My Eco-Friendly Living Guide

My thesis is nearly complete. A final draft is due in about one week, and my final presentation will be in early December. I have kept this blog going for about five months, and I have enjoyed interacting with people about various aspects of eco-friendly living. I first started keeping this blog as a way to share the events of my "summer experiment" where I tried living as sustainably as possible. This was a huge success. My roommate and I reduced our electric and water consumption, and we tended to consume less across all aspects of our lives. This is one of the best parts of an eco-friendly lifestyle. If initial consumption is less, then waste, even if recyclable, will decrease. Even more than that, living eco-friendly living became a lot of fun for me! It was a challenge to only buy items with recyclable packaging, use reusable bags, drive slow, and follow a diet that left out all meat, dairy, and eggs. I believe this was a life-changing experience. Before my research for this thesis began and my summer experiemnt, I was not too concerned with eco-friendliness. Now I constantly consider the impact of my actions and how I can incorporate more sustainable practices into everyday life.

My goal with this blog and thesis was to encourage people in North Little Rock and everywhere to consider their options. I hope people will consider, for example, buying a metal water bottle instead of cases of plastic water bottles every week. There are many options avaliable for people to choose when considering how to lower their impact on the environment, and I hope everyone will take just a few seconds through out the day to consider their personal impact on the environment. I recognize that some changes are out of reach for some people, but starting small is better than not starting at all.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in my thesis. Without strong support from friends, family, and my advisors I would not have been successful. And I would also like to thank everyone who read my posts and provided me with encouraging comments and suggestions. Once I have finalized my guide for North Little Rock, I will post them on here for everyone to see.

This is a difficult video to watch, but it shows the horrible conditions by which many birds die due to plastic waste consumption.

I haven't had a chance to mention that I love Sesame Street. This is such a great show for kids, and it really helps educate children. This season, the topic covered on the show will be things related to the environment and nature. Global warming, climate change, and other controversial and complicated issues will not be included, but simple and kid-friendly topics will be discussed. One example is natural gardening. In the season premier this week, First Lady Michelle Obama helps a few kids, and Elmo, plant a garden. Check out the clip below!