefits of performing the experiment in New York City?

14. Who has the greater responsibility in addressing climate change and pollution:

the government or individuals? How can individuals most effectively help usher in

change, locally and at the federal level? What does No Impact Man teach us about

persuading naysayers? Visit www.1sky.org to get active on tackling global warming.

15. Although Beavan’s previous books have nothing to do with saving the planet,

there is a common thread in all his work: it showcases extensive research. Browse

the notes at the back of No Impact Man. What do they indicate about the amount of

information currently available on the importance of environmentalism? Does the

Information Age make it easier or harder to learn the facts and promote the cause?

For more information, check out the dozens of resources listed in the book’s

appendix, and visit Colin Beavan’s blog at http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog.

Other resources include TreeHugger’s articles on Henry David Thoreau, found at

www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/thoreau-notes-from-1851-used-to-track-plant-

species-loss-climate-change.php; the basics of carbon footprints (www.treehugger.

com/files/2008/02/carbon-footprint-green-basics.php); and biking infrastructures

(www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/5-improvements-to-bike-infrastructure.php).

F U RT H E R R E A D I N G

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P R A I S E F O R

N o I m p a c t M a n

Planet Green offers tips for green child-rearing (http://planetgreen.discovery.com/

go-green/green-baby/index.html) as well as effective, easy ways to reduce your

personal carbon footprint (http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/reduce-

carbon-footprint-threesteps.html) and avoid packaging waste (http://planetgreen.

discovery.com/tech-transport/mysterious-carbon-footprint-packaging.html). Books

of particular interest include Thomas L. Friedman’s Hot, Flat, and Crowded and Bill

McKibben’s Deep Economy.

“From their first baby steps (no takeout) to their giant leap (no toilet paper), the

Beavans’ experiment in ecological responsibility was a daunting escapade in going

green . . . So fervent as to make Al Gore look like a profligate wastrel, Beavan’s com-

mitment to the cause is, nonetheless, infectiously inspiring and uproariously enter-

taining.” —Booklist

“An inspiring, persuasive argument that individuals are not helpless in the battle

against environmental degradation and global warming.” —Kirkus Reviews

“There’s something of Thoreau in Colin Beavan’s great project—but a fully en-

gaged, connected, and right-this-minute helpful version. We’re at a moment when

we need to have as little impact in our own lives as possible—and as much impact in

our political lives as we can possibly muster. Beavan shows how!” —Bill McKibben,

author of Deep Economy

“Millions of Americans are now asking how their lifestyles are affecting the plan-

et. If you’re one of them, Colin and Michelle’s remarkable odyssey through a year

of shrinking their ecological footprint is an engrossing must-read. You’ll discover

how what you eat, switch on, and throw out matters, but more important, how they

found a much richer and happier life. Hop into the rickshaw for a hilarious, smartly

informative, and deeply moving ride.” —Juliet B. Schor, Professor of Sociology,

Boston College, and author of the forthcoming Plenitude: Economics for an Age of

Ecological Decline

“No Impact Man has become a hub of information, discussion and debate . . . Expect

[the book] to make a huge impact of its own.” —Rachael Maddux, Paste

“The No Impact Experiment changed Colin and reading No Impact Man will

change you.” —Annie Leonard, The Story of Stuff

Colin Beavan is the author of two previous books that have absolutely nothing to do

with the environment: Fingerprints: The Origins of Crime Detection and the Murder

Case That Launched Forensic Science and Operation Jedburgh: D-Day and America’s

First Shadow War. His writing has appeared in Esquire, The Atlantic, and The New

York Times. He lives in New York City.

6 F A R R A R , S T R A U S A N D G I R O U X

A B O U T T H E A U T H O R