April 26 2017
Posted by Carlos Obregon
At this Wednesday's meeting, we had 19 members present as well as 1 guest, Liliana Marlene Esparza, a guest of Alfredo.
Rotary Moment:
Tina is doing the Rotary Moment this month. She will be talking about Rotarians she has met that have had an impact in her life. She told us about meeting Jim Sparling, a RC Saanich member who is a specialist in chest / respiratory medicine and ran the VIHA chest clinic for more than 10 years before retiring in 2010.
Jim has been volunteering in Uganda since 1994 on his own and in partnership with a number of Rotary Grants - created the Friends of Mengo Hospital Society. His focus is Tuberculosis. Current incidence in Canada for TB is ~5/100,000. In the 1700’s/1800’s in Europe when TB was at its worst, the incidence rate was ~35 – 40/100,000. In 1994 at a Montreal medical conference professionals were speculating the end of TB in the world by the turn of the century. Currently, in Uganda, the incidence rate is ~700/100,000 and in sub-Saharan Africa it climbs to 1000-2000/100,000 depending on the country. The game changer has been HIV. It suppresses the part of the immune system designed to resist TB.
Announcements:
- 3 of our members attended the Rotaract meeting at King George school. They were very impressed by the number of attendees and how enthusiastic and comitted they are!
- Gary Chomyn sent all of us the first email that we must send out to our contacts to gather pledges for the hoopathon. Make sure you send it out.
- We are sponsoring 3 Rotaractors to attend the district conference in Whistler.
- Sophie Gloy invited us to the 54th International Golfing Fellowship of Rotary (IGFR). It will take place August 6-12. More info here: http://www.igfr2017.ca/
Meeting - Today our guest speaker was Daniel Rotman. Daniel has a background in all things mind related and an interest in all things sustainable.
He studied Cognitive Science and went on to complete a Masters in Conflict Resolution. The conflict he sees as the most pressing today is with our relationship to waste.
He currently volunteers with SPEC as Co-Chair of the Zero Waste Committee where he is developing a waste reduction education program.
He spoke about the "circular economy". A circular economy is an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life.
Looking beyond the current "take, make and dispose” extractive industrial model, the circular economy is restorative and regenerative by design. Relying on system-wide innovation, it aims to redefine products and services to design waste out, while minimising negative impacts. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural and social capital.
Below are links to the resources I showed during the presentation as well as additional links to resources and other areas of interest.
http://www.recyclingalternative.com/ > the organization I work for, we are a local, values based waste management company that embodies the notion of keeping materials at their highest value, and innovates to create and promote opportunities to foster a circular economy
https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/ > champions of the circular economy movement
http://www.nzwc.ca/Pages/default.aspx > regional and national initiative helping to galvanize the zero waste movement in Canada
http://www.masterrecyclervancouver.ca/ > the waste reduction education program I co-created and co-facilitate, be sure to check out the Talkin' Trash radio show for podcast style shows on a variety of topics that alumni of the program created just last year
http://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/waste-wizard.aspx > search tool for where to properly dispose of all your municipal waste
http://rcbc.ca/ > local not for profit organization to help make recycling easier, they have a hotline you can call to ask questions about disposal of goods as well, and feel free to direct those kinds of questions to me as well as they often don't have good answers to difficult questions
http://www.bcrecycles.ca/ > website that lists all the extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs in BC and where to find depots and drop off spots for hard to recycle items, like hazardous waste
http://www.spec.bc.ca/waste > lastly, a plug for the organization I volunteer with, which also founded RCBC, and the Master Recycler Program
http://www.recyclingalternative.com/ > the organization I work for, we are a local, values based waste management company that embodies the notion of keeping materials at their highest value, and innovates to create and promote opportunities to foster a circular economy
https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/ > champions of the circular economy movement
http://www.nzwc.ca/Pages/default.aspx > regional and national initiative helping to galvanize the zero waste movement in Canada
http://www.masterrecyclervancouver.ca/ > the waste reduction education program I co-created and co-facilitate, be sure to check out the Talkin' Trash radio show for podcast style shows on a variety of topics that alumni of the program created just last year
http://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/waste-wizard.aspx > search tool for where to properly dispose of all your municipal waste
http://rcbc.ca/ > local not for profit organization to help make recycling easier, they have a hotline you can call to ask questions about disposal of goods as well, and feel free to direct those kinds of questions to me as well as they often don't have good answers to difficult questions
http://www.bcrecycles.ca/ > website that lists all the extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs in BC and where to find depots and drop off spots for hard to recycle items, like hazardous waste
http://www.spec.bc.ca/waste > lastly, a plug for the organization I volunteer with, which also founded RCBC, and the Master Recycler Program
Pic from our meeting today:
Thought of the day:
Andrew Carnegie — 'There is little success where there is little laughter.'
Next 2 Speakers:
May 3 - Tina Parbhakar - Child and Youth law in Uganda
May 10 - Business meeting
Important Links:
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