'No Impact' Events Aim for Major Impact on Campus

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No Impact Man, by Colin Beavan

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Well over 3,000 University of Arkansas students and members of the Northwest Arkansas community are reading No Impact Man, by Colin Beavan, this fall as part of the university’s third annual One Book, One Community project. The non-fiction book chronicles one family’s effort to live for a year in New York City without any negative impact on the environment: producing no trash, using no petroleum products, eating only locally produced food, and buying only used products. No Impact Man recounts their trials, errors and successes as well as what they learned from the experience.

“This is a positive, accessible, humorous, realistic and very personal look at what it means to live sustainably,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, co-chair of the One Book, One Community committee. “This issue is important to our students and to the Northwest Arkansas community, and our committee feels this book is a great introduction to the subject.”

Members of the One Book, One Community committee organized several events and are incorporating activities originated by the office of campus sustainability to provide about two dozen events and activities related to sustainability. Among the events are:

• The “Conspicuous Non-Consumption” Lecture series, from Sept. 12-15
• Mullins Creek Clean-ups, Sept. 16 and Oct. 28
• A four-week campuswide No Impact Competition, from Sept. 18 to Oct. 15
• Screening of the No Impact Man documentary, Sept. 22 and Oct. 19
• Fayetteville Freecycle, Sept. 24
• Sustainability film series, Sept. 26 - 30
• The Clean Plate Competition, Oct. 10-13 and Oct. 17-20
• Creating Livable and Sustainable Design, a panel of nationally known architects, Nov. 10

Colin Beavan will visit the university from Thursday, Oct. 27. to Friday, Oct. 28, where he will talk with students and give a public lecture at the Arkansas Union Verizon Ballroom and speak to book club members at the Fayetteville Public Library.

See a full schedule at the One Book, One Community website.

No Impact Man is required reading for University of Arkansas students in Freshman Composition classes and has been adopted as part of the curriculum in several other courses as well. In addition, many community book clubs are reading the book, and there has been general interest among people and groups who are concerned about the environment and sustainability.

One fan of the book is Chancellor G. David Gearhart.

“I want to encourage everyone — faculty, staff, upper classmen and community members—to also read this book and learn more about what they can do reduce their environmental impact,” he said in a video message to the campus community. “As you know, we’re working hard to save energy and be sustainable here at the University of Arkansas. We’ve made a commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040. No Impact Man addresses many of the challenges and questions our campus community will have to ask and answer if we are to achieve this goal.”