"It's been talked about earlier, and i am sure you are able to build it in much less than a month. You'll be saving water for years! An average person uses 34 liters of water per day for toilet flushing. That's more than 12000 liters annually. "July 8 2012 on Build an rainwater collection system on your roof and connect it to...
"@John: I agree with the blind side thing. Money makes a lot of things invisible. However: doing a month without it doesn't show this very good. Maarten will probably be unhappy that he is not allowed to pay rent. Maybe he could put al his spendings in a comparison to the source of his money. You can then ask: do i want to work half an hour, just for a bottle of wine? And then compare the costs of what you buy with basic things: bread, tomatoes. Do i want to buy a bottle of wine if I would also be able to buy three breads (one for yourself and two for people who needs it)? But skipping money has another disadvantage: you would hardly see that with every bread you buy (say 2,50) you are also paying for education, health services, public transport, social services, developing countries (and unfortunately also for military services and asphalt). 6% of the 2,50 is BTW (VAT). And then the baker pays taxes (probably about 40%) on the money he earns. So money is a good tool for letting people pay for community services. The more money you have, the more you pay. I think nothing wrong with money, but with some of the people spending it. Use direct trading instead doesn't make those people better humans."June 22 2012 on Live 1 Month Without Spending Money.
"I love this one! As well: put all your letters you receive online, your emails, your sms's, everything you send out. Just anonimize other peoples data but not yours. Seek help of for example Bits of Freedom. And stream video as well ofcourse."June 20 2012 on Live a life without privacy, stream a live radioshow 24 hrs a day....
"@john, i think what becomes visible of a plan like this is that in our society money is indispensable. Maarten will notify how complicated it will be to get food, get housing and other essential things. How is he supposed to pay his rent, electricity, phone, insurance? I know Maarten is not much a consumer of luxury goods, he will barely see the effects of this idea on his consumerism. If you want to rethink consumerism, which is a good thing to do, maybe concentrate on making visible how much bullsh*t we buy. Do something on photographing and interviewing people coming out of the mediamarkt, ikea, etc."June 20 2012 on Live 1 Month Without Spending Money.
"it is good because it has caused us to develop and be able to defend ourselves against plagues (for example). We differ from other animals by being able to make tools and organize ourselves. If we wouldn't have specialized, you wouldn't exist. At the very least not on this website. Be glad that the knowledge and effort of thousands and thousands of people have led you this far. There would be no internet, no computers, no electricity, no written language, no education. Knowing that we have not always been aware of our responsability for earth, nature and other people doesn't make all this into something bad. "June 14 2012 on ...
"But it is not good for your health (especially when you smoke it) and a lot of crime exists in the process of growing and trading. So i believe we should legalize it (to get grip on growth and trade) and then should tell everybody how bad it is for your health. Same thing as with sigarettes and alcohol."June 11 2012 on Tell people marijuana isn't even so bad for you and actually makes...
"maybe maarten can do both... in the first half month he shows us how it would be to not have electricity. Not being able to watch a movie on your laptop -> let's go out to the park. And the second half is about saving electricity and how to maintain the lower electricity usage. This way the first half learns you how to save in the second half (because you might realize that you didn't miss all things that you weren't allowed to use)"May 23 2012 on challenge yourself: try to live for one month without using...
"an average cyclist can make 150W of power (enough for a laptop, a phone charger and other small equipment, like your internet router). If you use an energy bike you are able to charge these devices, but not to use your fridge for example (or you'll have to cycle 24/7). I think it's a nice idea to have to cycle to charge your equipment. If you are good, and you have very good equipment, you would be able to make more than 500W. The low impact man (http://lowimpactman.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/wereldpremiere-op-de-gentse-feesten/) has a energy bike, maybe you can use it for a month?"May 4 2012 on challenge yourself: try to live for one month without using...