Food for Thought: No Impact Man

Food for Thought: No Impact Man

Co-presented by the Honest Weight Food Co-op and WAMC’s Documentary Film Series, Food For Thought is a monthly evening of food, film and discussion with a focus on films of social, political, environmental and community interest. Held on the third Thursday of each month, the night will feature food samples by Honest Weight Food Co-op, a feature film screening, and an open panel discussion.

$6 at the door/doors open 6pm at The Linda
339 Central Ave Albany NY
For more information or to purchase tickets:
http://www.wamcarts.org/

No Impact Man
Colin Beavan decides to completely eliminate his personal impact on the environment for the next year.It means eating vegetarian, buying only local food, and turning off the refrigerator. It also means no elevators, no television, no cars, busses, or airplanes, no toxic cleaning products, no electricity, no material consumption, and no garbage. No problem – at least for Colin – but he and his family live in Manhattan. So when his espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife Michelle and their two-year-old daughter are dragged into the fray, the No Impact Project has an unforeseen impact of its own.

Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein's film provides an intriguing inside look into the experiment that became a national fascination and media sensation, while examining the familial strains and strengthened bonds that result from Colin and Michelle’s struggle with their radical lifestyle change.

The panelist for the film include Shannon Hayes, Rob Morrell and Mariah Dahl...

Shannon Hayes is the host of grassfedcooking.com, and the author of The
Farmer and the Grill and The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook. Hayes works with
her family on Sap Bush Hollow Farm in Schoharie County, NY, where they
raise grassfed beef and lamb and pastured pork and poultry. Hayes' newest
book, Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity From a Consumer Culture
is due out in April. She holds a ph.d. in sustainable ag and community
development from Cornell University and has written for numerous national
publications, including the New York Times.


Rob Morrell is the Senior Land Surveyor for the New York Dept of Environmental Conservation or D.E.C. Jen and Rob are on long term plans to develop a pick your own Blueberry farm on our 65 acres. Their home was buillt a Energy Star home. The energy star program is overseen by NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority). NYSERDA's also oversees the State's "Net Metering" program. Through this program, we secured a grant to help pay for our 10 kw solar array. This array meets 100% of our home's electrical needs annually. They are able to sell excess electricity back to the utility co. They do not have a battery bank, although have used one in the past. They heat their home and hot water with a indoor , high efficiency wood gasification boiler. This boiler stores it's heat or BTU's in a 800 gallon insulated water tank in our basement. They consume far less wood than the outdoor wood boilers and the exhaust is much cleaner. They are very interested in the use of renewable sources of energy.

Mariah Rose Dahl is currently the Outreach Coordinator at the Honest Weight Food Co-op. She received her bachelors degree from University at Albany in Woman's Studies with a concentration in media justice and community activism. She holds a world music and underground hip-hop radio show called "Rebels With A Cause" on WCDB 90.9 FM. She spends her spare time engaged in community activism, promoting art and music as a tool for social change and traveling the world. Mariah spent most of her childhood living with her mother on a sustainable land trust of 350 rural acres in upstate NY. The cabin she grew up was located on a seasonal road, with solely snow shoe or snowmobile access during the winter. The cabin's water supply was gravity fed, while being heated solely by wood and propane lights. The small refrigerator ran on car batteries that were re-charged by a 350 watt generator.The summers were spent living in a tepee, swimming in the communal pond and working in the community garden. Mariah currently resides in Albany NY although she is member of The Land of Dawes, an earth spirituality community on 38 acres outside of Ithaca, NY.