No Impact Man

I just watched No Impact Man, the documentary of the project of Colin Beavey and his family to live in NYC with no environmental impact for a period of one year. I will say right up front that I loved the documentary. There were a few things about the story that really spoke to me, and I will address those in turn. The real impact on me, though was this: the film was inspirational to me. The Beavey family go into this year-long journey as a project for a book, and a bit of a curiosity...but they come out of it more educated people, and a more compassionate family. In the end, Colin is turned toward a strong belief in individual action as the unit of change in the world, and Michelle, Colin's wife, makes an amazing transformation from a skeptical TV and caffeine-addicted, consumer-culture maven to an incredibly open-minded and refreshingly honest woman who becomes so proud of the project she was reluctant to endure in the beginning. Throughout the film, the couple's daughter Isabella is adorable.

So, first, the basics: when they say "no impact" they literally mean "no impact". They strive to live without producing any garbage (which means no take-out containers or packaging of any kind, no disposable diapers or napkins or toilet paper), without using any form of motor transportation, without using harmful cleaning products such as laundry detergent that have an impact on the environment. Recognizing the importance of meat-eating in environmental degradation, they also elect to become vegetarian for the year. They eat only locally grown (within 250 miles) produce and they obtain dairy from a local farm, which they visit during the course of the documentary. Halfway through the experiment they turn off the electricity in their apartment, living in candlelight and experimenting with alternative refrigeration systems.

On the face of it, the documentary is a story about environmentalism - about a family's quest to see how far they can go to leave the world better than (or at least not worse than) they found it. But to me, it was also a story about the power of individual action, about optimism, idealism, and community - the beauty of truly connecting with other people and with the world. There is a point where Colin visits a community garden in order to start growing vegetables, but he finds that all the spots are filled and the waiting-list is years long, so he finds the one person in this garden who grows vegetables (the rest grow flowers) and begins a sort of apprenticeship under this man, an ex-hippie who becomes a character of his own throughout the story. Toward the end of the documentary Colin goes and speaks to children and college students about his project, and the message he gives is one of optimism and hope - it's truly an inspiration.

The message of hope is especially remarkable given the context in which the family is able to hold onto it. About 5 months into the project they start getting a lot of media attention, and Colin goes on a number of radio & TV shows to talk about it. Colin also has kept a blog throughout. At the point where the media attention commences, they start getting an angry backlash. People say that there's no point in this project, he's only doing it for the money (there's a book deal involved) and the publicity, and that it's pointless because although he claims to be exploring what people can do to reduce their impact, he acknowledges that no one is going to go quite this far (abandoning electricity and toilet paper) in an effort to be environmentally-friendly. They are accused of being out-of-touch with reality and bourgeois. They even receive some hateful messages on the blog. This is very difficult on Michelle especially, who is already struggling with having given up caffeine (no coffee is grown locally) and who went along with the project for Colin's benefit in the first place.

Now, I'll interject to point out that this family did what many families (probably most families) do not have an option to do. Colin is a successful writer and Michelle writes for Business Week, and they are clearly doing well, with a beautiful (if tiny) NYC apartment and lots and lots of designer clothes (bought pre-No Impact Man) for Michelle. Before they begin the "no-consuming" piece of the adventure, Michelle goes on a sort of shopping binge and purchases a pair of boots for $975. Obviously, these people are doing okay, financially. Which means that they can afford things like farmer's markets and locally-organically-grown food and the like. They also have the freedom and flexibility in their lives to embark upon a project like this one - something most families do not have. So they get a lot of backlash for this. I will not argue that their project is doable for the masses, but neither do they. Colin says a number of times that this is an exploration. They are using this year to determine, what's good, what's bad? What can they live without after the year is over, what will they continue with? What can the average American do?

By the end, the lights are turned back on and although it seems as though Colin could have lived happily ever after as No Impact Man, Michelle has a few things in mind to return to a semblance of normal life. As I said before, Michelle's transformation within the space of this movie is incredible, but she is a real person and is very honest about what she's no longer willing to do without. In the end she says she wants to stay vegetarian with the exception of a hot dog every now and then, she wants to continue riding the bike to get around, and she wants to keep the TV (to which she was formerly addicted) out of her home, but maintains that she will watch it on vacation. She does, however, draw the line at the "worm box" (the composting bin that has attracted flies to the kitchen).

During this year, the family doesn't just give up things in the service of environmentalism - they gain some more important things that they weren't even expecting. Michelle points out that since they no longer have TV or air-conditioning they are forced outside of their home all of the time to do things. The TV and the air-conditioning were the things that were keeping them inside almost all of the time. Now they are going around NYC and playing in fountains and riding bikes and doing active things together that actually strengthen their bonds with each other and the community. Colin points out that no one told him at the beginning that this project would mean that he would lose weight without ever visiting a gym and that as a result of the change in diet, Michelle's pre-diabetic condition would be reversed, but these are the "extras" that have happened and these things become more important in the long run.

I just have to reiterate that I loved the message of this film. I was already an environmentalist and I was already interested in positive action for change on the part of individuals and groups, and I was already interested in the value of community. So this documentary did not change my outlook - but it reaffirmed my decision to be an idealist in a world where idealism often not valued, and is in fact mocked, mistaken for naiveté. I love having the proof that other people are out there doing what they can to make a difference. It is these little changes, all put together that will change the world. No one has to live like the Beaveys did for that year - I would never choose that for myself. But all of us choosing to care a little more about other people, about the world around us...doing little things every day...these things truly do add up and they do matter.

The Twilight Series: Bella, the Anti-Feminist

Over the last several months, like many people, I have heard numerous things about a series by Stephanie Meyers called Twilight. I mostly didn't pay any attention to it, because from what I could discern without actually reading the books or watching the movie, it seemed like a vampire romance for the tween/teen set. And, well, that's true. It is a vampire romance for tweens and teens.

But recently, several people (I literally mean at least 4 adults, including my own mother) have told me how much they enjoyed reading the series. I heard in turns that it was a good afternoon read, a cute romance, an easy, fun story. So...when I got a kindle 2 for Christmas last year and saw the kindle editions of the books were available for around 4$ a piece, I decided to give it a try.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

For those of you not familiar with the story, here's a quick synopsis of the plot: Bella, a high-school girl from Phoenix moves to Forks, a small town in Washington, to live with her Dad when her Mom decides to remarry. Bella quickly falls in love with Edward, a brooding, dramatic sort of fellow who at first glares at Bella and then is consumed with her. (And I do mean consumed in a very unhealthy sort of way.) Edward is mysterious because he and his entire family are incredibly beautiful people, as well as filthy rich, and they never come to school on those rare sunny days in the Northwest. Of course, we soon learn that's because they are a coven of vampires. Oh, they're nice vampires - the kind that hunt for animals rather than eat people, but vampires all the same.

So at this point it sounds like a fun and harmless sort of young romance, right? Well, I have to say I that I am strangely angry at this series because it is a good story and I generally find myself eager to find out what will happen next. But, and this is a huge but for me...Bella is the poorest excuse for a heroine and Edward the poorest excuse for a man in love with a woman I've ever read about! Let me explain. One of the major defining characteristics about Bella is that she is clumsy. She falls down, stumbles over furniture, and generally can't be trusted walking around on her two legs. Which has the potential to be cute and make her more likable, except that it basically sets the scene for her to be completely helpless...making it necessary for Edward to protect her at all times.

Not only does Bella have this clumsiness issue, but both Bella and Edward have this horrible, "I can't possibly live without Bella/Edward" issue that makes both characters come off as weak, whiny, and annoying. Edward has an insatiable need to protect Bella both from herself and from any other danger that could possibly come her way. He literally saves her life at least twice in the first book alone. And this is before an evil vampire coven entires the picture! Bella is rendered a sort of object within the book, something to be coveted and adored, but who basically has no power in her own life.

To make matters worse, Edward, as I mentioned earlier, is a brooding and dramatic vampire, meaning that he mostly is in a bad mood and scowls at Bella often, especially if she may possibly be in any sort of danger. This is supposed to be a mechanism for making it clear how very much he is in love with her, but constantly referring to her as though Bella belongs to him and him alone is frankly a little offensive in this day and age. Of course Bella doesn't mind, she can't possibly live without Edward, moody/brooding or not, so she's happy to have him, no matter how much he scowls or constricts her freedoms.

This all came to a horrible head in the second book. Edward and his family have left town, presumably to protect Bella because it has become dangerous for her to be around them. Edward in particular, since he is strong as an ox and may kill her (literally) with his brute strength every time they kiss. There are also evil vampires around, but I forget now whether they have entered the picture at this point. If so, that would be another reason Edward and family would have left town. Anyway, this sets the stage for Bella to spend 80% of the second book moping around, waiting to die because her precious moody vampire boyfriend has left and she now has nothing left to live for. Disgusting!

Now, I am not that old and of course I remember being a teenager in love. So, I am well aware that young straight girls do tend to think that young boys are everything and that without them life is not worth living. I get that. But this is too much! Bella literally starts to hallucinate hearing Edward's voice while performing life-threatening stunts, which only causes her to perform more life-threatening stunts so that she can hear his voice again. She completely falls apart and is really just a shell of a girl wandering around Forks. She has abandoned all of her friends and mopes hopelessly about while her father looks on stunned.

The only thing that brings her out of this months-long depression is...you guessed it...another boy! This is sweet Jacob, a local Native American boy who lives on a nearby reservation and has known Bella since they were children. They quickly become best friends, and of course this and this alone has the power to lift Bella from the depths of her depression. Eventually of course it is revealed that dear, sweet Jacob is a werewolf, an enemy to vampires, and is also in love with Bella. Which opens the door to lots of fighting over who owns Bella with not a lot of respect or even wondering what Bella wants. This is because Bella is not a real person, of course. Bella is just an object in this twisted love story for vampires and werewolves to fight for and over.

I'll spare you the remaining details of the story. This post was not supposed to be about the plot so much, but about my anger toward the story - the fact that Bella is useless as a woman and has no power within her life, Edward has control issues bordering on the abusive, and Jacob...well, Jacob is sweet but he too has too much power over Bella in this story. I guess my problem is really that it's too hard to identify with these people. And I worry that teenage girls do identify with Bella, and with a love story that involves ownership over another person. I can remember thinking how powerful that was, how awe-inspiring it seemed to have someone want you in that way. But as a grown woman it's painful to read. For me, in any case. The problem, of course, at this point, is that the story is quite compelling. I mean, there are vampire wars and everything! So I want to keep reading to find out what's going to happen. I just spend a lot of time gritting my teeth against the main characters.

So I am wondering, what do you all think? If you've read the series, do you agree with my assessment? Or are you thinking I'm taking this all just a little too seriously? Please comment!

A Kindle-rific Christmas!

I received a Kindle 2 for Christmas (thanks, Mom!) and I am very excited about it, so I thought I'd talk about it here. You won't learn anything new from this post that isn't already available in a million places online, but if you're interested in the average user's opinion, read on!

So, first I'll say I love the Kindle overall. I am an avid reader and this device will certainly lighten my load. I am often in the middle of up to 3 or 4 books at one time and having the Kindle makes it easier to manage these, especially when traveling, than carrying a bunch of heavy books around. The Amazon Kindle store (at least for U.S. customers) now has over 400,000 titles available for download, many of them for $9.99 or less. Because the Kindle is an expensive device, some complain that e-books often cost $9.99 (many academic books cost much more than this, and a few e-books actually cost more than their hard-copy counterparts), but I don't mind the price really, since the cost is generally much less expensive than a hard copy. Also, there are hundreds (likely even thousands) of public-domain books whose copyright has worn off that are available for free from Amazon, feedbooks.com, or other sources. In fact, the first books I downloaded were Little Women, Pride & Prejudice, and The Picture of Dorian Gray - all old favorites and all of which were free.

The Kindle is also convenient for reading blogs. I have already signed up for KindleNation and I Love My Kindle, 2 Amazon blogs that post stories about Kindle updates, technology, and free books as they become available. I have also subscribed to a NYTimes blog feed, which publishes certain stories (several per day) as they become available. This is a cheaper option than subscribing to the whole paper, and I get lots of good news stories this way. Blogs are not free on the Kindle, which is strange since they are free to access on the web, but at only .99 to $1.99 per month, they are very cheap and well worth the "push" to my Kindle as each new entry is posted.

Newspapers and magazines can also be accessed through the Kindle, but I have not used this feature, mainly because it is quite expensive and this same content is generally accessed for free through the web. Some newspapers (including WSJ) are actually more expensive on Kindle than in paper form delivered to your front door. This I cannot understand, much less explain, but I definitely don't see the value in that unless you commute on a train and like to read the paper each morning on your commute. I have talked to a friend who also received a Kindle for Christmas, though, and he assures me that the formatting for newspapers is quite good and very easy to use, listing articles in a way that makes sense and forgoing graphics.

I am a grad student and need to read many articles, generally in pdf format. So I thought this would be a great opportunity to stop wasting all that paper printing off hundreds of pages of articles to instead read them on my kindle. So, since kindle does say there's pdf support, I tried this. I simply plugged in the kindle and transferred my articles to the documents folder. This turned out to not be too useful, since in the pdf format you aren't able to increase the font size, and the articles were much too tiny to read comfortably, even with my good vision. Also, you can't highlight or make notes on pdf files on the kindle. So, this sucks, right?

Wrong. There's a workaround. I did a little googling and discovered that I could very easily take my pdfs and convert them to Mobipocket files (the file format kindle uses for e-books) and then the kindle would treat this content just like any other - restoring the ability to change font size (not so important anymore since it's a normal size like any other e-book), and more importantly, highlight and take notes within the text. So this feature is definitely one of the most exciting for me, and likely anyone else who needs to keep up with articles in any kind of journal on a regular basis. And, it's so easy! The conversion process literally takes just a couple of clicks, and then transferring the Mobi file over to the kindle. Very simple, and quick.

Although I love my Kindle and have used it often since receiving it (I opened it a week or so before Christmas and have been using it now for about 2 weeks), but I have a couple of gripes, of course, so I'll discuss those too.

First, the Kindle 2 does not come packaged with a cover, as the first edition did. Why this was omitted for the new version, I don't know...but I think it's a bad move. I went ahead and purchased an M-Edge cover for mine, and I like it, but I don't think I should have had to shell out another $25.00 on a cover for a device that used to ship with one.

Second, and much more annoying, is the fact that there is no way to organize your content via some kind of folder structure. So at this point I only have about 20 books and articles and blogs and whatnot, but eventually I expect to have hundreds. With no folder structure to organize them I foresee a huge pain in the ass trying to find things. Huge.

All in all, a fantastic device and one that I'm very happy with, but I do hope (Amazon, are you listening?) that my folder gripe is addressed at some point.

Did you get a Kindle for Christmas? What do you think of your new toy?

Greeting Cards v. Environmentalism: Where to draw the line?

I was raised in the kind of family where every gift required a handwritten thank-you card. Every birthday, Christmas, or other holiday that included gift-receiving was dutifully followed by a neat stack of handwritten thank-you cards, complete with such jewels as:

"I just know I will get a lot of use out of this wool sweater, (even though I live here in Florida and have never known cold weather)."

and

"What a thoughtful gift - I will think of you every time I use it!" (this could be applied to any gift, no matter how soon it got lost in the back of a desk drawer)

So now I have 30-some years of experience and an ingrained sense of mannerly society that requires thank-you cards. The problem is that over the last several years I have been trying to reduce my impact on the environment, and thank-you cards really use up a lot of paper that, even if recycled, would be better left unpurchased and unreplaced. So what is one to do?

The environmentalist in me says, that's what technology is for! Switch to e-cards, facebook messages, or emails! But that is quickly followed by the thought of the many, many etiquette/advice columnists (not to mention my mother) who have advised over the years that a handwritten thank-you note is an absolute, non-negotiable requirement of the gift-giving process. It goes: 1)Holiday occurs - 2)Gifts are exchanged - 3)Handwritten thank-yous are in order immediately following.

I mean, I didn't even know until I got married that there were people who didn't write thank you notes. I thought it was something everyone in the world did. But it turned out my husband didn't think they were necessary, especially for occasions like Christmas, where you open gifts in front of the givers and thank them there in person. He even went so far as to say they were a mis-step in that situation, since it makes it seem too formal for close family. Since he has always been a member of his family and knows the rules better than I do, I no longer send thank-you notes for gifts given in-person by his family and for which the giver has already been thanked.

But gifts that are not given in-person, and gifts that come from my family, still seem to require a hand-written response. Something about taking the trouble to get out the pen, write your thoughts, and address and send the envelope makes it seem more worthy of the gift. I mean, it's easy to send an e-card or an email. I even recently read a Carolyn Hax column (or maybe it was Ask Amy) that complained that e-cards are more trouble than they are worth for those with slow-loading computers. And I am quite certain Miss Manners will require handwritten thank- you notes for millenia to come. And many people listen to and agree with her. So what am I to do?

I have considered sending emails to people likely to send gifts, asking them what they think. For example, "Would you be offended if I were to send e-cards instead of handwritten cards from now on?" But that seems like it might encourage false responses, because people don't want to say, "No, I require a hand-written card!" even if they might feel that way.

So that's my dilemma...what is one to do? Do I honor tradition, social civility, or a commitment to the environment? What's more important? And what am I to do about Christmas cards, and birthday cards, and such? One family can go through a whole forest in Christmas cards alone! Still, it seems too easy to send Christmas emails.

What do you think?

American Academy of Family Physicians Sells its Soul to Coke

Coke in US family doctors alliance

By Jonathan Birchall in New York

Published: October 6 2009 16:45 | Last updated: October 6 2009 16:45

Financial Times

Coca-Cola, the world’s largest soft drink company, has formed a corporate partnership with the leading US family doctors group to promote healthier diet and lifestyle choices, as it fights back against growing pressure from health policy groups for a tax on sugared sodas.

The American Academy of Family Physicians said on Tuesday that Coca-Cola would be the first corporate partner in a new “consumer alliance” that would work “to educate consumers about the role their products can play in a healthy, active lifestyle”.

Coke is providing AAFP with a grant to develop educational content on soft drinks and sweeteners for the group’s popularFamilyDoctor.org health website.

Lori Heim, president-elect of the AAFP, said the group would receive “a strong six figure” payment annually from Coca-Cola to fund its work under the partnership. She said the group would give Coke “appropriate recognition” in the material produced for its involvement, but that the AAFP retained editorial control, including over whether or not to use Coca-Cola’s logo.

The AAFP, she said, had approached Coke and other companies over the idea of sponsorship, after previous cooperation on health issues.

Dr Rhona Applebaum, chief scientific and regulatory officer at Coca-Cola, said the partnership would “help provide Americans with credible information on beverages and enable consumers to make informed decisions about what they drink based on individual need.”

The announcement is part of a raft of steps being taken by Coke amid growing calls from some health policy makers for a federal tax on sugared drinks, and idea that has received some support from the White House.

New York city’s health department is running advertising on the city’s subway aimed at discouraging consumption of sugared sodas and juices.

Michael Jacobsen, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which is actively supporting the idea of a federal “soda-tax”, criticised the AAFP move.

“Nothing particularly good will come of it,” he said.

“But Coca-Cola will be able to brag publicly that it is involved in a health education effort with one of America’s most respected medical groups.”

Coke said last week it would put calorie-serving counts on the front of soft-drink packaging in the US, following a policy already adopted in Australia, Mexico and Europe.

It has also launched advertising in leading US markets highlighting the step and plans to introduce new, smaller 90-calorie cans of Coke next year.

Coke is also participating along with about 40 other food companies in a new group, the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, aimed at combatting rising levels of childhood obesity in the US.

Six years ago, Coca-Cola announced a similar partnership with the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists on efforts to fight tooth decay.

The AAFP said that while it did not endorse any specific brand, product or service, its new consumer alliance “will collaborate with companies that share the common goal of informing consumers, as well as medical professionals, about new advances in product science and best practices for good health”.

Imogen Heaps's New Album, "Ellipse"

Have a listen! Enjoy!

Literal Video Hilarity

This maybe the funniest video clip I've seen in my entire life. It's Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" video, but the words have been dubbed over so that the vocals just describe all the random goings-on in the video. Just trust me - watch it!