Right Angle Club August, 2020 Newsletter

On July 3, Chris Ketchum, currently an adjunct professor at the University of Houston, Downtown, presented Flowers and Honeybees. Chris’ presentation was premised upon his recently-published book by the same title. His presentation explored the origins of morality in nature through philosophic consideration of scientific knowledge about flowering plants and honeybees. Different as these organisms are, they have an intriguing social relationship involving reason, avoidance of intentional harm to the other, and non-competition for commonly required resources. What can we learn from them about the construction and maintenance of morality over time? There were 33 participants, and many thanks to Judy Laskow for her numerous contributions about bees.

On July 10, Dr. Paul Brandt-Rauf, currently the Distinguished University Professor and Dean of the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, presented Footprints, Fairness and the Future of the Planet . His presentation addressed how achieving healthy populations worldwide depends at least partly on environmental justice for all. This requires not only acting locally in a different way but also thinking globally in a different way. Understanding the inherent unfairness of our ecological footprints is a key first step, but acting upon this understanding will require a new level of thinking, an eco-enlightenment and enhanced eco-consciousness. Dr. Brandt-Rauf and his team purchased a building in their study area in Bangladesh. They estimate that under a worst-case scenario an increased water level could be responsible for losing approximately ½ of Bangladesh. Dr. Brandt-Rauf quoted Paul Hawken “We are stealing the future, selling it to the present and calling it GDP”. 4% of the world’s population is producing 25% of carbon emissions. “Good planets are hard to find.” We are killing ourselves with obesity and killing others by starvation. Dr. Brandt-Rauf also referred to the gross national happiness index for Bhutan. There were 41 participants.

On July 17, we heard from Jean-Paul Dardenne, Senior Vice-President of Corporate Sponsorships for the Philadelphia Union who discussed Major League Soccer and the Philadelphia Union . The Union plays at Subaru Park, which is a 20,000 seat stadium in Chester, PA. They sold out their last 11 games in 2019. Mr Dardenne recognized the “Sons of Ben” and their influence on Major League Soccer’s decision to grant the Philadelphia area a franchise. He also referred to the Union’s “share of voice” rating, and explained that the Union is ahead of both the Sixers and Flyers in this category. The Union has been playing in Florida and intends to start playing in Chester in mid-August. Prior to his position at the Union, Mr. Dardenne worked for the New Orleans Saints, where its owner, Tom Benson once said “you are only allowed 5 minutes of self-pity a day. If it is more than that, it is going to affect how you make me money.” The majority of players on all Major League Soccer teams must be American. Mr. Dardenne explained how committed the Union is to its community and as an example explained how they had a dumping problem on their property. To address this, the Union initiated a policy where the members of their community were invited every second Saturday to drop off anything that was intended to be dumped. It worked! There were 34 participants.

On July 24, Victoria Wyeth captivated us with stories and descriptions of the artwork of her grandfather Andrew Wyeth. In the late 1930s Andrew Wyeth noticed a neighbor, Adam Johnson, chopping wood and asked if he could paint him. Andrew and Adam became friends and Adam, who was a pig farmer, became the subject of many of Andrew’s paintings. In 1963 Andrew painted “Adam” with such detail that you can see the sunlight coming through Adam’s buttonholes. One of my favorites explained by Victoria was “Night Sleeper” which shows a dog asleep beneath two windows, one showing Brinton’s Mill in Chadds Ford and the other a landscape in Maine. The painting was done with egg tempera, which is a mixture of egg yolk, distilled water and ground color. Some of the quotes from Andrew Wyeth included “I paint my life”. “Art has no rules.” Victoria frequently lectures on Andrew and has derived her material from time spent with Andrew; interviews with his friends; research; and people she meets on her tours with his work. There were 30 participants.

On July 31, we heard from Rich Powell who is the executive director at ClearPath and ClearPath Action which are Washington, DC-based organizations developing and advancing conservative policies that accelerate clean energy innovation. Rich explained how carbon dioxide in the air is like a bathtub filling with water. He showed a chart depicting carbon dioxide concentrations and temperatures going back 800,000 years. This chart showed that 100,000 years ago the temperature was 8 0C higher and carbon dioxide concentration was 280 ppm higher than today. The same chart showed that Florida’s land borders extended into the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico great distances 30,000 years ago. The sources of our electricity today are 19.4% nuclear; 7% hydro; 35.2% natural gas; 27.5% coal; 10% renewables and 1% other. There are currently three trillion trees on the planet and there were 6 trillion before humans inhabited the earth. The current price of shale gas is $0.15/1,000 ft 3, , and it was not too long ago that the price was $15.00/1,000 ft 3. A significant climate policy challenge is to find the overlap between a solution that is: 1) legislatively realistic; 2) politically sustainable; and 3) solves global emissions problems. 80% of China’s power comes from coal-powered plants. There were 29 participants.

On July 10, the Board of Control met and first reviewed the Treasurer’s Report which showed that income year-to-date is down from last year, but so are expenses. We are fiscally sound. The Archivist reported that The Historical Society is closed, but has been provided with all of our material. The First Vice President reported the progress on membership committee activities including the updating members’ profile information on the website; which is on hold until the new administrator can help; the recruiting pipeline spreadsheet is ready to use as soon as we can resume normal activity; the proposal guide draft is nearing completion and should be ready for review in August and he will give Stephen Bennett the paper copies of the members’ survey for the archive, and will scan them as well. The Second Vice President reported that due to the pandemic, our events are in flux and that Philadelphia was planning on allowing inside dining on August 1, at the earliest, but subject to change. The Third Vice President reported that he has speakers committed through July and is working on August and September. The Fourth Vice President had nothing new to report.

The Board discussed possible joint meetings with other clubs and possible sharing of speakers. So far no interest from other clubs, but more to be explored. We have kept in touch with the Pyramid Club and have been given through August as a reprieve from any payments due. Ralph Shicatano has been hired to replace Le Anne Lindsay as our website administrator. Do we plan for an outdoor event to replace the Fall Fling? Corinthian Yacht Club? Merion Cricket Club? Planning is in the works. Discussion was held on the possibility of holding Zoom meetings with a remote speaker and having a safe number of attendees at the Pyramid Club when this can be safely accomplished. How many would be safely permitted to attend? How many would like to attend? Do we divide the membership into three groups and rotate those who would be permitted to attend each week? Would this result in different dues levels? We are constantly evaluating different scenarios to maintain the longevity of our club. The Board agreed to invite all speakers who have made Zoom presentations to a luncheon as soon as these are resumed.

On July 17, the Board of Control met for a Special Meeting and discussed whether we should have a Corresponding Secretary. A motion was made and passed to revive this position while simultaneously defining the duties and seeking a candidate. We are still uncertain how to address the fourth quarter dues and this will be addressed when we get closer to the invoice date. A motion was made and passed to give Le Anne Lindsay a gift in recognition of her exemplary service for the past 20 years. A motion was made and passed to make a donation in memory of Le Anne’s sister who recently passed away.