after viewing the first portion of the no impact movie, what is your initial reaction to colin's project? you may want to comment on the reactions from his wife, friends, and the media.
due wednesday, april 28, 5pm.
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Chris Rivera:
ReplyDeleteAfter viewing the first part of the no impact movie today I have mixed feelings about this project. Colin's attempt to reduce his impact on the enviroment by boycotting products that produce wastes is a noble act. I agree with his opinions about water bottles, needless packaging, resuseable diapers, and transportation. However, there were also things he did that just werent realistic in my mind. First of all was the issue of toilet paper. I understand where he is coming from but I believe that there are certain neccessities that we need to consume, toilet paper is on of them. Another issue I had was with the compost in his house. It takes alot of time for worms to turn trash into compost. Its a smelly and slimey endeavour that you dont want going on in your small new york apartment. Also, I dont believe his wife wants to do this. I think she is just going along with it for her husband's sake. I believe that his friends are supporting of him, which is good. Finally, I can understand why he is being portrayed negatively by the media. Although he wants to send a message of change, His actions can be seen as an attempt to one-up society and even though his impact on the enviroment is reduced, he is still making an impact which is a contradiction. He is also an author who plans to write a book after about his experience during the documentary. So this can also be seen as an attempt at self promotion.I dont know, I didnt mean to write a book here.
this is a very provocative opportunity for an individual to say a big "fuck you" to conformity and the unrealistic aspects of conditioning we Americans face as consumers in a throw away society. Regardless of any of the negative aspects of this or the theories of intent--book writing and what have you--the action itself is an act of bravery, which no one else has every actively documented for the viewing purposes of society. Sure, it is unlikely that this would be a possible task for the "No Impact Man" if he first didn't have the financial means to not work while still being able to afford his likely $2-5,000 a month flat in New York City; I'm sure there's many other questionable pieces to this puzzle. Regardless, it is a very loud statement and I can't wait to see how things pan out.
ReplyDeleteweston
Personally, I don't think I could withstand to such circumstances but I think it's awesome that he's willing to take that challenge. (Especially with Isabelle, that has to be tough) His wife on the other hand, doesn't feel it's that awesome but is still along for the ride. The no transportation section I like, the cloth diapers is cool, zero plastic bags is also a plus, but no toilet paper and WORMS would definitely end it for me. I'm interested in seeing how this works out for Colin and his family.
ReplyDeletejosh g,
ReplyDeleteI think that in the overall picture its a great experiment, and he has great intentions. But realistically I think hes an idiot. He is in NYC, and if I was the one doing the experiment and the change of lifestyle and walked down the street past that much trash and had a wife who was relapsing into her lattees, I would feel that I was achieving nothing. Theres no way I could ever live without good food, yes his wife did take herself out of a potential diabetic diagnosis, but at the same time I just dont agree with it at all. From what we have seen he is still using energy, by cooking and having the lights on most of the time. Again, I think he has great intentions, but to force the lifestyle he is choosing on his wife and daughter, I dont really agree with it. However, I did like the worm bin for his compost and how he focused on local farmers for the majority of his food.
James Said......
ReplyDeleteI think he is going to extremes just for self-promotion. That being said, if he is truly genuine, this is the best way to "spread the word." Would he be able to be as strict as he is were he not followed by cameras and constantly under public scrutiny? Camera's or not, I would not be able to be as strict as they are.. The meat thing alone would probably be the hardest, as well as the transportation. It's all well and good when the weather is nice but what happens when ol' man winter show's his big burly ass??? James
I applaud the guy for trying to do something good as crazy as it may seem. However, I think his wife is less happy about this whole project. She seems very lazy to me. I think He is the main contributor to all household chores. All she is there for is to whine and bitch. I think the cloth diaper issue is a great one, it worked for many years before disposable. No toilet paper though...yuck! Some things are meant to be taken as a great invention and not looked at as a waste product...and toilet paper is one of them!
ReplyDeleteI like how Colin and his family are going out of their way to make changes. I was not in class on Monday, because I was finishing a test. However, from the previous blog posts it sounds like this movie is every interesting and I cannot wait to finish watching it with you. As for the cloth diapers, I personally feel this is great for parents. However, I work at a daycare and if we had cloth diapers for every child in diapers, I would go crazy. Think about the washing machine running all the time at the daycare.
ReplyDeleteDan Chiellini:
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a pretty intense experiment to try. To give up everything that can hurt the environment for a whole year is going to be a tough task. However, if he completes this and it actually can help out our societies then maybe we should all try what he is doing. You can tell that his wife is doing it for him mainly, because she loves her lattes and probably cheats on the experiment a lot. I give Colin props for giving up toilet paper because i do not not how people would live without that. It should be interesting to watch the rest of this and see how it goes though!!
I really like what he is doing and would like to do so myself, but i know i couldnt do it for a year. Buying straight from the farmers market is the best, u get great quality goods. His wife isnt my favorite, but she tries. I am a coffee addict myself but would be able to give it up for a "family" project. I like the diaper idea also, and besides... they can just potty train the kid early, lol. I dont know how i feel about the toilet paper thing, but i guess it beats re-usable tampons
ReplyDeleteThe food critic who interviewed Colin and his family, I think made a legitimate argument when she said that ppl. are responding negatively this experiment because its making society feel shameful for living over consumed lifestyles (which we are). However, people (myself included) tend to put intrinsic/extrinsic values on the "things" we think we deserve to have, without putting considerable thought into how our consumer behaviors are having a vast impact on the enviornment (which is what Colin is trying to do).
ReplyDeleteI think what he is doing is extremely impractical and nothing more than a ploy to sell books. If he really wanted to do something to make a change he would be finding ways to live our modern lives with the lowest possible impact.Our technology and consumption is here to stay, we have it because we like it. Colin is lookin for attention so he can make a buck. What he is doing seems ingenuine and almost hypocritical. -Shaun Ryan
ReplyDelete-Will Christensen-
ReplyDeleteWow! I beleieve what he is doing in the movie is really cool. I say this becuase by putting himself though a life with minimal impact on the environment he is clearly drawing more attention to the issue. Obviously not everyone is willing to go this far and i could understand his wifes reluctance to follow along. However, at least he is making the initiative and demonstating that it can be done. As they said in the video today.. their days seemed to last forever now and his wife actually started to look up to him for coming up with the idea of no impact man. If everyone attempted to try some form of what he is doing.. . then we would begin to see a real impact. I mean come on, he still had his computer. How rough could it really be!
WC
I was out on Monday so I only saw the second part of the movie, but my initial feelings about what he is doing is that it is admirable but definitely not something i would do. I am surprised as to how deep he gets into it. The two pot fridge that he was using was cool but to bad that it didnt work at all. Another thing that I found interesting was his worm box, I am assuming that he couldn't hang it outside his window or put it on his roof because i don't see why anyone, even him, would volunteer for an apartment full of flies when he could easily put the box outside. It also seems that his wife was frustrated with how things were going but then when she got pregnant she started to become a little more open to the whole experience (even though she cheats at work).
ReplyDeleteGeorge D.
The main question I have, is would this family be doing all this if they were not a part of this experiment? I think that the idea behind the "No Impact Man" was to create a multi-step process for the average American to help reduce their impact on the environment, but the key was for it to be realistic for the average U.S. citizen. There are parts in the movie that just are not doable or actions that most people would never even consider taking part in. The no toilet paper rule is pretty extreme, as is the in-house compost bin. With that being said, what ther are doing is honorable, and if it is getting negative reviews because "it makes others feel guilty," well then good, that is part of its purpose. Chuck Noll once said "guilt is your conscious's way of telling you that you have done something wrong."
ReplyDelete