Thursday, September 09, 2010

Author, blogger, activist, and self-proclaimed engaged citizen Colin Beavan, better known as "No Impact Man," will discuss his year-long environmental experiment of living off the grid in New York City on Monday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. in Kenan Auditorium at UNCW. His lecture launches the 2010/11 Leadership Lecture series hosted by UNCW Presents and is co-sponsored by University College. His talk is the keynote address for the Synergy Common Reading Program. The talk has sold out at Kenan Auditorium, overflow seating is being offered in Lumina Theater. Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis that day.

Beavan gained national attention with his blog, which chronicled a year he and his family attempted to live in the middle of New York City without negatively impacting the environment. Throughout the year, Beavan, his wife and their daughter, tried to produce no trash, went without electricity, rode in no cars or taxis, ate only locally produced food, and avoided all paper products, including toilet paper.

"You have to give Colin Beavan credit," said The Boston Globe. "The man put his money where his mouth is. A self-proclaimed 'guilty liberal' tired of the world's general ecological decline, he decided to change his life. And in no small way." A Sundance-selected documentary was released in 2009, detailing Bevan's efforts.

All incoming UNCW students read Beavan's book for the Synergy Common Reading Program. Throughout the semester students will participate in book-related activities and meet in freshman seminar classes to share their impressions of the book and what impact it made on them.

To celebrate Beavan's visit to campus, the Synergy Common Reading Program is encouraging all faculty, staff and students to participate in "No Impact Week" from Sept. 26-Oct. 3. It will be one week of cutting consumption, and rethinking a disposable way of life. Each day of the week, participants will attempt to reduce their impact on the environment with steps such as taking public transportation, reviewing what goes into the trash, not buying any new items, powering down unused items and giving back to their community. For more information, visit the Synergy website at www.uncw.edu/commonreading.

Beavan is a Ph.D. electronic engineer (University of Liverpool) and is the author of two other books: Fingerprints: The Origins of Crime Detection and The Murder Case that Launched Forensic Science (a popular history of criminology) in 2001 and Operation Jedburgh: D-Day and America's First Shadow (about the operation that formed the precedent for U.S. anti-Soviet operations in Afghanistan) in 2006. He is director of the No Impact Project, a visiting scholar at NYU, an advisor to the University's Sustainability Task Force, and sits on the board of directors of New York City's Transportation Alternatives and on the advisory council of Just Food. His blog NoImpactMan.com was named one of the world's top 15 environmental websites by Time Magazine.

BOX OFFICE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets are $9 for the public and free to UNCW students, faculty and staff. For tickets, call Kenan Box Office at 910.962.3500. Box office hours are 10 am to 6 pm, Monday through Friday, or purchase online at www.etix.com. Overflow seating will be available in Lumina Theater (Fisher Student Center) and tickets are required. Tickets will be distributed beginning at 5:30 pm the day of the lecture through Sharky's Box Office on a first come, first served basis.

ABOUT UNCW LEADERSHIP LECTURES SERIES

The Leadership Lecture Series serves as a forum for intellectual inquiry and discussion offering the campus and community opportunities to discuss and explore the political, cultural and economic trends and issues that shape and affect our communities today. By inviting a speaker to the campus, the university does not endorse any particular position. Expect to be enlightened, challenged and inspired.