Kashia recently finished a walk across the continental United States as mayor of the Great March for Climate Action. She is an example of how the 100 Grannies engage at both the local and national level.

Perhaps best known for their campaign to ban single-use plastic bags in Johnson County, the group advocates on a number of issues. Members have participated in the ongoing public meetings on the Bakken oil pipeline, attended the People’s Climate March in New York City on Sept. 21, participated in a Sept. 21, 2013, demonstration at the White House opposing the Keystone XL pipeline, and sponsored or co-sponsored a number of local climate actions. They recently established a committee on plant-based food as a way to address the consequences of climate change.

“My goal (for the lecture) is the same as the mission of the Great March for Climate Action,” Kashia said. “To awaken and inspire action among citizens and lawmakers to address the greatest threat humanity has ever faced.”

If you go

•What: 100 Grannies for a Livable Future presents a series of lectures that are intended to educate and encourage members of the public to take climate action.

•Where: Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center, 28 S. Linn St.

Lineup

•6:30 p.m. Feb. 2: “Sustainable Systems” by Jerald Schnoor, Allen S. Henry Chair in Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Iowa. Schnoor will discuss how sustainable systems can reverse dangerous climate change and opine as to whether the U.S. will be a leader at the Dec. 11 international meeting on climate change in Paris.

•6 p.m. Feb. 9: “Writing Climate Change” by Cornelia F. Mutel, senior science writer for IIHR – Hydroscience and Engineering, University of Iowa. Mutel, author of “The Emerald Horizon: The History of Nature in Iowa,” and editor of “A Watershed Year: Anatomy of the Iowa Floods of 2008,” will speak about her current project, a book that addresses climate change through the use of memoir and story-telling.

•6 p.m. Feb. 23: “My March for Climate Action” by Miriam Kashia. Kashia closed her psychotherapy private practice in Iowa City in 2005 at age 62 and spent more than two years in Namibia with the Peace Corps where her primary assignment was helping meet the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. She will share stories she witnessed all across the U.S. while on the Great March for Climate Action — stories of the destruction already being experienced by communities from climate calamities as well as from the actions of extreme energy extraction methods used by fossil fuel corporations.

•6 p.m. March 2: “The University of Iowa Biomass Fuel Project” by Ferman Milster, registered professional engineer, University of Iowa Office of Sustainability. Milster will discuss how cofiring dedicated energy crops (blending coal and biomass fuels) is a way to capture sunlight energy, use Iowa’s agricultural resources, and produce energy for use on the UI campus. Dedicated energy crops, one source of biomass, produce disproportionate benefits in the areas of soil conservation and water quality. He also will describe other forms of biomass, such as organic industrial byproducts and wood.

•6 p.m. March 9: “The Impact of Food on the Environment” by Cindy Spading, RDN, LD, a registered dietitian nutritionist with a special interest in plant-based nutrition. Spading will discuss how eating less meat and dairy is good for both the planet and human health. The emphasis will be on how to incorporate more plant-based foods into your diet.