Change is scary. And big changes are really scary. The “lifestyle experiment” that Colin Beavan and his family undertake in No Impact Man involves really big changes in their daily habits. The goal? to have no net negative impact on the environment: to produce no garbage, use no carbon-emitting means of transportation, eat only locally-grown food, etc.
Such goals can be intimidating, especially if they’re seen as easily, immediately, and completely achievable. In fact, changes of this nature are never easy, immediate, or complete. And when we undertake them, we are almost always less than heroic. We are clumsy and uninspiring. But that’s OK. As Beavan himself writes,
The idea was not to become an environmental expert and then apply what I’d learned. The idea was to start from scratch – with not a clue about how to deal with our planetary emergency – and stumble forward. To see what I could find out. To see how I evolved. (22)
There are at least two ways in which the “No Impact” experiment can be said to “stumble forward.” First, it unfolds in stages. Beavan and his family don’t try to change everything at once. They try to change bit by bit, step by step. They start somewhere and see what happens. This is a good lesson for all of us. You may not, by yourself, overnight, be able to lower the CO2 levels in the earth’s atmosphere, but you can start using a handkerchief instead of paper towels to blow your nose. And then you can start carrying a reusable container for your water and coffee. And then you can make another change after that. The first steps in such an experiment are often the hardest, but the new habits you establish will enable you, later on, to go further, faster. The best measure of success in such endeavors, after all, is perseverance, not revolution.
Second, Beavan tells the story of his family’s experiment in human terms. No Impact Man is about very fallible individuals tackling a very difficult project. And thus, it’s a story of trial-and-error, frustration, embarrassment, and misunderstanding. It’s a story in which you take one step back for every two steps forward – or one step forward for every two steps back.
There are times in life when the change we seek – in ourselves, in the world – is best seen as naturally, inevitably, messy. The only way to begin such a project is just to start, somewhere, and proceed in fits and starts, however haltingly and imperfectly. Do something. Try.
After all, what is the alternative?