Family Attempts to Have Zero Impact on the Earth for One Year

Colin Beavan, along with his wife Michelle and 2-year-old daughter Isabella, are attempting a year long experiment to see if they can live their lives the entire year without having a negative impact on the environment. In other words, they are living their daily lives while trying not to create any waste what-so-ever.

So what exactly has the family cut out of their lifestyle in order to help preserve the environment? They only eat locally grown foods, do not use public transportation, do not use paper products (such as paper towels and toilet paper), and will even eventually give up electricity as well.

Mr. Beavan appeared on Good Morning America recently in order to share his story. According to Colin, a typical morning in their home seems pretty normal until you take a closer look. They have no morning paper, no television blaring in the background, and no coffee. Where did they coffee go you ask? If it is not locally grown the family will not consume it, so coffee is off limits as well.

"I miss my iced quad espresso," said Colin's wife Michelle. "That was my drink -- four shots of espresso over ice. Saturday night, I dreamt about coffee."

Even if there were a local supply of coffee, it would still be off limits if it came in a package. But the Beavan family didn't stop with food packaging either. They have purchased nothing new nor will they throughout the year. They will not buy anything that comes in a package, food included, and any food they do purchase has to be grown within 250 miles of where they live.

As far as transportation, like I stated earlier, they do not use public transportation (not even elevators). So how do they get around the city? The couple shares a scooter or they resort to walking. On average they walk up and down around 50 flights of stairs a day.

Colin apparently did some research on the amount of waste we create as humans and found that the average food that an American will have on one plate ends up traveling approximately 1,500 miles just to get to that one plate. "That produces a lot of carbon dioxide," Colin stated.