We all talk about lowering our impact on the environment, but
few of us radically change our lives to do it. Colin Beavan, a
husband and father in NYC, decided to conduct a year-long
experiment to see if he and his family could truly live a no-
impact lifestyle. In case you’re wondering what the “year-long
plan” involved, Colin challenged himself and his family to
develop a “no net impact” lifestyle or roughly: Negative Impact
+ Positive Impact = Zero. Colin, his wife Michelle, then two-
year-old daughter Isabella, and dog Frankie set out to be “eco-
effective” versus “eco-efficient.” In addition to restricting
consumption, they also changed what they consumed in the first
place. In addition to offsetting their ecological footprint,
they took specific actions that have positive environmental
impacts: cleaning up garbage on the beach and working on a
reforestation projects to help plant trees. Colin and his family
left the conveniences behind, forgoing air conditioners even in
extreme heat, taking the stairs inst