The Experiment & No Impact Laws

The experiment addresses 5 sections of an individual’s lifestyle: Section 1, Water; Section 2, Food; Section 3, Electricity/Energy; Section 4, Transportation; Section 5, Waste. Sticking with the theme of the project, our tagline for the week is, “How low can you go?” For each of the addressed sections, we have implemented a set of rules and regulations for the participants to follow (all of which can be found on the blog). For example, under Section 2, all participants are recommended to adapt a vegetarian/vegan/local (choice is up to the participant) diet; buy only food from the farmer’s market, Eats, or Annie Kay’s; eat only at Farms & Fields on campus, create close to zero food related waste (no Styrofoam, no disposable silverware, limit napkin usage); and compost all organic matter if possible. The rules and regulations are up to the discretion of the participate depending on feasibility, but we recommend to go as far as possible. The specific ideas for each section may be optional, but the experiment does have a few stricter rules that all participants are asked to follow to legitimize the No Impact Hokie experiment. For the sake of organization, we will call these rules, The No Impact Hokie Laws.

No Impact Hokie Laws:

1) No cars in Blacksburg

2) Must eat food from natural food stores and/or adopt a vegetarian diet

3) No plastic bottles

4) No TV

5) No Styrofoam

No Impact Hokie - Planned Week Events

(March 22nd - 26th)

Saturday, 27th: Farmer's Market & Eats trip - 11:00am

Sunday, 28th: "No Impact Man" movie/Potluck/No Impact Hokie Kickoff - 6:00pm

Monday, 29th: Farms & Fields lunch - 1:15pm, candlelight homework session (location TBA) - 7:00pm

Tuesday, 30th: EC (Environmental Coalition) meeting in Smyth 147 - 7:00pm

Wednesday, 31st: Acoustic jam session - 7:30pm

Thursday, 1st: Potluck - 7:00pm

Friday 2nd: End of the week celebration! - 9:00pm

*The potlucks and jam session will be at my place, 101-2 Country Club Drive

Intro Into The No Impact Challenge

Get Involved With Environmental Coalition At Virginia Tech

http://www.theecvt.org/

FAQ

1. What are the next start dates?
March 22nd to March 26th

2. How long will the project take?
Five days, Monday through Friday

3. Can I do this alone?
Sure, but we recommend doing it with at least one friend.

4. How many days do I have to participate?
Do as many as you can, but like most challenges in life, the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.

5. What if some of the activities are impossible for me to do?
If a challenge is truly impossible, don’t sweat it.

6. How will taking these small steps have any real impact on climate change?
Every small behavior change you make or every political action you take adds to a growing wave of change and influences your community to get on the ball!

7. Do I have to be a hippie, activist, granola eater to participate in the experiment?
No. And that stereotype is so passe’.

8. What if I need to use a car to get to around?
You don't need a car. Get a bus schedule.

9. I’m really into this project, but my roommates don't want to join in. How do I lower my impact without driving my roommates crazy?
Find positive small ways to engage the people in your life. Cook a local meal for them, carpool with them for the week or organize a TV-free game night.

10. I live in an area that doesn’t offer recycling. How can I participate in the trash phase?
Try to avoid buying anything that needs to be recycled, such as plastic bottles, and turn glass jars into travel mugs (like Colin did) or pencil holders. For all phases of the experiment, it’s best to see what resources you have available and to use your creativity to make the most of them. You can always recycle at the local YMCA thrift store on North Main street.

11. I don’t really have time for this project but I want to do something. What can I do to help the planet and maintain my busy schedule?
Look through the no impact man website for some tips and advice, http://noimpactproject.org/

12. I have to use my computer for work all day every day, how can I take part in the Experiment?
We completely understand that most of us depend on computers for school. We are not asking you to fail your classes and go back to the land. This Experiment is about making realistic behavior changes. If you can power down over the weekend or at night that’s great! If not, don’t sweat it.

*Taken from the No Impact Man blog

Our Virginia Tech Experiment

5 Days - How Low Can You Go? (March 22-26)

Section 1: Water

Ideas:
-Shower:
-Military shower--turn water off when soaping and shampooing
-Birdbath--using the sink as a way to freshen up in place of a shower
-Reusable water bottle:
-Invest in a stainless steel or reusable plastic water bottle, and stop purchasing wasteful Hokie Water. Next time you get thirsty and you don't have your reusable water bottle on you, look for the nearest water fountain and resist the urg to buy some Deer Park.
-Flushing Etiquette

-“If it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down.”

-Limit the faucet flow when washing dishes by plugging the sink
-Buy concentrated, natural detergent. They are usually not available at chain stores but look for them at Eats (7th generation) or order them online. You will avoid the harsh water-softeners and surfractants.
-make sure when you wash your clothes in the machine you have a full load so you have less loads over all.

Section 2: Food

Ideas:
-Buy Local and Sustainable:
-Farmers market (Draper Road, Wednesday 2-6 starting late March and Saturday 9-2 all year)
-Shop at Eats (at the intersection of Prices Fork and Main Street)
-Adopt a Vegan/Vegetarian Diet (if your worried about getting proper nutrition, check out some books about vegetarianism at the library, you can definitely get enough protien)
-Eat at Farms and Fields in Owens Food Court
-Eat seasonally (no grapefruits, sorry)
-Avoid food with a lot of packaging
-Use reusable grocery bags
-bring your own lunch to campus if you can't make to farms and fields
-NO fast food

Section 3: Electricity/Energy

Ideas:
-Lights
-Use candles and natural light
-Replace incandescent light blubs with more efficient CFLs
-Heating
-Turn thermostat down by 2 degrees (68 degrees is ideal)
-Put on a sweater!
-Invest in a heating pad so you can heat your body instead of your whole room (try sitting on it when you do your homework, its amazing)
-No TV
-Try air-drying your clothes after you wash them, get a drying rack or use the top of doors!

Section 4: Transportation

Ideas:
-Biking
-Blacksburg Transit
-Carpooling
-Maximize each trip in the car

Section 5: Waste

Ideas:
-Compost food scraps, there are mini-composters you can put in your pantry or kitchen if that don't smell.
-Recycle (most recycling on and off campus is only for 1-2 recycling, paper and glass, for cardboard and 1-6 plastic recycling, go behind the YMCA on North Main)
-Reusable products
-Water bottle/coffee mug
-Thrift Store (Clothes)
-Clothe towels/napkins
-Bring your own To-Go container at the dining halls

-NO styrofoam, set aside enough time to be able to eat your meals at the dining hall or restaurant

What is No Impact Project?

The No Impact Project is an international, environmental, nonprofit project, founded in the spring of 2009. It was inspired by the No Impact Man book, film, and blog.

Mission

To empower citizens to make choices which better their lives and lower their environmental impact through lifestyle change, community action, and participation in environmental politics.

The No Impact Project was conceived by Colin Beavan, aka No Impact Man, following the success of his blog, book, and film, which chronicle his family’s year-long experiment living a zero-waste lifestyle in New York City. Central to his thesis is the notion that deep-seated individual behavior change leads to both cultural change and political engagement. Living low-impact provides a clear entry point into the environmental movement. This thesis is the bedrock of the No Impact Project.

Goals

• Promote behavioral change
• Enable the public to experience their own No Impact Experiment
• Engage people who are not already tree-hugging, bicycle-riding, canvas-bag-toting, eco-warriors

http://noimpactproject.org/