President John Moffat reminded us that November is Rotary Foundation month. This is a time to give thanks to the Rotary Foundation for all the good work it does, especially in striving to eradicate Polio. An annual donation to Rotary Foundation of $100 qualifies us as Foundation members.
Guests:
George Halsell introduced the speaker, Doug Cole, and his wife, Melanie. She played with the Rotary Brass
Doug Cole introduced his wife, Margie Goetz
Visiting Rotarian: John Bosche with Bellingham Bay, who played with the Rotary Brass
Members on Zoom: Dick Tucker
Guests on Zoom: Bob Trunek, Chuck Snyder and Bob Brunkow
Club Events and Committee Announcements
Important Announcements:
NOV 15
Shauna Naf showed an excellent trailer for this year's Mountain Film program and encouraged members to spread the word about the event to friends and relatives and to buy tickets for the MountainFilm Event on November 15, 2025. In keeping with the outdoor nature of the program, Shauna announced that there would be two hikes the day after the event, with details to follow.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS. Remember, this is a fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Bellingham to support our Student Exchange and other programs. Some impressive donations have been gathered for the silent auction, including some darling Christmas stockings, Evil Bike’s rental passes, and a Community Boating Center donation.
Nov 17 -
There will be NO meeting on Monday, November 17th, due to the November 18th meeting at 5:30 pm.
Nov 18
Whatcom County Rotary Clubs Joint Brainstorming
Hotel Bellwether
5-9 pm
All RCOB members are encouraged to attend
Larry Halgren gave us an update on the November 18 meeting at Hotel Bellwether. Thus far, 41 Rotarians have registered for the event. He promises a good evening that will include a discussion about the future of Rotary in Whatcom County and the reduced membership of Rotary Clubs everywhere. The meeting will include members of the Clubs from Whatcom North, Bellingham Bay, Sunrise, Mt. Baker, Ferndale and RCOB. Larry encouraged us to to sign up CLICK HERE FOR LINK
Shauna Naf introduced Paul Shepardson with the classification "Life Coach". Past president Brad Burdick conducted the formal induction, in which he briefed Paul on the responsibilities of Rotarians (e.g., service and friendship).
Paul hails from central Illinois and has resided in some very interesting areas of this country.
Paul is President of Zippy Services, LLC, a leader in green janitorial cleaning and landscaping services, serving all of Whatcom County, a company he founded in 1997. He is married with two children and is a big Mariners fan.
Paul believes authentic leadership begins with inner alignment and that every act of service—no matter how small—has the power to uplift the collective vibration of humanity. He has two podcasts - VybeShift and The Vybrational Stage and a website Vybeshift.net
VybeShift is a movement dedicated to elevating global consciousness through personal transformation, energetic alignment, and vibrational mastery. Through coaching, education, and community outreach, it supports individuals in living with greater purpose, clarity, and compassion.
Weekly Payment Reminder
VENMO:
@RCOB- Bellingham.
Give Sandee a call if you need help. 360-734-5532.
CASH / CHECK:
Yes, we still take these and saving on fees is appreciated.
Our Local Electrical Grid: Past, Present and Future
Today’s speaker was our own past President Douglas Cole, who was introduced by George Halsell. The subject was “Our local Electrical Grid: Past, Present and Future”. This subject fully captured the attention of our members. Doug introduced the subject by asking from where? Or from whence comes our electricity? He then introduced electromagnetic induction. The sources of our power come from hydro-induction (waterpower: the massive spinning turbines driven by water or steam); battery power; wind power; and solar power (the wave of the future). Doug slipped into the teaching mode and discussed the presence and role of a magnet in producing electricity as introduced in 1831 by Michael Faraday. This was followed by a brief discussion of the dynamo developed by Thomas Edison and its limitations. Edison invented the first electric grid, albeit a small grid of only one mile.
Next, Doug focused on electricity as we know it in the Pacific Northwest. He introduced us to the Bellingham Bay Improvement Company, which, in early years, enabled a system of trollies and streetcars in our cities. Streetcars required electricity. In 1912, Puget Sound Power and Light Company became an essential infrastructure provider by constructing a sizeable electric grid. Yet, this required a power source. In the early years, the source of electricity was mainly hydropower from the major rivers in the interior of Washington. An example Doug gave was the Rock Island Dam on the Columbia River downstream of Wenatchee, WA. This dam began producing power in 1933. This led to the Bonneville Power Administration and the creation of power grids. Discussing the power grid in Washington requires mention of the Western Interconnection Balancing Authorities, a group of the 34 agencies whose coordinated efforts comprise the power grid serving our region. We are talking about 15,000 miles of power transmission line!
Doug then brought us back to the needs and providers of Puget Sound Electrical (PSE). The obvious provider is Puget Sound Energy, a for-profit company that supplies electricity to 1.1 million customers. The sources of Puget Sound electricity are:
30% hydro
18% coal
30% natural gas
22% wind
Locally, in Whatcom County, hydro/waterpower sources produce 61% of our electricity. Encogen Generation stations are designed to provide 30% of demand. PSE Baker River sources provide electricity at 12.37 cents per kilowatt hour. The average Northwestern Washington home uses 30 kilowatt hours per day.
Of course, the subject of AI power demands and consumption was discussed. Doug introduced us to the term ‘obscene demand’, a demand that exceeds all expectations and is compounding current clean energy challenges. As coal and natural gas are phased out for environmental reasons, the question arises as to what’s ahead as demand increases. The future sources may be wind, Solar, wave energy, geothermal, and nuclear.
Doug noted that nuclear energy may be the best means of addressing the AI-driven increases in demand for electricity. Yet, the US has added only two nuclear plants in recent times. China has or is adding over 40. Today, nuclear development in the US uses much different methods than older installations such as Terra Power’s natrium reactor being built in Wyoming.Rather than large very expensive facilities, small modular reactors may be the future. These can be constructed off-site and then installed at former coal power plants, which are already connected to the grid.
One day, fusion power will likely be the answer to energy needs. An experimental fusion power plant is being proposed in the Wenatchee area by an Everett company.
By the spirited reaction of our club members, it was apparent we could have focused on power grid and future electricity sources for the whole day. Doug - thanks for awakening us to a glaring future societal challenge.
RCOB apparel, including polo shirts, dress shirts, vests and hats is now available. These are items that every Club member simply must have in his/her wardrobe! Besides looking great, Club members will be contributing to branding for the RCOB as well as supporting our Club's Foundation, which will receive part of the proceeds.
Click on the button below for the the clothing catalogue, with the Order Form on the last page. Fill out the order form, turn it into Vinson Latimore at a meeting or email a scanned copy to embroidery@choicesscrubs.com.
