66. Save the Planet in Your Spare Time

Rotarian Joyce Mercado is author of the book "Save the Planet in Your Spare Time – A Climate Protection Handbook for the Busy Person." The book chronicles Joyce's journey to becoming a climate protection leader in Alameda so others can learn from her experience. Joyce's work covers reducing emissions, writing for the local press, partnerships, and maintaining one's optimism. Leaders influencing others in their communities to protect the climate, community by community, is an essential element in fighting climate change. Rotarians can be an effective part of the solution to the climate crisis with the guidance in this handbook. Anyone can be such a leader, even those with a busy life. Joyce Mercado has been a climate activist in her community of Alameda for the last twenty years even while holding a full-time job as a Technical Sales Manager for IBM and raising two children with her husband David. She is a monthly climate protection columnist for the local press, an Al Gore program-trained Climate Reality Project Leader who has given dozens of presentations on climate protection, a member of many climate protection organizations, creator of the Alameda Climate Protection Checklist and Resource List with 70 actions individuals can take and has been recognized by the City of Alameda for her climate protection leadership. The climate emergency prompted her to write a book when she retired so others could learn from her experience to become climate leaders in their communities. Joyce is a proud Rotarian having served as Community Service Chair and President of the Rotary Club of Alameda. Joyce has a Bachelor of Science in Physics from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Joyce went to graduate school at Princeton University to study plasma (electrically charged gas) physics for two years. Deciding that plasma physics was not for her, she attended her first on-campus interview, and got a job at IBM, which she kept for the next 35 years. Joyce lives in Alameda, California with her husband David. To find the book, go to: https://www.amazon.com/Save-Planet-Your-Spare-Time/dp/B0D3MY1XSR To get the Climate Protection Checklist, go to: https://casa-alameda.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CASA-Climate-Protection-Checklist-March-2022.pdf Some other recordings referenced in this talk: Klara Noray Moradkhan - Durable and Sustainable Pavement Coating (Cool Pavement) https://youtu.be/-dkRXXATbZM Seema Lindskog and Rod Sinks - Using Solar Power To Benefit Nonprofits and the Planet https://youtu.be/0CZrrlRHRt8 Carling Spelhaug - Applying Artificial Intelligence to Modernize our Recycling Infrastructure https://youtu.be/hIjToyrv6Vs Nate Salpeter - Education, Inspiration, & Innovation - How Sweet Farm Impacts More, with Less https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEUcMrqYtvk