Our speaker was Troy Moon, who spoke about, “One Climate Future,” the collaborative climate action plan being hatched between Portland and South Portland. Only place that we know about where two adjacent cities are working together as equal partners to address the issues caused by climate change. One Climate Future’s mission: promoting a more sustainable path for our communities. Troy spoke of some of the successes that have occurred in the past year in solar policy, where the city is seeking to award a major contract for solar power generation. Portland was also the first city to shift to LED Lights and this alone has saved more than a million dollars of energy costs in its first year. Portland was the first place in Maine to regulate single use plastic bags, which are now subject to a statewide policy. The cities have been steeply regulated and in some cases banned the use of synthetic pesticides, and as for plastic straws: abolished. Gone. The cities are also establishing Energy benchmarking ordinances.
The Coalition has a climate goal of 80% greenhouse gas reduction in our area by 2050, and by 2040, all power for city use will be from renewables.
Protesters led by students are drawing attention to the climate emergency. Students are urging action to speed up the emissions reduction, and have been pushing the city, as has Governor Mills’ ambitious energy agenda. All this is excellent work, but is it too late?
Many things are changing. Massive rainfall events are becoming more frequent, and high tide “blue sky” flooding is occurring in some of the lower-elevation parts of the city already. Troy talked about the “Bayside Adapts” project, which has the cities committing to manage sea level rise of 2 feet by 2050 and 4 feet by 2100. Yet, if nothing else is done and temperatures continue on its current trajectory, we will have as much as 11 feet of rise by 2100 – so these goals require massive coordination with the rest of the nation and the world.
Speaking of heat, we are already seeing record numbers of 100-degree days in summer. Climate could resemble that of mobile Alabama, if this curve is not bent and soon. Other subsidiary impacts include tick and mosquito borne illnesses on the rise. Lime ticks are now endemic in the region and mosquitoes are on the upsurge. And we will likely see more climate refugees. We will still have a better climate than other places and droughts in areas like Central Africa are already propelling migration.
It was a gloomy outlook overall, but Troy offered some hope for how we can have an effect here in greater Portland.
More information on the initiative and its programming can be found at: oneclimatefuture.org, and on sustainableportlandME on Instagram.
President Amy Chipman opened the meeting with a remembrance of John Houghton, who died this past week following what had appeared to be a successful surgical procedure. John was 46-year member of Rotary, and his kindness, sense of humor and towering stature will be missed by all of us. He was remembered for his leadership role as a “Meals on Wheels” volunteer, but beyond that had been involved in all sorts of service projects and social aspects of our club. A long-time member of the tennis league, his extraordinary wingspan made him a great danger at the net. John was a true gentleman. A memorial service is scheduled for Sunday, December 9 at 3PM at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Cape Elizabeth.
Remember: Friday, Dec. 13, Rotary will be convening at the Merrill Auditorium for the “Magic of Christmas” concert at 2pm. This requires pre-registration, so if you don’t already have a ticket, you’ll have a week off from Rotary.
PP Tom Talbott offered the invocation, which included a disquisition on the nature of snow. Among the take-home messages: with snow, your lawn looks….just as good as your neighbor’s lawn!
In the weekly raffle draw, President Amy won the chance to draw for more than $1,000. Members were ready to dismiss the whole thing as rigged, but Amy proved that despite her lofty position, she was no better at drawing in the raffle than the rest of us. The pot continues to grow!
It’s mitten season again! PP Russ Burleigh presented the 11th year of mittens for kids made by his indefatigable partner, Joan Steinberg. He recounted the story of her amazing knitting work, and at a point in the past, instead of a Paul Harris Fellow, she got a “Ball of Hairs Pillow” in recognition of her work. To create these mittens requires about 4 hours per pair. She knit 120 pairs this year for three Portland elementary schools. You can do the math if you wish to really understand what this contribution means.
Dick Giles spoke about the new Dominican Republic solar lights initiative. The ongoing water project there continues, with a goal of at least 3000 residents benefiting from clean water when it’s complete. But today, Dick was talking about lights as well as water – all the houses are lit by kerosene lights, which are costly and dangerous. $6 buys an LED solar light, which charges by day and lights a home all night. Lots of people stepped up to contribute funds to purchase those.
Gracie Johnston spoke about the St Vincent de Paul’s Thanksgiving Dinner that was held on 11/27. This year we had a big crowd of Rotarians serving 124 meals, plus sandwich bags for the next meal and extensive contributions of food that participants could take home for later. All went well. This was our 19th year.
Mike Fortunato took the podium to talk about a student at the Long Creek Youth Development Center who is about to be released, and who needs EVERYTHING for his first apartment. The young man has discovered a passion for learning and has dived deeply into academics. Call Mike if you have anything to help him get onto his feet.
Immediate Past President John Curran, as the Nominating Committee Chairperson, offered a list of nominations for the 2020-21 slate of Club Officers:
President: Ellen Niewoehner 1st Vice President: Bob Martin 2nd Vice President: Gracie Johnston Secretary: Bruce Moore Treasurer: Scott Blakeslee Sergeant-at-arms: Dave Putnam
Club Protection Officer: Nan Heald Director - Term Ending 2021: Mike Fortunato Director - Term Ending 2021: Jennifer Frederick Director - Term Ending 2022: Bob Clark Director - Term Ending 2022: Mark Foster
Hearing no nominations from the floor, the members were advised that the slate would be presented at the next regular meeting of the Rotary Club of Portland on December 20, 2019 where a vote would be taken at that time.
The following items are needed on an on-going basis. Please feel free to bring them to a meeting where we will collect and distribute them to the appropriate projects.
Crutches4Africa - Crutches, canes, folding walkers and wheelchairs to be shipped to Africa. Contact: Erik Greven at: egrev95@gmail.com
Toiletries for the Shelters - Collect those tiny bottles of toiletries you are paying for during your next hotel visit and bring them home for members of our society who find themselves staying at a shelter and in need of personal hygiene products.
Our speaker was Troy Moon, who spoke about, “One Climate Future,” the collaborative climate action plan being hatched between Portland and South Portland. Only place that we know about where two adjacent cities are working together as equal partners to address the issues caused by climate change. One Climate Future’s mission: promoting a more sustainable path for our communities. Troy spoke of some of the successes that have occurred in the past year in solar policy, where the city is seeking to award a major contract for solar power generation. Portland was also the first city to shift to LED Lights and this alone has saved more than a million dollars of energy costs in its first year. Portland was the first place in Maine to regulate single use plastic bags, which are now subject to a statewide policy. The cities have been steeply regulated and in some cases banned the use of synthetic pesticides, and as for plastic straws: abolished. Gone. The cities are also establishing Energy benchmarking ordinances.
President Amy Chipman opened the meeting with a remembrance of John Houghton, who died this past week following what had appeared to be a successful surgical procedure. John was 46-year member of Rotary, and his kindness, sense of humor and towering stature will be missed by all of us. He was remembered for his leadership role as a “Meals on Wheels” volunteer, but beyond that had been involved in all sorts of service projects and social aspects of our club. A long-time member of the tennis league, his extraordinary wingspan made him a great danger at the net. John was a true gentleman. A memorial service is scheduled for Sunday, December 9 at 3PM at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Cape Elizabeth.
It’s mitten season again! PP Russ Burleigh presented the 11th year of mittens for kids made by his indefatigable partner, Joan Steinberg. .JPG)
He recounted the story of her amazing knitting work, and at a point in the past, instead of a Paul Harris Fellow, she got a “Ball of Hairs Pillow” in recognition of her work. To create these mittens requires about 4 hours per pair. She knit 120 pairs this year for three Portland elementary schools. You can do the math if you wish to really understand what this contribution means. 
Gracie Johnston spoke about the St Vincent de Paul’s Thanksgiving Dinner that was held on 11/27. This year we had a big crowd of Rotarians serving 124 meals, plus sandwich bags for the next meal and extensive contributions of food that participants could take home for later. All went well. This was our 19th year.
Mike Fortunato took the podium to talk about a student at the Long Creek Youth Development Center who is about to be released, and who needs EVERYTHING for his first apartment. The young man has discovered a passion for learning and has dived deeply into academics. Call Mike if you have anything to help him get onto his feet.