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Buckeye Book Community – No Impact Man: Reflections on the Environment and on Myself

The irony of No Impact Man was that he did end up having an impact, by which I mean an “influence”. It’s an interesting play on words.

(Don’t worry, the answers to the questions will get juicier near the middle/end.)

What is the author’s message about the ability of one person to make a difference? After reading this book, do you think you can affect change?
His message is primarily that one person cannot single-handedly try to change the world, but it is better to be a person who is willing to try than a person who does nothing at all. I can affect change in small ways, but the important thing is that I instigate others to change. The important thing is that I try.

The author notes many statistics about how humans are affecting the environment. Which statistic was most interesting to you and why?
They were all very interesting, and very scary. Which one to choose? The fact that glass will last one-million years in a landfill? The fact that about 80% of products are made to be used only once and then thrown away? The fact that the United States still hasn’t reduced its plastic bag consumption? The fact that shit, we’ve already superseded the carbon dioxide limit (after which irreversible climate change may occur) of our atmosphere by 37 ppm and it’s rising by 2 ppm per year? We’ve got to stop sitting on our asses thinking about this problem and actually go out and do something about it. If you believe in global warming, stop talking and start acting. If you don’t believe in global warming, that’s still no excuse to completely trash the planet. As humans, we are very connected with nature, but unfortunately many of us have lost that relationship. When we hurt the earth, we are hurting ourselves.

Whose responsibility is it to protect the environment? What is the balance between corporate responsibility and individual responsibility? What does the author say about this balance?
It is the responsibility of the earth’s inhabitants to protect the environment. She offers herself to us and we need to care for her. The relationship between corporate and individual responsibility is that corporations will comply with the demands of the individual (e.g. we want cheaper food, and they supply it – at the cost of the animals and of the planet). There needs to be both corporate and individual responsibility, but the individual’s responsibility lies mainly in instigating change in others (see above), while it is the corporation’s actions that are going to directly affect the planet on a larger scale.

The other role of the corporate world is to provide the things that we want. Beavan states that what we WANT isn’t the problem, it’s how the system DELIVERS it. They perpetuate unsustainable habits (like serving pizza on a paper plate).

What does Colin Beavan say about the relationship between consumerism and happiness? How would you define happiness? What makes you happy?
This is a question whose answer I have recently experienced directly. Beavan says that the goods we buy are (in theory) a means to happiness, an intermediary. People buy products in order to be happy, and people buy products in order to find love. However, he states that it is possible to find happiness without the middleman, without the material items. In fact, he goes as far as to say that consumerism inhibits our happiness. America’s material productivity has been increasing, he writes, but our happiness has not improved.

I experienced this “happiness without items” deal personally went I went to Maine last week. I was camping with a group of twenty-nine or so Ohio State students and faculty, and those times we were sitting out by the campfire or the ocean talking and singing were so much more fun and fulfilling than any time I have ever spent sitting in front of a computer or playing a video game.

In defining happiness, I desperately want to cop out and say that it’s just this feeling that I can’t explain (which is perfectly reasonable, in my humble opinion). But I’ll try to answer it correctly, anyway, but looking towards experiences that I have had being truly, truly happy. When I have, in the past, been truly, truly happy, the happiness has usually been accompanied by some other sort of emotion.

Real moments of happiness, though, are hard to come across (or maybe I’m just a tortured soul!). Allow me to reference Maine again, but before then, I’m sure I could have told you any number of times I was “truly happy”, but after experiencing what I really feel is true happiness upon my return from this week-long trip, I can say that moments of such raw, overpowering emotion are actually quite rare.

When I was in the car ride home from Maine with my dad, I was just really, really, well, happy – but more than just that, I was so grateful that I had had the opportunity to spend time with such beautiful people. I was appreciative, and so I was happy.

I don’t know. I would make a general conclusion and say that maybe happiness is just an umbrella term for any number of profound and positive emotions that we feel, but that would be wrong, too, because I’ve certainly been just HAPPY before – however, it was certainly not in the way usually expected.

I saw the ocean for the first time this summer. Before then I had seen the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Michigan (and, of course, the lovely Maumee River), but I had never seen THE OCEAN. I went out one morning to watch the sun rise over the water, but instead of the sun, all I saw were the waves rhythmically breaking across the rocks below the cliffs. I was completely taken. My throat clenched up (like before a good cry) and my stomach was in knots. My hands felt funny and light. It was raw, it was overpowering, it was all-consuming.

I was happy.

So what makes me happy? I probably still couldn’t tell you the right answer. It just comes upon me and when I feel good, I feel good. If I had to guess, though, it would be being connected, being in touch with others, with nature, and with myself. And there can be no connection when we are constantly on the move. I think that is one of the reasons Americans are often not very happy. They are too busy to stop and watch the sunrise.

Reading No Impact Man (well-timed with my week-long camping trip in Maine) has made me realize that I really need to sort out my priorities. “Do we work for and pay for all this convince in order to live our lives, or do we live our lives in order to work for and pay for all this convenience?” Beavan asks, and unfortunately, the latter is the truer statement. However, in Maine, I was the happiest I had ever been, and there were no computers, no T.V.s, no material distractions. There was me, there were my newly-found friends, there was the sunrise over the ocean (as well as the occasional game of speed). I didn’t need things to be happy. I didn’t need to be busy. I was content to sit, to listen, to talk, to connect.

And interestingly enough, I didn’t have a major food binge once when I was in Maine, but the second day after my return home, I was bored, restless, and unable to deal with my emotions despite all of my modern conveniences.

Let’s just say I’m sticking to carrots and celery for the rest of the day.

Colin Beavan writes that he wants his work to align with his values. Do you connect with this aspiration? Have you ever thought about how your life pursuits connect to what you value?
Well, this is a tricky question, because in order for what I do to connect with what I value, I have to know what I value – so let’s start there.

I value open-mindedness. I value the earth and I value my body. I value friendship.

My values are connected to my beliefs. I believe that every single person is lovely and worthwhile. I believe that anyone can turn their lives around for the better, and that positivity is a decision. I believe that while others can guide us in the right direction, how we live our lives (and with what attitude) is entirely up to us, and that living happily, productively, and fully is possible no matter what. I believe that humans are deeply connected to the earth both spiritually and physically. I believe that our bodies are beautiful and a way for our souls to connect with the physical world. I believe that the connections we make with others are profound and the ultimate motive for why we do what we do: we crave relationships because they fulfill us and make us happy. I believe that every person and every part of nature is ultimately One*, which is why we seek those connections.

My beliefs are connected to my actions. I accept other people. I watch the sunrise and read outside. I’m working to reduce my carbon footprint. I care for my body. I love and support my friends.

So yes, I certainly connect with Beavan’s aspiration. I would never work for or on something that didn’t align with my values, because to me that would be the worst possible thing. It would go against what I believe in, and that would be a terrible crime.

I’ve never given any serious thought to my life pursuits, or at least anything beyond, “Yes, I want to go to Japan and travel the world!” College was my way of escaping decisions about my future. “Well, I’ll just study linguistics and philosophy because I find it fascinating and go from there. Linguistics will certainly open up job opportunities of some sort, but I don’t have to worry about that now.”

And on one hand, I still feel that way a little bit. Why not just study what I find interesting? I’m sure I’ll be able to find a job that I somewhat enjoy.

It’s really not that easy, though, but I can’t really get into why without going into a long-winded, drawn-out explanation of my two distinct personalities.

(I’ll try to keep this short.) I am extroverted and I am introverted. I am shallow and I am profound. I am self-confident and I am self-conscious. I am right-brained and I am left-brained. I am a feeler and I am a thinker. I am social and I am a loner. I can’t stop talking and I can’t start talking. I am immature and I am mature. I am a follower and I am a leader. I am a pessimist and I am an optimist. I am intelligent and I can’t figure things out. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I never disclose my emotions. I am guarded and I am vulnerable. I laugh a lot and I can’t laugh. I am sad and I am jovial.

This is who I am. I am two different extremes and opposite ends of the spectrum, fully and completely.

And this is why it’s so hard. One day I want to study linguistics and philosophy and take some creative writing and photography classes, and the next I want to study astronomy and nutrition and quantum physics and the environment.

So my life pursuits – they conflict, basically. I haven’t quite figured out how to reconcile them with each other (but hopefully my creative side will come up with something sooner rather than later). The only thing I know with any certainty is that I am meant to do something, anything.

Sometimes, when I’m driving to school or watching the sunrise, I get this feeling. It’s not an emotion, but it’s this welling inside of me, this notion that I wasn’t meant to be here – and while sometimes I connect that “I wasn’t meant to be here” inkling to “Oh, I was meant to be an elven warrior in Middle Earth,” I think I’ve finally gotten what it means. I’m not meant to be metaphorically here. I’m not meant to live my life safely and sheltered while other people suffer, while the world suffers. I don’t really know how to explain it. I feel pulled, I guess. Pulled somewhere else. Pulled to something important. It’s like when I was watching the waves break on the cliffs and I felt this intense longing, only this time it’s this intense pulling. Physically I feel it in my stomach, but in this case it’s not a knotting. It’s more like a swelling.

So. My life pursuits—
I am eighteen years old and the time for talking has passed. Planning has its place, certainly, but I can’t just sit here saying, “Oh, I want to do this when I’m older.” I want to go to Japan? Well, I have to work and save up money, but then I’m going to go to Japan. I want to return to Maine? Same deal. I want to help the environment? Well, I can sit here and talk about giving up meat, eschewing plastic products, eating increasingly local, reducing my trash, picking up litter and growing some of my own food – or I could just do it.

THIS is my life, RIGHT HERE. If I don’t live it now, will I ever?  (And let me tell you, I could never be satisfied with mediocrity.)

Beavan titles his second chapter, “Day One and This is a Big Mistake.” Have you set a goal for yourself and once you started found that experience was more challenging than you realize? How does Beavan deal with unexpected challenges? How does this apply to your first year at Ohio State?
Yes, I have. Try losing weight – that’s fucking hard. Especially when you achieve it, mess up your mental stability, and end up so much worse than you ever were before. (Yeah, I randomly vacillate to shitty moods.)

How does Beavan deal with unexpected challenges? Well, first he whines a lot, and I can associate with that. But then he sucks it up and trudges on, and that’s a lesson I’ve learned the hard way as well. Overeat? Suck it up and move on. Terrible day? Nobody gives a damn, so get over it. Complaining drives people away, and then you’re lonely as fuck and can only find more things to complain about. Or you get bored and eat. Either way, it’s a vicious cycle.

See, if I were with people right now, I’d probably get over it faster. I’d stick a smile on my face, tell myself to stop being a brat and brighten up, and the rest would naturally follow. But right now I’m alone, it’s eight o’clock at night, I’ve got Evanescence singing “Thoughtless” on iTunes and I’m prepared to pity myself all night until even I get fed up with me. Then I’ll probably do some pushups and sit-ups and go to bed with a nice old can-do attitude.

Bad attitudes are better for writing, though. The whole tortured artist thing, you know.

So how does this all apply to my first year at OSU, then? well idk you tell me lololol Uhh well, things will probably be challenging next year with stepping out of my comfort zone and all, blah blah blah, I have to use those challenges as an opportunity to grow, got it.

College students, particularly those living in residence halls, have limitations in the ways they can affect how and what they consume. How can you minimize your environmental impact as a college student? If you were to choose just a few of Beavan’s habits to implement in your own life, what would they be?
My answers will probably be getting pretty generic from here on out, but whatever. I can minimize my environmental impact by printing on both sides of the paper, recycling, reusing plates and cups instead of using throw-away ones, riding my bike and walking instead of taking a bus, turning off my computer and the lights when not in use, etc. And I guess the habit of his that I enjoy most was bike riding versus cars, but I also enjoy the idea of bringing my own containers to shops and restaurants. I’m sure they’d get some good reactions.

The author draws attention to his relationship with his wife despite seemingly different backgrounds, values, and interests. How do they maintain a solid and healthy relationship despite those differences? How does this relate to the encounters you’ll have with new and different people on Ohio State’s campus?
How do you expect me to answer this question? I’m not a shrink. lol. But uhh, well, I guess when it comes down to it, they respect each other. If they didn’t respect each other, their relationship would not be possible. This relates to OSU because I will most likely definitely meet people who are different from me who I may or may not be able to tolerate. We have to learn to respect our differences because I highly doubt anyone’s going to want to change who they are to please one person, even if it IS me.

Yeah.

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Some additional thoughts:

1) “But if I treated the resources that pass through my hands as though they were precious, might I also begin to feel that this very life – the one right under my feet right now and right this very moment – might be precious, too?”
My mom just entered my room (without knocking) and held up some old memorabilia from my youth (think second grade and younger). She had a goofy half-smile, half-grieving-grimace on her face (“My baby is going off to college!”).
I dismissed her.

Maybe I’m missing the whole point as well. I try to treat myself with respect and I’m getting better at treating my belongings with respect (my messy room is the exception, I promise!), but for some reason I can’t bring myself to treat my mother with the same respect that I give to others.

I mean, yeah, she’s as annoying as hell. She chops her gum, scrapes her teeth against her silverware, picks my laundry out of the laundry she does and lets it rot until I find it a week later, moves miscellaneous belongings into my room and then yells at me about the mess I made, loses my retainer and claims she didn’t touch it.

She’s acts like impetuous, petulant child—
but she still deserves respect and love.

2) “I began to worry again that people were too selfish.”
It’s a true thing – people are intrinsically selfish. However, I think that our selfishness is mainly motivated by happiness. The problem is that we think that things bring us happiness (maybe because we’ve never discovered the real, raw satisfaction and fulfillment that comes from cultivating connections with others and the world) and thus we try to find happiness through material goods.

Selfishness isn’t completely bad. The selfishness that makes us all human drives us to greater satisfaction in our lives – when fulfilled correctly through relationships with others.

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*We are all technically stardust, anyway – an accumulation of the iron, the carbon, the oxygen, the calcium, the elements forged in stars that were created at the very beginning of the universe with the big bang.

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ok, this took a long time, im bored now bye