The riotous story of a guilty liberal who snaps, swears off plastic, goes organic, turns off his power, and becomes a bicycle nut in an effort to make zero environmental impact

Manhattanite Colin Beavan spent a year trying to live without a net environmental impact, and he dragged his baby daughter and Prada-loving wife along for the ride (bicycle-powered, of course). In other words, no trash, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no air conditioning, no television…What would it be like to try to live a no-impact lifestyle? Is it possible? Could it catch on? Is living this way more satisfying or less satisfying? Is it worthwhile or senseless? These are the questions at the heart of this whole mad endeavour, which ultimately challenges each of us to embrace green living.



* The publisher has aimed for sustainability in all aspects of this book’s production. For example, the interior paper is 100% post-consumer recycled, processed without chlorine, and certified by both the Forest Stewardship Council and EcoLogo. Instead of a jacket, the cover boards are stamped directly with ink, and the boards themselves are made from 100% recycled and FSC-certified materials.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

“[Beavan’s experiment is] equal parts grace and calamity … washed down with a big draught of engaging palaver.”
— New York Times

“So fervent as to make Al Gore look like a profligate wastrel, Beavan’s commitment to the cause is, nonetheless, infectiously inspiring and uproariously entertaining.”
— Booklist

“There’s something of Thoreau in Colin Beavan’s great project — but a fully engaged, connected, and right-this-minute helpful version. We’re at a moment when we need to have as little impact in our own lives as possible — and as much impact in our political lives as we can possibly muster. Beavan shows how!”
— Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy

“No Impact Man touches a nerve with people beyond hard-core environmentalists.” 
— San Francisco Chronicle

“Beavan forces the reader to confront his or her personal role in the climate change crisis.”
— Winnipeg Free Press

“An inspiring, persuasive argument.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“Beavan captures his own shortcomings with candor and wit and offers surprising revelations . . . While few readers will be tempted to go to Beavan's extremes, most will mull over his thought-provoking reflections and hopefully reconsider their own lifestyles.”
— Publishers Weekly

“Deeply honest and riveting.”
— Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat

“Colin Beavan has the disarming and uniquely remedial ability to make you laugh while making you feel like a swine, and what’s more, to make you not only want to, but to actually do something, about it.”
—Norah Vincent, author of Voluntary Madness and Self-Made Man

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

Visit Colin Beavan's blog.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

1. How a Schlub Like Me Gets Mixed Up in a Stunt Like This
2. Day One and the Whole Thing Is a Big Mistake
3. What You Think When You Find Your Life in the Trash
4. If Only Pizza Didn’t Come on Paper Plates
5. How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint and Anger Your Mom at the Same Time
6. The Cabbage Diet Saves the World
7. Conspicuous Nonconsumption
8. Click and the Lights Go Out
9. Trying to Do Enough Good to Outweigh the Harm
Epilogue: Life After the Year Without Toilet Paper

Note on Production
Appendix: You Can Make a Difference!
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

Colin Beavan is the author of Operation Jedburgh and Fingerprints. His work has appeared in the Atlantic, Esquire, Men’s Journal, Men’s Health, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and many other major magazines. He lives in New York City.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page