(upbeat music)
(woman sighs)
- When you hear off the grid, you probably think
of living in a cute cottage in the woods like Ted Kaczynski.
But you don't have to venture way the (beep)
into the wilderness to live like Ted.
Meet Josh Spodek, astrophysicist, NYU professor
and real life Captain Planet.
- I used to empty my garbage weekly.
Now I empty my garbage once in 2019.
Once in 2018.
Once in 2017.
- Okay, twin.
I also only take out my trash once a year.
But recently, Josh went even further.
Taking his Manhattan apartment
off the electrical grid completely.
So what is your problem with electricity?
Did it kill your family?
(group laughing)
Or did it, because I'm now realizing
that's kind of something that could happen.
- I do use electricity.
I have my solar panels that I take up to the roof
and charge the battery, but that's it.
I try to minimize my footprint as much as I can.
- Now, what exactly is electricity?
And I know the basics.
It's the stuff that's in the air.
- Electricity actually is very complicated.
- When people think it's simple, I'm like, are you dumb?
- In one sense, it's simple in that it just works
because that's how
voice of gravity. - It is, gravity.
- So we've learned to control this power
through wires and batteries-
- Wires and batteries. - And things like that.
So almost always you're gonna be polluting.
- You're gonna be polluting.
(group laughing)
Josh's typical day as an eco-warrior starts
with cardio going up 11 flights of stairs
with his solar panels, his heavy, heavy solar panels.
You know, we're like breathing
out carbon right now.
- Yeah, that's all part of the biosphere,
but it's not bringing new carbon from outside the biosphere.
(group laughing)
- I'll be right up there man, just give me like one second.
Luckily I was able to find a TaskRabbit
to go up the remaining 10 flights of stairs.
- Connect the solar panel to the battery.
- And it's not just about saving energy.
Josh has also been living packaging free for a decade.
Americans throw away 268 million tons of trash per year,
which is enough to feed 10 rats.
But Josh says there's a better way.
- I keep all my garbage here.
And the last time I emptied this was Christmas 2019.
So this is my fourth year on one load of garbage.
- Do you mind if I give this to you?
- I'd pass on that on.
- Okay.
- And if you bring a reusable container, next time.
- This isn't reusable?
- People in the future will be dealing with it
for 500 years or more.
- So 500 years someone will be using it?
Maybe my great-great granddaughter.
- They won't be using it so much as it'll be in their
bloodstreams, plastic, it doesn't decompose.
It messes with the hormonal system.
It causes disease.
- You have quite the imagination.
Josh also uses that imagination in the kitchen.
- So this is split pea, I got carrot, beet cabbage.
I just put a nutritional yeast.
- It's like really fragrant.
- Bon appetit.
I hope you like it.
(group laughing)
I think this will be better tomorrow
after the flavors are mixed a bit more.
- Sure, sure.
The stew was so stew.
And for dessert, a chunky kombucha
to wash it all down.
(upbeat music)
As like one of, one
of the less good juices I've had in
my life, but not the worst.
- Yeah, so the fruit has sugar.
- Sugar, that's what it's missing, okay.
- I think their places of Skittles were taken off the
market for being so unhealthy.
- So that's so effed up dude.
I don't know if that's liberal or conservative,
but I do not eff with it.
This way of life seemed really difficult.
How is Josh keeping himself going?
- So this lifestyle may look like deprivation sacrifice
to others, but for me it's really about joy.
- Totally, you seem very joyful.
- People were saying, I compost,
I recycle and I do what I can.
But I have to balance that with living
my regular life.
- That's usually what I'm saying to myself.
- And you think, do I have to think
about every other person on the
planet every time I do anything?
- That's exactly how I think.
It's like you're reading my brain.
- But systemic change begins with personal change.
I gotta quote Abraham Lincoln here.
- Okay.
- "Nothing damages you more than
to do something that you believe is wrong."
- And I'll quote Abraham Lincoln, "God bless America."
He said that a lot.
- Probably, yeah.
- Probably.
- Actually, one of the things about.
- Oh, and I'll quote Abraham Lincoln again.
I gotta get me some Josh Spodek stew.
- That was, if he were alive today, I think you would.
- Wow, Josh had inspired me
and I was ready to make a difference too.
Going a full 24 hours living Spodek style.
This is a day in my life
with zero electricity and zero waste.
I start my day by waking up.
Whoops.
No electricity means no lights.
Luckily my toxic roommate isn't home, so I'm using her food
to make my famous green glow smoothie.
I start with bananas, some beautiful organic kale, one scoop
of collagen, and then.
(upbeat music)
Next up a trip to pre-cycle, a packaging free store
where you bring your own containers.
Good thing I always travel with my tupperwares.
Josh, if you're watching, check it out, man.
I'm really doing this.
Hello, so these are oats right here.
And then last but not least, these, this flower.
- Sure, yeah.
- You can probably just weigh my whole hand just
to make it a little bit easier.
- Okay.
(upbeat music)
- Oh my god, I did it.
- [Speaker] That was only 90 minutes.
- (beep) me.
(upbeat music)
Woo hoo, thank you so much.
I mean, you have the wrong apartment.
Get out of here.
Little did I know things were about
to get really, really bad.
1%, you said you had 5% 10 minutes ago.
(beep) you, okay?
All good, bro.
All good.
Just me here with my thoughts.
That's chill.
I know what to do.
(soft music)
Sadly I didn't make it.
But you know what I did make?
A difference.
And that's something they can never take away from me.
(upbeat music)