5 Questions with Liz Queathem
Elizabeth (Liz) Queathem’s short bio on the Grinnell website lists her as a lecturer in biology and American studies. While true, this is a ridiculously modest assessment of her responsibilities, talents, and interests. Besides her role as a senior lecturer, Queathem leads campus efforts to become more environment-friendly as co-chair of the Sustainability Planning Committee, she conducts — and leads students — in research on human exercise, she’s demonstrated her chops as a video storyteller, and she is a member of a Scottish piping band. That’s just a sampling of her laundry list of accomplishments, interests, and activities, so we cornered her recently and asked her thoughts on climate change, grasshoppers, drumming, and a few other pressing issues.
Q: Are we at the point now with climate change that all we can really do is try not to make it worse or is there a way to reverse the damage we’ve done?
A: As they say, when you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you should do is stop digging! We are already experiencing the effects of climate change because we have dumped so many greenhouse gases into the air, so the first thing we need to do is reach net zero (stop producing greenhouse gases). But there are definitely things we can do to actively remove CO2 from the air (like plant more trees). There are other technological solutions that have been floated, like putting other substances into the air that would reduce the amount of heating from the sun, but that sounds really frightening to me because of the possibility that we might accidentally make things worse.
Q: What is the Turlach Ur Pipe Band and what is your role with them?
A: Turlach Ur is a bagpipe band (pipemaster Rob Clower) centered in Grinnell with two bands, a Grade 5 (entry-level) and Grade 3 (two levels higher). I play tenor drum, the goofiest possible instrument, with the Grade 3 band. Here’s a recording from one of our competitions. The tenor drummers are the ones whirling their red mallets in the air and playing the occasional note. It’s a lot of fun and you can take bagpipe lessons from Rob through the College, which I would highly recommend!
Q: Can your research on exercise and the role the environment plays in feelings of well-being and health shed any light on why our treadmills and weight benches are used primarily as laundry holders?
A: Absolutely! If you just feel guilty and overweight every time you see workout equipment, your first impulse is always going to be to cover it up! The way we feel about our bodies and the narratives we construct around exercise exert a huge influence on whether we look forward to exercise or avoid it at all costs. I use temptation bundling, where I only watch HBO when I am on the elliptical or treadmill, and it makes it a lot easier to get motivated. And I don’t look in the mirror!
Q: You’ve studied how a grasshopper’s leaping ability changes over time. Do you recall the greatest distance or height you ever observed one jumping?
A: Wow, I don't remember that off the top of my head — probably around 1.2 meters or so. But I can tell you that just like people, they had different personalities — some of them were eager to jump and very athletic, while others were sluggish and very disinclined to move. But some of that depended on where they were in the molt cycle.
Q: Protection Inside Outside, the video you created in 2019 in response to an exhibition at GCMoA, is incredibly powerful. Have you created other videos or considered filmmaking as a side hustle?
A: Thanks so much! I haven't created other videos like this, but I am interested in putting together some story maps about Project AWARE, which is a weeklong river cleanup that takes place on some section of an Iowa river every summer, and how trees are affected by climate change and can help us respond to climate change. I have had some MAP students map trees on Grinnell’s campus and in the City of Grinnell, so I want to make that information available to people and make all of us more aware of everything trees do for us.