Our speaker for January 6, 2022, was Oceanographer and Meteorologist Mike Clancy, whose topic was “Understanding and Mitigating Climate Change.” Mike has an M.S. in Meteorology from the University of Miami and worked for U.S. Navy’s Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography, including as its Technical and Scientific Director, since 1983. He is also a member of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby and frequent speaker on climate change. Mike presented compelling statistics showing that the Global Mean Surface Temperature of the earth has increased at least 1 degree centigrade since the beginning of the industrial period. In the last 120 years the Global Mean Surface Temperature has increased 20x faster than natural climate change. Most of this drastic change has been the result of the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases, including primarily Co2 (carbon dioxide), CH4 (methane), F-Gases (fluorinated gases), and N20 (nitrogen dioxide), become trapped in the atmosphere and trap heat close to the earth’s surface. The consequences are devastating, and include increasing frequency and intensity of severe storms, heat waves, cold snaps, floods in wet regions, drought and wildfires in dry regions, rising sea levels, increasing mortality of coral reefs, and decreasing snowpacks and fisheries. Severe weather events in 2021, including floods, freezes (in Texas!), rain at the summit of Greenland, and a heatwave that killed hundreds in the Pacific Northwest, among others, are some of the most obvious recent human consequences of climate change.
The projected consequences of climate change by the end of this century depend on the extent to which the world can mitigate climate change. For example, if the Paris Climate Accord goals (net zero GHG emissions by 2050 and near zero GHG emissions by 2100) could be met, total post-industrial mean surface temperatures are estimated to be approximately 1.5 degree centigrade (+/- .7 degrees). However, these goals now appear to be slipping and it is very possible that the net change could be closer to a catastrophic 3.0 – 4.5 degrees centigrade.
Mike presented Project Drawdown as a roadmap to climate change mitigation. Project Drawdown provides 82 solutions for reducing climate change, including 9 separate sections, 5 involving reducing greenhouse gases and 4 involving protecting and enhancing or ability to remove greenhouse gases.
Thank you, Mike, for bringing us this very important topic and providing us with information about mitigating the effects of climate change. And thank you for all of your work in this field.
You may view the ZOOM recording HERE! It will be available for the only the next week or so.
On a regular basis, our resident photo pro Warren Smith, submits pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.
Thanks for all the great pictures Warren!Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
This week’s theme takes us back to our heroic gnomes. You all didn’t think I forgot about our gnome challenge, did you? Specifically, I want to discuss Barbegazi. He is a magical creature that delights my heart. He hails from the Alps in Switzerland and France.
This mythical creature is a little man covered in white fur with a white beard caked with icicles. He has unusually large feet to ski down the mountain slopes. They are avid avalanche surfers. They help shepherds find their lost sheep and hoot loudly to alert people of a coming avalanche. They light fires to lure lost travelers out of the snow and back to safety. These cute little beings are exceptional at tunneling through the snow. During the spring and summer months, they dwell in underground tunnels and caves, and legend has it they hibernate in the summertime. They reemerge after the first snowfall.
Though these little gnomes with enormous feet are heroic in their efforts, they abhor being acknowledged. They are fiercely private. Never follow them back to their home. Small but mighty they will throw you off a cliff if you pursue them following their acts of kindness. They are the opposite of a Sour Patch Kid: first, they’re sweet, then they are sour. Do you know anyone in your life that has the similar characteristics as a Barbegazi? I do, but they shall remain nameless…
M.J. Girard is currently an on air personality on KOWSfm.com His “Roots of Rock” is broadcast every Sunday morning at 7 AM
Two weeks into the new year…and under our belts…two editions underpinning the Roots of Rock celebrating the 1950’s…Rockabilly’s foundation that ultimately became Rock ‘n Roll!
Time to return to a state of “Normalcy…” (that would be nice..) where an Artist is featured along with the tunes that also were on the record charts surrounding it.
This Sundays requested artist are a group that banded together in the late fifties as a family act. Reared in England, where in 1955 they formed a skiffle/rock trio known as the “Rattlesnakes”. They were successful as a local attraction, but soon afterwards the family relocated to Queensland, Australia where they had their first charted success with “Spicks and Specks”, which was their 12th single release. This gave the brothers the initiative to return to the U.K., fifty-five years ago this month. Whilst back home in England, the trio began working with a top record producer, Robert Stigwood, who introduced them to a worldwide audience.
Although many charted hits were forthcoming, their biggest contribution, a soundtrack for a motion picture, which garnered Five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and is considered to be culturally impactful, thrusting the “discotheque scene” into the mainstream and became the ultimate turning point in their careers.
Having sold well over 220,000,000 records worldwide, making them amongst the best performers of all time, The Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, having nine number one Billboard hits, only trailing the Beatles and the Supremes.
The Roots of Rock will proudly present the “Creme d’la Creme” of their extensive collection of music, interspersed with period tunes of other artists, and our classics spanning the spectrum of music along with special requests.
Thank you for “Tuning In” and remember that this and all previous shows are archived and available for listening anytime on my website: Girard.org
Visit KOWSfm.com to see our diversity of community radio here in the NorthCoast.
A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, "This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you."
The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you want, son?" The boy takes the quarters and leaves.
"What did I tell you?" said the barber. "That kid never learns!"
Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream parlor.
"Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?"
The boy licked his cone and replied:
"Because the day I take the dollar the game is over!" —Vinaya Patil
One of Rotary’s founding principles was to use your vocation — whether as a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or another profession — to do good in the world. As we attempt to overcome and recover from the pandemic, this principle is vital in retraining people who have lost their jobs. In response, the Rotary E-Club of Tamar Hong Kong organized seminars for young people, with the aim of preparing them for the changing world of work.
This type of training must happen on a large scale. According to the United Nations, global unemployment is expected to exceed 200 million people in 2022. Women and youths are likely to be disproportionately affected.
This is why I’ve placed such a strong emphasis this year on projects that empower girls, and I’ve been delighted to see some of these projects in action. Of course, access to education and the path to employment can be blocked by a lack of water and sanitation infrastructure.
A project in Pune, India, focuses on providing girls and women with an affordable, reusable sanitary pad. The project provides employment for production and distribution of the pads, and it will reduce the pollution caused by the disposal of 12.3 billion sanitary napkins in the country annually, many of which end up in India’s landfills.
Others have used vocational service to advance the empowerment of women. The Rotary Club of Poona, India, conducted workshops to teach martial arts to young women, for self-defense against the threat of abuse or human trafficking.
I’ve also been fortunate to use my vocation to do good through Rotary. The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 devastated the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are part of my district. Thousands of homes were destroyed, and many areas lost electricity and running water. On my visit to Little Andaman Island, the builder in me immediately wanted to build homes for the homeless islanders there. We decided to construct 500 homes on Little Andaman.
On the last of my seven trips to the island, I could see something glimmering below as my helicopter was about to land. I realized that what I was seeing were the roofs of new homes. I was overjoyed by the sight, and soon a realization dawned upon me. As a builder I had built many beautiful buildings. In comparison, these 500 homes were the most ordinary buildings I had ever built, and they were in a place I likely will never visit again, for people I will never meet again. And yet the satisfaction I had in handing over these houses was greater than from anything I had previously built. Probably because for once I was using my vocation to Serve to Change Lives.
You, too, may have had opportunities to use your vocation to Serve to Change Lives. I welcome your stories of performing vocational service through Rotary. Also, I want to close by congratulating every club that has engaged with the Each One, Bring One initiative, which asks every member to introduce one person to Rotary. Increasing our membership gives people from all walks of life the opportunity to share their knowledge and skills in transformational service.
We all came into Rotary because we wanted to join with others in service and make a difference. Similarly, when Rotary teams up with like-minded organizations to work toward our shared goals, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish. Partnerships amplify our impact.
Leading through partnerships is nothing new for Rotary: We helped spearhead the formation of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Later, when the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation joined the cause, we gained a long-term fundraising and technical partner in the fight against polio. Through our partnership and the 2-to-1 fundraising match agreement with the Gates Foundation, Rotary generates $150 million annually to end polio. We are proud that they are a part of the effort to end this disease.
Many people may not know that our work with the Gates Foundation and our other partners doesn’t end with polio but includes other disease-prevention efforts. The Rotary Foundation has joined with the Gates Foundation and World Vision U.S. to co-fund a Rotary member-led program to help eliminate malaria in Zambia. Based on past partnership and future collaboration around this effort, each co-funder is contributing $2 million for the Partners for a Malaria-Free Zambia program, the first recipient of The Rotary Foundation’s Programs of Scale grant.
This level of impact can also be seen in collaborations across our other areas of focus. Rotary partners with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on major initiatives at a national scale. The Rotary-USAID WASH partnership has helped communities and governments in countries such as Uganda and Ghana provide safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, impacting hundreds of thousands of lives. We are also teaming up with USAID to help fight COVID-19 and its long-term financial and social impact in Italy. Meanwhile, the Hearts of Europe program, which is funded jointly by USAID and Rotary, assists communities in Eastern Europe through global grants.
Proving our value as a trusted partner often spurs multiple mutual projects. Through the Power of Nutrition initiative, we are partnering with our polio eradication partner UNICEF and the Eleanor Crook Foundation to tackle undernutrition during early childhood.
The Rotary Foundation is far too great to keep to ourselves. Let’s make sure to let the Foundation’s light shine bright. In doing so, we will find new partners, gain new supporters, and increase the good we’re all doing in the world.
Rotary 2022 International Convention to be held in Houston
The event will bring more than 20,000 participants from around the world and deliver $30 million in local economic impact
HOUSTON (July 22, 2021) – During a joint news conference held at George R. Brown Convention Center today, Rotary and Houston First Corporation representatives announced that more than 20,000 service-minded people from around the world will gather in Houston for Rotary’s 113th annual international convention on June 4-8, 2022.
The coveted international event is returning to Houston for the third time, marking the 50th anniversary of the 1972 international convention. The Bayou City also hosted the 5th Rotary convention in 1914. The event is expected to deliver $30 million in economic impact for the city’s hotels, restaurants, retailers and attractions.
“As a global membership organization that brings people from all continents and cultures together to share, learn and take action to bring positive and lasting change to communities around the world, we are thrilled that our first in-person international convention since 2019 will take place in Houston,” said Rotary’s International President Shekhar Mehta. “And for the first time ever, our annual event will be open to members of the public who want to connect, learn and be a part of our work to grow and change lives.”
Rotary’s 2022 international convention will transform the George R. Brown Convention Center into an energized hub and cultural mosaic as the organization’s global network of volunteers gather to share information about all the ways they are taking action to address issues in their communities, to learn from notable experts, gain inspiration from world-class speakers, and connect with lifelong friends shaped through service.
Previous convention speakers include philanthropist Bill Gates; actor and philanthropist Ashton Kutcher; Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; actor, producer, host, entrepreneur, WWE Superstar and Rotary polio ambassador, John Cena; renowned primatologist Jane Goodall; and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Andrew Young.
Organized by Rotary International in conjunction with the Houston Host Organization Committee of local Rotary members, registrants of the convention will also experience Houston’s hospitality with visits to local destinations like Space Center Houston, Kemah Boardwalk and one of Houston’s premiere shopping destinations, The Galleria. Click here to register for Rotary’s International Convention.
“Houston and Houston First Corporation are thrilled to host Rotary’s International Convention next summer,” said Jorge Franz, Senior Vice President Tourism and Industry Relations at Houston First Corporation & Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau’s president. “We look forward to welcoming the thousands of awesome Rotary members who through their volunteerism and commitment to problem-solving make our communities better from continent to continent. This global exposure to 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide will further elevate Houston as a travel destination, and the anticipated $30 million economic impact from the convention will be a financial shot in the arm for Houston hotels, restaurants, retailers, attractions and many more.”
Houston Host Organization Committee chair, Rhonda Kennedy, representing 62 Houston-area clubs and its 2,400 members, said, “as a proud member of the Rotary Club of Sweeny, I am excited not only to welcome our fellow members from around the world to our beloved city, but also to show how Houston-area clubs are taking action to make the world a better place at home and abroad.”
With the safety and wellbeing of participants and the wider community a top priority, Rotary’s previous two conventions were held virtually due to the global pandemic. Speaking during the press conference, John Smarge, chair of Rotary’s International Convention Committee, said, “this convention will also have a virtual component to make the event accessible to all members. And as we continue our planning, we will work closely with global and national health authorities to ensure that our in-person event follows the most current health and safety guidelines.”
About Rotary:Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 36,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.For more information, visit Rotary.org
Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise - Founded June 30, 1986
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