A Call for More Bow Ties.

Day 5 of SISE was brimming with excellent speakers. I accidentally overslept the first, but upon hearing it was a lecture on LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), I felt perhaps the sleep was more valuable for me. And it certainly improved my focus!

We heard from some pretty interesting people:

*William Roy, geochemist, spoke about carbon sequestration methods (and the studies he's conducting in Illinois)

*Thomas Theis spoke about the history of environmental policy in the US. Did you know Pres. Nixon was the one to sign into existence the EPA? (through the National Environmental Protection Act of 1969)

*Don Coursey talked about the importance of water (especially lessons from the southwest). My takeaway here was the great analogy for "1 part per quadrillion" when talking pollutants: Take a football field with the endzones, built 44 foot walls around it and fill it to the top with vodka. Then add a dropper of vermouth for the driest martini on earth.

*And finally, before the speaker panel discussion, Allen LaPointe (shown here) from the Shedd Aquarium spoke about water issues and the types of challenges Shedd's encountered through trying to make positive change. (City code can be such a bane sometimes..)

And that. Was our lectures for the day. We hit up dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant, worked on projects, and chatted the night away. So much energy! So little time!