can Seacoast residents be like 'No Impact Man'?

When Colin Beavan decided to eliminate his personal impact on the environment for a year, one of his greatest challenges was also one of the best rewards—convincing his family to join him.

No impact meant eating vegetarian and buying only local food. It meant eliminating use of elevators, television, cars, buses, planes, toxic cleaning products and electricity. It also meant not throwing anything away. Complicating this goal was the fact that his family lives in Manhattan.

The No Impact Project had an unforeseen impact of its own when Beavan’s espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife Michelle and their two-year-old daughter were dragged into it.

The Music Hall will present the film “No Impact Man” on Thursday, Jan. 21, as its Wildcard Movie of the month. A panel discussion will follow with local sustainability experts, including Bert Cohen, cofounder of Piscataqua Sustainability Initiative, and Sarah Brown, Green Alliance project director.

“No Impact Man” promises to be a compelling and funny documentary on the task of taking personal responsibility for the environment. Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein’s film captures a national fascination, but it’s also an intimate look at the marital challenges that result from a radical lifestyle change. Beavan’s environmental experiment quickly became a test of how much his wife was willing to sacrifice for him.
Seacoast residents are increasingly willing to attempt such lifestyle changes, at least to some degree.

“The call to develop a more sustainable community is being answered by more and more folks on the Seacoast,” said Chris Curtis, The Music Hall’s film and outreach coordinator, in a press release.

The panelists who will discuss the film have their own ways of reducing impact on the environment, and they encourage others to join them. 

Cohen teaches sustainable living at the University of New Hampshire and is a member of Portsmouth’s Blue Ribbon Committee on Sustainability. During his 40-plus years of teaching, he has been exploring how to form learning communities that support the wellbeing of the individual and society as a whole, while respecting the integrity of our environment.

The Piscataqua Sustainable Initiative is building a community through study circles to implement the Natural Step principles for a better future. The steps include becoming aware, assessing current conditions, suggesting solutions and acting on the priorities.
Essentially, Cohen said, people are asking what needs to change in their individual lives to make the most powerful difference within the entire system. “I’ve been dealing with the question for a long time,” he said.

He added that attempting this on an individual basis might not be the most productive method. Cohen said connecting with a larger group while following our interests and passions may have a bigger impact.

Many people feel of sense of urgency to help the environment, he said, but trying to deal with the magnitude of the problem can be depressing. 

The most important thing about the film, he said, is that it starts a community dialogue. “Everybody knows we have issues,” Cohen said. Now we’re not only asking what to do about them, but what is “the most significant thing” to do about them.

Brown has been an environmental advocate in her community for the last 10 years. She started the Green Alliance to encourage consumers to make more sustainable choices and support local businesses that are making it easier to do so. A list of Green Alliance businesses is cataloged online at www.greenalliance.biz.

“What’s important is that everyone feels like they can get engaged,” she said. You don’t have to be as extreme as Beavan is in “No Impact Man.” “No matter how small, everybody can make a better choice.”

Many Seacoast residents are aware of the long-term steps they can take to curb environmental damage, such as weatherizing their homes and driving a fuel efficient vehicle. “What about goods and services purchased on a daily basis?” Brown said.

Companies with less impact include restaurants that compost and serve local food, dentists who buy recycled materials, salvage building suppliers, and salons and lawn care services that don’t use toxic chemicals. One snow plowing company uses biofuel and nontoxic ice melts, and maps the most efficient routes.

If businesses aren’t acting sustainably, Brown said, consumers should go elsewhere or ask them to change. “The business is going to respond to the market,” she said.
With sustainable options now at a comparable cost, Brown said there’s no reason not to support green businesses.

“If we’re talking about millions of people, the small changes that people make can make a big change,” she said.

Brown helped create Kittery Progressive Action, St. John’s Stewardship of the Earth Committee in Portsmouth, and spearheaded Cool Kittery, which convinced the Town Council to sign the Mayors’ Agreement on Climate Change and then regrouped to become Kittery’s Energy Efficiency Committee.

“No Impact Man” begins at 7 p.m. on Jan. 21 at The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 603-436-2400. Tickets are $8.50. For more information, visit www.themusichall.org.