President Chris called the meeting to order at 12:04 pm and Dale Brubaker led the Pledge and Prayer.
 
ATTENDANCE: 28 people attended the virtual meeting including the following guests: 6 students of the month; our speaker, Dr Alan Peterson; Carol Ferguson; Andrew Shaffer
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Christy Lucas - Roots For Boots is conducting a food donation drive during the month of February to benefit the 90 veterans in need in our region.  They are collecting non-perishables and have various options for you to get your items to them.
Chris - Ruth's Harvest volunteering event is this Thursday evening at 6:00 at St Matthew's and we have 10 members signed-up!!!  Look for the next opportunity to volunteer in March.
Chris - Please consider volunteering to provide the Pledge and Prayer over the coming months.  An email was sent out to you recently to sign-up.  Or you can contact Rick McKee directly.
 
 
STUDENTS OF THE MONTH: we welcomed 6 of our 8 students of the month who were available to introduce themselves to the Club.  We look forward to seeing them each week through February.
 
PROGRAM: Dr. Alan Peterson - Global Climate Change: A Threat to People's Health and Welfare
Dr Peterson, a family practice physician made a strong case for the reality of our global climate change as well as the negative effects it is having on the world in which we live from a personal health perspective and overall life of the inhabitants of the world.  Alan shared a powerpoint presentation to outline his argument.  He is making a reasoned and passionate plea to heed the warnings and he is available to speak to any group of any kind on the topic.
Briefly some of the topics shared in his well documented slide presentation included the following:
The Basics -
Damage to the climate is real and happening now at an alarming rate
Human activity emits greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which alter the earth's climate
IF we make a concerted effort now we can create healthy and safe communities for our families, and have major benefits like improved mental and physical health
Definitions - he defined weather vs climate; and Global warming vs climate change
Greenhouse Effect -harmful gases like Co2 create a blanket-like effect around the earth which traps heat in our atmosphere.  This heat is causing negative changes to the planet never seen before in recorded history.
Air Quality - slides specific to Pa showed the worsening air quality in our region and incidence of asthma in children.
Food Supply and Climate Change - as the climate changes food yields like grains decreases at a time when global population increases.
Water Availability -billions of people live in water stressed/scarce areas and this will increase dramatically by 2100.
Heat Waves - like those seen in Europe in 2003 which killed 70,000 people will increase and become more severe.  Effects will be felt by the 2040's . There is a linkage between a warming planet and extreme weather events.  We have seen some of these in recent years and will experience more as the warming continues.
Flooding -80,000 acres of wetlands are lost each year in the U.S. due to intensifying coastal storms and rising sea levels. 
Health effect - spread of disease, lyme, dengue, by ticks and mosquitoes is expanding in the U.S.
Preventing Climate Change - alternative energy like solar and wind generation are viable and need to be expanded and fossil fuel generation needs to be reduced.
 
PLEASE NOTE: Dr. Peterson provided three documents that you can see in the downloads section on our website:  "Climate Change and Health In PA"; "Why Climate Change is Rotary's Business"; and "Your Personal Solutions to Climate Change".
 
 
 
NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM: JULIE WHEELER, YORK CO PRESIDENT COMMISSIONER - UPDATE ON THE COUNTY VACCINE PROGRAM AND THE BROADBAND EXPANSION