November 2018 Serving Retired Faculty and Staffwww.wwu.edu/wwura

Health Notes - by Evelyn Ames p. 2 Interest Groups p. 3 Calendar p. 3 Book Review p. 4 Worthy Non-Profit p. 4 Poetry Corner p. 5 Info from Dr. Hamme p. 5 Save the Date p. 5

6:30 pm Socializing—7:00 p.m. PresentationSqualicum Yacht Club

2633 South Harbor Loop Rd

“Travels to North Korea”

toured North Korea in 2014, 2015, and 2017. Besides visiting Pyongyang, she traveled to the Yellow Sea on the west coast, to the East Sea, from Mt. Paektu in the north bordering China, and to the DMZ bordering South Korea.

She will share her experiences, including climbing to the 9000 ft rim of Mt Paektu to participating in the Pyongyang Marathon along with 1000 international runners, including her daughter-in-law, Kelly. Kathy's presentation will include 200 pictures of over 2000 pictures taken during her three trips.

Members whose begins with please bring a dessert to share. WWURA will pro-vide coffee and tea; some members like to bring wine.

A small donation of $3 per person is requested to cover room rental & beverages.

Saturday, October 27th— I was on the “horns of a dilemma”. It was my first opportunity to attend a WWURA informal dining event but in the PAC Concert Hall that night was the 2nd Annual Bas-soon Apocalypse…featuring ghoulish, frightening music performed by the WWU Bassoon Ensemble dressed in costume. “Ghoulish and frightening music (which would seem to be a good task for a bassoon with its frequency range between a bass and cello) - and did you note they were going to be playing in costume (I can only imagine since I haven’t seem any pictures). Although I love tak-ing advantage of the ever-entertaining and educa-tional events on campus, I took the opportunity for good food, entertaining conversation and commu-nity provided via the WWURA informal dining program. It was a great evening and I encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity by signing up for informal dining.

The October Luncheon, featuring , University of Victoria, speaking about

her research regarding Ocean Gases and Climate Change was very enlightening. For me, the publi-cation in the journal this week of new star-tling research on ocean temperature was more un-derstandable. Good food, conversation with friends and colleagues, and a positive and timely presentation. Excellent.

I want to wish you well as we are heading into the holiday season. Please make your calendars for the . And enjoy the sunny November weather before the rain starts again. -

Inside :

WWURA TravelogueWednesday, November 28, 2018

Presenter: Kathy Whitmer

Kathy Whitmer

last name M thru Z

President’s Letter

Dr. Roberta Hamme

Annual Holiday Party on December 19th

Kevin Majkut

Nature

2018 November Health Notes by Evelyn Ames The Health Benefits of Trees

"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues,” Dr. Seuss

The closer we live near trees the healthier and happier we are and the longer our lifespans! Not only do trees filter pollutants from the air but they provide psychological benefits. Trees have been shown to im-prove urban air quality by pulling ozone, particulates, and other pollutants into their leaves and out of the air and thereby partly protecting people from them. It is estimated that $6.8 billion every year in health costs are prevented or averted in the United States because of the nature and benevolence of trees.

Why are trees beneficial? Suggestions for why better health include improvement in air quality, relief of stress, promotion of physical activity and community relationships, and enhancement of emotional health. A 2010 paper in reported trees helped people feel more alive; the

reported that subjects in a study had decreased levels of cortisol (stress hormone).

According to The Tree People, there are twenty-two benefits of trees. Trees

combat climate change (absorb CO2); clean the air (absorb odors and pollutant gasses;

provide oxygen; cool streets and cities; conserve energy (can cut summer air conditioning up to 50%);

save water by slowing water evaporation; help prevent water pollution;

help prevent soil erosion; shield children from ultra-violet rays; provide food (e.g., apples, pears);

heal (patients with views of trees heal faster and with less complications);

reduce violence; mark the seasons of winter, spring, summer, and fall);

create economic opportunities; are teachers and playmates;

bring diverse groups of people together; add unity (landmarks give neighborhoods identity);

provide a canopy and habitat for wildlife; block things (e.g., mask concrete walls or parking lots);

• provide wood; increase property values; and more trees and landscaping in a business district bring an increase business traffic.

Sources: https://www.treepeople.org/tree-benefits https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/07/09/scientists-have-discovered-that-living-near-trees-is-good-for-your-health/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a7a752be52b8 https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/07/trees-good/375129/

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Journal of Environmental Psychology Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning

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WWURA Calendar

November 2018

December 2018

January 2019

Evelyn Ames

February 2019

NOVEMBER 2018 INTEREST GROUPS

BOOK GROUP

BRIDGE GROUP

INFORMAL DINING --

OPERA GROUP

WRITER'S GROUP -

HAPPY HOUR—

6—Board Meeting, 10:30 a.m. 28—Travelogue –6:30 p.m. Squalicum Yacht Club

4—Board Meeting, 10:30 a.m. 8—Jingle Bell Walk/Run 19—Holiday Party – 6:00 p.m. Squalicum Yacht

Club

8—Board Meeting 16—Travelogue—Squalicum Yacht Club and WWURA Group on the

Adriatic

5—Board Meeting15 –WWURA Luncheon

“Plastics & Environmental Sustainability”

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If you are interested in one of the groups please call or email the contact person.

--Donna Moore, 360-733-5769 dfmoore12@gmail.comWe will meet on Tuesday at 1:30 pm Nov. 20th at the home of Donna Moore1200 Birch Falls Dr., 360-733-5769 dfmoore12@gmail.comNovember’s book is by Liza Mundy; discussion leader-Gloria, snacks-Lina.December 18th—discuss books to read next year (we will choose 10). Time and place to be announced.

—Caryl Hinckley, 360-739-1036, carylchinckley@hotmail.comThe bridge group will be announced later. We are looking for a few more bridge players.If you would like to join our friendly, fun bridge group, please call Caryl and let her know.

Janet Berg, 360-733-4654, janetlila@hotmail.comInformal dining started in October. Information for the start of the new year will be coming soon.

--Evelyn Ames, 360-734-3184, evelyn.ames@wwu.eduContact Evelyn if you want more information .CBC Radio 2 broadcasts opera every Saturday starting at 1pm. MET radio broadcastsstart first Saturday of December. Web site for The MET HD: https://www.metopera.org/Season/In-Cinemas/. Dec. 15th— new productionJan 12th—Skagit Opera: http://skagitopera.org/performances/ (now Pacific Northwest Opera)Web site for Vancouver Opera: https://www.vancouveropera.ca/Seattle Opera: https://www.seattleopera.org/

Troy Faith Ward, 425-299-8710, troyfaithward@gmail.com.Meets twice a month. The groups are kept small so there is time for reading and critiquingeach other's work.

Claire Bowden, 360-540-2122 clairebowden14@gmail.comThis is a new group and will meet on Tuesday, November 20th at 4:00 pm, place to beannounced. If you are interested, please call or email Claire and let her know soshe can let you know the location.

Code Girls

La Traviata, Adriana Lecouvreur

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The title, perhaps boring, names a vital and endangered reality in our society now. By “the common good,” Reich means our shared positive values like the truth, common decency, the rule of law, care for our mutual welfare. Now a septuagenarian, retired Secretary of Labor, and a distinguished professor of social science at UC Berkeley, Reich cares passionately about our society and our country. He sees Presi-dent Trump not as a cause of our current situation but a symptom of it.

Reich sees our abandoning of those common goods in the scramble to do “whatever it takes” in business or in our political life to attain profit or power. He sees Martin Skreli as an exemplar of this in business. Skreli is the fellow who bought the company that makes Daraprim, a UN-identified “essential medicine,” and raised its price 5,000% from $13.50 a pill to $750—thus pricing some people into pain, suffering, and death. And defiant about it, while exemplifying the behavior of other corporate CEOs.

Reich sees three developments leading from the 50s, when corporate CEOs had and spoke about a respon-sibility to society in general to the apparent current corporate attitude that anything goes, any tactic. Wa-tergate and whatever-it-takes politics began the erosion of our valuing the common good. Next came guys like Michael Malkin (junk bond king) and Jack Welch (CEO of GE) who both employed and spread the practice of doing whatever it takes to make huge short term profits. Reich’s third factor is the Powell Memorandum (it’s available on line; just Google it) in which Lewis Powell advised the Chamber of Com-merce to spend big and long on funding think tanks, political action committees, and other activities to fos-ter a more business friendly society. (Nixon later appointed Powell to the Supreme Court.)

Reich’s prescription is for us to insist on truth in public life instead of allowing evasions and lies—to honor truth and shame lies, to make education a bit less sharply focused on jobs and money and more on our civic society. An apology ; this is a fine book for whose details and nuances there is no room in this brief note. The book impressed me greatly.

WHS seeks to provide humane services to all animals of Whatcom County. We all know about the animal control, rescue, and pet adoption services. WHS does much more: pet licensing, veterinary services (Including spaying and neutering), a microchip program for lo-cating lost or strayed pets, surrender of pets, and a wide-ranging education program, including classroom presentations, workshops, and more. Financially one could easily call WHS a bare-bones operation; the executive director’s salary is remarkably modest. All of the WHS reviews on Yelp are positive. To find it or donate, Google Whatcom Human Society.

Book Review

by Robert Reich: a Review

- Bob McDonnell

The Whatom Humane Society: a worthy non-profit

The Common Good

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We followed the children down the hillAnd over the stile by the Irish Sea

Where Hansel and Gretel devoured the crumbs And Little Jack Horner tuck in his thumb To pull out potatoes, putrid and black Six toy soldiers in tall white crowns Banged their drums on a whitewashed shack And the walls came tumbling down, down

Fe, Fi, Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an EnglishmanThe walls came tumbling down.

We followed the children across the seaWhite bread made mold in a pitching hold

And we rowed and rowed, six Celts in a boat, To tell the others, our sisters and brothers,

That Little Miss Muffett sat on a tuffet Eating potatoes, red and gold,

While Hansel and Gretel, now grown old, Washed black potatoes from their hands. “These aren’t fit for new found lands!”

Now Little Tom Tucker sings for his supper.What does he eat?

White bread and butter!

Copyright—

“Thank you for the opportunity to speak on Friday ( ). I really enjoyed it. I prom-ised to send some links for people to be able to get more information.

Information on climate change:I recommended the “Summary for Policymakers” from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.This is a consensus view of climate change written for the intelligent layperson.http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/AR5_SYR_FINAL_SPM.pdf

Information on Argo floats:A good source for information on Argo floats is the US Argo website. I particularly recommend the links under “About Argo” on the left http://www.argo.ucsd.edu

I also mentioned the Argo Atlas that allows people to make graphs of Argo data. It’s available at this link: http://www.argo.ucsd.edu/Marine_Atlas.htmlHowever, it looks a lot more challenging to install and use than I realized. I had hoped there was a more user-friendly version of this, like a web page where you could make graphs with just a few clicks, so I’m not sure that you would want to try this one.”

Poetry Corner

An Irish Family Fable

Iris Sanderson Jones

Note from Dr. Roberta Hamme

at WWURA’s luncheon

Western Washington UniversityRetirement Assoc. ( WWURA)516 High StreetBellingham, WA 98225-9020

For WWURA’s Holiday Party at Squalicum Yacht Club

Watch for details in the December Newsletter