As you know, the idea of the No Impact project is to reduce our negative impact and increase our positive impact in order to have no net environmental impact. Of course, the scientists will tell you that this doesn’t work, but it isn’t intended to work so much scientifically as it is to work philosophically. The real point is to try to live on the planet while doing more good than harm.
Anyway, the positive impact phase has a number of elements, but one that I want to tell you about today is a sponsored swim I am doing around the southern tip of Manhattan on September 29.
Just as biking on city streets is subtly activist (because statistics show that the more cyclists on the streets the safer it is for everyone), so is swimming in the waters around Manhattan. This is part of why Manhattan Island Foundation (MIF) organizes regular swims in our waters: “to raise public awareness of the waters that surround New York by supporting efforts to clean and protect them.”
The more swimmers MIF attracts and the more attention it gets for its swims, the more people will realize that we could have wonderfully clean recreational waters in New York and the more political pressure there will be to get them cleaned up. Therefore, the other day, I threw my 44-year-old body in a YMCA pool and proved I could swim a mile in 45 minutes, which means I qualify to take part in the upcoming “Cove to Cove” swim (MIF apparently doesn’t care if your arms and legs turn to jelly afterwards).
So here is my plea:
If you enjoy the No Impact Man blog, and find it anything like valuable, do you think you might be willing to sponsor my swim for a dollar or two or even ten or twenty? The money will be split evenly between MIF and Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice.
You may remember that I recently went canoeing in the very-polluted Bronx River with some real environmental heroes, young people of YMPJ who hope to bring attention to the plight of the Bronx River and to get it cleaned up. YMPJ’s mission is to develop leadership potential in young people with the goal of rebuilding the South Bronx community and “molding leaders who are capable of leading change here and in the world.”
Manhattan Island Foundation and YMPJ, two excellent causes. Want to help me help them, just a little? Want to help me with the positive impact part of the No Impact Man project? Want to make a splash?
Then, to donate online, click here, then click “donate,” then scroll down to “support a swimmer” in the “donation is
for” box, and type my name, Colin Beavan. Or you can send a check to Manhattan Island Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 5533, New York, NY 10185 (and be sure to put my name “Colin Beavan” in the memo portion of the check).
Thank you so much!
PS Please don’t forget to associate your donation with my name or YMPJ won’t get their half!