As you know, No Impact Man as a project asks the question, “What can I, as an individual, do to help the planet?” And I believe strongly that individual action is important, but I don’t believe it replaces political action. I believe the two are complimentary and strongest when they come together. For that reason, […]
Doing stuff instead of watching stuff
A while back I went to Shabbat dinner at my friend Rabbi Steve Greenberg’s house. At a certain stage, he handed out booklets and we all sang together. I’m not Jewish so it was new to me, in a wonderful way, and I felt jealous that we did not all sing together in my house. […]
How to be an extreme, green take-charge-of-your-life machine
Somehow I got invited to be part of the LifeRemix network of talented bloggers who write mostly about productivity and other elements of how to live your life (I provide the environmental contribution). Once a week we write a group-authored post, and this week it was about—you guessed it—productivity. Each of us had to offer […]
Yummy chemicals in your tum-tum (and your testicles or ovaries)
You know how I have been going on about plastic water bottles and how bad they are for the environment and such? Well, what if, for kicks, I was to tell you that not only is bottled water awful for the environment and awful for ensuring a good, clean water supply, but that some plastic bottles—along with a bunch of […]
Why I sometimes drone on about wacky spiritual questions…
…because if people like me, who have the money to consume, don’t find something to do that is more meaningful and fulfilling then just, well, consuming, then the planet may well be screwed. At the same time, I see how I can deceive myself into spinning round the gerbil wheel and working my butt off to get […]
Drinking (unbottled) tap water helps the planet
Above, in the title, is the conclusion I’d be happy to have you draw from my previous post on the evils of bottled water. Below is one more quote to add to my previous post on, you guessed it, the evils of bottled water: “Tap water may now be the equal of bottled water, but […]
Some reasons I don’t let plastic bottles cloud my water
“Bottled water has already turned tap water into a commodity, and corporations are stepping up their efforts to privatize public water systems.” —Letter to the New York Times by Gigi Kellett, campaigns director, ”Think Outside the Bottle,” Corporate Accountability International. “At the same time, to ensure maximum profits, these companies are lobbying to weaken water quality standards, and pushing for trade agreements […]
What if this is as good as it gets?
There is an idea that there is always something better to do, something better to have, somewhere better to be, someone better to be with. Solving the problem, I have sometimes allowed myself to believe, just requires buying something (and using planetary resources). The problem is that when I get the better thing, it turns out that there is, […]