Sandy Steubing knows that there are more relaxing ways to spend retirement.
I could be scuba diving in the Carribbean, she said with a laugh.
But Steubing’s life course was altered when she visited a website that mentioned `peak oil.` Curious, she clicked on a link. She learned about studies and research that concluded the world’s oil supply is going to run out soon. The peak oil theory maintains that we are extracting the maximum amount of oil from the earth that we can; if we don’t reduce our dependency on oil, our economy will collapse in about 10 years.
The volume of research and studies supporting this overwhelmed Steubing. And so retirement turned not into a life of lesiure, but one aimed at reducing the world’s dependency on oil. It’s a lofty goal, but Stuebing believes small steps can add up to a big accomplishment. To that end, she’s helped organize a lunchtime bike ride through Albany on Friday, April 22, in honor of Earth Day. It’s one of several local events being held in conjunction with Earth Day.
Steubing hopes the bike ride will accomplish a few things. It will get people on their bikes instead of driving cars. Maybe they’ll think about riding their bikes more often. Even better, maybe they’ll think about other ways they can reduce their depedency on oil. Maybe a few will even be moved to adopt the cause the way Steubing has.
Bicyclists will meet at 11:30 a.m. at the corner of Eagle Street and Pine Street, kitty corner from City Hall. There will be Earth Day flags for bikers to fly from their bikes, the better to draw attention to their mission. There will be a speaker, and then riders will set off on a roughly one-hour journey that ends in Washington Park.
This is the first year for the bike ride, which had drawn about 25 participants as of the weekend. Steubing hopes for more people to take part in future years, but she’s encouraged by the numbers.
`Each one of these things makes a small impact,` she said.
Growing and eating local food is another step that can pay off, she said. `Gardens are a great thing — anything that encourages relocalization so we’re not transporting food from thousands of miles away.`
That’s why she supports the movement to keep chickens and hens inside city limits, and she was excited about a career fair at Albany High School that taught students about career options in farming. The fair spotlighted more than growing crops and breeding animals; it showed how job choices like repairing tractors fit into the big picture.
Steubing is part of the Capital District Transition Network, which is focused on transitioning away from oil dependency. She encouraged people who want more information to visit the group’s website at cdtransition.net or to email her at [email protected].
Meanwhile, Five Rivers Center in Delmar is having an Earth Day festival on Saturday, April 23. An event organizer said the focus is not on handing out pamphlets and fact sheets, but on putting a fun spin on ways to `be kind and good to the earth.`
There will be a couple of hybrid cars on display, and kids can make a craft using recycled paper. There will be a presentation on invasive species, and people who order plants from the DEC’s nursery in Saratoga Springs can save on shipping by picking them up at Five Rivers, which serves as a drop-off point.
Not far up the road, Thacher Nature Center in Voorheesville will sponsor `earth friendly creative fun` from 10 a.m. to noon. For $3, attendees can make an earth-friendly reusable tote bag and watch two short films, `The Story of Stuff` and `The Story of Cap and Trade.`
The Guilderland Public Library will celebrate Earth Day on Friday, April 22, at 6 p.m. All kids will receive a tree counter to record items recycled throughout the week, and they’ll play a recycling game, learn about recycling and listen to the book `We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers.“