Life Experiments

I have been consistently fascinated by the concept of “life experiments” – I recall my friend Giles whose life seemed to be one giant Life Experiment in minimalism and attempted culture-reversal, as he was constantly tinkering with his diet, using certain soaps and wearing only the few clothes he found for free. And Gusky, whose experiments I know only marginally but are legendary (I encourage commenting with memories of these experiments). Perhaps I better understand these experiments as similar to the “phases” we had as children and teenagers – trying something out like a new pair of jeans to see if it fits – but with a more focused bend to it.

These experiments are designed to discover something about the world, instead of oneself, perhaps a more mature version of our younger fit sessions. Specifically the recent ones that have inspired much thought in me relate to the environment and our regular impact, relating to trash, food, and consumerism.

I read about a couple who decided to focus on food by eating only local, organic, sustainable foods, but with a twist – they allotted themselves only the $200-some dollar food-stamp allowance for the entire month. Included in this experiment was the price of gas to go pick up the food, the price of gas to bring the food to them, and the way it was designed. Farmers Market foods topped their preference list, and they worked their way from there, walking to the grocery store when needed. They started with a clean kitchen, purchased spices and staples, and made most of their food. Sunday was cooking day, baking their bread and soaking beans for protein as meat was too expensive, and creating dishes that could be frozen and heated up for lunch and dinner. Ultimately they learned a lot from the process, deciding to stick to most of the principles they learned but adding some $’s for more fruit and veggies and occasionally a chicken breast. I am still trying to find the link to the article again.

Here is one man’s attempt to be entirely sustainable: http://365daysoftrash.blogspot.com/
by creating NO TRASH for a year. This echoes a blog post I cannot find anymore where a woman carried around all of the trash she made for a month in a bag on her side – forcing her to use re-usable containers as much as possible. This site http://notrashweek.com/ shows a movement towards spreading this concept beyond individual attempts at greener living.

I came across No Impact Man (http://noimpactman.typepad.com/) a year or so ago and he has been a true inspiration for this line of thought. Here he talks about green parenting http://www.mnn.com/family/education-activities/blogs/no-impact-man-on-green-parenting, something I will devote much time to in my future but not so much right now.

And finally, an article about The Compact, a concept I am 100% behind and long to join someday when I have my life more in order: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-22-simple-life_x.htm, although if I take a look at my own spending habits I doubt I am far from being a member anyway.

Does anyone know of any other life experiments worth noting – green or not? One question having to do with publicity – is it more of an intent if your pact or experiment is known to others, or if you keep it to yourself as your own search for truth? I have a bible verse about hypocrites ringing in my ears, although if part of the purpose of the experiment is to inspire than mustn’t it be public necessarily?
QED.