When the first really cold front moves into this part of the country, in Texas we call them "Blue Northers", where will you be and what will you be doing for the good of your Society? Maybe we need to institute a Division in ISA called the Weather Division. That, of course, should not be mistaken for a group of "whether" men, the talking heads on television who constantly hedge their predictions of tomorrow's weather with the words, "maybe", "if", "could" and "possibly". Why isn't there a way to really predict what is going to happen? Really, weather forecasting is really not a new science, since records of weather patterns have been well kept for more than a hundred years. And, you would think that with today's powerful computers and predictive software, weather prognosticators would be able to pinpoint just what the weather should be. Or maybe it has to be, might be, maybe, possibly - translated - your guess is as good as mine.

There should be a reason for all of that drivel about the weather shouldn't there? And, there is. One of the newest Divisions of the Society, the Environmental Division, an offspring of the Analysis Division, is in need of a little help and I know that there are folks out there who need an additional task to fulfill their membership goals. You know who you are, the members only who have been languishing in their respective Sections just waiting for an opportunity to contribute. "Now", you are asking yourself, "what would I like to do to support that Division?" Certainly you could have an interest in the environment, but you don't have to be a weather person. You could work in the Water and Wastewater Industry or the Chemical Industry or the Power Industry and be more concerned with the environment than other parts of your industry. And with that interest you could be a big part of helping the Division over the "hump" so to speak.

Maybe the following that I gleaned from a newspaper cartoon is a good statement.

Life is a lot like golf. Even when it's going badly, you don't want it to end.

Now, that's the way I feel about the Environmental Division. It took a lot of work by a lot of people in the Society and in the Analysis Division especially to start this most important Division of the Automation and Technology Department and I would hate to see it fail. So, if you are at all interested in a new role in what could be a dynamic part of the Society, think about what you could do to help. You could write a technical paper for Expo/2001. You could be a part of a panel of experts to speak about environmental issues. Or finally, you could join the Executive Board of the Environmental Division by contacting David Lewko at his E-mail address, LewkoD@Bantrel.com or you could call him at (403) 716-8411. Or for more information about any of the more than twenty Divisions of the ISA, you could contact me at dutch.keen@worldnet.att.net.

Till next month

L.M."Dutch" Keen, P.E.

Section/Division Liaison