Celebrating Ian Henderson's 35 years of Rotary, Claire Sanders on climate change and 1st time meeting our newest youth exchange inbounder Sara.
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Walter Willms presented Ian Henderson with his 35-year pin, signifying his years as an integral member of our Club. Ian - thank you for your continued commitment to Service Above Self.
Our newest youth exchange inbounder, Sara Alves, introduced herself to the Club. She's from Sete Lagoas, Brazil and was sponsored by Rotary Club of Sete Lagoas Serra (District 4521). She's looking forward to getting to know everyone!
Claire Sanders, climate change specialist at ERCA, explained how our climate has been changing, the effects of this change and what we can do to help either mitigate or adapt. She began by showing a clip from a newspaper dated August 14th, 1912, illustrating that even back then, people were aware that "coal consumption [affects the] climate". The article did underestimate the timing - it said the effects "may be considerable in a few centuries" when in actuality, we're seeing drastic climate repercussions less than one century out. In our area, we're experiencing wetter and wilder weather which is impacting human health, nature and ecosystems and agriculture. For us, this could mean no more outdoor ice rinks and have impacts on bird watching, water sports, local wine, the disappearance or shifting of family farms and more. Sanders ended by showing the following list of ways we can all help our climate:
- Consume and use less… everything! (energy, plastic, water)
- Drive/fly less, change your thermostat (↑ summer, ↓ winter), use those energy rebate coupons…
- Use renewable energy and invest in it.
- Plant more trees!
- Eat for a climate-stable planet (less meat, eat local, reduce food waste, compost.)
- Tell your story. Listen to others.