I attended the biennial Within Our Reach conference, held on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis, Oregon. The conference kicked off with a film night, "Willamette Through Film". Three short films were shown in a chronological sequence. The first film from 1939 was sponsored by the Isaac Walton League. They didn't have enough money for a soundtrack so it was a silent film. But Dr. Stan Gregory from Oregon State University provided an entertaining running commentary.

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The 'Within Our Reach' conference held in Corvallis, Oregon and focused on the Willamette River, did several things extremely well. One thing was the 'book ending' of the science and technical aspects with more socially relevant aspects; the film night at the beginning and the poetic reflections of Kathleen Dean Moore at the end. Kathleen provided one of the most compelling verbal nature essays I have ever heard.

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Organized by 350.org, the global climate action day Connect the Dots event at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Sat May 5 was a great success. In advance of the event on May 4, we had a little local press coverage - Maryland Daily Record and Baltimore Sun - via a telephone conference call arranged by Mike Tidwell of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. This was my statement:

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350.org, as part of their movement to solve the climate crisis, has declared May 5 to be Climate Impacts Day. They have a network of people in 188 countries who are concerned about the effects of climate change and the lack of action, globally and locally. May 5 is the day they are rallying this network to create a global day of action by holding "Connect the Dots" events all over the world.

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A group called "Clean water, Healthy families" released the results of a poll of Maryland voters regarding Chesapeake Bay restoration. This poll provided some interesting findings. It was particularly gratifying to see that the public perception of the health of the Bay (average C-) matches EXACTLY with the EcoCheck report card (2010 score = C-). The grade voters give their local streams, creeks, and rivers is only a slightly higher C-Minus.

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During a recent cross-country trip, I noticed innovative measures that local governments are taking to become more sustainable. The most striking part of this is that local governments cannot do this without support (hence the title – public efforts need support from private businesses).

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Dr. Bill Dennison … Thursday 7th July 2011 … 5.30 - 7.00pm *followed by light refreshments … The Long Room Customs House 399 Queen Street, Brisbane … RSVP here … The Long Room, Customs House … The 2011 Queensland floods have provided a 'learning moment' for Queenslanders. As councils, businesses and families rebuild from the devastating floods, it is important to reflect on how to live in a climate characterized by prolonged droughts punctuated by extreme events.

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As part of Anzac (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day celebrations to commemorate war veterans, the North Stradbroke Island Historical Museum hosted Anzac biscuits and tea on their wide veranda. After the festivities had died down, I ran into Geoff Moore who has been volunteering at the museum. Geoff was the CEO of Consolidated Rutile Limited, the sand mining company on the island when I was working at the University of Queensland.

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As part of the Integrated Water Management Master's program offered by the International WaterCentre (IWC), a four person panel was convened which included Poh-Ling Tan, a lawyer from Griffith University, Helen Thompson, an anthropologist in the private sector, Dr. Stephen Mahler, an engineer from the University of Queensland, and I was the natural sciences representative. Bruce Missingham from the IWC was the moderator.

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Last month, President Obama coined the phrase Sputnik moment in regard to the race for new innovations in science and technology. Last night, he raised this issue again in his State of the Union address. The President asserted that in order to support innovation, advance alternate energies, compete in the new global economy, and create jobs, the country needs investments in research and education equivalent to those undertaken during the height of the Space Race.

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