My husband watched the movie with me, and I'm sure that he was thinking: "oh no... now she's going to make us go without... (fill in the blank)... or now we're going to have to do.. (fill in the blank)." I was glad he watched it with me because he's always my sounding board. He tells me when I'm getting a little to crazy, but he'll support me if he realizes that there is sound logic behind the action. He's represents anyone reluctant to change, but logical enough to know what's good for him (and not just because I say so). After the movie he and I agreed on a few things:
1. We would not be trying to go without electricity in our apartment. We live in Ohio and while N.I. Man was living in NYC with his wife and child, there were times when the three of them were living without power and it just seemed a bit absurd in that it'd begun to dictate their lives rather than it simply being a mild annoyance. With this, they also took refuge in places then that did have air conditioning or heat. I'm not against being without electricity, but I don't think an apartment is the best living quarters in which to be powerless. Powerless in an apartment means using candles or lamps (i.e. open flame) for light-- which then puts everyone in the building at risk-- so it's not like it's just YOUR house. 2. Apartments don't generally have fireplaces or basements; this means that heating and cooling is pretty much non-existent. When it's 30 degrees or below, it is a health hazard not to have heat (hypothermia, anyone?). Conversely, during the sweltering summer months, basements can be great retreats for anyone dealing with hot weather and no air conditioning (heatstroke, anyone?), which can also be life-threatening.
2. We would like to get solar power to step toward being power-independent. N.I. Man actually bought a solar panel just to help him get enough juice for his laptop-- since he's a writer and was dependent on technology for his profession. I even recently saw small solar panels for sale for less than $100 in the West Marine catalog (meant for boaters, but applicable for anyone).
3. We'll continue our worm bin and even got another warm bin. N.I. Man started a worm bin and also seemed to have success with it. With a worm bin, worms digest any veggie scraps, bread scra
ps or egg shells. We've had a worm bin for a while and had great success with it, except that we found that we ate so many veggies that our worms couldn't keep up, so we'd have to throw out some of the scraps. Now, we just put our scraps into one of our two bins and cover the scraps with the "dirt", shredded damp newspaper, and then a piece of cardboard. The worms seem happy and I'm only unhappy when I need to dump the putrid worm water. However, the worm water seems to be a hit with the plants. Just don't dump it on any house plants because you'll regret sitting in the same room with the stench.4. We're going to continue to eat more veggies and less meat. With this, we'll also buy organic (even if it does initially cost more) whenever possible. No Impact Man discusses the effects of the meat industry on our health and on the environment. It does show how eating locally, sustainably grown meat is much better than the commercial, mega-farms. This just reminded us to locate and support our local farmers if they are raising their meat with minimal antibiotics and without hormones, and by letting them graze pastures rather than simply be "corn fed". (The Monsanto Corn industry is a topic I'll address at another point!)
5. Lastly, we'll continue to keep our driving trips at a minimum and opt for biking, walking, or running whenever safely
possible (or for me, even sometimes when risky). We'll continue to adhere to traffic laws, common sense, and using defensive riding/running techniques in order to promote awareness and not let others "keep us down" with lacking bike lanes and sidewalks. While No Impact man had the advantage of great public transportation, side walks and bike trails, many areas such as Lancaster, OH are still very limited in this way. But how do we make it change? We demand it by showing our willingness to run & bike without these lanes and sidewalks. We'll write letters, attend city meetings and run for public offices. We'll carve our a niche and bring awareness by talking to others about it and by slowing down traffic (if need be) to stand our ground and demand we be treated as equals with noisy, polluting cars.For more ideas, check out No Impact Man's Blog.
For another similarly related blog: The Zero Waste Home
