First Sunday - Getting Started
What are your thoughts as we start the No Impact Experiment week? Please write about ways you are preparing for the week, mentally and physically.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kate Rotondo on -
Hello! I am very exciting about this project and can't wait to start! I think I'm starting on Jan 10th... Not sure, this is kind of last minute and the details still feel a little fuzzy for me...
I've already been working on making my carbon footprint smaller since the past year and a half or so by doing various things like buying second-hand items and clothing, supporting local produce growers, and not driving. I also live on a sailboat with my partner! It's our permanent home, but we are currently living at his family's place out of town in Saskatchewan for the next few months... In a way it'll be easier to do this experiment as we won't be "tempted" by consumerism - We don't really have a way to get around and in the cities much at the moment! But why would we, when we live in a wood-stove-heated cozy home filled with organic produce from the garden just outside!? Those being mentioned, I don't think it'll be that hard for me to pull through this... We'll see!
I know there are many ways we can improve, and No Impact Project is just what I've been looking for!
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Permalink Reply by madelon galland on -
Sunday morning:
The experiment begins with frozen water pipes and 3rd day of being snowed in. My intention today is to sew some cloth vegetable/fruit bags to use when I go to market, in hopes of preventing more plastic from coming into the house.
This is a helpful incentive to commit myself to find my responsibility and power to implement much needed changes in my habits of consumption. Thanks for creating the support and enthusiasm for this week long experiment.
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Permalink Reply by sara e ale on -
Good morning!!! today here it is a wonderful sunny day!!! I start the experiment preparing my bag. Indeed I have two bags, one inside the other. One it is bigger (it is recycle plastic) and the other is smaller and it is for organic waste. In my town, everybody must collect the organic in this bag otherwise you must pay penalities. Then I prepare our breakfast, usually I use a tea bag for each cup. But today I used only one bag for my and my husband, and now I put it on a small plate for the next tea of the day ( usually we drink a lot of tea during the day, almost 4 cups each). Then usually I eat a lot of biscuits for breakfast, even if I 'm not hungry. Today I have just 6 biscuits,I'm trying to reduce my comsum.
Now I must go to prepare myself, i'm wainting for some friends of mine (we are partecipating to an architectural competion).
See you later!!!
I have posted some pictures of this morning in my page if you want to see them.
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Permalink Reply by silvia ferrer dalmau on -
Hello! The weather is gorgeous today but really cold! I'm going to review the steps...as i had forgotten about the bags. Thanks for remind! My cousin called me today to ask if we wanted to go for dinner to some restaurant but i said NO!!!!
It's easy as i prefered to stay home and cooked meals with the organic vegetables we bought each week. I think for us it is also easy to reduce consum as we are pretty fine with the stuff we have and not anxious to get more. But it is difficult with the sun shinning today not to stop to any coffee terrace and enjoy some TAPAS!!! JI JI JI...we will carry ours, isn't it?
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Permalink Reply by Steve Tomczyk on -
I did tell about half a dozen family members, co-workers and friends about my decision to become involved in the No-Impact Experiment. Reactions ranged from "Cool that you're trying it" and a few Facebook "Like-its" to "You're crazy and it's a waste of time". More leanings toward the "indifference to negative reaction" side of the scale.
As I prepare for the week, my initial thoughts are: I'm doing this as a distraction from some personal and career issues that I just can't seem to solve. Good. Get's the other side of the brain working, and my involvement in the experiment is something positive I can do for myself with some limited positive effects for the community and enviornment.
My next thoughts are feeling bad that I and my way of my life have become SO dependent upon computers. This I must change. For instance, I was doing financials and paying bills on my computer. I am still in the process of cancelling paper statements and trying to reduce the amount of junk mail sent here. However, what if I didn't have a computer? The time it would take me to pay those bills in person would be a lot and involve a lot of travel to do it. Too many bills in the fisrt palce...? Sure!
Next, my job. Almost all of my day is spent alone in a room tapping and clicking at multiple computers. Most communication is by e-mail or phone. Too often even within the company. This is an element of my career I will change somehow. I find it kind of ironic that to post my comments, and share other's experiences with the experiment, I need a computer, electricity and battery-powered technology...Anyone have any thoughts on that? I feel a bit hypocritical and guilty about technology in general. If I could make a living doing with less technology, and compete, I would consider it. I used to do similar work before the personal computer. I considered it more of a craft back then as well. I would draw, paint, take photographs, play real musical instruments and record them on tape. In many ways, I miss my analog ways.
So those are my initial thoughts. I look forward to hearing from as many of you as possible. I actually hope to meet a few of you in person. Those in Milwaukee, give me a shout. I know I will meet some new people in my endeavors (woo-hoo!) and will absolutely learn a lot. Selfish reasons for my involvement...perhaps. However, I feel the end result of groups like these whose members are willing to try something that's well-orgnized and thought-out, track their results publicly, and tell others can make an impact.
Good Luck!
ST
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Permalink Reply by Monia Filipe on -
I'm Monia from Portugal. Day one started today for me and I've also created a blog in Portuguese, so I can tell my friends about this project and what I'm achieving.
I've been environmental conscious all my life but I got to a point where I think it's not enough. Besides I work very far from home and its crazy to cycle to work: it's 30 miles plus highway. I used to take the public transportation but it took me like 3 hours a day from home-work-home. This year I decided to take the car again, because I really need some quality of life and to get more sleep than I used to. I also decided to use the time I save by going by car with environmental issues, like this project or some volunteer work. I'm now active in an animal organization in my town and I am also helping out to create the first and only People's Party for the Animals. It's been very exciting.
I am also very excited about this project and, since I am taking the car to work, I decided to "compensate" in other ways, so I've kind of created my own project: I will take the public transportation 2 days out of 5, I´ll plug off the dishing machine as from today and I´ll establish a "no television day" and a "no computer day" at home, not only this week but like forever - I live with my boyfriend and he's willing to help, but he´s not willing to strictly follow the project...
I wish you are all successful in this week!
If there is anyone from Portugal, please step out!
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Permalink Reply by Clara Bosch i Comas on -
Buf! I think i am like my cousin Silvia...i forgot about the bags...So now i'll get the banana peel and place it in my organic bag...inside the plastic and other stuff bag...! I like the idea of two bags Sara! So today, i used a glass half way with water to brush my teeth and i realised that you don't even need that much water! I always turn on and off the tap while i am brushing my teeth, but to rinse them, i don't use a glass, so you lose water...so from now on I'll have a glass in my bathroom to brush my teeth!
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Permalink Reply by madelon galland on
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Question, do we need to "friend" each other in the group to share our personal page content/blog/photos? This is the first time I am participating in a group discussion (outside of fb), and I am a bit confused. Should my reply this evening go here or on my personal page blog? Sorry. I am an amateur, and find the computer a time suck that I am trying to work with productively this week, as at the moment it seems to be my most glaring area of energy(electrical and mental) consumption that I need to work on. The confusion gets my gears stuck. I will re- read the PDF and see if it has some practical answers for the blogsphere uninitiated.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Langer on -
Hello! Starting this project by following the directions (I enjoy directions and rules, teacher that I am) and making sure that I bake another loaf of bread for the house for the week so we don't have to buy any ...
The only item that I may want to buy this week/soon is a fleece headband to cover my ears while I bike, but I'll ask around and go to goodwill before I resort to buying a new one -- I currently only have a cloth headband so my ears get coooold on the bike ride to work when it's below 30 degrees.
My other consumption promise is not to go out for ANY FOOD because that's my main expense in any given month besides groceries and tzdakah. No coffee dates, no buying anything if I go to happy hour on Friday, nothing.
One thought I've had about the consumption piece is that while I currently can fairly easily not buy anything, that is mostly because I have all these items (clothes in particular) from before I started being conscious. Sure, NOW I can stop buying things, but I have winter boots, a huge winter coat, rain coat, a good amount of professional clothes, casual clothes that I can patch. I suppose second-hand is how I could have gotten all those things before, but at some point someone had to get them new for me to get them second hand ... Just been thinking ... What if everyone in the world started now doing second hand - I supposed we'd all survive on making a few new things but mostly reusing instead of throwing away.
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Permalink Reply by candy whitsett on -
I am ready. I was practicing last week by saving my trash and bringing it home with me from work. I unplug the bathroom nightlight early AM and only plug in late at night. I use all cfl's and run only a $3 a month electric bill as it is...but it all counts, right? Mentally I will rethink any car trips. Physically I will walk more and eat only local. We already compost everything from home and work so no problems there. I look forward to a challenge and want to encourage others.
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Permalink Reply by Tiffaney Derreumaux on
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My thoughts on the week are that one week is a very short time. But hopefully we will all continue to work on the issues for a few months.
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Permalink Reply by sara e ale on
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I'm readying the manual, on monday it is written: "Put together a no-trash travel kit for the week with
a reusable drinking receptacle for hot and cold liquids, a handkerchief/old t-shirt, Tupperware®, utensils, and reusable produce bags. "
Do you have a picture of an example of this special bag?
Thank you!
Sara
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