Author Colin Beavan convinced his Manhattan-based family to abandon their high consumption Fifth Avenue lifestyle and try to live a year while making no net environmental impact. The result was No Impact Man, which was selected as the Common Reading book for freshmen this year.

Beavan visited the Kingston Campus in September to help kickoff a semester-long series of lectures, activities, and film screenings designed to raise awareness of and interest in sustainability issues.

Check out Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man blog.

The University has recently completed a Climate Action Plan, an evolving document that will guide URI to climate neutrality, meaning no net greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, the University aims to reduce its 2005 emissions levels 50 percent, according to Robert A. Weygand, vice president for administration and finance and chair of the President’s Council on Sustainability.

Click here for more information about sustainability activities on campus.