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Application for Recognition August 4, 2015
Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group
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Table of Contents Page
Statement of Purpose 1
Prospective Members 2
Proposed Executive Officers 2
ESRAG Inaugural Meeting 5
Action Plan 6 i. How ESRAG Plans to Accomplish its Service Goals 7 ii. Types of Projects ESRAG will Promote 8 iii. Founding Members' Expertise 14
Conclusion 23
Addendum 24 ==============================================================
Statement of Purpose
The proposed Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group (ESRAG) will proactively assist Rotary clubs, districts and multi-districts in planning, implementing and evaluating service projects, building awareness, and inspiring action. These projects will promote environmental sustainability, awareness of climate change, and actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate disruption. ESRAG will promote educational resources, initiate dialogue about environmental sustainability, and use best practices in models and assessments for both projects and daily choices. This work will advance the Object of Rotary through positive impacts in all six Areas of Focus.
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Prospective Members A list of 600 prospective Rotarian ESRAG members is included as Attachment 1.
Proposed Executive Officers
Paul Riehemann, Chair PP Rotary Club of Madison, Wisconsin, USA / District 6250; Co-chair and Co-founder Going Green Fellowship Group (multi-District) 3709 Rolling Hill Drive, Middleton, WI, 53562; 608-215-6925, [email protected] Responsibilities
: Lead and facilitate ESRAG work. Work with the ESRAG Officers and Founding Members to develop and follow a 5-year Strategic Plan. Continue to promote and champion ESRAG work, gain additional support from Rotarians and work to gain financial support.
Peter Sephton, Vice-Chair Rotary Club of Sheffield, England/ District 1220; Chair and Founder in 2007 of The Sustainability Trust (TST) a charitable trust registered in England & Wales. # 30B Convent Walk, Sheffield, S3 7RW, England; +44 114 230 7201; [email protected] and [email protected] Responsibilities
: Assist Committee Chairs in developing ESRAG using experience and contacts built up in the eight years since The Sustainability Trust started its activities. Offer guidance moving this concept forward within Rotary Clubs, in order to develop expertise within ESRAG. Expand the contact list for ESRAG among Rotary Clubs world-wide, using principles developed to create the 1,000+ member TST database. Suggest current projects around the world that are good examples of Rotary Clubs applying sustainability principles, aiming to get more Clubs involved.
Christopher F. Puttock Ph.D., Environmental Science, Executive Director Rotary Club of College Park, Maryland, USA - President elect 2016-2017 / District 7620; founding Chair of the district's Environmental Committee 4806 Cherokee St, College Park, MD, 20740; 202-262-9773; [email protected] (alt. [email protected], [email protected]) Responsibilities
: Coordinate, direct and promote ESRAG work.
Melissa J. Mills, Awareness, Education, & Empowerment Committee Chair Rotary Club of Durham, North Carolina, USA / District 7710 1009 N. Driver Street, Durham, NC 27701; 919-949-8733; [email protected] Responsibilities: Develop materials and programs to inform and inspire individuals and groups to action and creative approaches to environmental sustainability.
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Jeremy Wright, Communications & Marketing Committee Chair PP Rotary Club of Sydney Cove, Australia; Grant Chairman District 9675 (2014-2016) 303/38 Refinery Drive, Pyrmont, NSW; 614-1223-9531; [email protected] Responsibilities
: Planning and executing a communications and marketing campaign to inform Rotarians engaged in project planning and implementation that ESRAG exists to support them and add value to their projects by considering environmental sustainability.
Mark Krawczynski, Energy Advisory Committee Chair Board of Directors, Rotary Club Warszawa City, Poland/ District 2230 Ul. Gwiazdzista 7C, M7. Warsaw 01-651, Poland; +48 500 58 52 41; [email protected] Responsibilities
: Lead a team of technical people that will help Rotarians find sustainable energy solutions that will also reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Raise public awareness about such energy options and the feasibility of available technologies.
David Green, Global Grants Committee Chair PP Rotary Club of Alliston, Ontario, Canada / District 7070; Co-chair District 7070 Environmental Action and Awareness Committee. 627458 15 Sideroad, Mulmur, Ontario, L9V 0T7; 1.519.925.1268, [email protected] Responsibilities
: Provide support and assistance to Districts and Clubs preparing Global Grant applications for environmental sustainability projects.
Mahfuza Mousumi Ph.D., Maternal and Child Health Committee Chair Rotary Club of Sonargaon Dhaka, Bangladesh/ District 3281 House 39/E, Arambag Housing Society, Rupnagar, Dhaka-1216; +8801726696306 [email protected] Responsibilities
: Work with ESRAG and its partners, Clubs and lead Maternal and Child health related issues related to climate change. Identify priority issues of health related to environmental sustainability and provide strategic guidance to develop proposals and technical assistance to design interventions and tools. Provide technical guidance for assessment/research for health related projects initiated by district and Rotary clubs to ensure efficiency and to avoid environmental hazards. Collaborate with districts and clubs for designing small- and large-scale maternal and child health services; work for community preparedness and development that promote environmental sustainability, awareness and adaptation of climate change. Develop innovative ideas, prioritize an agenda for international forums, foster partnership and dialogue with partners.
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Alberto J. Palombo, Outreach Committee Chair (invited) Rotary Club of Brasilia União Planetária, Brazil/ District 4530 SHIN CA05 Lote N3 – 313, Brasília, DF – CEP 71503-505 – Brazil; +55-61-9196-8565 / +57-320-371-2969 / +1-407-378-4900; [email protected] Responsibilities
: Promote ESRAG and invite Rotarians from Zones with less of a presence in ESRAG to: 1) learn about ESRAG, 2) join, and 3) become active members. It is critical that ESRAG be geographically diverse. Will include facilitating the translation of ESRAG materials into needed languages and developing new materials as needed.
Karen D. Kendrick-Hands, Project Development & RAG Collaboration Committee Chair Rotary Club of Madison, Wisconsin, USA/ District 6250; Co-chair and Co-founder of the Going Green Fellowship Group (multi-District); International Projects Committee Member; RYE Student to Rotary Club Port Adelaide, South Australia, 1967-68 404 S. Blount St. Unit 101, Madison, WI 53703; 313-600-1670, [email protected] Responsibilities
: Liaison with RI staff and collaborate with other RAGs to create opportunities to include ESRAG sustainability principles in RI project development.
Ingrid Danler Wadsworth, Co-Chair Social Media Committee Madison Rotary After Hours, Wisconsin, USA/ District 6250 W6897 King Rd, Poynette, WI 53955; [email protected] Responsibilities
: Use various social media platforms to: 1) attract Clubs to use ESRAG services, 2) increase awareness and support for ESRAG, and 3) recruit new members.
Rachel Snethen, Co-Chair Social Media Committee PE Rotary Club of Oregon, Wisconsin, USA/ District 6250 1101 Salem Drive, Edgerton, WI 53534; 608-957-9424, [email protected] Responsibilities
: Use various social media platforms to: 1) attract Clubs to use ESRAG services, 2) increase awareness and support for ESRAG, and 3) recruit new members.
Kazi Amdadul Hoque, Strategic Alliances and Partnerships Committee Chair Rotary Club of Sonargaon Dhaka, Bangladesh/ District 3281 House 26-27, Block C, Arambag R/A, Rupnagar, Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh; +8801713030124; [email protected] and [email protected] Responsibilities: Establish alliances and partnerships with stakeholders related to environment sustainability. Promote guidelines and activities between ESRAG and its strategic partners and develop joint programs with Rotary Clubs, Districts and NGOs. Provide technical assistance to clubs and districts to build relationships and link resources. Jointly conduct Environmental Impact Assessments and implement projects, develop ideas for mutual efforts and prepare partnership agendas. Engage in dialogue and create tools to share, thereby enriching partnerships.
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Lawrence M. Hands, Treasurer Rotary Club of Madison, Wisconsin, USA/ District 6250 404 S. Blount St. Unit 101, Madison, WI 53703; [email protected] Responsibilities
: Manage ESRAG finances
Patrizia Materassi, Youth Committee Chair Scotts Valley Rotary, California, USA/ District 5170 178 Nelson Road, Scotts Valley, CA 95066; 831-334-2383; [email protected] Responsibilities
: Work with Rotaractors and Interactors so they become familiar with the principles of sustainability. An area of focus will be the health of our waterways and the ocean, and its impact on families and communities worldwide now and in the future.
ESRAG Inaugural Meeting - 21 Rotarians from 11
Countries
ESRAG Advisors Four distinguished Rotarians have agreed to be ESRAG Advisors and assist Executive Officers as needed:
• Mary Beth Growney Selene, Rotary International Director - 2013-2015, Rotary Club of West Towne Middleton
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• Al Jubitz, Founder Rotarian Action Group for Peace (RAGFP). Al is a third generation Rotarian and PP of the Rotary Club of Portland
• Ron Denham, Founding Chair of the Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG) - a Rotarian for almost 60 years, he first joined Rotary in 1958. He joined his present club—Toronto-Eglinton—in 1964. He was President of his club and later District Governor.
• Gord Crann, 2012-13 President & Chair of Rotarian Action Group for Microfinance & Community Development (RAGM), 2015-16 Chair of Rotarian Action Group for Peace (RAGFP), and a Founding Co-Chair of the District 7070 Environment Committee. Toronto East Rotary Club. He was 1994-95 President of Environmental Defence in Canada.
=================================================================== Action Plan Rotary International funds and nurtures projects in six Areas of Focus - areas of critical and widespread humanitarian needs:
• Peace and conflict prevention/resolution • Disease prevention and treatment • Water and sanitation • Maternal and child health • Basic education and literacy • Economic and community development
Environmental Sustainability involves people making decisions that do no harm to the natural world, with particular emphasis on taking actions that preserve the ability for the environment to renew itself and continue to support human well-being. Environmental Sustainability is a cross-over attribute that is an essential element of the projects that are designed and implemented by Rotarians, their Clubs and Districts, and funded by Rotary International. Depletion, pollution and lack of equal access to natural resources, and ecological and food insecurity are root-causes of world conflict, war and forced migration on our crowded planet, frustrating a fundamental goal of RI to bring peace to the world. Changing precipitation patterns, exacerbated by an increasingly unstable climate, have increased both the frequency and severity of extreme weather events: particularly droughts and flooding. The resulting depletion and contamination of surface water and aquifers impedes the RI goal of providing access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Failure to manage our environment sustainably leads to civil strife and the contamination of air, water and soil confound meeting the RI goal of preventing
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and treating disease. Environmental degradation undermines the safety of the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the water we drink. These harms are borne disproportionately by children, and the mothers that nurture them. Young minds, some damaged by toxic pollutants and malnutrition, are less able to benefit from education and literacy. Civil unrest compromises the social stability essential for education to flourish. Finally, the most advantageous and productive community development arises from an approach that values benefits to the society and environment as well as the economy – the essence of sustainability. In summary, every one of RI’s Six Areas of Focus benefits from efforts that are environmentally sustainable. Every project will be more effective in the long run, if environmental sustainability is the lens through which it is planned, implemented and evaluated. ESRAG's mission is to engage Rotarians in considering and applying environmental sustainability principles in their projects and daily choices. i. How ESRAG Plans to Accomplish its Service Goals
Once ESRAG is approved by Rotary International, Founding Members and other interested Rotarians will form a team to develop a 5-Year Strategic Plan. This guiding document will describe how the ESRAG will harness the expertise of its members to assist the development of proposed projects, assessment of completed projects, and to the extent practicable, implementation of ongoing projects consistent with best practices. The plan will also articulate strategies to proactively market the ESRAG’s expertise and services by contacting Global Grant applicants and working with District and Club Global Grant Chairs. ESRAG will also form strategic partnerships. For example:
• ESRAG will work with the The Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisers, primarily through ESRAG's Energy Advisory Committee and Project Development & RAG Collaboration Committee.
• Partnering with other Rotarian Action Groups such as the Rotarian Action Group for Peace and the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG). The Rotarian Action Group for Peace has already agreed to give ESRAG the template (code) for the their fantastic website.
• ESRAG has already started partnering with Rotary Peace Fellows. Rotary Peace Fellow Eduardo da Costa (Duke/UNC-2010/2012) will be ESRAG's liaison with the 900+ Peace Fellow alumni worldwide. As stated by Steve Killelea, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Institute for Economics and Peace, during his Plenary
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Session in Sao Paulo (paraphrased), "As a peace issue, we need to start acting to reduce the effects of climate change." ESRAG will proactively recruit participation from Peace Fellows with environmental expertise.
ii. Types of Projects ESRAG will promote
a. ESRAG will proactively support, assist and engage with Rotary Clubs and related organizations to promote environmental sustainability in their own projects and Club practices.
1. Livable Planet Earth Award - We will develop criteria to recognize Clubs and individuals that have gone "above and beyond" to initiate sustainability-related work and will develop the Livable Planet Earth award.
2. Create awareness, promote dialogue and develop educational materials, including power point presentations.
3. Present at RI convention breakouts, zone trainings and District conferences, and develop specialty conferences. ESRAG has already been invited to propose a breakout session for the 2016 RI Convention in Seoul on environmental sustainability.
4. As ESRAG's work product evolves, maintain a clearinghouse of past projects that were enhanced by consideration of environmental sustainability.
5. ESRAG will develop a resource base – presentations, online media & reading list.
6. ESRAG will offer assistance in locating speakers on environmental sustainability topics.
7. ESRAG members will present on environmental sustainability topics and lead dialogue; webcasts and webinars are possibilities.
b. ESRAG will promote environmental sustainability in project development and assessment. 1. Provide templates, models and assessment tools for environmental
sustainability projects. 2. Develop hands-on environmental sustainability projects.
Past Rotary work provides examples of the type of projects with which ESRAG would engage, by sharing experience, models and assessment tools.
In 2012, The Sustainability Trust (TST), which consists of over 1,000 Rotarian members,
Tree Planting to preserve the Mount Kilimanjaro glacier:
http://thesustainabilitytrust.org and Sustainable Global Gardens – www.sustainableglobalgardens.org – joined with
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Rotary Clubs in the Kilimanjaro region and other local organizations for a five-year project to replace trees depleted by years of removal for fuel, building materials and land clearance. The partnership planted as many trees as funds allowed in the foothills around Mount Kilimanjaro - benefits included:
• Improved climate to help maintain the summit ice cap and glaciers,
• Retention of water supply to villages • More sustainable farming methods that will lead to both
humanitarian progress and environmental improvement.
The project was managed locally by the Rotarians in the two Clubs of Moshi and Rombo. Further details are available at: http://www.thesustainabilitytrust.org/pdf/kilimanjaro_appeal_summary_final.pdf
The Sustainability Trust was the catalyst and the sponsor to bring together the participants in the following exercise:
Solar Cookers for South African Townships
• Five Rotary-based organizations joined forces to introduce solar cooking principles top help alleviate poverty and improve health in South African townships.
• The Rotary Club of Fresno, in California promotes the solar cooker technology, using a 15-year development programme created by Club member Wilfred Pimentel.
• The cookers they have developed are easy and cheap to make, produce no carbon emissions, reduce forest depletion and time spent on firewood collection and burning, and are healthier to use than conventional cooking and water-sanitising methods.
For more information: http://www.thesustainabilitytrust.org/doc/solarcookerssouthafricantownships.pdf
An ongoing project (since 2008) by the Rotary Club of Sydney Cove, Australia in conjunction with Queensland Rotary Clubs, has been assisting the Solomon Islands in a range of water and sanitation programs that are necessitated by rising sea levels and storm surges, as well as with relief efforts in response to a cyclone that hit Vanuatu.
Development of Water, Sanitation and Sewerage systems - Solomon Islands
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This 7620 District Grant project, with support from some 15 Rotary clubs, public schools and associations, installed the first full-scale three dimensional (3D) oyster reef to be constructed in the Chesapeake Bay since over 70,000 acres were removed after the Civil War (1865-1910) destroying, 1/100thed, the oyster population and the Bay's natural algae filtration. With considerable community engagement the project constructed six 4-5' high, 20' diameter, reefs on 1/2 acre in bay tributary St. Mary's River.
St. Mary’s Oyster Reef Restoration Project, Central Maryland
After this 'jump start' project was completed, the enterprise was successfully handed over to the local St. Mary's River Watershed Association and the St. Mary's College to continue developing new reefs and monitoring oyster production and improvement of water quality.
The Rotary Club of Oakland Park/Wilton Manors (District 6990) initiated a gardening program in the local schools (Elementary, Middle and High School). One of their members is with the Urban Farming Institute and is dedicated to hydroponic and organic gardening.
Gardening for Kids
(Idea) Work with the Bicycle Fellowship Group in the Rotary Club of Madison, Wisconsin (80 members within this 500 member club) to organize "Bike to Rotary" days. This initiative (and marketing materials) could easily be shared with clubs all over the world.
More Bicycling to Rotary Meetings (& fewer car trips)
ESRAG will look for opportunities to reduce greenhouse gases emissions and operational costs, while increasing reliability through the use of renewable energy sources. For example:
Partnering with current and planned Rotary projects and collaboration with other Rotarian Action Groups
1. In collaboration with the well drilling expertise of WASRAG, support the increased use of Solar Pumps in India - Almost 70% of India’s population depends on agriculture either directly or indirectly, and 44% of the 140 million sown hectares depend on irrigation. This percentage may increase as the monsoons become less predictable. Irrigation, the chief consumer of electricity in the agricultural sector, therefore, is essential for good crop yield. e.g., in 2006–7, India’s agricultural sector accounted for 22% of the total electricity consumption, up from 10% in the 1970s.
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Of the 21 million irrigation pump sets in India, 9 million are powered by diesel because of the limited and unreliable supply of grid electricity; the balance are grid-based, and frequently inefficient because of at highly subsidized rates. An environmental sustainability analysis would demonstrate that reliance on diesel for pumping is not the most effective long-term technology. Solar-powered well pumps have the multiple advantages of low operating and maintenance costs, they don’t consume expensive and polluting fossil fuels, are flexible in their location, and are harmonious with nature. Slow solar pumping allows the utilization of low-yield water sources. Creating storage for the pumped water would compensate for the intermittency of solar power. Solar installations can be economically sustainable as well, by adding cell phone and light recharging stations for community use, and charging for the service.
2. Renewable Energy Water Purification Systems like the SunSpring Hybrid The SunSpring Hybrid is a portable, self contained, independently certified, solar and wind powered, microbiological water purifications system that is capable of treating up to and exceeding 20,000 liters a day for safe drinking water for up to and exceeding 10 years. It operates 100% on Solar and Wind energy and has a 3 plug charging station for charging cell phones, lap tops, tools, and lighting. With a fresh water source and direct sunlight you can be from crate to making water in 2-4 hours. The base SunSpring is designed to takeout particulate, turbidity, bacteria, virus and cysts making the water bacteriologically safe to drink. Once installed, the SunSpring Hybrid has no daily operating costs associated with costly generators, gasoline or diesel fuels, it operates 100% on free solar and wind energy. 20,000 liters day for 10 years for $20,000 equates to being able to give someone a liter of safe drinking water every day for 10 years for only $1.00. (manufacturers estimate)
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3. For Better Life in EL Ramla Hamlet,:A proposed initiative of multi sustainable development projects in El Ramla Hamlet, Gezeiret El Doum Village, Abou Tisht Destrict, Qena, Egypt. This proposed project from the Rotary Ideas web page involves creating a new well to provide safe water for drinking and adequate water for irrigation; and establishing a composting center for the banana plantation waste, to enrich the soil, in lieu of the current practice of open burning, which pollutes the air as well as wasting a valuable organic resource. ESRAG could enhance this ambitious project farther by exploring possibilities for a solar rather than diesel powered pump, and possibly creating a cottage industry for the women by recovering the banana stem fiber before composting.
4. Soy Cow Project and partnership with a girls’ school in Guatemala. (from Rotary Ideas, Rotary’s crowdsourcing tool) This excellent ongoing project converts soybeans to soy milk and okara (high-protein dry residue from the process, which can be used in baking) to provide accessible protein to the undernourished lactose intolerant population. The school trains the girls and their community how to operate the “soy cow” and incorporate the okara into familiar local foods. The current process relies on grid supplied electricity for the energy to grind and natural gas to cook the soybeans. ESRAG could work with this project to explore the feasibility and benefits of relying on solar and wind power and biogas as energy sources.
5. Days and Lights for Girls Sustainable solutions for menstrual hygiene and supporting school completion. Long term, educating girls, and empowering them into womanhood is the best way to increase the economic vitality of their communities and slow the birthrate, thus reducing the stress on the planet’s finite resources. Lack of supplies to safely and comfortably manage menstruation keeps girls from attending school one week per month, and often they drop out because they have fallen so far behind. Even where disposable products are available, they are often unaffordable. (See generally, http://therotarianmagazine.com/health-menstruation/) Days for Girls provides menstrual hygiene education and attractive reusable pads and liners that can washed and dried in public, an important factor where there are deep cultural taboos around normal menstruation. Reusable pads are more economical, and eliminate the
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disposal problem, while their fabrication creates employment for the local women who sew them. Lack of time to study during the day and lack of access to light to study at night is the other reason girls fail to complete their secondary education. Girls may only study when their chores are complete. Days for Girls Kits could also include a solar powered study light, providing sustainable light so girls can study when their chores are complete without the need for polluting, expensive and dangerous kerosene lamps or risking assault by going to publicly lit spaces after dark. Days for Girls has been successful in Africa because of its regional center in Uganda, and is looking to expand by creating a comparable center in India to serve South Asia.
6. Wherever Rotary funded or sponsored projects rely on a source of electrical power currently generated by unreliable coal powered grids, or local gas or diesel generators, ESRAG could assess the feasibility of meeting the power need with alternative energy sources, such as wind or solar, [e.g., “Bringing Water to South Sudan” a project, which installed solar powered water pumps and a reservoir to benefit almost 14,000 people; Insider, The Rotarian, p, 55, August 2015], with value added amenities such as community charging stations for cell phones, battery powered portable lights, and develop funding mechanisms to support the increased capital, but substantially lower operational costs.
7. "Right to Breathe" project ESRAG will analyze and assess international proposals and will examine their feasibility and economics. For example, scientists and designers are suggesting that new buildings should capture all the surrounding energy from the environment, including the force of gravity, resulting in greatly reduced operating costs. Initial studies suggest that new buildings can create huge amounts of clean energy if clean energy technologies integrated from the start of the design process. Nearly 4 billion people now live in cities, which are often dangerously polluted where even breathing is difficult. Integrated design has the potential reduce the huge costs of health care related to these dangerous pollution levels in our environment, and save many lives.
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8. ESRAG will create a project "catalog" to demonstrate and evaluate progress, to be used as a resource for clubs looking for project ideas.
9. Change is our Choice: Creating Climate Solutions. This project will engage Rotarians and their extended networks to learn about and act on climate change at home and in the community. ESRAG will partner with the NW Earth Institute, a leading sustainability change organization, to engage small groups of Rotarians, and invited guests, to lead on climate change action. Too often we expect that providing information on climate change will lead to new behaviors; research shows that information alone does not close the gap between desire and behavior. What does work is learning in a social context to expand our knowledge, gain the support of our colleagues and benefit from the accountability imbued in group settings. Change is Our Choice is a five-week (four, one-hour meetings of discussion and one, one-hour planning meeting) self-facilitated discussion course.
The first six pages of the first session of Change is our Choice is attached (Attachment 2). An important side benefit is the course is to recruit new club members through a compelling topic and connect them quickly to other Rotarians - critical to retention.
iii. Founding Members' Expertise in Environmental Sustainability
David W. Brawn, Rotary Club of Sydney CBD, New South Wales, Australia/ District 9675 PDG David is a successful business man with a social conscience. He is well qualified with a first class BSc degree in science and an MSc in business studies from London Business School. David has graduated with a Graduate Diploma in energy and the environment (with global warming and climate science specialisation) from Murdoch University and will shortly undertake a Research Master’s degree involving the computer simulation of wind energy resources in Western Australia to assist with wind farm development. David worked in Xerox Corporation and the national telecommunications carrier Telstra in senior management roles. He is a director and past chairman of the charity Spinal Cord Injuries Australia.
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David is a past President of Sydney CBD Rotary Club and past District Governor for Rotary District 9750 (now D.9675). He is currently a member and immediate past Treasurer of the Berry Rotary Club in NSW. Ingrid Danler Wadsworth Ingrid is Deputy Director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, Inc. since June 2011 having served in numerous capacities at the Federal, State, Regional and local levels in Chicago and surrounding areas. Most recently, as Executive Director of the Fox Waterway Agency in Illinois, Ingrid focused on practical and community-based approaches to watershed and floodplain management, flooding, water quality, and lakes and river restoration, where she earned several awards and honors. As a public speaker, media contact, legislative liaison, and technical expert, Ingrid also served as Co-Chair of the Environment and Natural Resources subcommittee of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Trustee for the Village of Richmond, Illinois, and worked as an enforcement officer for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, Chicago. She is as proud alumni of Northern Illinois University where she earned her Bachelors of Science in Biological Sciences. As Deputy/Operations Director, Ingrid's ASFPM responsibilities include oversight and direction of all aspects of the ASFPM's daily operations, 16 staff and 17,000 members. Ingrid lives in a passive solar/solar home with her husband. She is also a long-time Rotarian, having served many Rotary roles, and also active with many local professional and watershed groups. David Green, BSc, BEd, OCT David has HBSc in Ecology and Evolution and a BEd in Environmental Science and Biology. As an Environmental Educator he has worked in sustainable education and community development for 25 years. During that time Dave has developed and delivered many education programs that focus on sustainability, mitigating climate change, and environmental issues. In 2003 David was part of team that developed the Ontario Ecoschools program. This program combined curriculum, and action within schools to address climate change and other environmental issues in the school environment. In 2004,Dave was the principal author and project manager for the Toronto and Region Conservation education for sustainability guidelines "A Systems Thinking Curriculum for Learning in The Living City". Since 2005 David has been a consultant focussing on facilitating community development. David's involvement in Rotary has had a strong international
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component. David along with members of his club have just complete a 10 year community project in Kilema, Tanzania. This project addressed, health, education, water and sanitation and business development in the community and successfully incorporated 3 global grants and 2 district grants. Lawrence M. Hands, PE, BCEE Lawrence is a professional engineer that has spent essentially all of his working life helping customers meet their environmental obligations. He is a certified Environmental Engineer in air pollution control as certified by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. Much of his work is to set up management systems to help companies meet their obligations. His clients have included solar panel manufacturers, innovative natural gas conversion processers, and solvent recyclers. He also works with companies and regulators to obtain and negotiate air quality permits. He has served as treasurer of two nonprofits and is the Director of the Sally Mead Hands Foundation. Kazi Amdadul Hoque Kazi has earned three Masters Degrees: History, Public Health and Social Science. Kazi works with the most environmentally vulnerable and some of Bangladesh’s poorest communities, which are particularly exposed to natural disaster, to bring positive change by promoting preparedness, mitigation and adaptation. As a student volunteer in 1988 with climate refugees and flood/tornado victims, he realized the need for environmental sustainability, disaster risk reduction, climate change mitigation and adaptation. Professionally, since 1993, he has worked with UNICEF, USAID, Save the Children and now with Friendship (www.friendship-bd.org). Early on, he recognized that problems to be solved are multi-faceted and interlinked; for example, economic welfare requires a population that has access to healthcare and education. Successful healthcare relies upon knowledge of basic hygiene and a sanitation infrastructure, education cannot be promoted successfully where students suffer from hunger and improvements cannot be sustained if the results of people’s efforts are regularly wiped out by natural disasters. He is expert in promoting a culture of comprehensive risk reduction: strengthening the capacity of the communities at risk, by linking basic services like health, water-sanitation, education and sustainable economic development at doorstep level. Kazi enhances the collective effort by engaging local government, institutions, schools and other grass root level organizations both practically and at the policy level, such as developing a guideline for housing in disaster prone areas.
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He leads a team providing efficient and sustainable humanitarian services to more than 500 communities in shifting northern river islands and the southern coastal areas, addressing environmental hazards, environment tolerant food security and water sanitation facilities with provision of purifying saline water, housing for climate refugees, alternate sustainable livelihood opportunities, emergency health care with linkage to mobile services, and environmental education for children and communities. Kazi Amdad has served on many club and district committees, including: Poverty alleviation; HIV and AIDS;WATSAN, RCC, Early Act, and as Assistant Governor. During his presidency, his club was awarded the Presidential Citation with Distinction awards from Rotary International. Beth Keck, Bentonville Rotary Club, Arkansas; District 6110 Former staff member of Walmart Sustainability team with expertise in sustainable agriculture and women's economic empowerment. Karen D. Kendrick-Hands Karen is an attorney (Syracuse University, J.D, summa cum laude), who has, for the past 30 years, worked as a pro bono, public interest advocate for cleaner air and mobility and transportation choices, including serving on various local, state and regional advisory bodies. She has assisted non-environmental community and service organizations, including the Junior League, and League of Women Voters to frame and adopt environmental positions. Karen has founded advocacy groups, including Transportation Riders United, worked with national US groups such as the Clean Air Network, participated in an official international environmental law exchange between the US and former Soviet Union, and created community networks with unlikely partners – finding common interests where none were obvious. Recently she has applied her legal knowledge, technical expertise, and organizing skills to the specific issue of climate change. Karen is Co-founder of the multi-District Going Green Fellowship Group. Mark Krawczynski B.Arch.(Hon.), UNSW, A.Mus A.(Hon), AMEB, CPMCHAA, QMSAAT, JSIDA. Chartered Architect, Director of the company Carshade Australia Pty Ltd which for 20 years produced ecological structures, Construction Manager, Motivational Speaker & Lecturer, President of the foundation “The Future for Poland”, Member of the Board of Rotary Club Warsaw City, NSW Board of Architects in Australia and the Polish Architects Institute. Paul Harris Fellow, Chairman of RI International Service Committee for District 2230. Project Principal for EFT designs and ecological cluster-building principles.
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Mark has led international teams of managers and designers in both Australia (30 years as Architect and Project Manager) and Poland (10 years) on over 80 public and private projects, including the $1b ln, very complex underwater extensions to the Sydney Opera House. Mark has excellent presentation and media skills; he was voted best speaker at a TEDx Conference in 2012. He has spent the last 3 years touring the world and lecturing about ecology and new building technologies to improve public awareness about what systems are currently available to create better living conditions and also save clean air and water, which are both essential to sustaining life on this planet. He has worked with international experts to assess and develop unique, new building concepts that work in symbiosis with the environment to create clean energy and reduce climate warming. This experience will make him very useful in giving ESRAG a sound technical grounding and advisory capability. Ken Leonard, Bentonville Rotary Club, Arkansas; District 6110 Master Naturalist, bachelor's degree in Biology, active in organizations promoting the natual environment, including president of the Northwest Arkansas Master Naturalists. Harry Awolayeofori Macmorrison Rotary Club of Abuja New Dawn, Fed. Cap. Territory, Nigeria / District 9125 B. S. Business Admin., Rivers State Univ. of Science & Technology, Port Harcourt Harry is the Executive Director of THE HAVIDS Centre for Environment & Development, an NGO poised to preserve the environment, foster peace, enhance education and community development. A social activist with a multidisciplinary background (peace, youth/tribal co-operation, deliberative democracy, environment, administration, media and gender issues) Harry uses social media and sustainable environment tools to further social justice and human rights. He has worked on complex issues relating to the Niger Delta and Nigeria oil/gas exploration communities and authored a "Handbook on Peace for Oil/Gas Exploration Communities of Nigeria.” A Rotarian since 1998 Harry was the Charter Secretary (1982) of the Interact Club of Stella Maris College and Charter Treasurer (1987) of the Rotaract Club of Diobu, both of Port Harcourt. Harry has been an Interact Committee Chairman and he is a RYLA and a Rotary Leadership Institute Level 3 Graduate.
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Patrizia Materassi Patrizia has 35 years of experience as a Land Use Consultant/Sustainability Specialist in the field of sustainable development and planning. Her expertise will enable her to review proposals for development projects, including physical, social and economic aspects. She evaluates sustainability levels and establish leading sustainability indicators. For Rotary, Patrizia is the event organizer for Rotary manpower participation in the Santa Cruz Libraries Festival of the Book for 700 kids.
Ellen McHale, Ph. D., Rotary Club of Schenectady, NY, USA/ District 7190 Ellen a folklorist and oral historian, is the co-founder of The Schoharie River Center (SRC), an environmental and cultural organization in the Mohawk and Schoharie watersheds in New York. Founded in 2000, SRC supports the Environmental Study Team, an environmental education program for teens ages 13-18. The Environmental Study Team works with ecologists and aquatic biologists to study, monitor, and improve the water quality of local streams, rivers, and lakes. In addition, members of the Environmental Study Team work with McHale to document their communities' relationship to the natural environment and the regional sense of place. Predicated upon working with youth to become environmental stewards, the Environmental Study Team of the Schoharie River Center has received an Environmental Excellence Award from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (2013) and it has won two separate national "Environmental Excellence" Awards from the Conservation Matters Program (2007 & 2011) for the teens' identification and advocacy around the identification of point source pollution. Ellen was Co-Chair of the Youth Exchange Committee for Schenectady's Rotary Club and was a Rotary Exchange Student to Sweden in 1976/1977. Melissa J. Mills, MBA, MTS Melissa is a consultant, coach, facilitator, teacher, researcher and writer with 30 years experience in academic administration at Harvard University and Duke University, including such positions as Assistant Provost, Associate Dean for Information Science and Technology, and Special Assistant to the Dean for Long-Range Planning. She integrates contemporary research across the disciplines to excite individuals and groups to find the sweet spot where they grow and the community flourishes. Her courses include “Practicing Free Will and Understanding Why,” “Turning Back Climate Change and Preventing Mass Extinction,” “Ethics in Science,” and “What You Do Matters.” She is publishing a book on Continuity in
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General Relativity and Quantum Field Theory, and founding a company to incubate and foster businesses aligned with traditional capitalism and evolutionary principles of sustained cooperation. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Durham, NC /USA, and served as chair of the District 7710 Ethics Committee from 2012-2015. Mahfuza Mousumi, Ph.D. Mahfuza is a medical graduate (MBBS) and completed a Masters in Public Health in 2006 and a Masters in Population Sciences in 2005 from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has wide experience of working for mothers and children for improving access and quality health services those are underserved, marginalized and vulnerable due to environmental hazards. For over a decade Mahfuza has been working with national and international organizations and involved in various areas of sustainable development both institutional and community level. She has blended knowledge and skills on climate change issues and its devastating impact on maternal and child health - pregnancy and newborns in particular. In her recent portfolio as Project Manager with Save the Children International, she led a community based intervention to address the seasonality and its impact on newborn and under five years old particularly the management of pneumonia and diarrhea in coastal regions. Floods, droughts and excessive rainfalls or extreme high temperatures seriously increases disease burden for newborn and children. Currently Mahfuza is working with Johns Hopkins University in USA and conducting research on maternal and child health issues in different developing countries. It has been observed that climate change significantly changing disease patterns and morbidity; increases the risk of infant and maternal mortality, birth complications, and poorer reproductive health especially in tropical, developing countries. She will concentrate her studies in the area of the impact climate change is having on the health and survival of the next generation. Alberto J. Palombo Industrial and Systems Engineer (BSc and MSc, University of Tennessee) Water Resources Management (MSc, PhD Candidate, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México). Charter Member, Rotary Club Brasília União Planetária; Honorary Member of Rotary Club Bogotá Multicentro, Bogotá, Colombia; Lifetime Member of Rotarian Action Group for Microfinance and Community Development; Member of Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG); Technical Reviewer - The Rotary Foundation Cadré of Technical Advisers (Water and Sanitation, Community Development, Project Auditing); Secretary of the Inter-American Water Resources Network (IWRN); Rotary Community Corps (RCC) Coordinator in District 4530.
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Christopher F. Puttock Ph.D., Environmental Science Chris has three decades experience in environmental conservation and restoration. He is particularly concerned with the maintenance of ecosystems to function naturally, sustainably, and in preventing demise of ecological services by human exploitation reaching past the tipping point where nature is not be permanently damaged. In Hawaii Chris was the liaison for 12 government and 4 NGOs managing 100% of the marine areas and 87% of the land of the Hawaiian Islands. Chris arranged the annual environmental conservation conference with more than 1000 attendees. In Maryland Chris runs a native plant nursery producing plants to sustain the native flora and fauna of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Chris is a regular speaker at meetings of botanical and native plant societies, master gardeners, master naturalist and garden clubs. In Rotary Chris has given many conservation presentations, including the recent 99% loss of keystone species and on climate change and its relationship to the six avenues of Rotary service. Last year Chris toured India with the specific goal of environmental sustainability of our humanitarian projects. In 2010 Chris established an Environmental Committee and Chair for his District. Paul Riehemann, M.E., MBA Paul is a Mechanical Engineer (Clarkson University) and earned his Professional Engineer's License. He worked in the natural gas industry for 12 years - gas measurement; research and development; government relations; and, business process improvement. While in Government Relations, Paul founded the New York State Alternative-Fueled Vehicle Coalition. Members included the National Audubon Society, Sierra Club, American Lung Association, United Parcel Service, Fed Ex, Consolidated Edison and Brooklyn Union Gas. Paul is a University of Wisconsin-Madison Executive MBA graduate, he earned his Masters Certificate in Project Management and he is a Six Sigma Black Belt. His interest in sustainable energy solutions and economics led him to write a blog in 2007-2008 on the merits of a federal tax shift as the best solution to global warming and air pollution. His blog was featured by the Capital Times, in a April 2008 program to the 500-member Rotary Club of Madison, and on Madison City Channel. Paul was President of the Rotary Club of Madison in 2011-12, and is Co-founder of the multi-District Going Green Fellowship Group. Majid Sarmadi, Ph.D., Rotary Club of Madison, WI, USA/ District 6250 Rothermel Bascom Professor, Textile Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Professor
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Majid’s teaching and research incorporate topics related to sustainability including recycling, the chemistry of textile dyeing and purification of textile waste water. His Sustainable Carpet Project saved more than 40 million dollars for the State of California on one contract alone. He has received many awards, including California’s Governor’s Award for Energy and Environmental Leadership, 2008. Peter Sephton
As a founding member of The Sustainability Trust, Peter was able to apply 38 years of involvement with Rotary International, starting as a GSE scholar to Michigan in 1977 sponsored by Derby South Club in D.1220. From Peter's career in public transportation he was able to apply the knowledge that people would have to live at more sustainable levels (but not necessarily lower standards) once society learned the challenges to the health of the planet and its eco-structure by ignoring the damage caused through mis-use of certain resources. Reading the well-researched book "Climate Wars" confirmed his view that Rotary Clubs around the world were in a perfect position to deal with this issue, once they could be convinced that the problem exists, is becoming acute and can be tackled at every level in society. The Sustainability Trust started this process as the first such unofficial organisation within the Rotary movement. ESRAG now takes this to the next stage as a Rotarian Action Group, which TST fully supports and endorses. The Trust aims to promote understanding and share relevant projects so that Rotary Clubs and their members understand the importance and values associated with creating a self-sustaining world; that all understand the dangers for future generations if life on earth becomes unsustainable due to problems created by previous generations. Kevin Smith, Rotary Club of Wadebridge, Cornwall, England; District 1175 Kevin's primary volunteer work outside Rotary is as a director of the Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network (WREN) Ltd. WREN is dedicated to community ownership of renewable energy production to benefit the people of the Wadebridge area. This addresses both the reduction of greenhouse gases and social issues such as fuel poverty. http://www.wren.uk.com Rachel Snethen, MBA Rachel uses green standards in large-scale multifamily and commercial real estate projects. She's worked for several years with many social media platforms for communicating essential information, website maintenance, and software building programs for end-users. Rachel earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Management and her MBA from Franklin University.
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Rachel is currently serving as a Board Member and is President-Elect for the Oregon Rotary Club in Oregon, Wisconsin. She's volunteered for the American Red Cross for the last ten years as a Blood Drive Coordinator and supports fundraising for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society throughout the year. Rachel is an avid supporter of efforts to get industries across the globe to recognize climate change and take action now to protect the planet for future generations. Rahul Wadhwa, Rotary Club of Agra, India Rahul has a wide experience as a Land use Consultant and Sustainability Specialist in the field of development and planning. His goal is spreading information on global warming and inviting future international ESRAG members to Agra to cover the social and economic aspects of the city and assisting in creating clean air. Within Rotary, Rahul is a MPHF and is founder and coordinator of a school with over 600 children , in a village 30 km from Agra . Rahul says that he is a “ Born Rotarian.“ Jeremy Wright B.E. in Engineering, MBA (Marketing), worked with Kodak (1980’s), Ogilvy & Mather (Advertising), Optus (Telco) and Energy Australia (Electricity), then with Medical Research Foundations to 2013. Specialized in Marketing, Communications and General Management, more recently in the medical science & health area. Now hold several NGO & Gov Board positions. Have had continuing interest in Environmental issues, from Engineering studies to now. Jeremy's son, Chris will also support ESRAG. He is a RYLA graduate and now a Youth Delegate at the international Climate Change Conferences, via the ‘Adopt a Negotiator’ organization from Bonn.
Conclusion
ESRAG’s focus on environmental sustainability offers Rotary the opportunity to provide long-term benefits for people all over the world. We will work to ensure that project investments preserve the ability for the environment to renew itself and continue to support human well-being, thereby supplying life-sustaining benefits to communities. The need for Rotary to engage more around environmental sustainability was poignantly demonstrated at ESRAG's Inaugural Meeting in Sao Paulo. Rotarians were able to hear first-hand from fellow Rotarians about how the changing climate is already adversely affecting people in their countries. For example:
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• Bangladesh - their economy is primarily based on agriculture; climate change is causing more flooding and droughts which are negatively affecting both the economy and food supplies
• Benin Republic, Africa - droughts are adversely affecting most aspects of village life in Africa
• Netherlands - significant investments have been and continue to need to be made to create flood defenses
ESRAG will facilitate dialogue and drive action on critical humanitarian problems like these. Our experience has been that many Rotarians are eager to work for environmental sustainability AND several non-Rotarians (particularly younger folks) have expressed an interest in Rotary BECAUSE Rotary is doing this work. Engaging Rotarians to solve the most important humanitarian problem embodies the essence of “Service above Self" and will strengthen Rotary International for future generations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Addendum Why Rotary can and should take an active role in environmental sustainability and why this initiative will benefit Rotary Copied below is the Purpose and Effect Statement from the International Going Green Fellowship Group's Proposed Enactment 163-E (Attachment 3):
The global warming humanitarian crisis threatens to undo much of Rotary's good work. Polio eradication is being impeded by flooding, sewage contamination of water, and migration caused by climate change. Notwithstanding the urgency and importance of eradicating polio, this looming catastrophe dwarfs polio, having already created climate refugees and contributed to war, food shortages and drought. The Millennium Project deems global warming the biggest problem facing humanity. Average CO2 concentrations in 2014 were a historical high of 399 parts per million (ppm), a 43% increase over the pre-industrial level of 280 ppm. The 11 warmest years since 1880 have occurred after 1997 and 2014 was the hottest year on record.
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The vast majority of scientists worldwide believe that it is almost certain that global warming is caused by human greenhouse gas emissions (GGEs). The longer we wait to reduce GGEs, especially CO2, the greater the human suffering, the higher the cost to slow the warming, and the greater the damage to world economies. Prudent risk management dictates that we reduce GGEs rapidly. Climate disruption is an unprecedented global crisis, and therefore compels an unprecedented response from Rotarians worldwide. “Service Above Self” dictates that we work to reduce GGEs and proactively share information. We cannot ‘adapt’ to global warming; temperatures will continue to rise unless GGEs are significantly reduced. Individuals need to reduce their emissions and clubs need to undertake projects to reduce GGEs and share information. Supporting the reduction of GGEs to mitigate global warming will help people worldwide and is consistent with the Object of Rotary. Working to stop the global warming humanitarian crisis is resonating with the next generation of Rotarians and will strengthen Rotary for the challenges ahead. We do this for our children, our grandchildren and future generations.
International Insecurity Arising from Climate Change Paul Rogers, the then Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford and one of the world's leading academics in the field of Peace and Conflict Resolution - as well as the Mentor for the Rotary Peace Scholars at Bradford University – said in May 2008: "Examined from the perspective of conflict and conflict resolution, there is no doubt the effects of climate change, especially on the poorer parts of the world, are likely to be the most important issues for the next two decades. 'If we do not prevent the excesses of climate change, we will be bequeathing to our children a world of severe insecurity, if not chaos, and it will be our generation that will be blamed. 'The urgency of our response is fundamental - much of the recent evidence on climate change indicates that it is accelerating even faster than the computer models have predicted. Wide-ranging action has to be taken in the next five years. Setting grand targets for 2040 or 2050 is woefully inadequate."
