You may have already heard the very sad news that Cameron Fleming died in December. The cause of death was heart arrhythmia due to late-stage alcoholism. While at Dartmouth Cam was a beloved member of the Tabard. He will be missed. If you would like to contribute to the educational trust for his three children, details are included in the obituary posted on www.dartmouth88.org.


Moving to brighter news, Martin Moulton is working hard to advance the cause of statehood for the District of Columbia. Martin, one of the “DC 41” who was arrested last year while protesting for D.C. statehood, traveled to the New Hampshire primary in January as a delegate for Ron Paul. He explained, “I’ve supported President Obama in the past his for leadership on many issues, but on this issue he seems half-hearted. I feel that Ron Paul is the only GOP presidential candidate who might be able to bring D.C. equality the national attention it deserves this year.” 


When I noticed that Martin’s title was board vice president of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, I was reminded of my request written last Earth Day for classmates to submit ways they are trying to reduce their environmental impact. Thanks to Mary Flounders Green for kicking this off: “My easy change is to collect all of the plastic containers I use and acquire in my work week and bring them home to recycle. I keep meaning to spearhead an effort to get plastic recycling bins in the office, but haven’t quite gotten around to that yet. Also waiting for the 2000 Saab to die so I can replace it with a hybrid. Mostly because I find filling up the tank boring (oh, yes, and offensive at $70 per tank!).”


I scanned the class list for environmental job titles and hit the jackpot by writing Julie (Blunden) Dryden for more ideas. She explained, “My career has been devoted to reducing environmental impacts from the power industry. I’ve spent the last seven years at SunPower. We manufacture, design and deliver the world’s highest efficiency solar power systems, from residential roofs to central station power plants. I have responsibility for our global public policy, market and competitive intelligence, investor relations and corporate communications. Personally, my husband and I both drive Priuses. We have a compost program in our city that started a couple of years ago, that’s the biggest waste-reduction impact recently. And, of course, we have solar on our roof, programmable thermostats and almost every light bulb in our house is a compact fluorescent light bulb. Maybe the best small action we took recently was buying a really big stack of colorful, fun indestructible plates and cups that have replaced paper plates and disposable plastic cups for small to medium gatherings with family and friends. I use them more frequently than I imagined and they don’t break when dropped by the kids.”


Want another way to truly “go green”? Visit www.dartmouth88.org and pay your class dues online before June 30. You will save a paper mailing and sleep well knowing that someone else didn’t pay for you to receive this magazine (which is the main expense in our class budget). Plus you can learn about adding solar power to Moosilauke cabins—one of our new class projects.


Happy Earth Day to all.


Cheers.


—Jane (Grussing) Lonnquist, 4510 Drexel Ave., Edina, MN 55424; jjlonnquist@earthlink.net