No Impact Week: No Impact Dispatches From Around The World

No Impact Week started today, with an emphasis on participants reducing their consumption of new products. If you haven't heard about No Impact Project yet, take a second and learn about it here.

We're asking people to share their reason for joining No Impact Week in a short video -- one minute or less. We've already received a number of dispatches, like this awesome one from Rebecca in Japan:

Whether personal or political, we want you to videotape your reason for joining No Impact Week so we can share it with HuffPost readers. In under one minute, tell us what motivates you, or get creative and SHOW us what motivates you.

Uploading your short video is easy, jut press "Upload Your Story". You're video will be submitted directly to HuffPost, but you'll need a YouTube account. The deadline for submitting videos is Monday at 5pm EST.

To Sign Up For HuffPost's No Impact Week which starts October 18th, Click Here!

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Comments

[jnreporter]

02:18 AM on 11/10/2009

Some corporations are really reducing their trash -- and finding they can make money at it. I'm a Chicago-based freelance journalist specializing in green issues and I wrote a story for GreenBiz.com earlier this year about how green-minded companies were scrutinizing their trash by "dumpster diving" and figuring out how to reduce their waste and turn it into gold. Here's the link to that story:
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/11/dumpster-diving-garbage-gold.

If you liked that article, please visit my web site and check out my other green stories:
www.judithnemes.com

On a personal note, my son did a 3-day dumpster dive of the trash in our home last year for his 5th grade science fair project to see how much garbage we produce and then figure out smart ways to cut back. He found in 3 days our family of 4 accumulated 16 pounds of garbage that he then sorted into recyclable and non-recyclable materials. We were shocked to learn that 15 pounds of it could easily be recycled and diverted from a landfill (we were already collecting most of our recyclable garbage and driving it to a nearby recycling center because the city hadn't yet delivered Blue Carts to our neighborhood.) We have since moved to an aggressive recycling effort in our household and I'm exploring composting options. Hopefully, Chicago will one day offer composting service the way other progressive cities do, such as Toronto, Canada.

[TazoWolf]

11:41 PM on 10/19/2009

My No Impact Commute (it's actually 20 miles and hilly, but I could only get video of this spot).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUheMrhaNfM

It also supports a charitable cause, the National Kidney Foundation via my "Riding for Renal" effort.
http://www.firstgiving.com/riding4renal_circarigel

[Daphnesmom]

11:35 AM on 10/19/2009

Look for glass containers in the grocery store or look for a place to buy food in bulk. Many communities have grocery stores that have a wall of bulk dry goods or a food co op.

Remember that plastic is petroleum based..something we are trying to get away from.No petroleum from the middle east!

[sneez54]

11:31 PM on 10/19/2009

I do reuse the plastic bags. We are on a street with many dogs going to a Dog beach, nearby. I put the used plastic bags out for them to use for dog clean up. I also have a trash can for them to put the bag in after the use. If we abolished of plastic bags, I do hope there is something they can use for the dog cleanups on walks. I don't want it left on my front yard for me to shovel.

[janeycat]

12:30 AM on 10/19/2009

I have developed this dislike for those plastic grocery bags.... i reuse the ones i already have here in my small cans for trash..
Then i bought 4 of the reusable bags at the grocery store... i still felt bad about buying bags...

I took my lazy bu.tt into my spare bedroom and sat down at my sewing machine and within 2 hours i had made 4 reusable grocery bags .... the way i wanted them to be... i made one tall and slim to fit a loaf a bread so the bread would not be forced into the plastic bags by the bag boys at the store...
my nephew said i have to make some that boys wont be ashamed to carry...good thought..
I did not have to buy fabric, i still have fabric left from different sewing projects that i have done over time...... i used to make all my dresses and jackets for work.... i'm gifted that way... i have made my ex-hubsand his camo pants and he was amazed, they looked store bought... i'm gifted like that...

Oh well ... this is my first no impact thing i have done and tomorrow i will have to find something else
no impact to do...... i dont hardly spend money ... and i'm a woman....beats me ???
i'm odd like that .......
the next thing i do i'll have to come back and report it to all of you.... that will keep me going...

[KIVPossum]

04:17 AM on 10/19/2009

I prefer the woven plastic bags that are ubiquitious here. They come in several sizes, are easy to carry, and last for years.

Even if you use your own bags, think about how much packaging is involved in the product you carry in them.

When we go to the market we load up a few with reusable plastic containers and bottles. Our meats, rice, eggs, pasta, small fruits and vegetables are put in them. Reusable 2 liter bottles are filled with our water, beer and wine. Larger veggies and fruits, breads, and are just stashed in the bags. When we get home there is almost no packaging to deal with; no plastic, no cardboard.. As for cans, we eat what is fresh and available, so opening a can is a big event in our household.

As the bags age, they become washable, reusable trash bags to carry trash to the dumpster, or to carry things home from the dacha.

[RMankovitz]

11:37 PM on 10/18/2009

I continued eating "The Original Diet", which sustained our ancestors for 100,000 generations. Here are the reasons.

Pasture fed (not grain fed) animals require no fertilizer (self-fertilizing), no pesticides, and no irrigation. Pastured animals can thrive on land unsuitable for cultivation, increasing overall yield per acre. Existing grain-fed animal, vegetarian, and vegan diets are ecologically unsustainable and require lots of artificial and toxic chemicals.

Cow manure from animals raised on a natural diet (grass) and untreated with antibiotics or hormones is not only non-toxic, but actually has antibiotic properties and is the perfect fertilizer.

Because the "The Original Diet" does not require the use of artificial fertilizers or pesticides (both derived from fossil fuel); or diesel fuel to run agricultural machinery to plow, cultivate and harvest; or artificial irrigation (fossil fuel powered pumps); or GM seeds, it arguably has the lowest ecological footprint of any diet.

It is completely independent of farms and all of the agricultural machinery that destroys topsoil and kills millions of ground-living animals. It eliminates the need for any of the products produced by the pesticide, fertilizer, and GM AgriGiants, or the need for feed-lots, egg-breeders, or dairy farms.

It does not use anything made by Deere, Caterpillar, Monsanto, Archer Daniels Midland, Syngenta, Dean Foods, Heinz, Nestle, Kraft, General Mills, Betty Crocker, Kellogg, Nabisco, Stonyfield, Yoplait, ConAgra, Cargill, etc.

Roy Mankovitz, Director
http://www.MontecitoWellness.com

[Daphnesmom]

11:08 PM on 10/18/2009

A journey of at thousand miles begins with a single step. We got through the day without using the car or producing garbage, gave a dinner party without producing garbage except a frozen blueberry bag, sent scraps to the compost pile and used candlelight while celebrating the University of Illinois solar house. We told 5 people who went home to tell their neighbors and children and shared our meal with someone who would have gone to get fast food as he was working on a project.. We are reading The World Without Us and can sleep tonight knowing we are doing our part to save the world.

How about you?