September Monthly Gathering — Climate Change and the Transition to Clean Energy

Talk 7:00pm (EST), Saturday, September 16, 2023

A combination of advancing technologies and climate change concerns is driving a rapid transition in how we produce and use energy. The shift to solar and wind energy generation is well underway in the electric power industry, though unevenly across the country. Electric vehicles are now mass produced and capturing growing market share. There are government calls to switch to electric heating, and end natural gas pipeline connections. 

What can we expect during this transition?

Leading us in this discussion will be John Richter, Senior Policy Analyst and board member, of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association. Mr. Richter will cover such topics as: What is climate change? Why is the CO2 level rising? Prior transitions from wood, coal, oil, gas, and nuclear, and more.

John Richter is a co-founder of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Education (ISEE). He’s an expert witness in Michigan Public Service Commission cases and he has presented to the U.S. Congressional Staff on wind energy policy impacts. He has also presented renewable energy policy recommendations to Michigan Legislators and staff. He has a Master’s degree in Renewable Energy from Murdoch University, and taught solar energy at Macomb Community college. He has been a regular speaker at renewable energy conferences for more than two decades. 

Please note that this program will be presented live and on Zoom. You can attend the live presentation, for a chance to also mingle with your fellow Mensans and guests, at our usual location:

Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church in Southfield
23925 Northwestern Highway
Southfield, MI 48075

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. (EDT). The program begins at 7:00 p.m. (EDT). Please note that starting with this month’s gathering, admission prices for the live presentation will increase to $5 for Mensa Members, $6 for non-Mensans. Checks will no longer be accepted at SEMM events.

Following the presentation, please join us for dinner at Buddy’s Pizza, located at 31646 Northwestern Highway, in Farmington Hills, just northeast of Middlebelt Road.

Donations welcome. If you’d prefer to participate on Zoom, you’ll need to pre-register by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/SEMM-0923-Gathering , The event’s Zoom URL and instructions for connecting will only be sent to those who are pre-registered. There is no charge for the Zoom presentation, but, due to rising costs, your donation via PayPal is greatly appreciated. The amount is up to you. To donate go to http://www.paypal.com and click on the “Send Money” tab. Enter the e-mail address treasurer@nullmensadetroit.com and your payment amount. The Zoom room opens at 6:30 p.m. (EDT). for mingling.

August Monthly Gathering – WHAT is Happening in Russia???

(Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images, Contributor/Getty Images, Alexey Furman/Getty Images, Laurent Van der Stockt for Le Monde/Getty Images)

Russia’s war in Ukraine was supposed to be a quick and overwhelming invasion that would topple the western-looking Ukrainian state and bring it into line. Now, nearly eighteen months later, and with forty countries financially backing Ukraine, and Putin facing mutiny and the growing likelihood of needing to call up more reserves, it is difficult to see when or how the war will end.  

This talk will examine how the Russian state has portrayed and uses history to justify the war.  It will also discuss Putin’s perceived hold on power and Russia’s foreign policy objectives, both with its neighbors and with the west, and internal unrest, especially within the military. Finally, it will dive into the current state of the war and outline some possible outcomes for the war and the Russian state.  

Leading us in this discussion will be Dr. Aaron Retish, Wayne State Professor of Russian history. Dr Retish is a specialist in late Imperial and Soviet history with a focus on the social, cultural, and political history of the countryside. He is the author of Russia’s Peasants in Revolution and Civil War: Citizenship, Identity, and the Creation of the Soviet State, 1914-1922, as well as articles on violence in the Revolutionary era, local courts and penal reform and has broader research interests in law and punishment, gender and ethnicity in the Soviet era. He co-edits Revolutionary Russia, the leading journal in its field. He also serves on the Board of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives and is associate editor of its journal The Volunteer. Retish teaches courses in Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet history and politics, as well as world and modern European history. He received his BA from The University of Wisconsin-Madison and his MA and PhD from Ohio State.

Please note that this program will be presented live and on Zoom. You can attend the live presentation, for a chance to also mingle with your fellow Mensans and guests, at our usual location:

Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church in Southfield
23925 Northwestern Highway
Southfield, MI 48075

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. (EDT). The program begins at 7:00 p.m. (EDT). Admission: $4 for Mensa Members, $6 for non-Mensans. 

Following the presentation, please join us for dinner at Buddy’s Pizza, located at 31646 Northwestern Highway, in Farmington Hills, just northeast of Middlebelt Road.

If you’d prefer to participate on Zoom, you’ll need to pre-register by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/SEMM-0823-Gathering , The event’s Zoom URL and instructions for connecting will only be sent to those who are pre-registered. The Zoom room opens at 6:30 p.m. (EDT). for mingling. There is no charge for the Zoom presentation.

Please note that starting with the September monthly gathering, admission prices for the live presentation will increase to $5 for Mensa Members, $6 for non-Mensans. Checks will no longer be accepted at SEMM events.

June Monthly Gathering – Theocracy & the High Court: A Threat to Separation of Church & State

Recent New York Times articles have stated that since John Roberts became Chief Justice in 2005, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of religious organizations in orally argued cases 83% of the time. That is far more than any court in the past seven decades. And that a recent series of decisions have allowed for a larger role of religion in public life, such as school prayer and funding for religious education. The ACLU claims that the Supreme Court has recently adopted an approach that would see the lines between church and state hopelessly blurred, if not eliminated altogether. Further, that the court has increasingly treated the Establishment Clause, the First Amendment’s guarantee of protection against governmental endorsement and imposition of religion, as a historical footnote, threatening the religious neutrality of the state. All this even though declaring the United States a Christian nation and ending federal enforcement of the separation of church and state are minority views among American adults, according to the Pew Research Center.

Our speaker this month, Professor Mike Whitty, will attempt to help us deconstruct all this, and offer some possible positive ways to reduce the rising tide of divisiveness. 

Professor Mike Whitty has taught at University Detroit-Mercy, Wayne State and Oakland Universities, University of Michigan- Dearborn, and several universities in California, Minnesota & Canada. He has presented before American Humanist Association Chapters, on topics dealing with the exploitation of easily targeted scapegoat groups. Dr. Whitty has researched and published extensively on American political extremism and the world’s human rights struggles.

Please note that this program will be presented live and on Zoom. You can attend the live presentation, for a chance to also mingle with your fellow Mensans and guests, at our usual location:

Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church in Southfield
23925 Northwestern Highway
Southfield, MI 48075

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. (EDT). The program begins at 7:00 p.m. (EDT). Admission: $4 for Mensa Members, $5 for non-Mensans. 

Following the presentation, please join us for dinner at Buddy’s Pizza, located at 31646 Northwestern Highway, in Farmington Hills, just northeast of Middlebelt Road.

If you’d prefer to participate on Zoom, you’ll need to pre-register by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/SEMM-0623-Gathering , The event’s Zoom URL and instructions for connecting will only be sent to those who are pre-registered. The Zoom room opens at 6:30 p.m. (EDT). for mingling. There is no charge for the Zoom presentation.