Barbara Schlachter Memorial Lectures 2022

Posted on February 2, 2022 by 100 Grannies

The 2022 Barbara Schlachter Memorial Lecture Series is a partnership between 100 Grannies for a Livable Future and The Center. We invite you to meet the many dedicated people who work every day to address environmental activities within our community and state and how you can take an active part. Each is passionate dedicating their education, experience and skills to help the planet for today and future generations.

March 7

Briana Hoffman is a software engineer and Rotarian who started the philanthropy and sustainability club at her work on how to reduce our impact on the environment both by reducing our plastic footprint and our impact on climate change. She recently worked with her Rotary Club and the Domestic Violence Intervention Program to raise enough money to put 128 solar panels on DVIP’s emergency shelter.

In this presentation we will look at the problem of plastic and some easy plastic free swaps you can make in your own life to reduce your plastic usage. And we’ll talk about how you can have a bigger impact on plastic reduction beyond your own reduced use of plastic.

March 14

Emma Schmit and Chris Jones Emma is a Senior Organizer with Food & Water Watch who has been working with communities across Iowa to fight for bold policy solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate issues since 2018. She has been involved in organizing a number of crucial campaigns, including enacting a statewide factory farm moratorium, placing Iowa’s Raccoon River on the 2021 U.S. Most Endangered Rivers list and stopping the expansion of hazardous carbon pipelines. Emma lives in rural Calhoun County. Chris Jones is Research Engineer with IIHR- Hydroscience and Engineering at the University of Iowa, studying contaminant hydrology in agricultural landscapes of the U.S. cornbelt. He has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Montana State University and previously worked at Des Moines Water Works and the Iowa Soybean Association.

March 21

Stratis Giannakouros and his team the U of I Office of Sustainability and the Environment are named as PC People to Watch in 2022. Their office partners with faculty, students, and staff through many disciplines throughout the college and across campus. Their mission is to educate, challenge and inspire the greater U of I community to realize solutions exist to end climate change by what can be done on a local level.

March 28

Iowa City ranks as one of 95 cities with an A rating worldwide and the only one in Iowa as a leader on environmental action and transparency. What priorities do you care about and what can you do!

Jane Wilch, the City’s Recycling Coordinator, for a discussion on recycling programs in Iowa City. Learn what can be recycled, where materials go after they are picked up, and which projects are on the horizon for waste reduction and recycling in our community.

Sarah Gardner, Climate Action Engagement Specialist, will speak about electric vehicles – why they are growing in popularity, how they are an important tool in fighting climate change, and some of the surprising ways their batteries can have a second life.

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Jane Yoder-Short op ed 19 Jan 2022

Posted on January 20, 2022 by 100 Grannies

From page 7A of the Press-Citizen

When science is co-opted by greed, it’s prudent to take heed

‘Why can’t people just trust science?’ my science-zealous husband asked.

With a deep breath and a loud voice, I proceeded to explain to him why science can’t be trusted. Science isn’t without biases. Science can be bought.

Science and tobacco Scientists declared smoking as harmless while reliable evidence revealed that cigarettes caused lung cancer, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

In the early 1950s, the tobacco industry paid hundreds of newspapers to publish a message. It stated the industry’s No. 1 concern was public health. The industry paid scientists to deliver doubt on smoking’s harmfulness.

In 1964, the surgeon general announced that smoking caused lung cancer. He released the report on a Saturday to minimize the impact on tobacco stock , reminding us of the importance of money.

Science and Roundup A farmer told me he wasn’t afraid to drink Roundup. Is this what science showed or is it what the company wanted us to believe?

Carey Gillam’s book ‘Whitewash’ explores the science connected with the use of glyphosate, the chemical in Roundup. Court cases claim Monsanto, the company that originally produced Roundup, knew about glyphosate’s danger, especially when formulated with polyethoxylated tallow amine.

In 1985, Monsanto pressured EPA’s toxicology branch to reverse its classification of glyphosate as a Category C carcinogen. Glyphosate’s status changed to ‘not likely to be carcinogenic.’

Lawsuits continue to try to sort out the science surrounding glyphosate.

Science and climate change In 1997, Lee Raymond, then Exxon’s chief executive, declared that ‘scientific evidence (on the role of human activity in global warming) is inconclusive.’ Two years earlier, the United Nations climate science group had concluded that burning fossil fuels was a significant cause of global warming .

Who do we believe, Exxon’s executives or the United Nations science group?

Even now with a 99.9% scientific consensus that humans are altering the climate, response to climate change remains a tangled mess. We continue to hear scientists being called ‘alarmists.’

Executives from oil corporations were asked to testify before Congress after

a recording exposed an Exxon official boasting about climate disinformation. During the hearings, executives of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP and Shell were asked if they would pledge to stop lobbying against efforts to reduce emissions. None of them agreed .

Exxon Mobil spends millions funding groups that challenge proven climate science.

Science and COVID-19 Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shortened the isolation period for those with COVID-19 from 10 days to five days. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky acknowledged the decision was partly to ‘keep the critical functions of society open and operating.’

CDC claims its decision was also based on science, which has concluded that most COVID-19 illnesses are spread in the first few days of infection. A significant chance of transmission remains after the five days.

The timing of the decision to shorten the isolation period came days after Delta Airline’s CEO sent Walensky a letter advocating for a shorter isolation period. We see how science can come wrapped in economic packaging.

We need science. Science helped us realize smoking is unhealthy. Science helped us rethink the safety of drinking Roundup. Science is helping connect the dots on climate change.

Weighing what is true takes time. Sorting out greed, money and power from actual science is challenging, but essential.

Let’s keep our eyes open. Let’s keep asking who is benefiting from this flavor of science. Let’s help each other better understand what is best for all of us.

Jane Yoder-Short lives in Kalona.

Headline:
We need science. Science helped us realize smoking is unhealthy. Science helped us rethink the safety of drinking Roundup. Science is helping connect the dots on climate change. Weighing what is true takes time. Sorting out greed, money and power from actual science is challenging, but essential. Let’s keep our eyes open. Let’s keep asking who is benefiting from this flavor of science. Let’s help each other better understand what is best for all of us.

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Charlene Lange LTE IN PC, 18 Dec 2021

Posted on December 18, 2021 by 100 Grannies

A senior citizen’s wish list for Santa Dear Santa:

Kids are writing you what they want for Christmas. I am a senior citizen and thought I would give it try.

I want to open the eyes and minds of others to see the problems we have. There are so many. The problems of armed violence, of carbon footprints, of water pollution. The list goes on and on.

I want to be given the words to convince others to work together on solutions of the problems we face.

I want USA to join together like during WWII to show the world we can lead in the solutions.

I want to stop the fear and hate.

I want all people to have the ability and time to vote.

I want the ability to create empathy in others and humanity for all; show them that we all want safe streets, clean water, food to eat, and hope.

I want to take the blinders off people’s eyes to show racial problems that exist.

I want the ability to convince others of need for peaceful solutions, for supporting all those who have solutions, and protect ourselves and our planet.

I want the ability to help people change. Our world is changing even if we keep our eyes closed. So why not change in a saving way?

I want the words to convince my kids, grandkids and great-grands to get vaccinated.

In other words, I want peace and good will for all.

-Charlene Lange, Iowa City

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December 7th soup supper

Posted on November 18, 2021 by 100 Grannies

1 Dec email from the steering committee:

Just a reminder that the Grannies soup supper will be on Tuesday, December 7th to please RSVP by Saturday, December 4th  , (if you have not already done so) to let us know if you plan to attend.

We will gather at the Unitarian Universalist Church from 4:30 to 6:30. The address is 2355 Oakdale Road, Coralville.  Several grannies have offered to give rides to those who need or want one.  Please let the SC committee by responding to this  email (100Granniesiowacity@gmail.com)  by Monday, Dec 6th   or call Deb Schoelerman at 319-594-2373.

The Steering Committee will make a pot of vegetable soup.  If you would like to bring a vegetable to add to the soup, feel free – but don’t feel obligated.  The SC will also provide bread and beverages for all.  No need to bring your own dishes – the church has plenty.

We want all who choose to come to feel safe.  If you feel safer bringing your own food, do that.  Wear your mask if you feel safer.  There is a lot of room to spread out at UUS and it will be easy to maintain space between us.  The round tables are 5 feet in diameter and there are 4 or 5 chairs at each table.

We look forward to seeing you!
The Steering Committee

 

18 Nov email from the steering committee:

December 7th soup supper

Hello Grannies, 

The annual Grannie Stone Soup Supper will be Tuesday, December 7th at 5:00 p.m.  The SC is hoping to have the soup supper in person –  we think it would be great to see each other.  Most of us are probably vaccinated and this would be a relatively safe group activity.  At the last meeting we said we would get feedback from the membership.  Please reply to this email to let us know if you would come to the soup supper in person (and bring your own food) and where you would like to meet. 

  1. Would you attend the soup supper in person this year? 
  2. Where would you like to meet? Trinity or Unitarian Universalist?

 

Please let us know by Wednesday, December 1st.  Respond to this email with a yes or no – and if yes, your preference of location.

Thank you from the Steering Committee. 

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Celebrate World Vegan Month by dining out at vegan-friendly restaurants in Iowa City area – from Iowa City Press-Citizen

Posted on November 9, 2021 by 100 Grannies

Click for article

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Think Globally, Act Locally.

Posted on November 9, 2021 by 100 Grannies

“Think Globally, Act Locally.” An op ed in the Press-Citizen – November 5, 2021 by Miriam Kashia and others.

We have heard this phrase for years, but when it comes to global climate change, acting locally may be our best way forward. The United Nations International Panel on Climate Change has issued a Code Red for humankind on climate change.

This existential threat has been called a climate crisis, a climate emergency and many other things but it really doesn’t matter what it’s called. It’s time to stop talking about climate change and actually do something about it. Everybody talks about the extreme weather and the climate, but who is going to do something about it?

The United Nations is holding its latest climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, from Oct. 31-Nov. 12. This climate summit is called COP26, which stands for the 26th Conference of the Parties and will be attended by the countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change — a treaty that came into force in 1994.

The entire international community of nations has been setting goals for greenhouse gas reductions since then, but the concentration of carbon dioxide has risen well above the 350 parts per million that is considered a safe level for Earth. The current CO2 concentration is approximately 413 ppm, according to NOAA.

Working globally doesn’t seem to be producing the desired results we need to reach our stated goals. We can only hope that the world’s leading contributors of greenhouse gasses can somehow show the leadership needed to address the urgent crisis.

The United States has often expressed the desire to lead the world on climate solutions but hasn’t been able to muster the political will necessary to actually provide that leadership. With a political system that is often sold to the highest bidder, we can’t seem to stop burning fossil fuels even though we can build wind farms and solar arrays at breakneck speed.

President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Plan has plenty of climate-related plans but they may be removed to appease a senator from a coal-mining state who makes his millions from the coal industry. Again, we have to remember that the U.S. has the best political system that money can buy.

This opinion piece was written by Mike Carberry and Tom Carsner, Iowa City Sierra Club; Mike Wyrick, Cedar Rapids Sierra Club; Jason Snell and Scott Roland, Sunrise Movement Cedar Rapids; Ayla Boylen, Climate Strike/Fridays for Future Cedar Rapids; Miriam Kashia, 100 Grannies for a Sustainable Future Iowa City.

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Our October film series was a success

Posted on November 1, 2021 by 100 Grannies

If you missed the series, the descriptions & links are below:”Just Eat It”
A 74-minute documentary film about food waste and food rescue
https://foodwastemovie.com/

“WASTED! The Story of Food Waste”
Aims to change the way people buy, cook, recycle, and eat food. Through the eyes of chef-heroes like Anthony Bourdain, Dan Barber, Mario Batali, Massimo Bottura, and Danny Bowien, audiences will see how the world’s most influential chefs make the most of every kind of food, transforming what most people consider scraps into incredible dishes that create a more secure food system.
https://www.oneearthfilmfest.org/films-az-2018/wasted-the-story-of-food-waste

“Our Planet, One Planet”
It’s simple. Sir David Attenborough explains how humans can take charge of our future and save our planet.
https://www.ourplanet.com/en/video/how-to-save-our-planet/

“The Plastic Problem”
By 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans. PBS NewsHour takes a closer look at this now ubiquitous material, how it’s impacting the world and ways we can break our plastic addiction.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/series/the-plastic-problem

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100 Grannies – What We Do

Posted on April 2, 2021 by Charlene Lange

You can view our latest presentation in PDF format [View PDF] or you can see the slides below as images. Click any slide for a larger gallery slideshow view.

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Miriam at the grocery store

Posted on March 13, 2021 by 100 Grannies

Letter to the editor: Kindness, generosity, kinship and love are alive and well
Posted on Mar 5, 2021, in Little Village
By Miriam Kashia, North Liberty
If you are paying attention to the news, you’re undoubtedly getting a major daily
dose of crisis, dishonesty, corruption, conspiracy, illness, death, conflict and on
and on and on. This is a tough time to be living on planet Earth, whether you
have skin, scales, horns, fur, feathers or leaves. Things are not going well.
This is a different kind of story, and it’s uplifting, fun, delightful and TRUE!
Several weeks ago as I was standing in the checkout line at my grocery store (6’
back and wearing my mask), I observed that the woman in front of me was
digging through her purse to try to come up with enough money to pay for her
groceries. So I pulled a $5 bill from my wallet and handed it to the clerk to make
up the difference. My new “friend” was very appreciative, and I felt uplifted about
having helped her. The opportunity to commit a “random act of kindness” is a
moment of opening one’s heart to another. And it feels so good.
I was next in line, and after the cashier rang up my groceries — about $20 worth
— a young woman directly behind me who had witnessed the interaction, pulled
out some cash from her wallet and handed it to the cashier and announced that
she was paying for my groceries. Though I indicated she needn’t do that, she
insisted and we both enjoyed the beauty of the moment. It was such a surprise
and such a sweet moment for all three of us: the cashier, me, and my young
benefactor. I have enjoyed telling that story many times, because it is a
wonderful example of a “random act of kindness,” and how “what goes round,
comes round.”
Fast-forward a couple of weeks:
I am in the same grocery store, again waiting in line (6’ back wearing my mask).
There are about 15 items in my cart. A stranger walked up to get in line behind
me. All she had was a small container of cherry tomatoes. I indicated that she
should step in front of me since she only had one item. I invited her several
times before she acquiesced and took my place in the checkout line. As there
were a couple of people in front of us with grocery carts filled high, we had a few
minutes to chat.
I told her about the incident related above, as I love telling it because it is such a
wonderful example of shared generosity and kindness. Then my “new friend”
paid for her tomatoes and headed for the exit as I was starting to check out. The
cashier indicated to me that the tomato lady had emptied all her money from her
wallet and there was $12.51 left after paying for her tomatoes. She had asked
him to apply it to my bill.
I looked at her as she was about to leave the store, and she looked at me and
we both burst out laughing. It was a moment of sheer delight. It was a “random
act of kindness,” and generosity, but it was far more. In that moment, there was
a mutual recognition of our shared humanity and connection. It reminds me that
there is so much good in the world and so many ways we can bless one
another.
The most heartfelt part of this story for me is that we were four women with
various skin colors who shared a “magical moment ” of possibility in our broken
world.
So to my beautiful grocery store neighbors, thank you! And know that I will be passing the love on.

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Would you rather have a lawn..

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Charlene Lange

Would you rather have a lawn that looks like a golf course or a park?

It’s a joy to be outdoors in the spring! Seasonal changes add interest to our walks in the neighborhood …. UNTIL we get to that acrid odor of lawn spray. We take care not to step on THAT yard to avoid tracking toxic chemicals into our home. Thankfully, in Iowa City, our public turf grass is free from harmful effects of urban pesticide. Back in 2016 Iowa City banned pesticides in parks and trails. Soon after, Iowa City Community Schools followed suit and now Johnson County, too. And the reason is because research shows evidence of harm from pesticide exposure in so many ways – to health, water quality, pets, pollinators, and biodiversity.

We are blessed to live in a neighborhood where very few yards are sprayed. Our neighbors get it. Natural lawn care is simple and it saves money. Here’s what you do: Just omit pesticides and herbicides, and mow high (at least 3 inches). And neighbors get this part, too: our lawns are just as aesthetically pleasing as treated lawns, while providing some great benefits. If you are interested in reconsidering the way you care for your lawn, go here for more information and science-driven evidence: https://goodneighboriowa.org/ -Linda Rice and Gary Lawrenson, Iowa City

https://iowacitypresscitizen-ia.newsmemory.com/?selDate=20210303&editionStart=Iowa+City+Press+Citizen&goTo=A07

also in Little Village March 1, 2021

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