Interview: Colin Beavan

Published Oct. 2, 2009 at 6:56 p.m.
It's not easy going green
"In my twenties, I was really concerned with global warming. In my thirties, I was really focused on being a writer."

Review: No Impact Man. By Tom Meek.

Writer Colin Beavan, currently on tour to promote his eco-minded book, No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process, the accompanying (and similarly titled) documentary film (which opens later this week), and his eco-advocacy group, NoImpactProject.org, sat down with Tom Meek to discuss living green. Both the book and the movie chronicle how Beavan and his family attempt to live one year (2006) in New York City without any impact on the planet: meaning no cars, no non-compostable waste (bottles, wrappers and bags), no electricity (to a degree), cloth diapers for his daughter and eating only locally grown foods. One of the biggest challenges was living on the ninth floor (no elevator) and having a dog that needed to be walked three times a day.

Beavan, who affectionately refers to his No Impact year as an 'experiment,' will be at the Boston Public Library on October 6th at 6PM and later that evening, at the Kendall Square Theater to answer questions following a screening of the film.

How has the reaction been to your yearlong experiment and the book?
There's been a lot of interested people showing up at events. People are aware of these joint crises we have going on with the economy and the environment. Well, there are three really, the environmental crisis, the economic crisis and a quality of life crisis, so I think people are looking to see what they can do to participate in the solutions.

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