Chances are, if you are reading this, you support green causes. You go to meetings, you visit local farmers’ markets, and soon you start running into familiar faces. You know their names, but have you ever wondered what they do to be ? Well, Meet Local Green Peeps! hopes to satisfy your curiosity about area green people and what they do to be GreenAR in the Natural State. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
Vital Statistics (Name & Location): Leah Hennings, Little Rock
What Do You Do?: I am a citizen activist always and a veterinarian/ scientist during the work week.
Steps Taken to be GreenAR:
I believe that the easiest way to be green is to simplify. My family and I have made the choice to decrease our total consumption. That one step allows us to make less garbage, use less energy, and walk more lightly on Earth. The first step we really took as a family was to go almost 100% vegetarian. Decreasing meat consumption is among the most ‘green’ lifestyle changes a person can make. In order to decrease our garbage, we recycle everything possible, buy food items in the largest possible package, and I make our bread and sauces from scratch. We also compost, and that hasn’t been too difficult for us because we use the simplest possible method. We keep our thermostat at almost painfully low temperature in the winter and equally painfully high temperature in the summer, and we open the windows whenever possible. My daughter and I buy only used clothing (obviously there are some things one really should purchase new, like socks), and we get great bargains and nice-looking clothes from our favorite resale shops. We buy used furniture or scavenge whenever possible. We buy fair-trade products, especially coffee. I use biodegradable and natural cleaning products around the house. I believe that local economies are the greenest, so we try to purchase everything from small, local businesses. My rule of thumb is that any business with greater than 3 franchises outside Little Rock is too big. And fast food of any kind is right out. We buy local foods whenever possible, and I preserve local foods for winter use.
Of course, just walking the walk isn’t enough. I believe that being green also means speaking up for the environment and social justice. I volunteer with local organizations like Arkansas Earth Day Foundation, Arkansas Earth Institute, Basket-A-Month CSA Program, and Arkansas Sustainability Network. I also manage a blog (www.citizensdailylobby.com) whose purpose is to empower Arkansans to make a difference in government. My mission is to encourage everyone to “talk the talk” to those in power.
Hard-to-Take Steps: I really would like to ride the bus, but so far haven’t found enough hours in my day to dawdle at bus stops with the Central Arkansas Transit system’s rather dismal schedule. I would like to make cheese and yogurt, but I’m finding it hard to get going.
Future Steps to be GreenAR: There are some energy efficiency steps we need to take in the house, but those involve rather high start-up costs, and we haven’t been able to take those steps yet. I would like to have a produce garden of my own. I am also planning to start making more of our household cleaners from scratch.
Favorite AR Produce, Groups & Businesses: There are so many! I would have to say that my favorite produce comes from Arkansas Natural Produce, followed at a close second by Willow Springs Market Garden. It just wouldn’t be politic to pick a favorite group or green business, but I am so proud of everyone who has started/will soon start local green businesses.
If You Can Do One Thing to Make the Natural State Even More Natural, What Would You Do? I would keep coal plants and coal mines out of our state. There is a big movement in Arkansas to encourage the mining of lignite coal, and that has to stop!
Know a green Arkie? Leave a comment and let me know how I can get in touch with him or her.
GreenAR by the Day 