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Posts Tagged ‘No Impact Man’
Friday, July 30th, 2010 by Admin
 Sand Art by Jim Denevan Can’t believe that this is the last friday of July. The daffodils are already pushing their green tips through the hard, frosted ground. Big frost here today. The days are getting noticebly longer with more light in the mornings and evenings. Soon we will be able to spend more time outside breathing in the fresh Canterbury air (and planting the vegetables to reduce our packaging waste!).
Had a lovely drive to Rangiora yesterday to visit Enterprise North Canterbury and then took an inland road to Amberley to visit Hurunui District Council. Today we are off to Ashburton District Council and then we will have met nearly everyone who looks after solid waste for the individual districts. Kaikoura, MacKenzie and Selwyn to go. It is great to get out of the office and remind ourselves of all of the businesses, individuals and other organisations doing good green work (or who might need financial assistance from SIFT) in the region.
Here are this week’s great finds that you might find interesting:
Have a great waste free weekend.
Tags: councils, EcoFest Nelson, ewaste, illegal dumping, KR Connect, No Impact Man, our home, Plastiki, waste, winter, worldometer
Posted in Friday favourites | No Comments »
Friday, July 2nd, 2010 by Admin
 Source: Flickr promqu33n photostream Phew! What a week! Project meetings, strategic planning, new enquiries…All go! But as always we still kept a look out for the waste and sustainability links that could be interesting for our blog readers. Here are this week’s Friday Favourites:
- I watched the No Impact Man movie this week, finally and it was excellent. Inspired me to do a lot more no impact living especially when it comes to waste. You can read Colin Beavan (No Impact Man)’s blog here or get inspired and take action here and watch a clip from the movie here.
- 21 Councils in New South Wales, Australia have formed an alliance to halve the amount of waste going to the Albury Waste Management Centre in Southern NSW as they are running out of room. More here.
- Latest tonnage statistics from the MfE on waste to landfill here.
- Have you heard of the Pacific Gyre and all of the plastic waste circulating around it – Beth from Fake Plastic Fish blogs about why we can’t clean it up here.
- Celsius.co.nz posted a really informative video on what happens when BP spills….coffee!
- Want to know what is happening in New Zealand’s energy sector for the past quarter (and the carbon emissions associated with that)? Check out the lastest NZ Energy Quarterly from the MED.
- How to make a house out of an aeroplane here from Re-Nest.
- Another great find from Re-Nest - Reclaimed and upcycled Apple Gadget chargers – love the typewriter.
- National Geographic’s Human Footprint movie – a look at consuming from birth to death and how much we consume. Info here and short clip here.
And if you haven’t already checked it out visit Waveney Warth and Matthew Luxon’s new Rubbish Free website for some great tips and resources.
Have a lovely Waste Free Weekend (WFW)!
Tags: BP spill, Celsius, Energy, Friday favourites, Human Footprint, landfill, MED, mfe, No Impact Man, plane, Re-nest, Rubbish Free, SIFT, waste
Posted in Friday favourites | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 by Admin
Not just any movie of course. The best way to learn, recognise and to become aware is expand your knowledge of what has been done, what is being done so you can make changes in your own world – whether at home or in your work.
Invest some time in these great films (some we are inspired to see) and it will help to build a more sustainable world:
- Garbage Warrior – eco-architect Michael Reynolds and his fight to build sustainable homes (also called Earthships).
- We Feed The World – Austrian filmmaker Erwin Wagenhofer looks into where his food comes from and where it goes. In Christchurch 23% of the waste that goes to landfill is “kitchen” waste or food. This is food from households and businesses (especially stock that is beyond it’s sell by and use by dates). This film looks into the flow of food in a world where there is enough but it is being wasted.
- Story of Stuff - can’t go beyond this for a great tutorial on how our “stuff” is produced and wasted. You will also find the recently launched The Story of Bottled Water here too – to help reduce plastic bottle usage don’t buy bottled water.
- Continuing with the Bottled Water theme is this movie Tapped – makes you think.
- No Impact Man – this one we are hanging out to see. A Manhattan man (Colin Beavan) and his family spend a year living with No Impact. A great look at the positive and lasting changes we can make to live more sustainably. If a New Yorker can do it we (in Christchurch, Canterbury) certainly can.
- Trashed – A look at America’s waste problem and Food Inc – a look at America’s food production industries – issues in both movies that we can learn from here in New Zealand.
Watch alone or with many either way watch and become more aware.
If you know of any other waste or sustainable living movies that are worth watching we would love to know.
*Image: Source: Flickr When I was a Bird’s photostream
Tags: environment, food inc, garbage warrior, learn, movies, No Impact Man, story of stuff, sustainable living, trashed, waste, we feed the world
Posted in News on Sustainability, Sustainability Resources | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 by Admin
 Source: Flickr frank-chimero The 21st century is going to be about radical change. A radical change to the way humans live. In order to create this change for a better and healthier earth we need ideas, motivation and action (and funds). SIFT can help those individuals in Canterbury who have the ideas* (that need to be proven or are ready to be implemented) that will create a life with less waste and more sustainable living. We can also help with the motivation and the action!
Christmas is a good time to slow down and take the time to just be quiet and let the brain have a rest. But, this is also normally when the good ideas are generated. So, if you start 2010 with an idea that you think might make difference to Canterbury’s waste then don’t hesitate to apply to SIFT.
As No Impact Man recently said we have to choose whether we we want to be people who will at least try to create a better world.
*Eligibility criteria applies
Tags: canterbury, change, life, No Impact Man, SIFT, waste
Posted in SIFT, SIFT Projects, Sustainability in Action | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 by Admin
 No Impact Man - Colin Beavan No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries he Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process by Colin Beavan.
After spending the past couple of years following No Impact Man’s (Colin Beavan) blog I was looking forward to reading his book on the year he spent (with his wife and child) living with no impact on the environment. If Colin Beavan and his family can make profound, lasting, positive environmental changes to their lifestyle in order to tackle climate change while living in a ninth floor apartment in the middle of Manhattan then I can certainly make some changes to my life (while I live in the much easier NZ suburbia – where I can grow my own vegetables for instance!).
This book (and the blog) is now a favourite. Beavan discusses what he has done (and is still doing) to live a lower impact life and the decision-making/thought processes he has while doing it. From zero waste to zero carbon transportation to eating only local food from the farmers market to not buying anything new to taking a reusable jar (for coffee) and taking napkins with him to switching off the electricity this book has many ideas (and ideals) we can take away to improve our lives to improve the health of the environment.
Not only does Colin Beavan give the facts of the why and the how but also discusses the social, cultural, political and global issues surrounding climate change and global warming (such as consumption and poverty). Beavan questions why we are all living the way we do and why we have not questioned it before. A cultural shift is required in order to solve the problem and Colin Beavan delved deeply into that new culture and came out the other side with a healthier body, family, life and a much lowered impact on the environment.
It is a must read for anyone who has made the decision to try to make a difference. I ordered mine from the library and had to wait a few weeks due to the number of other people wanting to read it but that’s a good thing. The more people who read it the better. It is an emotive and compelling read that will make you think. But, it also reminds you that you are human and we can make a difference, together (while having fun and laughing – lots of smiles from this book too).
Here’s the NoImpactMan blog and here’s the recently set up NoImpactProject which will help more people to live a no impact life. And hopefully in NZ we will see it soon but there is also a documentary about Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man year – here’s a preview.
Courage, conviction, strength, integrity, heart (and soul), conscious living and determination (with fun thrown in). This is No Impact Man and this is what we all need to hold true to in order to live differently for a better earth. Thank you Colin Beavan. I think I will read the book again!
Change must start today.
Tags: climate change, Colin Beavan, conscious living, consumption, environment, Manhattan, No Impact Man, recycle, reduce, reuse, sustainable living, zero waste
Posted in Other Sustainable Initiatives, Pratical Action, Sustainability in Action | No Comments »
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