The No Impact Experiment was started in November 2006 by New York based forty-something writer Colin Beavan.
The basic idea was to spend a year with his family — wife, toddler, and dog — in the heart of New York City while causing no net environmental impact.
This involved not doing things that hurt the earth (no trash, no carbon emissions, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no plastics, no air conditioning, no TV, no toilets) and doing things that help the earth (participating in garbage clean-up and reforestation projects).
The philosophy of the experiment was to find a middle path that is neither unconsciously consumerist nor self-consciously anti-materialist. The ideas was to not only restrict consumption but on change what is consumed so that it actually helps or at least does not hinder the world.
The experiment was a success, both in personal and professional terms, resulting in a book and a movie, both of which will be out in 2009.
Even though the experiment ended in November 2007, Colin has continued writing on his blog to encourage a culture of no impact lifestyle.