June 2020 Special Bulletin! Volume 4 Issue 12a

Guilt-Free and Galvanizing!

Rotary Virtual Convention Starts Saturday

Sign up now for Rotary's Virtual International Convention, which begins Saturday, June 20 with a grand plenary session at 8 a.m. Chicago time (UTC-5).  There is no cost.  

By signing up, you will get access to general meetings, the virtual House of Friendship, and 15 featured breakout sessions next week, including ESRAG's Greening Rotary Events panel (see above) where you can get a wealth of ideas on greening your own lifestyle, Rotary events, and Club meetings.   

Once you register, Rotary International will send you an email explaining how to test your connection beginning Friday, June 19, and how to access all programs. The broadcasts will play in the default language on your browser. 

Rotary will host several more virtual breakouts in July, including an ESRAG panel on Rotary's collaboration with the UN Environment Programme. By registering for the Virtual International Convention, you'll be able to sign up for the July workshops as well.  Watch for details in our late June newsletter.

World Environment Day Talks Now Online!

In his talk, Brendan Foran, CEO of Greening Australia, challenges Rotarians to aim for big deals to connect investors to projects with exponential impact in reversing climate change.

From Injustice, the Urgency of Action

Flooding in Kolkata, India, caused by Cyclone Amphan, May 21. Credit:  Debarchan Chatterjee, Cal Sport Media, posted by CNN

by Karen Kendrick-Hands, ESRAG Communications Chair

Our celebration of 50 years of World Environment Day is tempered as we also pause to mourn the loss of victims - both of racial injustice and violence, as well as the 440,000 poeple who have lost their lives to the viral pandemic of COVID-19. We empathize with the families who loved them and the communities that have suffered their loss.  Both of these crises are fruits of inequitable access to resources, an ecosystem ravaged by the systemic disregard of our environment, and the shrinking web of biodiversity. 

Our climate -- which has nurtured humanity for 10,000 years -- is at a tipping point.  We humans have disregarded the laws of physics and failed to act with empathy to our fellow humans and all other life on the planet.  These harms fall disproportionately on people of color and the disadvantaged. 

Yet as Rotarians, we act in hope, to offer our service above self in the face of these  intertwined challenges.  

Rotary International Decides this Month on Environment's role in Areas of Focus

The Rotary Foundation and Rotary International's Board of Directors are resuming discussions this month of the role environmental sustainability will play in the Areas of Focus for global grants.  Many ESRAG members have heard announcements about this question in regional meetings this spring, but the decision will not be final until the Rotary leaders finish their deliberations this month. We hope to give you a definitive announcement of the new policy in our late June issue of the ESRAG newsletter.  

While we await their decision on what form the Areas of Focus will take, we ESRAG members can prepare by building our membership, engaging with our regional chapters, staffing our project teams, and thinking how we will help Rotary raise the funds for the environmental projects in our future.

 Volunteer for ESRAG's Exhibit Next Week

Dr. Meenakshi Bharath of District 3190 in India chatting about her green menstruation program with ESRAG's Karen Kendrick-Hands at one of ESRAG's exhibits at the 2019 Rotary Convention in Hamburg.

ESRAG registered for a virtual exhibit in the House of Friendship. We need passionate Rotary environmentalists to represent us, to explain to visitors what we do, and to encourage them to join!  As of this writing, we don't know yet what hours the virtual House of Friendship will be "open" for interaction, but we need volunteers to staff it for two-hour shifts.  Are you potentially available?  Please dash off an email to ESRAG Chair Dr. Chris Puttock letting him know what days and times you could cover between June 20-26, and the city and time zone where you will be.

ESRAG Annual General Meeting June 24 

ESRAG's Annual General Meeting for Members, originally scheduled June 7 at RICON 2020, will now be held as an online webinar at noon, UTC on June 24.   

Please use THIS FORM to register.  You'll learn more about new board members, and ESRAG Secretary Yasar Atacik will give an overview of ESRAG's work in 2019-20. We'll honor and thank the folks completing their service on the board.

Now's the perfect time to join or renew your membership.  Dues start as low as $30 for individuals and enable vital work including the website and ESRAG presentations to District and RI events around the world. Currently ESRAG is 100% volunteer-led.

The Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group operates in accordance with Rotary International policy, 

but is not an agency of, or controlled by, Rotary International.