Kitty Lopez, in her Thought of the Day, referenced a commencement address by author Toni Morrison to 1988 graduates of Sarah Lawrence College. Morrison challenged graduates to dream before they think. Colleges teach students to think logically, but logic, she chided, should not preclude imagining the world as it ‘ought to be’.  

 

Editor’ s Note:  When you apply that thought broadly to Rotary, that’s part and parcel of its enduring global appeal.

 

Martin Harband introduced visiting Rotarian Shakuntala Porwal (at right), along with her husband and their granddaughter, who will be attending UCLA in the fall. While the impetus for their visit was family…their daughter happens to be Martin’s physician…it was shared that Shakuntala is the Charter President of an all-women’s Rotary Club in Udapur, India. The charter club’s focus is women empowerment.  A brief video presentation highlighted some of the club’s outreach with incarcerated women in an effort to develop skills to support themselves following release. In addition, the club has undertaken a Rotary WinS project building bathroom facilities in rural schools and teaching basic hygiene to the children.

 

Guests included Wilson Ku, (State Farm Insurance, San Mateo), Gina Zari (SAMCAR Government Affairs Director), and Dash Rudkin, Joy’s 13 year old son who was immediately assigned a job at the check-in desk. Welcome to Rotary, Dash…that’s the way it works!

 

The Fun Run is well on it’s way to being the most successful yet….hoping to attract 300-400 participants. Mark your calendars for October 20th to sponsor, walk, run, or volunteer your time and talents. Contact Alan Talanski  or Juan Raigoza for details.

 

Oktoberfest (10/26)!  Ever the innovators, Dick Bennet and Paul Rogerville are introducing a novel Thursday meeting format for the benefit Community Service. Festivities begin at 11:30 AM with an Oompah band, traditional German Cuisine, and of course, German beer. It is a fund-raiser, so plan on bringing your checkbook, credit card, and any stray Euros which you may still have from your last European vacation.  More information to follow….

 

President’s Club ranks continue to swell at a brisk pace….

 

Rachael Meyer, in honor of President-Elect, Sue Winks who hosted a summer intern allowing CuriOdyssey to expand its summer camp offerings to include special needs campers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Thompson back from a trip through Canada….

 

 

 

 

 

And Dick DeLuna, pictured in Carmel Valley with two lovely women on either side whom he claimed to be long-time  friends of his….and Matilde’s, he added quickly….before the conversation degraded with insinuations.  In joining  President Anne’s elite group, Dick complimented her on the weekly emails that arrive in our in-boxes alerting us to the  highlights of the upcoming meeting.  We can all agree, Anne’s email is a personal touch that makes each Rotarian feel as though he or she has been personally invited to lunch.  Kudos, Anne!

 

Speaker:  Joe La Mariana, Executive Director of Rethink Waste (and Burlingame Rotarian)

From Burlingame to Menlo Park and East Palo Alto, Rethink Waste is a joint powers authority of 12 local government jurisdictions.  As such, it owns and manages the Shoreway Environmental Center in San Carlos which receives and processes half a million tons of refuse annually from the 435,000 residents and businesses of these communities.  On an individual level, this translates to the blue, green, and black bins….now familiar waste receptacles on the peninsula.

 

Recology (Mike Kelly) is responsible for the collection and transport of all refuse to the San Carlos facilities.  Black bin contents (food waste and non-recyclable materials) are subsequently transported to the Ox Mountain land fill in Half Moon Bay.  Green bin waste (landscape clean-up) goes to compost facilities to create mulch ultimately made available to residents for soil enhancement.  The blue bin contents, accounting for some 80,000 tons annually, is sorted and sold to domestic or off-shore manufacturers for reuse.

 

China, for some 25 years, was a primary destination for much of the recyclable material.  That, however, has changed dramatically, due to both environmental and politico-economic pressures.  The result locally is a surge of single-use plastic that ends up at Ox Mountain.  Adding to the waste management challenges, has been the abrupt closure of rePlanet whose multiple recycling kiosks throughout the Bay Area offered buy-back services for can and bottle collection.  So significant was the traffic congestion at the transfer center following the site closures, that Rethink Waste had to temporarily suspend its onsite redemption program pending review and revision of their protocol.

 

On a positive note, ReThink Waste is installing a pilot system designed to process organic waste to produce methane gas which can be used for supplemental power generation or the inclusion in biodiesel fuel to power the truck fleet.  Those of us old enough to remember the early days of Shoreline Amphitheater (constructed atop the former Mountain View City Dump) can recall the occasional methane flare-ups that would randomly occur in the lawn seating.  We know the science works…..it’s just a question of the economic efficiency.

 

If you were fortunate enough to be present for Joe’s presentation, your regard for your blue, green, and black bins will have changed for the better! 

 

Worth Repeating:  “Have you noticed,”  quipped Martin Harband, “that the scientific instruments searching for intelligent life are all pointed away from earth?”

 

Photos courtesy of Peter Webb, MD