Kathryn Sterbenc
"I joined Climate Reality and other climate groups in March 2019 and am participating in my first EcoChallenge."
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 632 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO1.0documentarywatched
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UP TO2.0donationsmade
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UP TO42meatless or vegan mealsconsumed
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UP TO30minutesspent learning
Kathryn's actions
Electricity Generation
Learn More about Micro Wind
#76 Micro Wind
I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of Micro Wind.
Buildings and Cities
Online Energy Audit
Multiple Solutions
I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.
Electricity Generation
Watch a Video about Methane Digesters
#30 Methane Digesters (large), #64 Methane Digesters (small)
I will watch a video about methane digesters (also commonly known as anaerobic digesters).
Action Track: Social Justice
Donate
#21 Clean Cookstoves
I will donate to nonprofits that install clean cookstoves in low-income countries.
Action Track: Social Justice
Improve a Bus Stop
#37 Mass Transit
I will improve a bus stop in my neighborhood by posting the stop schedule, adding seating or shelter, adding art or flowers, picking up litter, or implementing some other small improvement.
Food
Reduce Animal Products
#4 Plant-Rich Diet
I will enjoy 2 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.
Land Use
Forest-Friendly Foods 1
#5 Tropical Forests
I will spend at least 15 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.
Food
Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture
#11 Regenerative Agriculture
I will spend at least 15 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.
Materials
Go Paperless
#70 Recycled Paper
I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 0.11lbs (0.05kg) a day or 41lbs (18.6kg) a year by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.
Land Use
Support Indigenous Peoples' Land Management
#39 Indigenous Peoples' Land Management
I will donate to The Nature Conservancy, which works with Indigenous Peoples to secure land tenure and resource rights, support improved governance and local institutions, assist in natural resource mapping, planning and management; and strengthen livelihoods and sustainable economic development.
Participant Feed
Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.
To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?
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Kathryn Sterbenc 4/16/2019 9:15 PMI also am reading about tar-sands tankers in the Bay Area, and the movement to oppose them. I'm quite sure if I hadn't joined Climate Reality, I still wouldn't know anything about this. https://www.stand.earth/blog/communities-standing-big-oil/phillips-66-refinery/activists-fighting-tar-sands-tankers-san -
Kathryn Sterbenc 4/16/2019 9:04 PMI just watched a video about Michigan State University's anaerobic digester. Never heard of this type of thing before -- and that video is 6 years old! -
Kathryn Sterbenc 4/07/2019 12:02 PMHi, team. One of the actions I chose was learning how I can eat differently to reduce my contributions to deforestation. I never even connected those two things. As a lover of trees and forests, I was horrified to learn of it, even though it's become so obvious that everything we eat and do is impacting the planet. So I did a Google search about "diet and deforestation," just to start somewhere, and found this article. Palm oil is something I learned about for the first time from, of all places, episodes of "Grace and Frankie." The rest of the list is pretty gut-punchy, too -- coffee, cocoa, and meat, dairy and eggs. (As I write this, my cup of joe with milk in it is nearby, watching with increasing alarm.) This article has links to ways I can reduce my impact. I will click on them and start making changes. Hope you're all taking a few minutes and learning things you didn't know -- and learning things you can do that you didn't know about, either. https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/foods-that-are-eating-the-worlds-forests-and-how-to-choose-better/ -
Kathryn Sterbenc 4/03/2019 6:01 PMLast one for today -- just read two short articles about permaculture. Now I finally have started answering a question I've had for a long time: WHAT IS PERMACULTURE? I'm liking this EcoChallenge! -
Kathryn Sterbenc 4/03/2019 5:38 PMAs my second action today, I took a step toward going paperless by reducing the number of bills mailed to us. I switched our bank statements from paper to paperless. -
Kathryn Sterbenc 4/03/2019 5:35 PMi just completed my first action, which is part of the Social Justice action track. I donated to the Clean Cooking Alliance, a nonprofit that installs clean cookstoves in low-income countries.
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Kathryn Sterbenc 3/20/2019 8:24 PMThe email we got today about social justice and climate change got me pretty fired up, because I've done some local activism related to racial justice in the past few years in Oakland. I looked at the suggested actions that combined these two focuses. I really like that Climate Reality is thinking this way. Also, is anyone else participating in next Thursday's "Social Justice & Climate Change Live Talk"? It will be my first live talk, and I'm doing it from work during my lunch hour. In other news, I recently finished the book, "Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations" by David R. Montgomery, and I'm currently reading Dahr Jamail's "The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption." I don't have much time these days for reading with my eyeballs, so I rely on Audible.com and listen to audiobooks, mostly when I'm commuting. Which is a whole other agonizing topic. Hope you're all having a great week! -
Kathryn Sterbenc 3/12/2019 8:14 PMHi, team -- I set aside time tonight to review and select some actions for the EcoChallenge. I'm new in this arena, and it can be challenging to know how to set a realistic pace. When I selected my sixth action, a popup kindly encouraged me to not select too many. Only then did I realized I'd picked two per week. I'll stop there for now, but I'm thinking if I get all of those done, I'll add more, right? How are all of you choosing your actions? Is anyone else on our team as new to climate action as me?? -
Kathryn Sterbenc 3/05/2019 8:03 AMInspired by my friend (and Climate Reality leader) Norene Griffin, I am getting started as a climate activist. In the past few days, I have joined Climate Reality and its Bay Area Chapter, as well as joining, donating to or following Sunrise Movement, Youth vs. Apocalypse, and Extinction Rebellion. I've started watching the one-hour documentary, "Being the Change," by Peter Kalmus, and I am reading the book, "Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations," by David R. Montgomery. I've started following a slew of climate leaders on Twitter to get my info bearings and follow current trends. And then I signed a petition supporting the Green New Deal and tweeted all three of my Congress reps (Feinstein, Lee, Harris) to support it. I have been posting about all this on my social media platforms to encourage others to get involved.
The thing that seems most important to me among my early steps is, I have located and started reading the "Sustainable Oakland (CA) Report 2017-18," which my hometown issued last month. As soon as my request to join CR Bay Area Chapter's Facebook page is approved, I'm going to ask some questions about that. My goal is to advocate to our City Council about its Climate Plan as needed, or at least to voice my support.