You say on page 42, "There is a reason why trash bags aren't made of transparent plastic." Do you think that clear trash bags would help reduce our waste?
What is one way you think people can enjoy their "leisure time" rather than working more, as you say on page 41?
How do we ever get out of this cycle of wanting new things and never being happy with what we have? With the media and commercials and all of the advertisements that we see, aren't there always going to be things that we want? Like our computers. There is constantly new software that make things easier to complete. Should we just refuse items that we want just so we don't get into the constant cycle of wanting to better what we have and wanting new things?
If your life as you know right now begets waste, do you think it's possible to live a life that does not beget waste but that still has some element of convenience?
In your book, you present the question “Do we work for and pay for all this convenience in order to live our lives, or do we live our lives in order to work for and pay for all this convenience?”. I could not come up with an answer because life seems like such a cycle. I work to pay for this convenience, but this convenience allows me to work even harder. After completing your year-long experiment, do you have an answer to your own question?
Did you commit to being No Impact Man out of fear? In your book, you say that you were “worried sick about something and doing nothing about it” (9-10). So was this worry and fear why you chose to become No Impact Man?
Is there ever a way to be sastified with what you have?
Can people who have lived so long with the blessing of having everything they desire at their fingertips ever be sastified with what they have? Can they ever concentrate on the present instead of the future?
“Now that I’ve disposed of my throwaway products, you see, my convenience has become the entire world’s inconvenience” p. 47 How in the world were you able to come up with all of these thought provoking statements? Did these kind of epiphanies just come to you or did it come after hours of research?
I feel like all generations tell the generation that comes after them that they should improve the way they live. As if they say, "life was better when I was your age." Do you think things will improve enough so that we won't have to tell the next generation to improve? Or do you think things will get progressively worse for the environment?
Questions: 1. Where did Beavan get all of his facts? For example, where does "98.5 percent of what we suck out of the ground, the rivers, and the forests ends up being trucked straight to the landfill" (68) come from? These are amazing and shocking facts. 2. When Beavan say that he was "giving a finger to the Matrix" (61), is he saying that he feels as if he is going against our culture and the infrastructure? 3.Why doesn't he want to talk about being a writer to strangers, like the rabbi on the Amtrak? 4. Have we gone too far in technology advancement? Or is that an acceptable convenience since it helps health care and the transmission of ideas?
What did you do about your dog? Did you use commercial dog food? I would like to hear about steps I can take to make my home more eco friendly when it comes to pets.
After the project, would you say it's better to devote yourself to one cause and throw yourself into it, or spread yourself between different things such as trash, food, etc, to get the full effect?
You say we must “become comfortable with not knowing.” Therefore, “To understand what this life’s for: it’s for grabbing on to the equally confused soul standing next to you and working together to help each other get through it.” My take on this is that our purpose in life it to grab hands and trudge through the storm. What’s at the end? What do you think we’re doing this all for? Is that part of the “unknown” you talk about?
In chapter 8 of your book, you discuss how you gave up on the no washing machine part of the project because it was too hard to go without a washer. I completely understand this decision because I don't know what I would do without a washer, but didn't you feel guilty when you threw clothes in the washing machine? Your one year project wasn't about doing some things without impacting the planet; it was about having absolutely no impact. So how did you decide to re-introduce the washing machine back into your life? And how did you feel when you did this?
Do you think we can ever "stop chasing", and reach happiness? Is it the consumerist society we're brought up in, that teaches us to keep reaching for the next zenith, or is it purely human nature that we can never be satisfied?
- Have you felt more benefits from the project toward your family (by way of saving money) or do you feel like you have truly benefited the environment more? - Do you think that you will ever do it again? - Do you still get the same treatment from people now that the project is over? - In what ways do you still incorporate the No Impact Project in your life today? - If there is one thing that you regret from the project, what would that be?
-Is there anything that you took on during this project that you really regret? -What was your favorite thing that you did during the no impact project? -Have you kept all of the things that you wanted to keep after the project was over? -Are you doing anything with the profits you earned from the book to make a good environmental impact? -What is your least favorite question that you get asked about your project?
You give a lot of examples about Zen Master's wisdom and talk a lot about your Zen school, was this something you knew/ participated in before the No Impact Project or is it something you stumbled upon during the project?
Have your beliefs been majorly influenced by these Zen masters?
By not using electricity, carbon emitting transportation, or buying new consumer goods you must have saved a lot of money; What did you do with the extra money?
Have the Zen Masters significantly influenced your opinions If the manufacturers are wasting 98.5 % of the natural resources they dig up and consumers only 1.5% (), even if we as consumers eliminated almost all of our waste, how can we really make a difference?
During our no impact week on sustainable food day, I was traveling from a college visit and found it impossible to eat locally or without creating large amounts of trash. After the project you traveled around the country speaking to schools, companies, etc. Did you find a way to avoid the usually inevitable fast food meals and do you have suggestions on how to be more environmentally friendly in eating while we are traveling?
1. If you have one thing to say to the people who have absolutely no concern for the environment, what would you say? 2. Do you not think that it's too late for us to go back to simplistic living? Would people be willing to not use their cars as much? 3. Did you feel healthier after the no impact year? 4. Do you have a favorite moment of the no impact year? 5. How do you think we can obtain permanent happiness?
1. Have certain events (such as global cooling or climategate) changed your position on global warming since writing No Impact Man?
2. Are there any other movements that you feel passionately for besides environmentalism? How do they relate?
3. "One is to account for externalities by making the price of fossil fuels match their true costs by forcing industry to pay for the permission to emit greenhouse gases" On page 173 you call for cap and trade laws from the government. How do you suggest preventing companies from moving overseas and in effect losing jobs in America?
4. What are your thoughts on the recent oil spill that has happened and the inability of the government to fix the problem in a timely manner?
5. Why did the headline "The Year without Toilet Paper" upset you? I thought it was actually a catchy title that would catch a reader's attention.
What did you expect other people to get from your project? How did you expect them to react? Did you want them to try to live with no impact or just change certain parts of their lives?
In your book, you discuss Pema Chodron’s reaction to 9-11. You tell us that she believes that the basic human state is “groundlessness.” Do you agree with her? If not, can you explain why you reacted to 9-11 the way you did?
Did you use your cell phone throughout the no impact project? What about a home phone? How did you stay in immediate contact with people if you did not? Like what if Bella got sick, how did the babysitter notify you?
5. Do you feel safe riding your bike and having Isabella in an attached cart behind you? Do you think the drivers of the car are entirely to blame for the accidents that occur? 6. How can you publish such personal facts about yourself? How does your family feel that these facts are public knowledge?
If we have no way to bike to school or other places and no one lives near us to carpool, how would you suggest reducing our carbon footprint? I hear a lot about how recycling wastes just as many resources and energy as would be lost if we just throw it away but we save money when we just throw it away. What do you have to say about the difference in resources recycling vs. dumping. Do you think, after this project, you spend less time in front of the TV or in your car than you did before the project? Did you research everything for the book at one time or as you came across the particular items in your project?
Do you think you made an impact on the planet? Or do you think that your positive impact completely balanced your negative impact at the end of one year?
The quote on page 157 "We're too busy for love because we're working for the stuff that the ads sa will bring us love" made me think about what the effect will be from this book. With all the publicity, will people succumb to the consumerism of this book, go no impact, and be loved because of it?
What kind of phone do you have?
How does this physical book, which will be made available as a consumer good and printed on paper, make you feel about your project?
What is the one element of the experiment you thought was least successful?
Why do you think people the environment has become unimportant to so many people?
Did you ever feel as though you were taking away Michelle's happiness? For example, you three weren't able to visit her family, you say she always had a caffeine headache, and for the first portion of the experiment she walked over 40 blocks to work every day.
How would you respond to a person who said God gave us natural resources to be used, therefore saving the environment is not an issue?
“I’m not judging everyone. Really, I’m only judging myself. God help me. Is there a way to do this and have peace at the same time?” Do you still feel judgmental of yourself and have you found an answer to this question?
1. Had the blog not become popular and the media attention started, do you think your project would have been the same? 2. The documentary has obviously had some impact on the environment. Are there any measures being taken to reduce that impact? 3. Did you ever regret giving in to things like using the clothes washer? 4. Do you think your religious views have had an effect on the project and how? 5. Did this project help you to feel any healthier/more energetic?
You say on page 42, "There is a reason why trash bags aren't made of transparent plastic." Do you think that clear trash bags would help reduce our waste?
ReplyDeleteWhat is one way you think people can enjoy their "leisure time" rather than working more, as you say on page 41?
How did your family and friends react to the No Impact project? What did they do when they visited you? Were others interested in the project?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHow do we ever get out of this cycle of wanting new things and never being happy with what we have? With the media and commercials and all of the advertisements that we see, aren't there always going to be things that we want? Like our computers. There is constantly new software that make things easier to complete. Should we just refuse items that we want just so we don't get into the constant cycle of wanting to better what we have and wanting new things?
ReplyDeleteWhat is the hardest part of the project for you?
ReplyDeleteYour grandmother was very much "the waste not, want not" type of person. What would she say about this project?
You talked about self restraint. What was the hardest thing to restrain yourself from doing?
If your life as you know right now begets waste, do you think it's possible to live a life that does not beget waste but that still has some element of convenience?
ReplyDeleteDo you feel that the No Impact project has made you into a happier person?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn your book, you present the question “Do we work for and pay for all this convenience in order to live our lives, or do we live our lives in order to work for and pay for all this convenience?”. I could not come up with an answer because life seems like such a cycle. I work to pay for this convenience, but this convenience allows me to work even harder. After completing your year-long experiment, do you have an answer to your own question?
ReplyDeleteDid you commit to being No Impact Man out of fear? In your book, you say that you were “worried sick about something and doing nothing about it” (9-10). So was this worry and fear why you chose to become No Impact Man?
Is there ever a way to be sastified with what you have?
ReplyDeleteCan people who have lived so long with the blessing of having everything they desire at their fingertips ever be sastified with what they have? Can they ever concentrate on the present instead of the future?
“Now that I’ve disposed of my throwaway products, you see, my convenience has become the entire world’s inconvenience” p. 47
How in the world were you able to come up with all of these thought provoking statements? Did these kind of epiphanies just come to you or did it come after hours of research?
I feel like all generations tell the generation that comes after them that they should improve the way they live. As if they say, "life was better when I was your age." Do you think things will improve enough so that we won't have to tell the next generation to improve? Or do you think things will get progressively worse for the environment?
ReplyDeleteAfter a year of eating local, natural, non prepackaged food, did you notice a positive effect on your health?
ReplyDeleteNew Question: If the blog hadn't become as public as it did, do you think your project and approach to what you did would have changed?
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
ReplyDelete1. Where did Beavan get all of his facts? For example, where does "98.5 percent of what we suck out of the ground, the rivers, and the forests ends up being trucked straight to the landfill" (68) come from? These are amazing and shocking facts.
2. When Beavan say that he was "giving a finger to the Matrix" (61), is he saying that he feels as if he is going against our culture and the infrastructure?
3.Why doesn't he want to talk about being a writer to strangers, like the rabbi on the Amtrak?
4. Have we gone too far in technology advancement? Or is that an acceptable convenience since it helps health care and the transmission of ideas?
What are your religious beliefs and have they been affected by the No Impact Man project?
ReplyDeleteWhat did you do about your dog? Did you use commercial dog food? I would like to hear about steps I can take to make my home more eco friendly when it comes to pets.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAfter the project, would you say it's better to devote yourself to one cause and throw yourself into it, or spread yourself between different things such as trash, food, etc, to get the full effect?
ReplyDeleteYou say we must “become comfortable with not knowing.” Therefore, “To understand what this life’s for: it’s for grabbing on to the equally confused soul standing next to you and working together to help each other get through it.” My take on this is that our purpose in life it to grab hands and trudge through the storm. What’s at the end? What do you think we’re doing this all for? Is that part of the “unknown” you talk about?
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 8 of your book, you discuss how you gave up on the no washing machine part of the project because it was too hard to go without a washer. I completely understand this decision because I don't know what I would do without a washer, but didn't you feel guilty when you threw clothes in the washing machine? Your one year project wasn't about doing some things without impacting the planet; it was about having absolutely no impact. So how did you decide to re-introduce the washing machine back into your life? And how did you feel when you did this?
ReplyDeleteHave certain events (such as global cooling or climategate) changed your position on global warming since writing No Impact Man?
ReplyDeleteDo you think we can ever "stop chasing", and reach happiness? Is it the consumerist society we're brought up in, that teaches us to keep reaching for the next zenith, or is it purely human nature that we can never be satisfied?
ReplyDelete- Have you felt more benefits from the project toward your family (by way of saving money) or do you feel like you have truly benefited the environment more?
ReplyDelete- Do you think that you will ever do it again?
- Do you still get the same treatment from people now that the project is over?
- In what ways do you still incorporate the No Impact Project in your life today?
- If there is one thing that you regret from the project, what would that be?
-Is there anything that you took on during this project that you really regret?
ReplyDelete-What was your favorite thing that you did during the no impact project?
-Have you kept all of the things that you wanted to keep after the project was over?
-Are you doing anything with the profits you earned from the book to make a good environmental impact?
-What is your least favorite question that you get asked about your project?
You give a lot of examples about Zen Master's wisdom and talk a lot about your Zen school, was this something you knew/ participated in before the No Impact Project or is it something you stumbled upon during the project?
ReplyDeleteHave your beliefs been majorly influenced by these Zen masters?
By not using electricity, carbon emitting transportation, or buying new consumer goods you must have saved a lot of money; What did you do with the extra money?
Have the Zen Masters significantly influenced your opinions
If the manufacturers are wasting 98.5 % of the natural resources they dig up and consumers only 1.5% (), even if we as consumers eliminated almost all of our waste, how can we really make a difference?
During our no impact week on sustainable food day, I was traveling from a college visit and found it impossible to eat locally or without creating large amounts of trash. After the project you traveled around the country speaking to schools, companies, etc. Did you find a way to avoid the usually inevitable fast food meals and do you have suggestions on how to be more environmentally friendly in eating while we are traveling?
1. If you have one thing to say to the people who have absolutely no concern for the environment, what would you say?
ReplyDelete2. Do you not think that it's too late for us to go back to simplistic living? Would people be willing to not use their cars as much?
3. Did you feel healthier after the no impact year?
4. Do you have a favorite moment of the no impact year?
5. How do you think we can obtain permanent happiness?
1. Have certain events (such as global cooling or climategate) changed your position on global warming since writing No Impact Man?
ReplyDelete2. Are there any other movements that you feel passionately for besides environmentalism? How do they relate?
3. "One is to account for externalities by making the price of fossil fuels match their true costs by forcing industry to pay for the permission to emit greenhouse gases"
On page 173 you call for cap and trade laws from the government. How do you suggest preventing companies from moving overseas and in effect losing jobs in America?
4. What are your thoughts on the recent oil spill that has happened and the inability of the government to fix the problem in a timely manner?
5. Why did the headline "The Year without Toilet Paper" upset you? I thought it was actually a catchy title that would catch a reader's attention.
What was the most rewarding part of the entire project?
ReplyDeleteOut of all of the e-mails/blog comments that you've gotten, what are some of your favorites?
Do you think recycling as much as possible can cancel out what little trash is left over to throw away?
Was there anything harder to get rid of than coffee?
If you were asked to do this project again but for a longer period of time, would you?
On a similar note, if you could go back and do the project knowing what you do now, would you do anything differently?
What did you expect other people to get from your project? How did you expect them to react? Did you want them to try to live with no impact or just change certain parts of their lives?
ReplyDeleteIn your book, you discuss Pema Chodron’s reaction to 9-11. You tell us that she believes that the basic human state is “groundlessness.” Do you agree with her? If not, can you explain why you reacted to 9-11 the way you did?
Did you use your cell phone throughout the no impact project? What about a home phone? How did you stay in immediate contact with people if you did not? Like what if Bella got sick, how did the babysitter notify you?
5. Do you feel safe riding your bike and having Isabella in an attached cart behind you? Do you think the drivers of the car are entirely to blame for the accidents that occur?
ReplyDelete6. How can you publish such personal facts about yourself? How does your family feel that these facts are public knowledge?
If we have no way to bike to school or other places and no one lives near us to carpool, how would you suggest reducing our carbon footprint?
ReplyDeleteI hear a lot about how recycling wastes just as many resources and energy as would be lost if we just throw it away but we save money when we just throw it away. What do you have to say about the difference in resources recycling vs. dumping.
Do you think, after this project, you spend less time in front of the TV or in your car than you did before the project?
Did you research everything for the book at one time or as you came across the particular items in your project?
Do you think you made an impact on the planet? Or do you think that your positive impact completely balanced your negative impact at the end of one year?
ReplyDelete1. Overall, was the project more challenging for you or Michelle?
ReplyDelete2. If you could redo the No Impact project, what would you do differently? Would you add or take our phases?
3. Which phase of the project was the most difficult?
4. Which phase took the most time to get used to?
5. What do you regret the most about the project?
From Suzanne...
ReplyDeleteThe quote on page 157 "We're too busy for love because we're working for the stuff that the ads sa will bring us love" made me think about what the effect will be from this book. With all the publicity, will people succumb to the consumerism of this book, go no impact, and be loved because of it?
What kind of phone do you have?
How does this physical book, which will be made available as a consumer good and printed on paper, make you feel about your project?
If there was one thing you could change and impress upon americans right now, what would it be?
ReplyDeleteOn those days when you questioned why you even put your family in this situation, what got you through it?
Did you buy “new” matches to light candles with?
Is it apart of humanity to make a difference? What if people “think they’re happy”, so they “are happy”. Should they change?
What is the one element of the experiment you thought was least successful?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think people the environment has become unimportant to so many people?
Did you ever feel as though you were taking away Michelle's happiness? For example, you three weren't able to visit her family, you say she always had a caffeine headache, and for the first portion of the experiment she walked over 40 blocks to work every day.
How would you respond to a person who said God gave us natural resources to be used, therefore saving the environment is not an issue?
“I’m not judging everyone. Really, I’m only judging myself. God help me. Is there a way to do this and have peace at the same time?” Do you still feel judgmental of yourself and have you found an answer to this question?
1. Had the blog not become popular and the media attention started, do you think your project would have been the same?
ReplyDelete2. The documentary has obviously had some impact on the environment. Are there any measures being taken to reduce that impact?
3. Did you ever regret giving in to things like using the clothes washer?
4. Do you think your religious views have had an effect on the project and how?
5. Did this project help you to feel any healthier/more energetic?