What an amazing opportunity the first SXSW Eco Conference turned out to be. Being a St. Edward’s University student, I was granted free admittance giving me the opportunities to take the bus in between classes a few blocks to downtown Austin and return with new eyes and fresh ideas. One couldn’t help but feel rewarded, educated, and inspired after leaving such intellectual conversations. So many major topics of our times presented by panels of four or five experts, sessions such as: “Legacy Land: The Future of Preservation,” “Climate is Culture,” and “The Future of Carbon After Americas Silence” are just a few of many the SXSW Eco Conference offered.

With Austin becoming the “nation’s first all-green-energy-operation,” as stated in the (Austin-American Statesman, 9/30/2011) the city of Austin was a great location for the conference. I also met students of the University of Texas experiencing the same opportunities as I. Seeing other young adults fearlessly mingle and engage amongst such prestigious minds as we walked the corridors of the conference was a bone chilling thing to feel. The SXSW Eco Conference gave me something more than facts and knowledge. It inspired me to keep living my life more sustainably and environmentally friendly. The conference brought to light many efforts being made each and every day to restore and sustain OUR EARTH.

Samuel Given McClure ’15                              Environmental Science and Policy                              St. Edward’s University              smcclur4@stedwards.edu