The first thing I noticed was that although the Central Arkansas Transit (CAT) bus routes are readily available on-line or in brochure form, there is a trick to catching a bus. Unlike in Europe, were there are clearly marked bus stops in all but the most rural areas, Little Rock’s bus signs are sometimes little more than a single sign posts with a small symbol marking it as a bus stop. Additionally, standing at the bus stop is not enough. Persons wanting to ride a bus are instructed to stand and wave to let the driver know that you want to ride. Learning how the public transit system functions is part of keeping a commitment to be eco-friendly. However, the sometimes obscure procedures and bus stops make it necessary to ask for special assistance from CAT or from an initiated rider.

The second reason more people do not use the CAT system is that the routes offered are pitifully small compared to more integrated public transport systems. In most places in Europe, the public transportation system is designed to move people to within walking distance of most established areas. Some new construction areas must wait for public transportation routes to be extended to them. There is simply not enough public transportation coverage to make it a viable option for most people.

Basic city infrastructure does not facilitate eco-friendly alternatives. During the summer, I had a visitor from Europe join me. As we walked to a nearby shopping center, I was asked repeatedly about where the sidewalks and crossing zones were. Outside of densely populated down-town areas, these basic necessities for car-less travel do not exist. Additionally, biking is illegal on some roads and too dangerous on others. The few bike routes which do exist are mainly for recreation. They are so isolated that many users have to drive a car out to an area just to ride a bike!

Recycle There are lots of fun ways to recycle these days everything from local authority doorstep collections and recycling stations and boot sales to freecycling’ websites (www.freecycle.co.uk). Where you post details of your unwanted stuff and by agreement somebody who needs it comes and take it away for you. Or you could turn your junk into cash by holding a garage or yard sale or donate your junk and jumble to a local charity for jumble or for sale in a charity shop outlet. It may help you, a local good cause but if it keeps it out of the landfill it will certainly help the environment.

Switch to energy saving lighting or use low energy light bulbs and turn lights off in parts of the house that are not being used.

Switch your appliances off when not in use don’t leave things like the TV or video permanently on standby, they may not be working but they are still using precious energy and you are being charged for it in your power bills. By switching off you can save energy and money off your bills.

Use travel sense Walking or cycling is environmentally friendly and will provide the added benefits of making you fitter and healthier. Don’t use the car for unnecessary journeys. Why not try using public transport you’ll be amazed at things you will notice from the top of a bus. When you have to use a car why not try to find a car sharing scheme. Car pools, popular in America, are becoming more popular here too. Not only do they save energy and money but they give you time off from driving every day too. Think about the options and if you are thinking of buying a new car why not loom at some of the eco friendly models on the market. These could save you pounds at the same time as helping to reduce emissions.

Shower instead of taking a bath a shower uses much less water than a bath to be really economical and have fun at the same time shower with a friend.

Reduce the amount of chemicals and sprays you use in your home. Many of the cleaning materials we use these days are full of potentially harmful chemicals harmful to animals, to some humans and to the environment. Have fun looking for creative ways to clean your home, perhaps by taking a leaf out of Grandma’s book.

Remember nobody expects you to completely change your lifestyle and habits overnight, but if each and every one of us took some little steps towards eco friendliness; just think what a friendly place the world could beand a better one for our children and grandchildren to inhabit in the future.

Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon to help prevent global warming from going any further, and that is definitely a good thing. Yes, we all need to do our own part, in some small way, and face the fact that our planet is in trouble. However, you don’t really see governments playing that big of a part in the fight themselves. How could they? It would start a global, economic disaster if they did what they really need to do. Unfortunately, the obvious solutions would put a lot of people out of work, such as car factories (for there are far too many gas

guzzling vehicles on the roads adding to the green house effect). We need to find ways to reduce our dependence on the petroleum industry, however, as we all know, world economy is based on the oil industry. The economies of many countries would come crashing down. Governments would lose their credibility and be toppled if these solutions were implemented.

So, what do governments do to show that they are actually participating in the fight to curb global warming? They attack the dastardly incandescent light bulb! At least this way, they can at least show that they are doing “something”. They inform us that the new bulbs will last ten times what the old incandescent bulbs have. We won’t have to change our light bulbs for the next seven to ten years.

With this small step, there won’t be trillions upon trillions of the incandescent bulbs showing up in the land fills. This way, people won’t be using nearly as much power to light their homes. It all sounds well and good, and something that everyone can do to take part in fighting global warming…. or is it?

I myself, have not jumped on this bandwagon and don’t plan to until there is absolutely no other choice. In fact, I am stocking up on incandescent bulbs. From the very moment they were brought to world attention, I discovered that

these new little fluorescent bulbs contain mercury (not much was mentioned about that fact at the onset). Now, haven’t we been trying to fight mercury for decades already? We have banned its use from all other products because of its harmful effects on the environment and on humans. We’ve been trying to rid our lakes and rivers of it because it had been showing up in the fish we eat. So now we put mercury in these new little light bulbs, telling the public that the traces

are so minute, it doesn’t really have an impact.

MY question from the

Another thing to consider is the type of companies we are giving our business to, and therefore supporting. If we buy organic or eco-apparel from heavy polluters we really aren’t doing the world any favors. We could and usually are acting as enablers, unknowingly maybe but if you want to consider yourself a green shopper knowledge is power. We are the consumers and as consumers have the right to information on where our eco purchases are coming from and how they are treated from beginning to end. No matter what type of fabric your clothing is made of, whether its organic wool, cotton, hemp, linen or something recycled, there is going to be some impact on the environment. We have to think practically and realize that nothing is perfect- and then aim for the nearest thing to it.

One way to gage how eco-fashionable our wardrobes are is to look to manufacturers and see how much they care about our planet and how much they care about profit. A large number of the retailers offering eco-friendly goods are part of a program called 1% For the Planet, which is fairly self-explanatory. Do the stores you shop at have websites offering helpful information? Do members of the sales staff know anything about what they are trying to sell you? Do they actually try to follow green practices, or are they just trying to make a buck of those of us that care about the earth? If you want to be eco-fashionable ask some questions and find out what you’re really buying.

Now, there are several different methods to taking an eco-friendly shower. One is by just by altering your life a little. The other istaking it further and becoming almost one with the earth. The first method of taking an eco-friendly shower is what I have labeled the Easy Eco Friendly Shower Method. The second method is called the Getting Back to Basics Shower.

The Easy Eco Friendly Shower Method is just that. There is no fuss and no muss with this one. You will not have to shower outside in the nearest waterfall to save the earth. All you have to do is change your showerhead to a low-flow showerhead and Viola! You are ready to go. You will start saving money, gas or electricity and water as soon as you turn on the shower.

Another aspect of the Easy Method, is to just get wet all over in the shower, turn off the water, lather up, and turn the shower back on to rinse. Wash your hair with the water off and you can save as many as five gallons for every shower.

To be as eco-friendly as possible; re-use the water to water your household and outside plants. Reuse the water in the toilet, and even to wash the car, or outside furniture.

The next method is called the Getting Back to Basics Shower. And that’s exactly what it is. This method will save ten to 20 gallons per shower. It may seem extreme but it works. I realized during the summer that by utilizing a gallon milk jug, I could fill it with all the water I needed to rinse my hair after shampooing every day. By leaving the jug out for a day before taking your shower you can also aerate the added chlorine and save money on a shower filter.

I never knew beforehand that I was literally wasting many gallons of water everyday in the shower, until that first day using the gallon milk jug. While it may seem extreme , it does save from 10 to 20 gallons. You can utilize a gallon bucket if you want. And you can place your gallon container outside in the sun to naturally warm up the water. Just think how much gas or electricity will be saved, and all the money you will be saving by using the sun’s natural rays to warm up the water.

You can also forego drying, and curling your hair, especially in hotter weather, to save on electricty usage. You can also alternate hair washing days to save many gallons of water. Ladies, you can shave your legs outside of the shower to save all that unused water from swirling down the drain.

It just takes some forethought and a little action on your part to incorporate eco-friendly showering into your life. Bet you can’t wait to see the look on your families faces when you tell them they have to use a milk jug filled with water in the shower from now on?

Re-usable bags are biodegradable (micro-organisms can act on them and decompose them into organic matter). The use of re-usable bags is a way of paying back to the nature. The end products of decomposition are organic manure that provides nutrients to plants and encourage vegetation to grow. This input ensures the land is not degraded and therefore is an aspect of soil conservation. On the same note, it is a measure towards water conservation. The vegetation has ability to control surface runoff that could have caused erosion of top fertile soil which is richer in nutrients than other layers of soil beneath it.

The use of re-usable bags helps to clean environment. The bags can be collected and taken back to the industries to be mould back to the same or related products.

The re-usable bags, since they have hydrocarbon chain, can be chemically treated, via a directed reaction to obtain a chemical reagent that can be used a s a raw material for synthesis of chemical substances like soaps and detergents. The hydrocarbon chain can be increased (a radical chain elongation reaction) to attain a carbon skeleton length that corresponds to a starting raw material for any chemical process. Functional groups can be added either through insertion, substitution or elimination. These three steps form bases for making other reactions possible like oxidation, carboxylation and amination. By using this technology, the active compound in the re-usable bag can be transformed into any compound. Any product like mattress (a product of a di-acid and a di-amine) can be developed.

Collection of re-usable bags for recycling eliminates chances of mosquitoes and other vectors like snails from breeding in them especially during wet weather. This has an effect of controlling vector related diseases like malaria and bilharzias. The long term effect is an increase in life expectancy and a reduction of medical bills incurred in prevention, control, research and treatment of the diseases.

Re-usable bags provide food for decomposers. These micro-organisms aerate the soil, take part in indirect regulation of soil PH, and help add nutrients to the soil. This encourages the area to be colonized by other animals, and a small eco-system is set up.