|
Attended
|
40
|
|
Apologies
|
9
|
|
LOA
|
4
|
|
Silent
|
12
|
|
TOTAL
|
65
|
Guests and Visitors:
Todd Muller MP Speaker
Coby Duggan - Volvo NZ
Sam McNeil - Duncan and Ebbert
Ann Owen - President. RC Katitkati
ANNIVERSARIES:
Barry Vercoe and Neville Whitworth 6 years in RCTS
Barbara's birthday on 18th
Monique on 21st
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Julie's Big Sing was a resounding success with $650 being raised
David R still wants Outward Bound nominees. 16/18 yo
Ian. Big K Valley tree planting day on Saturday 4 May (same day as the District Training Assembly so Pat and Warren won't be there) 9am start. Contact Ian for more details
Simon. Now is your chance to part company with some hard earned cash by sponsoring him (well, and Dan as well if you must) for his Drop your Boss epic. Not being actually employed by Learning Journeys is no excuse. Making it a family affair, Michele has finally filled all the slots for the home hosting. Well done, everybody. It transpired later, however, that nobody has a clue about which of the students is male and which is female.
Julie announced that Caroline Mason's Threads across the Pacific initiative is going great guns.
Kathy gave another update on the history of Treasured Art, in that this year sees #9, with $160,000 being raised over the previous 8 years. Of the 82 pieces being exhibited this time, 42 were sold, raising a record $26000. Our guests, Coby and Sam were thanked once again for their very generous sponsorship and they were presented with commemorative plaques from Dan, on behalf of the Graeme Dingle Foundation and Pat, on behalf of the Club.
Our guest speaker was Todd Muller MP on the
subject of climate change. It is always a pleasure to welcome Todd to our meetings and today once again he didn't disappoint. He recounted that, following the last election, Bill English had called him to say that he had been allocated the climate change portfolio. Wife Michelle was less than impressed! It transpired, however, that it was to be one hell of a journey, especially given his background in Zespri and Fonterra and the need for a bi-partisan approach. Diplomacy ruled in that he cited his working relationship with the Green's James Shaw as 'interesting'.
Science is clear in that the atmosphere has been steadily warming since the mid 1800s and, as the whole thing is cyclical, it is possible to extrapolate the probable situation in 25/50/100 years. The world's population is growing apace with something like 9 billion being forecast by 2050 (current is 6.5b). The question is - how stable is the environment? Todd cited several 'levers' which would have an effect in reducing emissions:
Transport
Industrial demands for fuel
Waste and the inevitable landfill issues
Agriculture (negative) and
Forestry (positive)
The bottom line is that New Zealand is only responsible for 0.17% of the world's global emissions so the bit that we do will only have a tiny effect within the global context. There is, however, a clear mandate for 195 countries to do SOMETHING. Its just a question of mitigation v adaptation.
As usual, a thought-provoking presentation with hardly a hint of politics. We (the WBOP lot) are lucky to have such a talented MP.
Raffle was won by Mary O
Sergeant Nev (he's the one on the right)
trawled through some Easter traditions, but bemoaned the mixed messages that were being given to our kids. He suggested a Private Member's Bill to replace the Easter Bunny with an Easter Chicken. This would, at a stroke, dispense with the idea that rabbits lay eggs. Inspired.
Editor's indulgence corner:
We get other Clubs' bulletins on a regular basis, one being RC Geelong West, incorporated in which are some 'interesting' facts which are worthy of sharing:
* St Peter's School in York never celebrates Guy Fawkes Night. Its most famous old boy was - yep - Guy Fawkes (We can go one better as my wife Helen is a direct descendent of Guy Fawkes)
* Barak Obama's mother's name was Stanley. Her nickname at school was 'Stan the Man'
* Buzz Aldrin's father was friends with Orville Wright
* Boeing test the wifi signal on their planes by filling the seats with sacks of potatoes
* There is a river in Nicaragua called the Pis-Pis
And finally, joke of the week, dedicated to the Rotarian who this morning said we need more humour in our Bulletin
'My friend thinks he is smart. He told me an onion is the only food that makes you cry, so I threw a coconut at his face.'
NO MEETING NEXT WEEK
