NEXT MEETING (The Read
House)_____________________________________________
Monday,
January 17: No Meeting - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Day
OUR PREVIOUS
MEETING________________________________________________
Topic:
"Changes in Signal Mountain Storm Water Run Off" - Sam
Powell & Bill Wagner, Signal Mountain
A video was shown that
defined watershed and showed what happens to the water as it washes away trash,
chemicals, and wastes from humans and animals. When the water finally
enters the Gulf of Mexico, it has little oxygen and has picked up a lot of
nitrogen (from fertilizers). Fish, shrimp and algae are dying as a
result. So, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is encouraging
municipalities to take steps to educate and involve the public in keeping the
water in the smaller streams cleaner. Some things that we can do at our
homes are to pick up our pet's feces, be sure our connections to the sewer or
septic tank are in good working order, avoid putting too many chemicals on
our lawns especially just before rain, avoid putting chemicals in the storm
sewers including suds from washing our cars in our driveways.
Some new landscaping and architectural ideas were
presented. They showed a parking lot that is sloped to drain to a planted
area. The planted area not only adds to the beauty of the parking
lot, it helps to filter rain that washes chemicals that have dripped out of
parked vehicles and onto the pavement.
Municipalities like the town of Signal
Mountain will be audited every year by the EPA for their
progress. Sam Powell has been helping to name some of the streams that
never have been named so that individuals or groups can adopt a stream and help
to keep it clean. They have had at least two big stream clean up
days on Signal Mountain, so far, and have given away T-shirts to those who
helped.
FUTURE MONDAY
MEETINGS_____________________________________________
January
24: "Igniting Interest In Science in the Elementary Years"
Erika Thornburg, Girls,
Inc.
January 31: Plant Tour of Southern
Champion Tray (Paperboard Packaging Specialists since 1927). Meet at 9:30
am at the plant on 220 Compress Street (37405). They shut down the plant
from 11 to 12 for lunch and they want us to see the plant in operation. So, our tour will be between 9:30 and 11:00
am.
February 7: "Steel - The Cold,
Hard Facts About a Red-Hot Commodity" Nelson Burger, Siskin
Steel
February 14: "Cooking Like The Jetsons
With The Intelligent Ovens Now Being Built In Chattanooga" David Mansbery,
TMIO
February 21: No Meeting - Presidents
Day
Wednesday, February 23: Engineers Week
Keynote Speaker: David Magee, author of Ford Tough
This meeting will be
at the Chattanooga Convention & Trade Center and is a joint meeting with the
Chattanooga Technology Council.
February 28: "How to Design a Display that will Grab
and Hold a Child's Attention" Montessori School
March 7: "Local Elementary School Experiment In
Weightless Environment, Partnering with NASA" Debbie Rosenow, Battle
Elementary School
March 14: "Eastern Interconnect Phasor Project --
Responding to NERC's Blackout Recommendations" Mike Ingram, TVA
WHERE WE MEET
_______________________________________________________
We meet at The Read House, and lunch is $11. Parking
is free at the Days Inn across MLK Blvd. but you’ll need a note in your
windshield that you’re attending the Chattanooga Engineers Club meeting.
Valet parking (by AAA, the manager of the Read House Hotel parking garage) is $3
for lunch events. The Read House Hotel garage entrance is now on Broad
Street.
QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS?
______________________________________________