Siel of Green LA Girl: Featured Blogger Interview
March 01, 2010 | By
After a short break, the Featured Blogger Interview series has returned! Today we have a special treat for our environmentally conscious readers—an interview with Siel of Green LA Girl! Siel is an environmental writer and activist, and her blog focuses on green living in LA and around the world.
Please start by telling us a little bit about yourself and your blog, Green LA Girl.
I'm a freelance writer and blogger in Santa Monica, Calif. -- and green LA girl's my personal blog about green living, with a focus on the Los Angeles-area.
Since you started posting your blog, do you feel that awareness for green living has grown?
Green living has gone from a semi-fringe movement to a popular topic in the almost-five years I've been writing my blog, so I'd definitely say that awareness has grown. That said, I think there's a lot more talk than action when it comes to environmental concerns -- something I hope will change, quickly, in 2010!
Up-cycled products vs. eco-friendly products, do you have a preference?
Well, up-cycled products generally are eco-friendly products! But if you mean picking between up-cycled products versus new products with eco-friendly attributes, I almost always vote for up-cycled. Making brand new products -- even with greener materials -- generally takes a lot more energy and resources than creatively remaking existing products.
Do you have any advice for fellow bloggers looking to start an eco-blog?
Yes -- Start a blog today!
Too many would-be bloggers with great ideas simply put off starting a blog because they get too obsessed with making things perfect -- a perfect logo, a perfect design, a perfect set of neatly-written posts, a perfect blogging plan for the next decade. Over-deliberation can be paralyzing -- and should be avoided. Plus, things move fast on the blogosphere -- so it's best to just start blogging now and fix things as you go. Be like Google and get into an active Beta mode -- and start blogging!
I emphasize the "a" in "a blog" because the other trap many newbie bloggers fall into is starting too many blogs for every idea that comes to mind. A green blogger that starts a craft blog, for example, might be tempted to also start a bike blog, a health food blog, and an environmental news blog -- since they're interested in all of those topics too. This kind of fracturing often tends to lead to a whole mess of abandoned blogs, each with only a few posts. Sustaining energy for multiple blogs is tough -- especially if you're the only person writing all of them. A better idea would be to allow yourself to blog on multiple topics on a single blog.
What’s a fun fact most readers don’t know about you?
Since the beginning of this year, I've been taking a break from alcohol. The goal's to make it 100 days!
What’s a greener change you feel more people can and should make?
Discover One-Mile-Radius living -- basically getting as much of the stuff and services you need within walking distance. That'll help you drive less and walk more -- which will benefit your health, your environment, and your local economy. Plus, walking will probably improve your general outlook on life too, as you get more exercise and see more of your neighborhood and neighbors.
Visit greenLAgirl.com for more posts from Siel.
Sara Moore is the Head of the Content Department on ArtFire.com.
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