CSM Engineers for a Better World

MEETING MINUTES
*December 19, 2007* EBW, The year has ended and I am finally getting around to writing you all an update on what's happened at the last and what will be happening next semester. First of all, the Sustainability Meeting on December 5 was a major success. I and Akira Rattenbury of Earthworks presented research and proposed solutions for a more streamlined and efficient recycling program on campus. The committee was very impressed, commented, and made suggestions for our proposal. Throughout the discussion, we encouraged the committee members to use their influence to gain higher administration support for a better waste management program in the coming semester and following years. OUR task, as students in the club and as part of the Mines community, is to continue support and pass on the message to future Mines generations. We will be hosting more information tables next semester to increase awareness, continuing to write articles for the Oredigger, and distributing fliers and more petitions to show campus-wide support. This movement from the student body is CRITICAL for better recycling to become a reality on campus. A HUGE THANK YOU to all the students and faculty to who helped collect signatures for recycling support. As of this morning, December 5, we have gathered 424 signatures, comprising over 10% of the total CSM population. While this number is not a majority by any stretch, NOT BAD FOR THREE WEEKS of collecting. Now that the year is ending, we have a break in the action, but spread the word amongst your friends here at Mines before you leave: A more efficient recycling program on campus will save the school (and, consequently, students) energy, money, and space. This cause is not about the overused and trite term 'global warming'. It's about making CSM sustainable, clean, and cost-efficient. CAMPUS NEWS: The latest and final issue of the Oredigger (for the semester) contains another whole page devoted to sustainability and, consequently, recycling at Mines. Also look for the article on the Intermodal Transportation Fee, written by Jon Meuser, for an informed take on the current situation and future plans. This plan to develop more sustainable transportation for the Mines community is going to be a huge issue in the months and years ahead. On to other club updates. At the last meeting of EBW for the semester (yesterday), we heard a presentation from three senior design students, Nathan Budge (MechE), Lance Way (MechE), and Britton Escoe (Econ & Bus) who took on a project over the last year to bring a bicycle pump to needy communities in Ghana, West Africa. They showed us their design process, brought in a prototype, and explained how they want to hand off this endeavor to a group of students who will carry on the efforts to improve the design and make the overall process more sustainable. On behalf, of EBW, we accepted the offer and will be working on this project next semester too. The students traveled to Ghana in May 2007 to bring several of these pumps to the Ghanan communities. Working with Rotary in Golden and in Ghana and two academic institutions, they were able to distribute this technology to farmers in need of a pump. The pump is simple in construction and function and nearly all the building materials can be found locally for a reasonable cost (~40 USD per system). The people in Ghana who received the pumps were intrigued and very thankful for the cooperation between the students and their organizations. Since Lance and Nate are graduating and going on after this semester, EBW will be working with Britton Escoe, the Rotary Club of Golden, and the CSM administration to further the development of this project to make it more sustainable and efficient. Above all, growing and maintaining personal contact between Ghana and CSM must continue and EBW is committed to helping in this effort. In the first weeks of spring semester, EBW will be attending a training session put on by these students for us, to teach us more about the pump's design and operation. If you are interested in helping with this project, please contact me at jfish@mines.edu so we can get a list of people who will be attending. Finally, this project has potential for some students to travel to Ghana during the semester to continue relations and improve the pump system The Bicycle drive project is moving forward as well. Several EBW members have volunteered to help the Golden Optimists with their annual Christmas tree sale in Golden over the holidays. After Christmas, the Optimists will resume work on bicycles at their shed near Heritage Square. We will be sending interested students up to the shed early in the coming semester to work on bikes and help distribute them to communities in need. The EPICS 1 classes presented their final project ideas for cleaning up the water in Bane, Senegal. We've been keeping this project on the back-burner all semester, waiting for more information and time to address it. I was asked to judge EPICS 1 presentations a couple weeks ago and there were some very cool designs. We will be working with Bob Knecht in the spring to compile all the data received from Bane and all the project information so we can determine a good design to implement over in Senegal. We will be cooperating with people in Dakar (Senegal's capital), the Rotary Club of Golden, and (through Bob) the university in Abu Dhabi UAE to continue this project. CHANGES TO THE CLUB: We submitted revised by-laws and a name-change to Student Activities at the end of the year. We are now Engineers for a Better World - Rotaract club. This hyphenate comes from our new partnership with the Rotary Club of Golden through Warren Spaulding. The Rotary will be helping us with funding for projects and getting the word out about what we're doing locally and abroad. On the note of changes, EBW is looking for new student interest always and now, leadership in the coming year. I will still be president of the club come this spring, but I'm graduating in May. So, we need to start thinking about who will be taking on this club after I'm gone. I know there are several students who have shown great patience and dedication this semester and I'm excited for the future of this club. EBW - Rotaract will only survive if we pass it on, so STEP UP! It's not really difficult. In the new by-laws, we've written in several leadership positions to split the workload: President, Vice-president, Publicity Officer, and Secretary. We will announce more about these positions at the first semester meeting. AND speaking of the next meeting: We will be having our first EBW-Rotaract spring meeting on Tuesday, January 15 (classes start January 9) at noon in CO 208. I'll be e-mailing a reminder in a couple weeks. EVERYONE HAVE A GOOD BREAK! THANKS FOR AN AWESOME SEMESTER! "If your life's work can be accomplished in your lifetime, you're not thinking big enough." --Wes Jackson, sustainable architect Jason Fish EBW Prez jfish@mines.edu

MEETING MINUTES

December 19, 2007

EBW,

The year has ended and I am finally getting around to writing you all an update on what's happened at the last and what will be happening next semester.

First of all, the Sustainability Meeting on December 5 was a major success. I and Akira Rattenbury of Earthworks presented research and proposed solutions for a more streamlined and efficient recycling program on campus. The committee was very impressed, commented, and made suggestions for our proposal. Throughout the discussion, we encouraged the committee members to use their influence to gain higher administration support for a better waste management program in the coming semester and following years. OUR task, as students in the club and as part of the Mines community, is to continue support and pass on the message to future Mines generations. We will be hosting more information tables next semester to increase awareness, continuing to write articles for the Oredigger, and distributing fliers and more petitions to show campus-wide support. This movement from the student body is CRITICAL for better recycling to become a reality on campus.

A HUGE THANK YOU to all the students and faculty to who helped collect signatures for recycling support. As of this morning, December 5, we have gathered 424 signatures, comprising over 10% of the total CSM population. While this number is not a majority by any stretch, NOT BAD FOR THREE WEEKS of collecting. Now that the year is ending, we have a break in the action, but spread the word amongst your friends here at Mines before you leave: A more efficient recycling program on campus will save the school (and, consequently, students) energy, money, and space. This cause is not about the overused and trite term 'global warming'. It's about making CSM sustainable, clean, and cost-efficient.

CAMPUS NEWS: The latest and final issue of the Oredigger (for the semester) contains another whole page devoted to sustainability and, consequently, recycling at Mines. Also look for the article on the Intermodal Transportation Fee, written by Jon Meuser, for an informed take on the current situation and future plans. This plan to develop more sustainable transportation for the Mines community is going to be a huge issue in the months and years ahead.

On to other club updates. At the last meeting of EBW for the semester (yesterday), we heard a presentation from three senior design students, Nathan Budge (MechE), Lance Way (MechE), and Britton Escoe (Econ & Bus) who took on a project over the last year to bring a bicycle pump to needy communities in Ghana, West Africa. They showed us their design process, brought in a prototype, and explained how they want to hand off this endeavor to a group of students who will carry on the efforts to improve the design and make the overall process more sustainable. On behalf, of EBW, we accepted the offer and will be working on this project next semester too. The students traveled to Ghana in May 2007 to bring several of these pumps to the Ghanan communities. Working with Rotary in Golden and in Ghana and two academic institutions, they were able to distribute this technology to farmers in need of a pump. The pump is simple in construction and function and nearly all the building materials can be found locally for a reasonable cost (~40 USD per system). The people in Ghana who received the pumps were intrigued and very thankful for the cooperation between the students and their organizations. Since Lance and Nate are graduating and going on after this semester, EBW will be working with Britton Escoe, the Rotary Club of Golden, and the CSM administration to further the development of this project to make it more sustainable and efficient. Above all, growing and maintaining personal contact between Ghana and CSM must continue and EBW is committed to helping in this effort. In the first weeks of spring semester, EBW will be attending a training session put on by these students for us, to teach us more about the pump's design and operation. If you are interested in helping with this project, please contact me at jfish@mines.edu so we can get a list of people who will be attending. Finally, this project has potential for some students to travel to Ghana during the semester to continue relations and improve the pump system

The Bicycle drive project is moving forward as well. Several EBW members have volunteered to help the Golden Optimists with their annual Christmas tree sale in Golden over the holidays. After Christmas, the Optimists will resume work on bicycles at their shed near Heritage Square. We will be sending interested students up to the shed early in the coming semester to work on bikes and help distribute them to communities in need.

The EPICS 1 classes presented their final project ideas for cleaning up the water in Bane, Senegal. We've been keeping this project on the back-burner all semester, waiting for more information and time to address it. I was asked to judge EPICS 1 presentations a couple weeks ago and there were some very cool designs. We will be working with Bob Knecht in the spring to compile all the data received from Bane and all the project information so we can determine a good design to implement over in Senegal. We will be cooperating with people in Dakar (Senegal's capital), the Rotary Club of Golden, and (through Bob) the university in Abu Dhabi UAE to continue this project.

CHANGES TO THE CLUB:
We submitted revised by-laws and a name-change to Student Activities at the end of the year. We are now Engineers for a Better World - Rotaract club. This hyphenate comes from our new partnership with the Rotary Club of Golden through Warren Spaulding. The Rotary will be helping us with funding for projects and getting the word out about what we're doing locally and abroad.

On the note of changes, EBW is looking for new student interest always and now, leadership in the coming year. I will still be president of the club come this spring, but I'm graduating in May. So, we need to start thinking about who will be taking on this club after I'm gone. I know there are several students who have shown great patience and dedication this semester and I'm excited for the future of this club. EBW - Rotaract will only survive if we pass it on, so STEP UP! It's not really difficult. In the new by-laws, we've written in several leadership positions to split the workload: President, Vice-president, Publicity Officer, and Secretary. We will announce more about these positions at the first semester meeting.

AND speaking of the next meeting: We will be having our first EBW-Rotaract spring meeting on Tuesday, January 15 (classes start January 9) at noon in CO 208. I'll be e-mailing a reminder in a couple weeks. EVERYONE HAVE A GOOD BREAK! THANKS FOR AN AWESOME SEMESTER!

"If your life's work can be accomplished in your lifetime, you're not thinking big enough." --Wes Jackson, sustainable architect

Jason Fish
EBW Prez
jfish@mines.edu