Oil Wells that End Well
MEETING FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 13, 2023
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: Oil Wells that End Well
Speaker: Kemp Gregory
Is this your first time to visit us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time. Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you. Please also make sure to complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
To properly attend this meeting, please:
Read and watch the content below in its entirety.
Complete the attendance survey.
Everyone is also encouraged to leave a comment in the Disqus section at the bottom of the page.
Message from our President
Dear fellow members,
As we welcome the month of March, we also acknowledge the monthly theme of "Water and Sanitation." Access to clean water and proper sanitation is a basic human right and a crucial factor in promoting good health and preventing the spread of diseases. As Rotarians, we understand the importance of this issue and continue to strive towards ensuring that everyone has access to these basic necessities.
However, we cannot ignore the fact that another crisis is affecting our communities - the mental health crisis. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have lost loved ones, had their social networks disrupted, and faced other struggles that have taken a toll on their mental well-being. Unfortunately, the stigma surrounding mental health issues often prevents people from seeking the help they need.
As we move forward with our year's focus on healthcare, let us not forget the importance of promoting awareness in this important area. I was particularly pleased to see that Rotary International President-elect R. Gordon R. McInally will focus on mental health during his term. In alignment with his goals, we can already start addressing mental health by providing resources and information on mental health, hosting programs on mental health, and creating a supportive and inclusive community where members feel comfortable discussing their mental health and seeking support if needed. We as Rotarians can play a crucial role in offering hope to those who are struggling with mental health challenges. We can help break down the barriers that prevent people from seeking help by raising awareness and providing support.
Let us work together to positively impact the lives of those affected by mental health challenges and healthcare issues in general, both within our E-club and beyond.
Yours in Service,
Angelica Marotta, PhD
President 2022-2023 Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley
Rotary International District 5170
WEEKLY FUNNY WITH SHAGS
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
Can You Talk?
At the doctor's waiting room a man was sitting opposite a mother and her little daughter.
He asks the little girl, "Hi there, and how old are you?"
The little girl showed him 4 fingers to indicate she is 4 years old.
The man says, "That is nice, but can't you talk?"
The little girl replies, "Yes I can, but can't you count?"
INSPIRATION
Every week we share a short video highlighting innovation, education, entrepreneurship, or whatever we think might inspire you to see the world in new ways.
In the realm of cluster ballooning, Jonathan Trappe is a big deal. In this short piece, you'll about both.
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
How Do They Make Potato Chips?
This may be a topic re-visit, but (hopefully) with a different video. If you like potato chips, this is for you!
SERVICE REPORT
Tell us about service you’ve done recently in your community.
Click here to fill out The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley Service Survey
PROJECT OPPORTUNITY
Charter member Keith Marsh is organizing a Rotary project to Project Amigo in October for the “Day of the Dead” (Dia de los Muertos). The week-long trip to Cofradia, Mexico will include Rotary Service in the areas of International Service, Youth Service and Fellowship. It will also include cultural and travel photography of the festivities surrounding Day of the Dead. Space is limited. Click below to download the .pdf for more details and visit the Project Amigo website at: https://www.projectamigo.org/ Contact Keith or leave a comment below if you are interested in attending.
HAPPY DOLLARS: Do Good by Sharing Something Good
Each week we ask our members to share stories with the club and toss in a few dollars to support our efforts. The primary goal of this section is to provide a fun way of getting to know each fellow members and guests, while giving back to a good cause.
Happy dollars is an opportunity to share something positive that has happened in your life whether it is personal or business. Think of it as your opportunity to brag a little, but also put a little bit into a karma jar. The money donated through happy dollars is put to charitable use, and the message that you leave for happy dollars will be posted in our online meeting the following week for the entire week for folks to see! (Pending that it’s appropriate!)
Here are the happy dollars contributions from last week!
This section is usually updated in the early hours of Saturday, so contributions made over the weekend may not be listed here.
Rory Olsen made a $20 donation.
I had an interesting week. The weather was unseasonably warm. Great week.
Kelly Ku made a donation.
PROGRAM: Oil Wells that End Well
SPEAKER: Kemp Gregory
Every week we bring to you a new program on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education, and how those contribute to service to others.
The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley seeks to explore perspectives on service from across the world. The views of the speakers in our programs are their own, and unless stated otherwise, are not necessarily reflective of the views of our eClub nor Rotary International.
If you have an idea for a cool speaker, please feel free to reach out to them directly or submit THIS FORM so our Program Committee can contact them!
This week's speaker, Kemp Gregory, is the CEO and a co-founder at Renewell Energy. His personal career is a forerunner of the larger energy transition required to decarbonize the electrical grid. Prior to Renewell Energy, Kemp worked for Shell for five years, where he installed cutting-edge downhole technology, managed capital-intensive projects, and coordinated large operations teams across North and South America.
Renewell’s patented technology stems from a simple idea: use pre-existing wells and the power of gravity to store and generate electricity. In times of need, potential energy in our system can be captured by lowering a weight down the well, producing energy by turning a regenerative winch. The weight can remain near the bottom of the well until it makes economic sense to buy energy to lift the weight back to its starting point, thereby ‘charging’ the system. The Gravity Well system is unique among all other energy storage technologies in that, on average, each system will have a net-negative carbon footprint because idle wells are often leaking methane.
Members and guests, please welcome Kemp Gregory!
To learn more, watch Turning Leaky Oil Wells into Renewable Energy Storage | Renewell:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5rfDKvSH48
UPCOMING PROGRAM RECORDING SCHEDULE
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always http://zoom.siliconvalleyrotary.com/. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone listed for all recordings is US Pacific Time (San Francisco, California, USA).
If you can’t join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
THE ATTENDANCE SURVEY
Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done.
We have a very short attendance survey below for you to fill out to record your attendance.
Visiting Rotarians, this is how you can get an email receipt to pass along to your club’s secretary as proof that you’ve attended our meeting if you need it for makeups.
Non-Rotarian Guests, we would love to see who is dropping by our meetings! This part is optional for you. If you think you may want to join our eClub at some point in the future, we would strongly recommend you fill out the attendance form as it will improve your chances of success for your membership application.
For all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment in our comments area below. Tell us how you enjoyed the program. Ask this week’s speaker any questions you might have. Or just stop by and say hello and tell us where you’re from!
Important: Once you submit the Attendance Survey below, please make sure you see the confirmation message. If you get an error message instead, please try the 'submit' button again, and if that doesn't work, please refresh the page and fill out the form again. Thanks!
