CATE

Spring 2008

B U L L E T I N
 CATE
B U L L E T I N

www.cate.org

Editor
Don Orth
don_orth@cate.org

Design
Phillip Collier Designs

Copy Editor
Ross Robins and Gaby Edwards

Photography
Mary Fish Arango and Don Orth

Headmaster
Benjamin D. Williams IV

Director of Development
Meg Bradley

Leadership Gifts and

Planned Giving
Terry Eagle

Cate Fund Director

Grayson Bryant '95

Associate Alumni Director

Jana Miller

Centennial Events, Communica-

tions, and Special Gifts Director
Leslie Benedict Turnbull '85

Centennial Major Gifts Director

Rob Dunton '79

Centennial Special Projects

Eric Swain

Director of Admission
Charlotte Brownlee '85

The Cate Bulletin is published three

times a year by the Cate School
and is distributed free of charge to
alumni, parents, and friends of the
School. Send correspondence and
address changes to:

Editor
Cate Bulletin
1960 Cate Mesa Road
Carpinteria, CA 93013
don_orth@cate.org

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spirit of this place...all compounded of beauty and virtue, quiet
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2 CATE SCHOOL BULLETIN

CONTENTS
5 From the Headmaster Benjamin D. Williams IV

Sustaining Cate
6 Don Orth
A brief history of environmentalism at Cate.

The Climate Society

16 Dana Edwards ’09
A student group investigates energy use on the Mesa.
6

18 Points of View
Lane W. Sharman Jr. ’71 and Chris Yager ’85
24
Two alumni share their differing views on global warming.

20 The Greening of Cate Sandi Pierce

A survey of the green components at Cate now and in the future.

A Step in the Right Direction

24 Cheryl Powers
This new “interpretive trail” on the Mesa opens up a world of
learning opportunities.

Oil on My Brain
28 Bruce King ’72
How the Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969 awakened environmentalism in
one alumnus.

Silver Buckshot Daniel Emmett '87

32 Only a combination of alternative fuel can solve our energy crisis.

Green Alumni
28
37 Alumni write about the greenness in their lives, followed by a list of
some green alumni businesses (p.42).

Cover: Art by Gregg Hinlicky

Inside cover: Pencil sketch on the Kern by Patrick Collins
44 Class Notes
Back cover: “Garden with Poppies” 2006 - Oil painting by Patrick Collins

SPRING 2008 3
 FROM THE ARCHIVES
Santa Barbara School in the 1930s. The original school buildings
were constructed in 1928. Notice that the current main road to the
top of Cate Mesa is missing.

4 CATE SCHOOL BULLETIN

from the headmaster
We talk a great deal at Cate
about the power of place, and
rightly so; it is a central element
of our mission statement. There
is a spirit that pervades this Mesa, a feeling
of possibility, of collaboration, of purpose.
And it exists in part because of the unique
marriage of human endeavor and jaw-
dropping, soul-stirring natural majesty.
That is a precious mixture—one that few
other communities can claim, and one that
we owe to the foresight of the man who
gave this school its name and, with mother
nature, its distinctive spirit. Strangely,
though, my appreciation of the union
here of endeavor and environment can
occasionally give rise to musings on other
places I’ve been, and communities far less
fortunate than Cate’s. One in particular,
also by the sea, presents something of
a counterpoint to ours. It is a place that
became a victim, along with all of those
who inhabited it.
It is in Texas, where Ginger and I lived for
five years. We were based in Houston, and
occasionally to find some respite from
the heat and humidity we would drive to
the Gulf Coast to get a little beach time.
Galveston was our preferred destination. It
was close, not too crowded, and as long as
the wind was blowing onshore you couldn’t
smell all the refineries in nearby Texas City.
But Galveston always had a funny feel to it.
There is a section of town that is “historic”
but it doesn’t exude the timeless classicism
of many older cities and towns. It looks
more the way I envision Miss Havisham’s
home in Great Expectations—once
stately and stylish but gone-by, neglected,
decaying. There are new sections of town
that are quite spiffy, of course, and along
the many beaches all sorts of homes
perched high on wooden or concrete stilts.
No living spaces are on ground level, which
gives the various neighborhoods an odd
effect, as though all the houses are hiking
their knickers up to avoid getting wet or
dirty. In hindsight, that should have given
it away—that something had happened
in Galveston, something that made such
architecture necessary.
It wasn’t until the year after we left Texas,
while rummaging through a bookstore,
that I came across Isaac’s Storm, an
account of the 1900 hurricane that all but
obliterated what had to that point become
one of the most prosperous cities in the
country. Thought to be impervious to
storm surges because of Galveston Island’s
long stretches of shallow water, warm
temperatures, and generally calm seas, the
city suffered in part because those very
things actually intensified the impact of
the storm. The wind literally drove the
water over the sea wall and into the city
itself. No one foresaw such a possibility.
It was a time, after all, of extraordinary
human arrogance, especially in the face of
nature and her capabilities. Isaac Cline, the
city’s chief meteorologist and the book’s
namesake, was no more at fault than the
culture that surrounded and informed
him when the storm claimed nearly 10,000
of Galveston’s citizens and most of its
structures. Tragically, the sense of loss is
still there today.
Now it is probably within our nature
to forgive those who could not foresee
that deadly storm. How could they have
known, after all, especially given their
misguided belief in their own invincibility?
Nature had been conquered by then, or
so the average citizen believed. I wonder,
though, if a century from now we will be
so easily forgiven for what we could not
or did not anticipate. Are we—like Isaac
Cline—ignoring or misinterpreting the
signs of another coming storm, this one
destined to strike not an isolated human
population but the myriad ecosystems and
life forms that exist on this planet? Is the
costly arrogance of one turn of the century
destined to distinguish this one as well?
One could certainly argue, as many do, that
we continue to fail to act in support of the
planet on which we live, whose resources
we risk exhausting, whose air we pollute
so prolifically, and whose signs of abuse
we overlook or ignore so cavalierly. If there
is indeed a larger storm coming, will we
be willing and able to act before we, like
Galveston, are overrun?
Indirectly, that question underlies this
issue of the Bulletin. Our focus at Cate on
sustainability, conservation, stewardship
of our precious and limited resources is
not a response to the trends of the day, but
an attempt to speak with our actions on a
topic that means literally the world to us.
This community evolved originally out of a
belief that scholarship owes its power and
relevance to a marriage with the natural
world and in the community of stewards
of that very union. No principle could be
more relevant today or more central to our
future. And perhaps no community is more
equipped to embrace such stewardship or
contribute to its ideological diaspora than
Cate is. Certainly our founder would expect
no less.
Servons,
Benjamin D. Williams IV
SPRING 2008 5
 High noon in the back country. Curtis Wolsey Cate enjoys a bite to eat and the paper.
Photo courtesy of the Cate Archives.

SUSTAINING

6 CATE SCHOOL BULLETIN

CATE A brief history of environmentalism at Cate
by Don Orth

FORSAKING THE INDUSTRIALIZED EAST COAST, CURTIS WOLSEY

CATE TRAVELED ACROSS THE UNITED STATES TO TEACH IN THE
“WILD WEST” DURING THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 20TH CENTURY.

M r. Cate was a rugged

individualist, an avid horseman,
and a lover of the outdoors. He
brought his knowledge of and reverence
for nature with him across the Rocky
were designed to compliment their
surroundings, and they formed—along
with the Pacific Ocean to the South—a
traditional scholastic quadrangle. The
green space we know now as Senior Lawn
or more than their “formal” education.
To be on a horse, in the chaparral or at
the beach, with a change of clothes and
a pack of food, was paradise, as was the
experience and camaraderie gained on
Mountains to the undeveloped California was the heart of this quad and of the such voyages. Self sufficient, confident,
coast. When the time came for Mr. CateC to School, overseeing what is still one of the as at ease on a horse as on their own
establish his own school, he deliberately
era most stunning views in the West. feet, the students we now know as the
sought a quiet natural setting, amid
ami “Old Boys” came to experience, revere,
the western oak trees he soo admire
admired, Nature was then, as it is now, an and care for nature in a way few of their
offering a traditional eastern education
stern educ indelible part of Mr. Cate’s school and contemporaries could understand.
in a building with openn porches. W When its curriculum. During the School’s first
the young schoolmaster,
aster, looking for
f a three decades, horse trekking, hiking, Watching the development of Carpinteria
space his schooll could call its own, finally and camping were commonplace. School around him, Mr. Cate worried about “the
found what he called “our mesa” in i those journals from the period log as many ny as 40 trail building, riding, and camping”
early years,
s, he saw wide open spaces
spa of organized trips into the outdoorss ev
every that were so essential to his inclusion
sage green and dusky purple chaparral,
chapa al, year; many unrecorded treks into theth of outdoor excursions in his residential
soaring sandstone mountains, and a vast st mountains and down to thee beach werew curriculum.
cu In his book School Days inn
blue ocean
cean he once acknowledged as “thee the result of impromptutu decisions bby California,
Cali he wrote: “I felt that our mesa
greatest
est asset of the school.” schoolboys
schoolbo and their masters, who shareds would be better protected and our riding
their Head’s
Head love foror wide open spac
spaces. on unpaved
unp roads and neighboring
hboring trails
Whenn Mr. Cate built his own camp
campus secured…should
secured… we addd to our real estate
on th
this Mesa, his deep respect for
hiss Me
M Of course there were
wer boys who longed
longed for as soon aas possible.”
the enviro
environment
m was reflected iin the
i oonment
nm their
thei dorm-room m beds relativee
bed and the relativ
School’s
School
oool’s
ol s layo
ol layout.
out.. Long
layou
la
ayout L House, High House, comfort
co
com of four
ur solid walls, but most Thanks to
t this bit of wisdom and
Schoolhouse,
Schoolh
hoolhou
hool
oolhhouse, and
h use,, an
hou nd the Raymond CoCommons
mons students
tudents valued
stu
tu ued
ed these trips
t as much ass foresight, Cate hass remained buffered

SPRING 2008 7
Henry’s Camp in the Sierras. The Class of 1988 on Activities Week 1986.
Photo courtesy of the Cate Archives.

against the encroachments of outside

development, and today’s Mesa is as
gloriously, naturally situated as ever.
Likewise, its students continue to enjoy
and appreciate the outdoors, albeit in
slightly different ways.

Two world wars and a changing economy

and culture considerably altered life at
Cate. The horse trekking of the 20s and
30s gave way to more self-propelled jaunts
once horses disappeared from the Mesa,
and an intensified program of competitive
sports that was started in the early 40s
and 50s meant less time for long trips
into the hills. But the call of the wild
continued to sound at Cate, and alumni
from those days fondly remember the
trips they did take, hiking and canoeing,
surfing and camping. As always, those
boys were admonished by Mr. Cate and

The record of camping trips taken during the

academic year 1924–1925. Destinations are shown in
columns; students and teachers shown in rows.

8

his successors to respect the terrain they
crossed, to preserve it and steward it for
days to come. Woe to the hapless Old Boy
who left a campfire unbanked or a piece of
refuse littering the sands near the School’s
beloved beach shack. Cate School faculty
were, even then, sticklers for preservation
and care.
The 60s, 70s, and early 80s brought the
outdoors slowly back into focus as an
official part of the School’s program, as
teachers sought ways to use the outdoors
as part of their teaching. Notable among
these was Rob Bowler, history and
anthropology teacher, lacrosse coach,
and passionate outdoorsman. “Ba,” as
he was known, believed nothing made a
strong, capable man out of a boy (or, later,
a powerful, self-reliant woman out of a
girl) than a good spell in the wild. Rob
took students on weekend backpacking
and fishing trips into the Sespe wilderness
and later the Kern. Living off the grid was
second nature to Rob, and his ease in this
setting impressed his students with an
alternative perspective on outdoor living.
Robert Bowler (Cate faculty 1969–1986)
Charles Berolzheimer ’78 remembers: “As
sophomores, our class took a week-long
trip to the Yosemite Institute...During this
trip we learned about the forest ecosystem,
practiced orienteering and participated
in other activities...My most memorable
moment of any of those packing trips
was Rob showing up at camp with two
California Quail to cook up for dinner that
he claimed to have just killed by throwing
a single rock. Whether extremely green
activists out there would consider
that a good example of environmental
stewardship or not is hard to say, though
it was at least efficient in killing two birds
with one stone.”
At the same time “Ba” Bowler and his
colleagues were helping Cate students
learn about nature and the environment began to see the world as a planet in
we live in, another kind of environmental need of preservation. A visionary group
awareness was pervading the greater that included Cate faculty as well as
world—and Cate. The Santa Barbara their charges began a movement of
oil spill of 1969 and the subsequent environmental and ecological awareness.
organization of Earth Day in 1970 created The Outdoor Program, meanwhile, took
an awareness of how destructive human all this renewed interest in nature as an
beings could be to this fragile world. Rob impetus to grow and expand.
Dunton ’79 recalls: “My TV was showing
me how we were destroying our earth. In 1981, Terry Eagle, then Assistant to the
I saw litter everywhere, then, driven by Head, organized an Activities Week—a
a national litter campaign, roadsides, series of trips lead by faculty to various
beaches, and parks were cleaned up. places, many of them outdoors. In 1984,
DDT had recently been banned and the after his return from a sabbatical year
Endangered Species Act had just been of graduate study, Dean of Students Bob
enacted as I was entering Cate in 1974. Bonning formalized these trips into the
During my four years at Cate, Love Canal fall Outings Week that continues as part
and Three Mile Island hit. Earth Day had of Cate’s calendar today. As they do now,
become like an annual mini-Woodstock the juniors hiked into the Kern River
where hippie activism was calling out the Canyon, and the freshman class began its
capitalist-industrial-military complex to long association with Pyles Camp in the
clean up its mess.” southern Sierra Nevada. That first year
the sophomores spent the week in the
Cate students, like so many of their Upper Sespe canyon—a destination that
peers around the country and the world, has given way in recent years to the more
alpine environs of Yosemite.
Kirk Phelps ’77 (Cate faculty 1991–1996)
SPRING 2008 9
 Some members of the Green Team from l-r:
Stephanie Ruys de Perez ’10, Cascade Zak ’09,
Meghan Falvey ’10, Libby Parker ’10, Haddon
Pereira ’10. Photo by Mary Fish Arango.

Soon after the establishment of Outings
Week, Kirk Phelps ’77 returned to the
Mesa as a faculty member, bringing with
him an energy, conviction, and personal
passion for the wild rivaling that of Mr.
Cate, Rob Bowler, and other great Cate
outdoorsmen-and-women. Kirk dreamed
of incorporating wilderness experiences
and education even further into the
Cate curriculum, and he was joined
and supported in this effort by another
alumnus and fellow faculty member, Paul
Denison ’79.
Together, Paul and Kirk offered natural
excursions for Cate students whenever
and wherever they could. Hiking
and kayaking, camping and surfing,
sailboarding, fly-fishing, backpacking,
and skiing…Cate’s new generation of
wilderness advocates promoted these
experiences, always making sure to
include lessons in environmental
awareness and stewardship in every trip.
of the word…out of the mountains with
them.
With the introduction of no-impact
camping, Cate had indeed reached a new
level of environmental awareness and
acceptance. Formalization of the program
could only follow, and that process was
assisted by the return of yet another
alumnus to teach on the Mesa. Ned Bowler
’83, very much the son of his father, took
on the Outdoor Program after assisting
Kirk for a year.
“His skill for living agreeably with nature
does more than impress us; it inspires us.
Ned is a living, walking example of what
ought to be our goal as a community:
to live in a way that feels comfortable
without taking too great a toll on our
environment.” (Meghan Crandell ’03,
“A Look into Cate Environmentalism,”
Bulletin Spring 2003)
and the Outdoor Program is a sanctioned
daily athletic option. The inventory of
equipment used for the Outdoor Program
and stored in the Barns has grown
exponentially to include equipment for
whitewater rafting and kayaking, rock
climbing, surfing, mountain biking, sea
kayaking, backpacking, and flyfishing,
reflecting the School’s commitment to
integrate the outdoors as part of a Cate
student’s overall experience. The School
also uses the high ropes course and a
required overnight at Bee Camp as part
of the Freshman Seminar program—the
first time, it seems, that there is a
mandatory outdoors component in our
academic curriculum as well as in our
extracurricular and athletic ones.
CONSERVATION

In 1989, Paul started a curricular

No one present in assembly that day will
ever forget the silence that descended on
the Hitchcock Theatre one memorable
moment as the full understanding of
what Kirk meant by “pack it in; pack it
out” finally dawned, and an entire class
of juniors realized they would be packing
a week’s worth of refuse...in every sense
A t the same time the Old Boys
enrichment option similar to Ned’s
“Wilderness” course, except that it
was “no credit” and was offered in the
evenings as a kind of directed studies. The
course became an established part of the
curriculum in 1999.
In 2008, “Wilderness” is still offered,
were learning to live in and
appreciate nature, others on
the Mesa were enacting an early form of
environmentalism born of practicality,
necessity, and thrift. In the early days,
the School grew its own produce and
husbanded its own livestock for meat
and milk. Fresh water has always
been precious in the dry environs of
Carpinteria, and before city water
flowed up the Mesa, great care was
taken to conserve this natural resource.

10 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Ned Bowler ’83 and Will Holmes.
Photo by Mary Fish Arango.

SPRING 2008 11
 Organic Gala apples.
Photo by Mary Fish Arango.
Landscaping was drought-tolerant, and
while hygiene (even in the days before
co-education) was encouraged, waste
was not. The cold showers advocated by
Mr. Cate were understandably only long
enough to get the job done.
Tom Savage, the school’s handyman
in those days, was an early proponent
of conservation. When faced with a
limited budget and limited resources,
he conserved, reused, and recycled the
supplies he had on hand. In fact, it is likely
that he would have done the same if faced
with surplus of such supplies. With Mr.
Savage, there was simply no reason to
waste. Thomas Escher ’65 writes:
“Tom Savage really started me and many
other Cate students thinking about
reusing items…now we call it recycling.
On work programs, Tom always had us
reuse cans from the kitchen to pour tar in
the cracks of the Mesa driveway. Broken
shovels were cut and made into other
gardening/maintenance tools, scraps of
wood were saved in the carpenter’s shop to
be later used on either student projects or
work programs.”
The early lessons taught by Mr.
Savage were adopted and expanded by
subsequent Cate faculty members, among
them Director of Music Frank Ellis.
Idealist, optimist, and conservationist
in every sense of the word, Mr. Ellis
rode his bicycle everywhere—even to
12 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Santa Barbara—and, along with his wife
Sandy Ellis ’02 (Hon.), began a program
of conservation and recycling long
before those words entered the regular
American vernacular. With experience
as an urban planner, Frank knew exactly
how an excess of garbage could impact
a community, and he pitched concepts
of reusing and recycling to faculty and
the student body, eventually driving
the guilty to cart their recyclables to a
garage where the Sprague Gymnasium
now stands. Every week Frank and a few
intrepid volunteers would sift and divide
the materials and later bring them to
redemption centers in Carpinteria
and Summerland.
“We certainly appreciate the
environmental message that Frank Ellis
brought to the campus,” says Cheryl
Powers. “He played a big part in launching
our recycling campaign with his assembly
skits and songs, and his occasional
passion for ’dumpster diving,’ rescuing
valuable resources from the trash bins
on campus.”
It was a thankless, often dirty, job,
but Frank Ellis and his converts did it
without complaint and with vigor. He
preached in assemblies, educating the
Cate Community on what to recycle,
how to recycle, and even how to vote
for government officials based on their
environmental stance. His energy and
dedication still lives on the Mesa today as
others continue the mission.
Bob Bonning took up the torch from
Frank in the early 90’s, continuing
to cajole faculty into recycling, and
gathering volunteers to sort and cart
the recyclables off campus every other
week. Coordinating the Outdoor Program
full time, Kirk Phelps ’77 also was able
to organize a budget to bring recycling
into the dorms, and involved Outdoors
students to drive the task.
The connection between the Outdoor
Program and the growing “green”
activism at Cate was undeniable. “Our
Outdoor Program,” says Bob Bonning,
“greased the skids for the recycling
program.” It is natural for a love of the
outdoors to lead to taking action to save
it—the two are intricately and irreversibly
intertwined.
Ned Bowler ’83 took charge of the
recycling program in 1996. As the leader
of the Outdoor Program, Ned was as
comfortable in the outdoors as some are in
a five-star hotel, and with this connection
came a deep sense of responsibility
towards the earth. As recycling expanded
into the dorms, Ned and his volunteers
(later his Chore Group), hauled materials
to the old garage. When the garage was
knocked down to make room for the
Sprague Gymnasium, Ned helped build
a new shed for recyclables with his
own hands.
Bill Boyde ’00 recalls: “I remember Ned
Bowler telling me all about the recycling
center at Cate. I’ve never seen him so
serious; he told me that a cigarette butt
someone dropped on the ground felt
like they put it out on his arm. I always
say, ‘You dropped something back
there, better go pick that up,’ when I see
someone drop a cigarette butt to this day.
Ned was probably the beginning of my
environmental awareness, and I’ve been
seriously invested ever since.”
Faculty member Will Holmes took over
the recycling program in 2001, and raised
the bar for the entire Cate Community.
He organized the 25-person chore group
called “The Green Team” who today
coordinate, promote, and carry out
recycling practices. The group is split up
into Recyclers, who collect and empty
the bins, Composters, who gather scraps
from the kitchen for the organic garden,
and Reducers, who cancel catalogues
for people who don’t want them or are
no longer here. “What they’re doing is
important,” says Will. “They are making
a difference.”
These days, we hear regular updates in
assembly about the Green Team’s contests,
awards, and occasional championships,
keeping awareness of recycling at the
forefront of our minds. Will Holmes’s
dedication to sustainability is moving,
and he walks the walk. Recently, a student
was pleased to discover that her one-page
math test had random text printed on the
back. Will supports using both sides, if
one must use paper at all.
For a quiet, soft-spoken man, Will Holmes
has a lot more to say when he’s talking
green. He reminds us to “reduce, reuse,
and recycle.” Take one trip into Santa
Barbara instead of two. Bring your own
canvas bags to the store, use glassware
instead of disposable items. Be thoughtful.
And if you must use disposable materials,
recycle or reuse them as best you can.
“It just makes sense,” he says. “I think
of Frank Ellis every time I walk by the
dumpsters when I see recyclables in the
trash. We share a deep commitment to the
environment.”
“Cate’s mission is to educate,” say Will.
“If students leave this school more aware,
they also might influence their schools,
their businesses, their families. They will
bring this message into their lives, and
that is one of the most important things
we can do.”
GOING ORGANIC
T hough we are not the same school
whose garden and livestock
provided a good deal of the
food consumed on the Mesa, our “self-
sufficiency” is a little closer to home than
it has been for many years—Tim Fox,
Executive Chef, is proud of the progress in
Cate’s kitchen and Raymond Commons. In
the fall of 2005, Cate began a partnership
with local farmers through the Farmer’s
Market Association. This program brings
fresh, organic, locally-grown produce
to area restaurants and food service
companies and is part of the growing
“Slow Food USA” movement. “The most
wonderful aspect of buying foods from
our local growers is the quality and
freshness” says Tim. “Many of the items
we receive are literally harvested and
delivered to us within an hour or two of
picking.”
Cate School was one of the first
organizations in the area to join the
Farmer’s Market Association’s program.
Over 50% of the vegetables and fruits
consumed by Cate students and faculty
are locally grown and organic—a number
limited only by market availability. Purple
cauliflower, mung beans and brussel
sprouts still on the stalk, garlic-roasted
peanuts, dried fruits, and local wild
flower honey are just a few of the products
supplied by our local markets. Ned sums
it up: “Having local organic farmers
deliver fresh food to Cate is fantastic
for our community. It helps spread an
awareness that we desperately need in this
country—organic food means sustainable
agriculture, which means healthy soil and,
in turn, helps foster healthy people.”
Cate has also recently begun purchasing
baked goods from “Our Daily Bread,”
a bakery located in Santa Barbara. The
School receives daily deliveries of freshly
baked organic/vegan sandwich breads,
ciabatta, and dinner rolls from this
earth-friendly local business. In 2003,
the kitchen also started passing all fruit
and vegetable preparation scraps to Ned
’83 for use in his organic garden behind
the tennis courts—a garden worked
and supported on a volunteer basis by
interested Cate students and faculty.
ECOLOGY IN THE ACADEMIC
CURRICULUM
G iven the School’s tendency toward
environmentalism in other areas
of Cate life, it is no wonder that
ecology and the study of human impact on
the natural world is part of the classroom
as well. Alumni of all generations recall an
element of environmentalism in
their science and history classes—a
presence that has become sharpened in
recent years.
“I remember teaching Chemistry in 1986,
the year of the Chernobyl disaster. It was
a wakeup call for me that everyone needs
more education about environmental
SPRING 2008 13
 issues.” Cheryl Powers, master science
teacher whose 20-year plus career on the
Mesa includes numerous professional
awards and recognitions, recalls exactly
when her instruction on the ecology
of the earth became much more than
academic. While biology and chemistry
courses in the 80s and 90s had a practical
ecological component, including trips to
waste treatment plants, oil refineries, and
water treatment facilities, study of the
environment and humanity’s role
in its destruction and preservation
emerged gradually.
AP Environmental Science was added
to the slate of Science Department
offerings in 1999. This course has grown
in popularity and was recognized by
the College Board in 2004 as “the best
in the world” for schools of fewer than
500 students. Cate students have gone
on to pursue Environmental Studies in
college, and quite a few Cate alumni are
actively working in professions that have
to do with alternative energy sources,
green construction, or environmental
management (see catealumni.org/?green).
This year’s seniors are developing two
separate environmental action plans—
one for water conservation at Cate and one
for energy conservation (“The Climate
Society,” page 16). These plans were
presented to the school administration
and the Board of Trustees, and submitted
to the Lexus Environmental Challenge—a
national competition for high school
students. Both plans won first prize for
the western region of the U.S. On a more
local and personal note, last year the AP
Environmental Science class developed
a nature trail on the fire road that winds
down from Mesa House to Cate Mesa
Road. (“A Step in the Right Direction,”
page 24).
By virtue of its location, Cate has been
able to take great academic advantage
14 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
of other abundant natural resources to
educate its students about their place
in and responsibility to the natural
world. The School offers senior electives
in oceanography and marine biology,
allowing students to examine firsthand
how global systems (e.g., tectonics,
oceanic currents, prevailing weather
patterns) impact and influence the
world of living things in various marine
systems. Marine Biology examines
dominant marine communities from
a broad ecological perspective, but
always with an emphasis on local and
global interdependence. As part of these
classes, students visit local beaches,
tidepools, and the Carpinteria Salt
Marsh—ecosystems unique to our area.
Students learn how even small changes in
tides affect the tidepool ecosystems, how
life changes drastically over just a few
inches on the rocks in these tidal areas,
and how temperature shifts might cause
a population explosion in an invasive
species while dramatically reducing the
native species.
The Directed Studies and Science
Research curriculum also offers students
a chance to explore other areas of
environmental science in detail. Last
year, Jim Masker, Ned Bowler ’83 and
Tim Su ’07 organized a visit by the
National Outdoors Leadership School
(NOLS) vegetable-oil-powered bus to raise
awareness about alternative fuels. Prior
to the visit, Tim had spent several weeks
studying alternative fuels as part of a
project for his Science Research class with
teacher Cheryl Powers. The day before the
bus arrived, Tim filtered the unwanted
particles from oil gathered in the Cate
kitchens using two different methods—
water filtration combined with a micro
filter and the micro filter alone—to make
it clean enough to run the engine of the
bus. He then explained to his schoolmates
exactly how the process worked and how
such alternative fuels could affect global
ecology and economy.
BUILDING GREEN
W hile the Cate community has
always fostered awareness
of the world around us, the
School itself embodies environmental
sensitivity. Cate buildings are aesthetically
in concert with the Mesa and suitable, as
Mr. Cate once wrote “...for a boys’ school
in California, where life should be plain
and simple, much out-of-doors.”
Reginald Johnson’s Monterey Colonial
Style, open-plan architecture consciously
echoes and embraces the natural beauty
of the place. Cate faculty member and
Art Department Chair Patrick Collins
writes: “Cate buildings...blend ‘indoors’
with ‘outside.’ Open courtyards, patios,
porches, and walkways are common
in open-plan architecture. There is no
closed-in feeling; instead, the sense of
openness (and, in winter, coldness) which
Mr. Cate loved so well is much
in evidence.”
As students live in dorms whose balconies
look out to the hills or the Pacific, it is
impossible to ignore the natural world and
prevent it from affecting their lives. In this
context, it is worth noting that current
research finds a student’s surroundings
have a profound impact on performance
and general well being. Students who
live and work in buildings with natural
lighting show an increase in reading and
math performance. Students who live in
a space with “views” of the natural world
show an increase in overall performance
(data from United States Green Building
Council). Well-designed ventilation in
buildings reduces respiratory illness.
Modern research only proves what
Mr. Cate and his successors—during
generations of building on the Mesa—
knew intuitively.

As our scientific understanding of
ecological impacts and sustainability has
increased, so has Cate’s commitment to
responsible building and maintenance
practices. The buildings constructed
during the Cate 2000 Capital Campaign
were the first on the Mesa to boast
sustainable design, from the bamboo
flooring in the faculty homes to the
incorporation of passive solar heating.
The buildings currently under construction
are even more impressive in terms of
sustainable design (“The Greening of
Cate,” page 20).
Newer buildings are not the only ones
getting the “green” treatment; Business
Manager Sandi Pierce and the Buildings
and Grounds staff regularly review and
evaluate older structures and landscaping
to determine if they can be adapted
or replaced by more energy-efficient,
ecologically sound systems. “Every time
we build anything new, upgrade, or
landscape,” says Mrs. Pierce, “we consider
the greenest option that will work. Cost
is, of course, a factor in our decision
making, but so is our responsibility to the
environment. We use low or no VOC paints,
recycled materials for building upgrades,
CF lights, low flush toilets, and low flow
showerheads. Even these improve over
the years, so we are always reevaluating
the products and resources that we use.
Although some things, like our recycling
program, cost more, it is the right thing
to do.”
We are reminded once again of the early
days of our School, when Mr. Cate moved
buildings rather than destroy and rebuild.
Likely, the latter would have been cheaper,
but Mr. Cate, consciously or not, carried
the seeds of conservation in his blood…
and those of us on the Mesa today continue
to make these wise choices, even down to
the one aspect of the Centennial Campaign
master plan that calls for the repositioning
of a faculty home—coincidentally one of
the original school buildings originally
moved from the bottom of the Mesa to
the top—rather than the much cheaper
but less environmentally and historically
responsible destruction and replacement of
the modest clapboard house.
SERVONS
C ate’s “green” history does not end
here. We are making it every day,
and making decisions with the
Earth very much in mind. Ecology and
conservation are popular these days, and
Cook House East dormitory. Photo by Don Orth.
sustainable design and environmentally
friendly products are popping up around
this country like mushrooms after a
soft rain.
But it is not enough to hop on the
bandwagon and hang on for a short,
wild ride. Environmental consciousness
is a community-wide endeavor that
involves everyone: the headmaster and
the gardener; the kitchen staff and the
students; the teachers and the trustees.
True environmentalism, as Mr. Cate
seemed to know, requires education, not
edicts, and commitment, not adherence
to the latest trends. We are fortunate here
on the Mesa to have a founder who set us
on the right track, students who invested
themselves in the cause, and faculty, staff,
and administration who have bought into
long-term solutions. Together, we will
continue to steward this School, located in
this beautiful and ecologically rich spot on
our delicate planet Earth, for generations
to come.
SPRING 2008 15
 The Climate Society
by Dana Edwards ’09
At Cate there are many student groups with
an agenda and an enthusiastic member-
ship; however, few of these groups can
match the determination of the Climate
Society, a dedicated group of students with
a clear goal: to significantly reduce carbon
emissions on the Mesa. Led by faculty
advisor Cheryl Powers, the budding envi-
ronmentalists Gabriela Hempfling ’09, Nick
Brown ’09, Samantha Ryu ’08, Cascade
Zak ’09, Michael Yoon ’09, Dana Edwards
’09, Allegra Roth ’10, Julien Vollering ’08,
Maddie Johnston ’09, and Priscilla Wilson
’09 are succeeding in shrinking the carbon
footprint of Cate School. As a direct result
of their work, the School’s proverbial foot
print is now several sizes smaller, and the
birds, polar bears, and humans through-
out the world give their thanks. For it is
the goal of the Climate Society (though
its effort is largely localized) to influence
the greater world by setting an example of
how to easily and effectively reduce energy
consumption and therefore contribute less
to global warming.
The society’s formation was sparked by
the “Lexus Environmental Challenge,” a
multi-step contest for schools nationwide.
We in the Climate Society undertook part
four of the contest, “Global Warming, Local
Solutions.” The objective: to reduce CO2
emissions in one’s community. The chal-
lenge does not specify how to accomplish
this; rather, it leaves the creative processes
and execution of such a plan up to its
participants.
16 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Our action plan was based on a simple
premise: “that the impact of an individual
on the environment, through his carbon
footprint, is dependent on two factors: life-
style and technology.” We therefore sought
to alter the lifestyle of Cate’s inhabitants
through educating and raising awareness,
and to make significant changes in the
energy-related technology surrounding us.
Before any steps were taken, however,
members of the team conducted a compre-
hensive survey of Cate’s energy functions
by interviewing the school’s Business
Manager and its Directors of Buildings and
Grounds, and then compiling the collected
data for future comparison.
With a good idea of how things at Cate
were running, environmentally speaking,
we then got to work, brainstorming ideas
about how to make our school a more
energy-efficient place. After putting our
heads together and discussing for several
meetings, we came up with a rough game
plan for tackling the the problem with a
twofold approach. Part 1 will use a dorm
competition for environmental aware-
ness to adjust the energy usage of Cate’s
boarding students. Part 2 involves green
technology.
The Climate Society conducted audits of
each dormitory while all other students
were in assembly, noting the numbers of
lights, computers, and stereos left on. The
results were significant and encourag-
ing. After announcing the findings of our
first audit (making sure to point out the
performance of each dorm so as to induce
a friendly competition), the following
audit produced better results. In the survey
conducted on January 22, fewer ceiling and
auxiliary lights remained turned on during
assembly, but even more impressive were
the greatly reduced numbers of computers
left with electricity-sucking monitors in
full blare.
We will continue to raise awareness among
the School’s boarding students. They are
now considerably “greener” in their day-
to-day lives, turning off lights and com-
puter screens before leaving their rooms.
Posters regarding water and paper towel
consumption and energy use are posted in
dorm hallways and bathrooms to remind
students to keep up the good work. It is
simple alterations like these—environ-
mental considerations incorporated into
daily functions—that, multiplied by the
enormous population of our planet, will
slow and perhaps bring entirely to a halt
the process of global warming.
In addition to our work in educating Cate’s
inhabitants, we helped implement new
technologies in order to reduce energy
consumption. We are assisting the School’s
effort to switch many of Cate’s incandes-
cent bulbs to fluorescent ones. Classrooms
and faculty homes now uses less electricity.
We also proposed far more drastic facility
changes for the future. We would like the
School to invest in new Energy Star® certi-
fied laundry machines and refrigerators,
and to trade in its fleet of gas-guzzling
GM Yukons for hybrid vehicles such as
the hybrid Mercury Mariner. Lastly, we
investigated a long-term proposal of solar
power for the entire School. These are
changes that would have immediate and
considerable impacts on Cate’s energy
consumption, and possibly neutralize the
School’s negative environmental impact.
Such change, however, will make more
significant economic impact and therefore
requires more specific planning before it
can be executed.
The Climate Society, over the course of
about a month, made beneficial changes in
the environmental impact of the Cate com-
munity. The School now produces fewer
carbon emissions by consuming less elec-
tricity, and its inhabitants are more mind-
ful of their role in the grand scheme of the
environment as it relates to global warm-
ing. The Society won the Climate Challenge
of the Lexus Environmental Challenge for
the Western region of the U.S. on Febru-
ary 8. We have now qualified to enter the
final challenge that requires teams to reach
beyond the local community and inspire
environmental action around the world.
Who knows what inspiring advances in the
name of a greener and more sustainable
planet lie in store.

The Climate Society from l-r: Julien Vollering, Nick Brown ’09, Maddie Johnston’09, Michael Yoon ’09, Gabriela Hempfling ’09, Priscilla Wilson ’09,
Dana Edwards ’09, Sam Ryu ’08, Allegra Roth ’10, Cheryl Powers, Cascade Zak ’09. Photo by Mary Fish Arango.

SPRING 2008 17
 points of view
THE DOOR JUST CLOSED
by Lane W. Sharman Jr. ’71
Nature, its independent and codependent laws of evolution on
planet earth, is history. Wilderness, unchanged by man, is a
romantic myth. Fini. End of story. This moment of history as epic
as any is ours to contemplate and perhaps to learn from.
The atmosphere combined with the sun, altered by mankind, is
the life-giving blanket around all things. A thin veneer between
ground and cosmos. It contains anthropogenic amounts of CO2,
methane, nitrous oxide, CFCs and other warming gases far
exceeding naturally-occurring variability. Every truthful scientist
has been able to quantify and qualify how emissions weave a
thicker atmospheric blanket trapping more heat. Humanity is
writing this episode of climate change. The changes in the Arctic
and Antarctica foreshadow what is coming for the rest of the
world. We, you and I, are now in control of this magnificent piece
of nature, namely the climate.
John Muir, a favored hero of naturalists, praised the atmosphere
as the one place where man would not be able to tread. Ever the
idealist, hedied shortly after loosing the battle to block Hetch-
Hetchy dam in Yosemite. As the founder of the Sierra Club,
he disliked the effect of humanity on nature, and revered the
untouchable atmosphere. Yosemite, which he helped to set aside,
is changing as a result of CO2 and other emissions, and so is
everywhere else. Everything is connected.
Humanity did not have a malevolent intent to alter nature.
Cheap oil and coal have given rise to a variety of human benefits
including electricity, travel, computing, and diverse kinds of
18 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Berolzheimer Classroom Bulding. Photo by Don Orth.
foods. To continue with an approximation of these benefits and
avoid planetary catastrophe, mankind must decarbonize the
energy feedstock. Excavating and burning ancient fossil life forms
and incinerating rain forests must cease quickly before we pass
the tipping point and fall into massive instability and irreversible
positive feedback loops. Humanity needs to use renewable
energy sources derived from hydrogen, bio-mass, wind and sun.
It is everyone’s calling to create a new energy industry, free of
emissions, and reduce our current carbon footprint.
Even with intense global warming, we will cope. Soon, we will
engineer organisms from scratch and genetically improve all
living things as we do now with basic seeds such as corn and
wheat. Who knows? A basic genetic transmutation and, bam, we
are drought tolerant! We will continue to alter the basic constructs
of life to cope with our changing environment.
Is this the natural evolution of our species? To cope? Will each
generation be the best and the brightest and co-evolve with its
surroundings? Consider this moment in history—look to the sky,
the ocean, a mountain, a forest, a wave. In just a few generations,
we have learned to alter and manage the rules of nature. This
knowledge will not be lost. The door to nature unfettered by man
is closed. And here we stand now with other doors to choose.
ON BEING GREEN
Chris Yager ’85
As privileged Americans living in the wealthiest nation this earth
has seen, how can we seriously gauge our green intentions by the
paper bags we choose not to waste or the fuel we choose not to
buy? Yes, there were teachers at Cate who preached environmental
stewardship, and there were clearly teachers who loved and lived
in the environment. I am quite sure that David Harbison drove
the surfing van because he enjoyed looking out over the sea at
4:30 each day; and I’m likewise sure that the views from faculty
homes and the trees surrounding them were more an enticement
to teach at Cate than any other perk. By its very location, Cate
attracted men and women who loved the environment. Those men
and women created curriculum that celebrated the environment
in such classes as those taught by Rob and Ned Bowler ’83, Paul
Denison ’79 and Peter Durnan, and just about every other class
that encouraged Cate students to reflect on the natural world
around them. Furthermore, curriculum outside the classroom
developed to provide an increasingly engaged experience with the
natural world, such as the work that has gone into Outings Week
and the increase in opportunities to enjoy outdoor adventures by
climbing, kayaking, hiking and mountain biking with passionate
teachers. As a student at Cate, I was delighted to find that funds
were available to purchase rock climbing equipment. The Cate
life, dating back to the school’s first horse-pack rides to Thacher
and stretching to today’s numerous hours that each kid spends
on green grass surrounded by eucalyptus, inspires affection for
the natural environment. And in my thirty year relationship
with the school I have been immensely inspired by the work that
faculty have done to exploit the resources of the school to teach
environmental stewardship.
But we have to concede that the dire state of our planet is a result
of global social, cultural, economic and political realities that
we all participate in, but which few of us really want to consider.
The very state of our existence as consumptive beings at the top
of the food chain means that we add to environmental distress
every day. Not to say that the world would be a better place with
humans. But a lot of humans means a lot of environmental
damage, and a culture that celebrates “bigger is better”
profoundly compounds the problem.
If we want to seriously address global environmental issues, we
cannot ignore the reality that the culture we create, the ideals
to which we aspire, the indifference we have for those who are
somehow “other”, and the politics which we support in the
interest of “nation” exacerbate the problem. If we are serious
about the state of the global environment, we need to get serious
about expanding the boundaries of our consciousness (social,
political, economic, etc.) to encompass humans living around
the globe. An appreciation for the other rather than an aversion
to it is a start. We think nothing of subsidizing cotton farmers
in the US though doing so creates cycles of poverty in Pakistan.
Issues of extraordinary environmental abuse in China, India
and throughout the developing world are our issues too. The
extraordinary pollutants going into the land, water and air, to
support Western consumption, present us with threats that
needs to be addressed at both the supply and demand ends of the
spectrum.
While I am grateful for the passion that Cate’s teachers brought
to their environmental classes and outings, I wonder if more
work couldn’t have gone into expanding the boundaries of kids’
thinking beyond their enclosures. I have to give credit to those
who created the Human Development curriculum, and there were
indeed a great number of teachers who did seek to stretch our
senses of self, and our senses of entitlement. During the build-up
to the Iraq war, I visited Cate and asked some faculty if they were
talking about the war. I got a bunch of blank stares. Shouldn’t
a collective action and a collective culture that represents us
and that goes to war on our behalf be a subject of discussion…
if Cate’s teachers are going to truly prepare their students to
ameliorate environmental suffering, shouldn’t they be actively
exploring connections of commerce, politics, culture, religion and
economy?
The phenomenal glow of the school’s setting and the lifestyle of
an open southern California campus inspires love of the natural
world. Cate can further distinguish itself by creating curriculum
that explores how we as individuals impact the natural
environment through our beliefs, our culture, and our decisions
- both collective and personal. I’m sure that there are teachers
who do this in their way, and Frank Light and Cheryl Powers and
a few others did communicate such things when I was a student,
but never under the auspice of a stated overarching vision for what
Cate kids should grow to be. As a school gift, my graduating class
planted a tree that still grows near the pool. My class considered
as a slogan, “he who dies with the most toys wins”. I don’t think
that we got the message that our culture of consumption yields
global damage beyond environmental issues. Cate’s teachers are
incredible. But consideration of environmental stewardship is a
look at an easily tangible and somewhat innocuous discipline.
To make any impact on the global natural environment, our best
teachers are going to have to embark on a bolder, broader and
more visionary curriculum.
SPRING 2008 19
 THE GREENING OF CATE
by Sandi Pierce

High House dormitory. Photo by Don Orth.

20 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Green…sustainable…renewable…environmentally friendly.
Such words now stand shoulder to shoulder with "costs and benefits" as major considerations in design, construction,
politics, economics, agriculture, manufacturing, and education. Amid growing demand on limited natural resources, we
all understand the need to make choices that will secure those resources for future generations, and it was in that context
that Cate planned the construction projects now underway on the Mesa. As much as we thought about the particular
needs these projects would fill, we also considered how we could best model environmental stewardship.

Watercolor of new faculty housing by Larry Clark.

n the Centennial long-range The various elements of the current erosion, support habitat, and maintain

I planning process, the School

brought into the discussion a
number of environmental contractors
and architects. With their input, as well
as guidance from the US Green Building
Council and the Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) program,
we have designed buildings that maintain
Cate’s architectural vernacular while
utilizing environmentally responsible
building concepts. Utilization of the LEED
rating system, the benchmark for design
and operation of efficient green buildings,
requires the owner to look at water,
energy, materials, indoor environmental
quality, and site development with an eye
toward utilizing sustainable practices
and products in all of these areas. Our
overriding philosophy has been to create
buildings that meet our needs and that
utilize to the greatest extent possible the
technologies that will support those needs.
We were careful not to include a technology
simply because it was available, but rather
to make sure that it made functional and
financial sense as well.
project—new homes, early learning
center (ELC), barn renovation, admission
office, pool facility, wastewater treatment,
field realignment, and parking—will
all fall under the LEED green building
guidelines. The Early Learning Center and
admission buildings model the LEED for
New Construction program, and the five
new homes won acceptance into the LEED
for Homes Pilot Program. These programs
recognize varying levels of achievement –
bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. Based
on our current design, we are able to
achieve the gold level certification for the
homes. The ELC and admission building
certification levels are still in process.
During our project development process,
we reviewed construction materials as well
as landscape features, and from a material
standpoint we looked at both the outside
and the inside of the buildings. One result
is that Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
lumber is being utilized for framing and
cabinetry; FSC certified lumber comes
from foresting operations that reduce
local jobs and industry. In addition to
using sustainable harvested lumber, the
framing methodology is designed to
minimize waste during construction. Any
waste that does occur will be chipped for
landscape. Interiors will feature renewable
flooring in the form of bamboo wood,
recycled glass tiles, and carpeting; Fiberock
Aqua Tough (paperless, 95% recycled
material that resists moisture and mold)
in lieu of traditional drywall; no or low
VOC paints and stains; tankless, energy-
efficient water heaters; LED lighting
(no incandescent lighting); and Energy
Start® appliances and windows. Cabinet
components, building insulation and all
plywood sheathing will be formaldehyde-
free, greatly improving indoor air quality,
and on the outside, all roofing materials
will be recycled and recyclable. Building
orientation and photovoltaic systems will
effect solar gain to the extent possible.
When looking beyond the buildings
themselves, we have tried to be
environmentally sensitive as well.

SPRING 2008 21
 GREEN features of new faculty housing

Landscape Houses General

Drought tolerant and native landscape, bioswales to
manage runoff, high efficiency irrigation systems
Framing methodologies used to minimize waste, Use of excavated rocks for rock walls in landscape
FSC lumber, Fiberock in lieu of traditional drywall, (nothing trucked off site), mulching and
formaldehyde-free cabinet components and plywood composting of on-site material for landscaping
sheathing, green insulation, tankless water heaters,
LED lighting, no VOC paints, recycled glass tiles and
recycled/recyclable carpeting, bamboo wood flooring,
PV (solar) systems, Energy Star® appliances

Landscaping will utilize drought tolerant,
native plants, and bioswales will control
our runoff. In addition, much of the
parking area will be of permeable surfaces
that will further reduce runoff. Any waste
generated during construction will be
chipped and mulched, and any native
material will be composted and used in
landscaping. All boulders will be reused
in the rock walls already in our design.
A new wastewater treatment plant will
treat water to the tertiary level, which
means that we can reclaim 100% of our
wastewater and safely use it to irrigate our
fields and landscaping. The benefits of the
new plant will include: a vast reduction in
Cate’s use of public water resources (and
approximately $70,000, or 50%, in savings
in the School’s water costs); new field space
for baseball and softball (as the current
overflow effluent storage pond will be
replaced by an underground storage tank);
and environmentally beneficial effects not
only for our campus but for the areas that
catch our Mesa’s runoff, most importantly
the ocean. This will maximize water
conservation and result in our attaining the
best possible compliance record in meeting
wastewater discharge requirements.
Finally, the moving of the Barns from their
current location to the area just north of
the track will include a historic restoration
of the front exterior, creating an ongoing
look at Cate history for future generations.
The new facilities will include much
needed faculty housing, greatly improved
admission and employee ELC facilities, and
a new pool to thoroughly serve our water
polo and swimming programs. Throughout
this long but very gratifying process, we
have worked hard to balance the myriad
considerations of education, costs, benefits,
function, and the environment, and we
believe the results not only minimize Cate’s
footprint, but also serve as models for
our students to carry with them as they
consider their own footprint in the future.

22 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
 GOT A PLAN?
Green planning with
Gillian Friedrichs Ockner ’92
(ocknerg@comcast.net)

When an organization decides to go green, it’s not as simple as

pulling out the magic wand and waving it around. Even for an
individual, or a family, or a school to act “greener,” it helps to
understand the “whys” and “hows” of what is involved. When,
for example, a city government wants to encourage recycling, or
improve infrastructure with sustainable design, a simple mandate
won’t make it happen. There are real obstacles and skepticism to
overcome before change can be effective. Gillian Friedrichs Ockner
’92 helps businesses and city departments (recently in Portland,
Oregon) plan and implement change. “My work is about making a
good plan in a language that everyone understands,” says Gillian.
Below is a simplified version of the process.

1. Identify the practice that you want people to adopt or the

change you want to implement.
If you don’t know exactly what you hope for, then no one else
will either.

2. Make sure the desired outcome is measurable.

If you want people to use low-flow showerheads to save water,
make sure the water savings is measurable before and after.

3. Identify barriers to implementation in terms of “real” and

“perceived.”
PERCEIVED: People may think the plan of converting parking
spaces to green areas will be untidy looking.
REAL: Make sure there is enough space and budget
to implement this plan with measurable reduction in
stormwater runoff.

4. Identify early adopters of the plan.

It is inefficient to “force” a plan on people who don’t want
it. It is better to find people willing to try it and promote it.
Ask these early adopters to be visible proponents in their
community. Do a pilot program. Monitor and document this
pilot study. Modify design based on pilot results as needed.

5. Communicate clear, simple messages to new people

in their “value terms.”
Find out what people care about and present your idea as
relevant to these values in their language.

It’s one thing to tell your family or friends to recycle, or to start

xeroscaping, or to bring a canvas bag to the store; large-scale
community projects require buy-in from everyone. It takes people
Photo by Cheryl Powers. like Gillian and a good plan to make that happen.

SPRING 2008 23
 A STEP IN
THE RIGHT
DIRECTION
CATE’S Nature Trail
by Cheryl Powers, Cate Faculty

Photos of nature trail and students by Cheryl Powers.

24 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
It’s one of those bright winter days when the air is so clear you can almost reach
out and touch the islands across the channel, thirty miles away, and the eucalyptus
trees lining the Robert Day ’37 Walkway stand in perfect contrast to the blue sky.

T he hills surrounding the Mesa

are a blend of deep, saturated
greens and rocky tans, and when
you step outside you not only see every
detail but you can feel it. The sun beats
classrooms seem hundreds of miles away.
This space, this “interpretive trail,” provides
the bridge between our daily lives and
the natural world. Here we are no longer
bumbling tourists but inhabitants of an
L
AN IDEA IS BORN
ast year’s seniors Rachael
Edwards, Phoom Chirathivat, Sam
Seidman, Austin Ditz, Namku
Kim, and Eric Carmichael developed the
down on your face and warms your entire ecosystem that we walk through often but original idea for a nature trail, and they
body. Some students are studying on do not see. Cate students designed the completed all of the preliminary work.
blankets in the grass; there’s a Spanish nature walk to enhance the environmental They cleared the main path, cut an upper
class conjugating verbs in a circle out on literacy of all learners, but the journey, loop trail, helped with the installation of
Senior Lawn, and everyone else seems to once begun, takes on almost spiritual two sets of stone steps, and—with the
sneak outside at each free moment to be dimensions. While students who create help of librarian JoAnne Wilson, Nancy
part of it all. If you had a little more time and maintain the trail have opportunities Harbison and others—researched the
than the passing period between classes, to research, write, illustrate, organize and hydrology, geology, flora and fauna of
you might venture down to the west side work together to generate a lasting outdoor the region. The School’s grounds crew,
of the Mesa, where the brain-child of eight classroom, they are also afforded the time assisted by several students, installed a
AP Environmental Biology students was and space to sink their roots deep into the series of flagstone benches at different
recently born: the Cate Nature Trail. rich and colorful earth of the Mesa. points along the trail, and added a wooden
sign at the entrance to the trail just below
Walking west from Long House past a few
faculty homes, and veering right along the
old fire road to the start of the chipped
path, you see the first sign. Meandering
further along, you’re greeted by small,
engraved plates describing the flora found
in these parts, like the well-known prickly
pear cactus (don’t pick the fruit!) and the
lemonadeberry bush. And if you need
a rest, four stone benches are artfully
scattered along the path to grant you views
of the hills and the ocean, or simply a place
to sit and think, or write, or study for the
next environmental science test. Out there
along the trail, you become immersed in
the environment, and your dorm and the Students Eric Carmichael ’07, Rachael Edwards ’07, and Phoom Chirathivat ’07.

SPRING 2008 25

Last year’s seniors from l-r: Eric Carmichael, Austin
Ditz, Rachael Edwards, Phoom Chirathivat, Namku
Kim, Sam Seidman.
26 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
the north end of Mesa House. Students
then collected sample plants and flowers,
pressing them to make herbarium mounts;
they also cataloged plants and birds, and
documented the trail itself, as well as the
local watershed, with digital photography.
Most recently a motion-sensitive wildlife-
viewing camera has been installed to
catch glimpses of the elusive animals that
frequent this area. Funding for the benches
and the color-coded signs that identify
many native and non-native plants came
from the prize money received by the School
for winning the Santa Barbara County
Water Awareness Contest for the past
several years.
The installation of the motion-sensitive
camera brought to a conclusion the first
phase of the trail project. Future plans
include the addition of maps of the local
watershed, viewing and discussion stations
along the trail, and displays that incorporate
more information about the flora and
fauna adapted to this ecosystem. To ensure
interactivity along the trail, displays will
emphasize phenomena that people would
not normally notice—signs of new life,
decay, and renewal—and they will call
attention to the ways in which vegetation
changes over time on the chaparral. Another
exciting goal is to provide an infrared
webcam on the trail with a live video feed
into the science building for wildlife viewing.
The Nature Trail will also will focus on
environmental stewardship and the impact
of human interactions with the landscape. It
will provide educational strands that focus
on the hydrology and geology of the region;
on native, non-native, and invasive plants;
on local animals (birds, mammals, reptiles
and amphibians); and on the ecology of
the region—the interaction of the biotic
and abiotic components of this ecosystem.
Lesson guides posted on Cate’s website will
make it easy for teachers from Cate and other
local schools to adapt this information to
their science education goals.
A TRAIL TO
THE FUTURE
hrough creativity, research, and
T hard work, the inspiration of a few
students has become a reality for all
on the Mesa to enjoy. There is now, just a
few minutes walk from the hustle of school
life, a haven for reflection, understanding,
and connection to our natural world. This
interpretive trail is envisioned as an outdoor-
classroom providing learners with a place
to interact with natural and man-made
elements of the coastal chaparral region. By
illustrating the entirety of the ecosystem,
the project will allow visitors to understand
the relationships between coastal marine
and coastal chaparral ecosystems. Informal
learning opportunities such as this are
essential if students are to develop an
appreciation of the diversity, interconnection,
and beauty of this remarkable environment.
Through interpretative displays, a spotting
scope station, viewing and discussion
locations, students will understand
adaptations that plants and animals
have evolved to survive in this particular
environment.
One hopes that through the initial
investment by students and the continued
work on this trail, residents of the Mesa
will deepen their appreciation of the
environment and recognize the value of
conservation. It is a small leap to make that
a better understanding of our environment
leads to a love for it, and a desire to keep it
alive for generations to come.
*footnote: We hope to have all phases of this project
complete before 2010—Cate’s centennial year. You
will be able to keep up with the progress of our trail
on the Cate School website soon.
Sketches of Nature Trail by Trevor Wallace '09
27
OIL Oil rigs on the Pacific. View from the Mesa. Photo by Casey Griffin ‘09.

On the afternoon of January 29, 1969, a Union Oil platform six

miles off the coast at Summerland blew out a pipe and ultimately
released 200,000 gallons of crude oil onto beaches from Rincon
Point to Goleta. That was the world’s first major oil spill, and
though trivial in scale compared to later spills around the globe,
it launched the modern environmental movement.

28 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
“We have become great because of the lavish use of our
resources . . .But the time has come to inquire seriously
what will happen when our forests are gone,when the
coal, the iron, the oil and the gas are exhausted.”
— President Theodore Roosevelt, May 13, 1908

“If they can get you to ask the wrong questions,then

they don’t have to worry about the answers.”
— Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow

ON MY BRAIN by Bruce King ’72

S ome of us old-timers also remem-

ber that four days earlier, the
Santa Barbara area suffered one of its
worst floods in memory. Many homes
were lost, many people died, and the
Cate Mesa was completely isolated for
several days, the bridge at the foot of
the Mesa washed out and destroyed.
For a great many people, and sea life,
they were the worst of times, but for a
Cate freshman like me, they were the
best of times. Classes were cancelled for
lack of power, and we students happily
slithered down the muddy mesa to gape
at the power of the awesome brown
flood rumbling with boulders, choked
yet strangely fragrant with uprooted
lemon trees. A few days later, we joined
thousands from the Santa Barbara com-
munity on the beaches to help clean up
the spilled oil. That is how I got two of
my most important lessons ever: 1) that
oil may be natural, but it isn’t always
good, and 2) that taking a few hours’
hiatus from the constant rehashing of
personal dramas—what some people
call “life”—can be refreshing, especially
when spent working outdoors alongside
neighbors and strangers in service to a
cause greater than one’s self. Service is
fun; who knew?
Now, 39 years later, seems like a good
time to reflect on those two lessons. Ser-
vice in one form or another is still the
truly funnest and most refreshing way
I’ve found to spend a few hours or years,
and our cultural ambivalence about oil
is—finally—coming to the fore.

SPRING 2008 29
 OIL SPILL
IN KOREA
by Josh Han ’09

A couple of weeks before our last

Winter Break started, an environmental
tragedy occurred in my home country
of Korea. A crane barge punctured the
oil tank of a ship, which leaked almost
11 million kilograms of crude oil into
the ocean and onto nearby beaches.
Thousands of people who depended on
the ocean to make a living lost their
jobs; all the marine culture in that area
suffered.

When I went back home for the

holidays, I heard about many people
“The great enemy of the truth is very hazards to people and environment that are
volunteering to clean up the oil. One
often not the lie—deliberate, contrived an oil-based economy and its by-products,
weekend, I went with my dad and his
and dishonest, but the myth—persistent, the abrupt and unpredictable changes
colleagues to the oil-spill site to help
persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths to global climate caused by the recent
clean the oil remainders on shore.
allows the comfort of opinion without the increase of carbon and other substances in
When we arrived early in the morning,
discomfort of thought.” the air, and, last but certainly not least, the
there were already thousands of
- John F. Kennedy fact that supply is limited: we’ve already
people working. It had been more than
used up half the oil we ever had. The easy
three weeks since the spill and the
You and I, we of the Industrial Revolution, and cheap stuff is gone and burned up,
smell of oil was still thick in the air.
are made of oil. We grow and transport our and we now fight wars, drill in deep Arctic
My job was to scrub the rocks with an
food with oil, we make clothing with oil, waters, and scratch at the tarry sands of
oil-absorbing sponge, and then to sort
we move ourselves and our things around Alberta to keep the tank full. You and I are
donated clothes for volunteers. It was
the landscape with oil, and we certainly part of a spectacularly anomalous period
hard work, and although the smell of
build, cool and heat our buildings with oil. of history, and though we think of it as
the oil made me dizzy, I felt like I was
We eat, wear, drive and live in oil; we are “normal” and fight—literally—to preserve
playing a part in making the world a
steeped in the mythology and ethics of oil. it, this anomaly like all others will soon
better place. At the end of the day, I
Notwithstanding this generic use of the end. We may already be passing the point
left the site exhausted but with a sense
word “oil” to connote the family of fossil in time now called “peak oil,” the point at
of accomplishment. I volunteered
hydrocarbons—petroleum, natural gas, which global supplies begin to inexorably
two more days during Winter Break
and coal—that we began mining and using fall while demand continues to grow. The
in an effort to help with the ongoing
in earnest 250 years ago, these assertions oil is running out; there was only so much
clean-up.
are, to a stunning extent, literally true. You to start with, so the question of the party
are probably wearing clothing containing ending is not “If ” but merely “How soon,
It is now impossible to grab a handful
petrochemicals, recently ate food grown and how hard?” As the oil gets more and
of sand on the beach without feeling
with natural gas fertilizers, will soon use a more expensive, we will have to reinvent—
the crude oil, and some scientists say
gas-powered vehicle, and will sleep tonight or remember—how to get by without all
that effects of the spill will last for 20
in a climate controlled with fossil fuel en- the cheap, intense, polluting energy.
years. Still, there is hope; people came
ergy. Perhaps you read these words by elec-
together and worked toward a common
tric light, about half of which comes from This will take a great deal more than
goal. Over 580,000 people have helped
a coal-fired power plant. All of this might recycling our newspapers and switching
clean up the spill in an effort to make
be fine but for a few problems only recently light bulbs, much more than buying a few
Korea a better place.
coming to light: the many and huge toxic hybrid cars and biodiesel trucks. Our entire

30
oil-based industrial economy has been ap-
propriately dubbed the “autistic economy”
because, like an autistic human, it lives in a
state of imperfect, choked communication
with the world around itself—the world
upon whom it depends. The unimaginably
complex system of life within which we live
on Earth makes little or no appearance in
corporate ledgers or government policies,
to date dismissed as either “resources,”
there for the taking, or someplace to throw
things away. But guess what? If the bees
die off, the fruit trees don’t fruit. If the
cod are fished to extinction, there ain’t no
more cod. If the soil was washed away or
polluted, you can’t grow food in the ground.
After the dry cleaner dumps chemicals “out
in back,” you can’t safely drink from the
stream. These sorts of things weren’t too
clear until recently, but now there are well
over six billion of us using the resources
and throwing things away. And it turns
out there is no “away;” we’re all just here
in this fragile, seven-mile-thick biosphere
around our big rock called Earth. If you
keep dumping trash in the corner of the
bedroom, sooner or later you’ve got a stink.
Sooner or later you’ve got to pay the piper.
I would like to be wrong about all this. I
would love for history to prove me, and the
many millions speaking of such matters
around the world, to have been a bunch of
ill-informed cranks. And, if you read the
news, it can look that way. ExxonMobil just
reported record profits, SUV sales are up
both nationally and globally, and presiden-
tial candidates rarely if ever even mention
such subjects. Yo, what’s the problem? Most
of us would like to think, as Vice President
Cheney famously remarked, that “The
American way of life is not negotiable,” and
as former VP Dan Quayle also famously
remarked, “The future will be better
tomorrow.”
Unfortunately, as my four-year-old
daughter discovered, intransigence doesn’t
change things much. It doesn’t bring the
cod back, it doesn’t revive the soil, and it
certainly doesn’t stabilize the ominous
changes to our climate. In the preceding
quote, John Kennedy warned against the
anesthetizing effect of belief in myths, and
our white-knuckle grip on the affluent, oil-
based lifestyle of our times has turned us
into a race of autistics among the commu-
nity of species. We think we are building
a better, bigger house, when we are only
sawing at the branch on which we sit.
How do we fix this? How do we move from
an autistic economy to a vibrant, sustain-
able one? In what way can any or all of us
be effective in bringing about change, or
helping smooth the transition as things
go ahead and change whether we like it or
not? As the saying goes, “Do what you can,
with what you have, where you are.” My
own wandering path from Cate has led to
all sorts of adventure working with vari-
ous aspects of ecological building, always
with an extraordinary cast of characters
from all over the world. Yet it has all felt
pretty much like that cool, sunny day on
the beach 39 years ago, having a great time
helping out with the cleanup, even while
weeping for the oil-soaked birds struggling
to breathe. Servons, indeed. Who needs
fiction, when we are living in the most
amazing time in human history?
Bruce King ’72 is the Director of the
non-profit Ecological Building Network
(www.ecobuildnetwork.org) and the
author of several books
(www.greenbuildingpress.com).
SPRING 2008 31
 Silver Buckshot
by Daniel Emmett ’87
(reprinted with permission from WaterKeeper Magazine)
There is no simple solution to our petroleum dependence.
The answer is not conservation or increases in fuel economy
standards, nor is it hybrids, plug-in hybrids or battery electric
cars. It is not hydrogen or fuel cells, and it certainly isn’t
natural gas, biogas, biodiesel or ethanol either. The bottom
line is that there is no silver bullet that will save us from our
petroleum dependence and deliver us from the public heath
effects, environmental harms and economic vulnerability
caused by our dependence on oil. What is the answer then?
All of the above. Silver buckshot.
The massive scale and urgency of the challenge demands a
solution that is diverse and inclusive. No single alternative
fuel or advanced vehicle technology will solve the energy
equation alone. Instead we need to employ a suite of vehicle
technologies, alternative fuels and conservation policies
that together hold the promise of reducing oil dependence,
slowing global warming and cleaning up our air and water.
Take ethanol for example. While a promising renewable fuel
that can directly replace gasoline in internal combustion
engines with only minor modifications, ethanol has
limitations, among them an inferior fuel economy, possible
increases in smog-forming and carbon emissions and
competition with food crops for feedstock and arable land.
Likewise, biodiesel is a renewable fuel that replaces diesel
fuel and dramatically lowers greenhouse gas emissions,
but has liabilities in the form of increased air pollution and
competition for land with food crops.
Hydrogen fuel can be derived from natural gas or from
water using myriad energy sources ranging from renewable
power (clean) to coal (dirty) to nuclear (political). The same
hydrogen used in a fuel cell is twice as efficient as an internal
combustion engine and has zero tailpipe emissions. However,
the technology is expensive and requires new fueling
infrastructure.
32 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Natural gas used in an internal combustion engine is
the cleanest option on the road today in terms of criteria
pollutants. But it’s still a fossil fuel that needs to be extracted
and imported.
Hybrids increase vehicle efficiency by capturing otherwise
wasted energy from braking and return it to the car in the
form of electrical power to support a conventional gasoline
engine. Plug-in hybrids perform the same function, however,
they have a bigger battery and an all-electric range that
can result in overall fuel economy of 100 mpg. While these
technologies dramatically increase fuel efficiency, they still
rely on burning conventional fossil fuels, and even if every
car magically became a hybrid tomorrow, increases in the
number of new vehicles and miles traveled would erase these
efficiency gains in a matter of years.
While pure battery electric vehicles have zero emissions and
are extremely efficient, battery technology still remains just
out of reach for automakers to deliver a vehicle that is safe,
affordable and with a driving range and refueling time that
would be acceptable to the average consumer.
Mass-transit is a key solution to achieving significant
petroleum reductions. However, while some commuters’
travel needs can be met through existing local mass-transit
or commuter rail, cars and trucks will continue to remain
important for individuals and for commerce.
Clearly we have a lot of options. The best way to achieve the
goal of reducing petroleum dependence and its attendant
problems is to deploy these fuels and technologies in tandem
and in a way that maximizes their benefits, exploits their
synergies and minimizes their liabilities. For example, a plug-
in fuel cell hybrid fueled by hydrogen made from rooftop
solar power could be a good choice in California or Florida.
A plug-in hybrid burning ethanol made from organic waste
could make great sense in Iowa or Idaho. Battery power might
be the right choice for a taxi in Manhattan and a biodiesel big
rig could be a good choice for long haul truckers.
 Image courtesy of Bruce King ’85 and SolarCraft.

We will need to have

performance and sustainability
standards for all fuels to ensure
we achieve environmental
benefits from a transition to
alternative fuels and don’t wind
up backsliding on air quality or
have unintended adverse impacts
on water quality, biodiversity or
global warming.

The solution is really all about

choice and diversity. Americans
love choice. Just think about
the cereal shelf in a grocery
store. Why shouldn’t we have
real options when it comes
to transportation fuels? And
imagine if your financial advisor
recommended you put all of
your net worth in pork belly
futures. You’d laugh, then say,
“You’re fired!” There is strength
and security in diversity
whether you’re talking about
your investment portfolio or the
future of transportation fuels. reduce our dependence on oil, address global warming and
air pollution, insulate our economy from oil-based market
The fueling station at the Regional Transportation Center in spikes, create and expand business opportunities for farmers
San Diego embodies this vision of diversity and choice. Here and industries, and protect public health. These solutions can
customers can choose from ethanol, biodiesel, natural gas, provide relief from the damages resulting from dependence
liquid propane gas, electricity, as well as conventional fuels. on petroleum. However, none of these solutions is a silver
This vision of clean fuel choice is real and attainable. We have bullet; we need silver buckshot.
choices that will work for us today and others on the way. We
need to demand that the energy companies, auto companies Daniel Emmett ’87 is Executive Director of the non-profit
and our leaders continue to invest in making them available organization, Energy Independence Now, and a Managing
to consumers. Director of the cleantech consulting firm, Innovo Energy
Solutions Group, LLC.
Taken together, better conservation strategies, advanced
vehicle technologies, and a range of domestically-sourced
fuels produced from renewable sources will drastically

SPRING 2008 33
 The Prickly Pear Cactus. Photo by Don Orth.

CAPE IVY IN
TORO CANYON
by Joe Schinsky, Cate Faculty

This year the Environmental Science classes at Cate School

have been collaborating with researchers at UCSB on a
restoration project along Toro Canyon creek. The goal of the
project is to eradicate an exotic, invasive ground cover plant:
Cape Ivy (Delairea odorata). The ivy, which is indigenous to the
southwestern coast of South Africa, is believed to have been
introduced into Southern California some 20-30 years ago. The
ivy is a significant ecological problem, particularly in coastal
riparian and chaparral ecosystems; it forms dense, Kudzu-like
mats over existing vegetation, thus over-competing the native
species for sunlight and other resources. Because Cape Ivy has
such a significant competitive advantage over native plants, the
overall biodiversity and relative abundance of native species
are affected. In areas such as the Toro Canyon site, the ivy is so
dominant that it has disrupted the local food chains by reducing
the abundance of indigenous food sources for birds, insects,
and small mammals.

Together, Cate students and ecologists at UCSB and with the

Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens are studying the ecology of the
Cape Ivy and the areas in which it is becoming an increasingly
significant problem. Students have been involved in projects
which include manual removal of the ivy, chemical and physical
analysis of soil samples from the site, analysis of seeds stored
in those soil samples, monitoring the plant diversity and
growth of Cape Ivy and other species in various experimental
transects, and amassing an inventory of invertebrates found
in the study site and comparing this to the same from non-
infested, neighboring areas. The information that results from
this work will be very important for evaluating the efficacy
of several strategies for eradication of the Cape Ivy. One of
these strategies, which seems to hold the most potential for a
long(er) term solution to the problem, involves the introduction
of biological control agents: an herbivorous insect that feeds
exclusively on this species of ivy. The proposal to introduce this
insect is currently undergoing all appropriate scrutiny to ensure
that no negative, or unexpected, environmental consequences
will result.

Environmental Science students conduct work at the sites

during double-block class periods, or in the classroom during
regular blocks. Collaboration in this project is enormously
valuable for them; not only are they directly involved in
graduate-level research, but they are applying science to a local
and regional problem.

34 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
 Sustainable Choices Card
The small choices we make every day affect the health of the planet we share. The Sustainable Choices Card provides information you can use to
make small changes that will have a major, positive impact on our environment. Use it to make decisions at home, at work, and when shopping.
Inspired by the Initiative on the Environment and Sustainability, Stanford’s School of Earth Sciences teamed up with a group of students from its
Earth Systems Program to create a tool to help ordinary Americans make sustainable choices in their daily lives. During the academic year of 2006-
07, teams of interdisciplinary environmental science students—with faculty guidance—developed categories and guidelines for sustainable choices.
visit http://sustainablechoices.stanford.edu/card/index.html
To use the Sustainable Choices Card: 1. Cut along the outer black line
2. Fold on blue dashed lines
In the Home
Your home may be the best
place to begin to educate
your family about making
sustainable choices. At
home, the biggest impact
we have on the environ-
ment is through our use of
energy and water.
At the Store
When you’re shopping,
your impact on the environ-
ment may not be as easy
to assess. Use the card
for guidance before a trip
to the store and while
you’re shopping — whether
it’s the grocery store or
the farmers’ market.
On the Road
We all have busy schedules
and we all need to get
around. But the way we
travel really matters,
because our greatest
impact on the environment
may be when we’re on
the road.
Sustainable choices card and description reprinted with permission from Stanford’s School of Earth Sciences.
Get Started
Electricity
Set your computer for five-minute
sleep mode
Unplug appliances when not in use or
control power with smart power strip i
Change from old-fashioned light
bulbs to compact fluorescents
Heating and Cooling
Only heat or cool the rooms you need
Turn down water heater to 120˚F
Set your thermostat as high in summer
and low in winter as comfort allows
Water
Only run washing machine/
dishwasher on full loads
Turn off water while brushing teeth,
soaping hands, and shaving
Avoid midday watering and mowing
Take shorter showers
Air dry clothes
Get Started
Produce
Buy organic vi — look for the USDA
Organic label
Meat and Dairy
Choose
1) Grass-fed
2) Free-range/cage-free
3) No antibiotics/hormones
Seafood
Refer to the Seafood Watch Card
when buying seafood
Minimize Waste
Buy products with recyclable
packaging
Get Started
Drive Smart
Maintain proper tire pressure
Change oil and air filter regularly
Don’t speed on the freeway;
it wastes gas
Accelerate and brake smoothly
Track your gas mileage
Turn off engine when idling for
long periods
At low speeds, open windows; at
higher speeds, use air conditioning
Step It Up
Electricity
Buy green power ii
Investigate carbon offsets
Heating and Cooling
Caulk and weather strip leaky
windows, baseboards, and doors
Insulate attic and basement
Clean refrigerator condenser coils
twice a year
Change furnace and heat pump
filters monthly
Use a programmable thermostat
to lower energy use when you’re
not at home
Water
Install low-flow fixtures and sink aerators
Install low-flow or dual-flush toilets iii
Adjust outside garden sprinklers to
minimize runoff and waste
Step It Up
Produce
Shop at stores/restaurants that buy
local and organic
Meat and Dairy
Buy meat/dairy directly from
producers, and ask how it was grown
Minimize Waste
Carry a reusable coffee mug or
water bottle
Buy foods that minimize processing
and packaging
Step It Up
Drive Less
Carpool
Try a local car share program viii
Drive a fuel-efficient car, such as
a hybrid or small car
Consolidate errands and shop
close to home
Travel during off-peak hours; being
stuck in traffic wastes gas
Get travel directions ahead of time
to save gas
Vacation locally or regionally
Go for Green
Electricity
Install solar water heaters, photo
voltaic panels, and geothermal
heat pumps
Replace old appliances with
energy-efficient appliances — look
for the Energy Star label
Heating and Cooling
When buying a home or remodeling,
consider green architecture
Install energy-efficient windows
and doors
Landscape for summer shading and
natural winter heating iv
Water
Explore possibilities for gray water v
use and rainwater capture
Landscape for water efficiency
Go for Green
Produce
Eat seasonal produce
Buy local/direct at farmers’ markets
Grow your own food
Meat and Dairy
To reduce meat consumption, set a
goal (e.g. eat 50 percent less meat)
Minimize Waste
Compost your waste
Take reusable bags for all of your
shopping — start by using them for
groceries
Go for Green
Leave the Car at Home
Bike, walk, or take public transit
Telecommute to work ix
Offset emissions you can’t avoid
through a certified carbon offset
program x
Consider transit options when
buying a home or choosing a job
SPRING 2008
Dig Deeper
Think Green
Adopt an energy-efficient mindset;
the cleanest energy is the energy
you don’t use
For economic incentives for many
energy-efficient devices, see
www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits#1
Recycle everything you can,
including old electronics
Use as many recycled products as
possible
For recycling in your area, see
www.earth911.org
CHALLENGE
Get an energy audit, set water and
energy reduction goals, and work to
meet them.
Visit sustainablechoices.stanford.edu to learn how
many of these choices can also save you money.
Dig Deeper
Find A Local Source Of
food www.foodroutes.org/localfood/
meat www.eatwellguide.org
seafood www.seafoodwatch.org
When Buying Food, Ask
Where was it produced?
think: local economy, carbon
emissions from transport, freshness
and quality
How was it produced?
think: pesticides, antibiotics,
wild caught fish, Fair Trade, and
monoculture
CHALLENGE
Eat seasonally within your foodshed.vii
Look here for help:
www.sustainabletable.org/shop/
eatseasonal/
Visit sustainablechoices.stanford.edu to learn how
many of these choices can also save you money.
Dig Deeper
Take Further Action
Talk with your public officials about
transit technologies (light rail, bus,
rapid transit)
Talk with your public officials about
installing stop lights rather than stop
signs at busy intersections
Talk to your employer about
commuting incentives
Learn about alternative fuel sources
Choose low-carbon emission
recreation options
CHALLENGE
walk 0–2 miles
bike 2–10 miles
public transit or carpool >10 miles
Choose a carbon offset program
that is right for you. Look here for help:
www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/
ConsumersGuidetoCarbonOffsets.pdf
Visit sustainablechoices.stanford.edu to learn how
many of these choices can also save you money.
35
Photo by Mary Fish Arango.
Footnotes
iA smart power strip cuts power to
unused appliances.
ii Green
power is any carbon-free
electricity (e.g. solar, wind).
iii A
dual-flush toilet has a high- and
low-flush setting to save water.
iv Seewww.pioneerthinking.com/
landscape.html for more info.
v Gray water is non-toxic water (such as
cooking water) that can be reused.
vi Organic refers to agriculture that does
not use pesticides, fertilizers, growth
hormones, antibiotics, or artificial
additives. Certified organic means the
food met standards set by one of
many third-party organic certifying
organizations. Certification is often
expensive and may not be possible for
small farmers who are using organic
practices. If a product says organic or
natural but does not have a certifica-
tion label, ask the producer for specific
information to verify his/her methods.
Fair Trade Banana Split Image
www.ideas-forum.org.uk/Images/
BSplit.jpg
TRANSPORTATION
Fuel Economy/Reducing Emissions
www.fueleconomy.gov/
www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm
www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/
www.epa.gov/greenvehicle/
Gas Mileage Tips
www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml
www.edmunds.com/advice/fuel
economy/articles/106842/article.html
Public Transportation
www.publictransportation.org
Small choices we make
every day affect the
health of the planet we
share. The Sustainable
Choices Card provides
information you can use
to make small changes
that will have a major
positive impact on our
environment.
36 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Photo by Don Orth.
vii A foodshed is a local bioregion that
grows food for a specific population.
It is a conceptual way of looking at
and thinking about local, sustainable
food systems.
viii Car
share programs allow members
to use cars as needed, without having
to own one.
ix Telecommuting
means working from
home via phone and Internet.
x Carbonoffset programs sell credits for
investments in renewable energy and
carbon sequestration programs.
For more information
www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/
carboncalculator/
to calculate your carbon emissions
www.ecofoot.org/
to calculate your footprint on the
planet
Carbon Footprint
www.terrapass.com
www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/
carboncalculator/
Car Sharing
www.carsharing.net/where.html
www.flexcar.com/
www.zipcar.com
How to Use the Card
Each column contains recommen-
dations based on how easy the
changes are to implement, and on the
magnitude of their potential benefits.
Get Started with easy lifestyle
changes, Step It Up when you’re
ready to do more, and Go For
Green to have the greatest impact.
The choices we make every day —
large and small—really matter. Use the
card to make individual choices that
will soften your footprint on the planet.
KEEP IT HANDY!
Resources
HOME
Recycling and Hazardous Waste
Centers
www.earth911.org/
Economic Incentives
www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=
products.pr_tax_credits#1
EnergyStar Appliance Stores
www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?
fuseaction=store.store_locator
Water-Saving Resources
www.h2ouse.net
Cheap/No Cost Ways to Save
Energy
www.ase.org/content/article/detail/965
Behind the Card
The Earth Systems Program
Program, housed
in the School of Earth Sciences, is
Stanford's interdisciplinary, under-
graduate program in environmental
science, technology, and policy
(the program also offers a coterminal
master ’s degree). Earth Systems
students share a passion to participate
and a desire to help solve some of the
world’s most pressing problems. The
Sustainable Choices Card was created
by Earth Systems students working
with faculty guidance and expertise.
Design:
AKA – Ahmann Kadlec Associates
Palo Alto, California
AKAcreativegroup.com
Printing:
Watermark Press (a Consolidated Graphics
Company) San Francisco, California
FSC Certified
Paper:
Neenah ENVIRONMENT® PC 100 White
FSC Certified
100% Post Consumer Fiber
Processed Chlorine Free Certified (PCF)
Made with 100% Green Energy
Photo by Mary Fish Arango.
Good Tips for Maintaining Energy Ways to Buy Local
Efficiency At Home
Farmers’ markets and community
www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/ supported agriculture (CSAs)
save_energy.html
www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/
map.htm
FOOD www.foodroutes.org/localfood/
www.eatwellguide.org/
Why Buy Local/Fair Trade/Organic
local Organizations
http://guide.buylocalca.org/
Community Alliance with Family
fair trade Farmers (CA): www.caff.org
www.transfairusa.org/content/about/
overview.php Kellogg Foundation: www.wkkf.org/
organic Center for Agroecology and
www.nofavt.org/why.php Sustainable Food Systems:
http://casfs.ucsc.edu/
Most Important Produce to Buy
Organically
www.foodnews.org/index.php
Seasonal Charts
www.sustainabletable.org/
The School of Earth Sciences The Initiative on the Environment
includes in its mission a commitment and Sustainability is part of The
to create and effectively disseminate Stanford Challenge, a university-wide
fundamental knowledge; to train fundraising campaign launched in
students and future leaders, and to 2006. The initiative is a campus-wide
educate the broader public; and effort to mobilize expertise from every
to integrate, synthesize, and apply corner of the campus to solve the
scientific and engineering knowledge most critical environmental problems of
to societal problems, including the our age. Its central goal is to promote
sustainable use of energy and water environmental sustainability — helping
resources. Earth sciences faculty societies learn to meet their resource
work in areas including energy, water, demands without undermining the
land use and land use change, ability of our planet to provide for future
sustainable agriculture, climate systems generations.
and climate change, and oceans
and coastal environments.
In the Home At the Store
Choices
Sustainable
Stanford University School of Earth Sciences
http://sustainablechoices.stanford.edu
Find Out Much More
Visit the Sustainable Choices
Web site to learn more about
how you can make sustainable
choices.
The Sustainable Choices
Reference Card and Web site
were created by the Earth
Systems Program, School of
Earth Sciences, Stanford
University, and produced as
part of the Stanford Initiative
on the Environment and
Sustainability.
Earth Systems Program
On the Road
R E F E R E N C E C A R D
GREEN CLASS NOTES
Cate alumni are going green. We asked them about how green they are and received a
jungle of responses—below are just a few. For more comments and a very green blog on
this topic, visit www.catealumni.org/?green.
Leslie Gompertz (Charles Gompertz ’54) walking her horse down to the solar powered barn
in Marin County
Harry Russell ’45
It doesn’t surprise me that Cate is
interested in problems connected
to global warming. I’m glad to hear
it! We have made a small start
here in Arizona by replacing all
our incandescent lamp bulbs with
florescent ones. Our local Episcopal
church is in the process of doing
the same. I wish more people in
Arizona would show more interest
in using solar power. With all our
sunshine, it would make so much
sense!
Charles Gompertz ’54
My wife Leslie and I take the
stewardship of our land very
seriously. We have about 35 acres
here in Nicasio in West Marin
County. We grow olives and raise
Highland Cattle. Both are very small
operations, but the 100+ olive trees
thrive on the compost supplied
by two horses and the cattle. I am
sure they are pumping some O2
back into the atmosphere—if only to
counteract the methane from the
cattle. We are about 60% off the
grid, thanks to solar panels on our
barn. We have cut our power use
dramatically as a result. Since we
pump our water from a spring and
a well, this makes a considerable
difference.
If we are not stewards of what we
live on, then who will play that
role? Whether you live in a city
apartment, suburban home or
ranch, the obligation is the same.
It is a matter of responsibility, of
being answerable for who and
what you are. Most of us Cate folks
have a large carbon footprint; we
use and control a lot of resources
and are richly blessed with this
world’s goods. To have much is
to be responsible for much. I am
sure Curtis Cate would have had
something to say about that. It is
very much like those who will be
served, learning to serve. When we
see the school motto, “Servons”, it
raises questions about stewardship,
responsibility, and understanding
our role as participants in all that
is.
Frank Brokaw ’63
Although voluntary action is
laudable, the macro-issue can only
be solved long-term by market
mechanisms that impose financial
penalties on polluters (who include
us all). An incremental tax on
imported energy molecules can
both reduce molecule consumption
and raise funds to subsidize public
transit. The theory is to ensure that
the full cost of private consumption
is borne by the individual
consuming that good or service.
Another area largely ignored
today, despite continuing crises,
is the artificial water shortage
in California. The Feds via the
Army Corps of Engineers spend
billions subsidizing the wasteful
consumption of water by California
agribusiness growing cotton, rice
and alfalfa—crops that should be
confined to the Mississippi Delta,
India, South Vietnam, Bangladesh,
the Amazon basin and other high-
humidity venues, where weather
and nature create a comparative
advantage for those crops in a true
free-market environment. Were
California cities able to bid in a free
market for all water available in-
state, the California water shortage
would disappear overnight and
enviro-issues caused by its
subsidized agribusiness would
“evaporate” concurrently.
Lou Ogaard ’64
I administered an environmental
restoration program (elimination
of abandoned coal mines) for the
State of North Dakota for over
twenty years. We planted thousands
of trees and shrubs in the western
part of the State to control
erosion and provide upland game
habitat. We also created numerous
wetlands to control surface water
runoff on the reclaimed sites
and provide waterfowl habitat. I
took early retirement in 2006 and
currently live in Bolivia. I do not
use water while brushing teeth but
not so much for environmental
concerns but because it may be
contaminated. I do a lot of walking
here, although the cost of gas is
only $1.65 a gallon, so we have
less incentive to go by foot than
folks in the US. I’m not sure about
global warming as a scientist (PhD
in botany), but I think every effort
should be made to conserve what
we have for the future. Living in
a third world country, I see trash
thrown out the windows with no
pick up effort. None of the cars
seem to have catalytic converters
so there is plenty of exhaust in
the air. I could put my talents in
abandoned mine reclamation
to work here, but there is little
interest. The real plus is that Bolivia
has vast, pristine areas that would
be an ecotourist´s dream.
SPRING 2008 37
 environmental notes
Diran Majarian ’66
Greece is blessed with mountains,
rivers and lakes and a very large
number of islands. It has a very
sensitive ecosystem. Unfortunately,
little is done to preserve nature.
About 5 million people live in the
greater Athens area, out of a total
country population of 11 million.
The strongest political lobby and
major industry in Greece is the
construction sector. We have
serious problems with quarries,
ground water level from overuse
of wells, waste disposal by land fill,
air pollution, building on estuaries
that aggravates flash flooding
and lack of proper zoning laws.
We have a national issue about
the diversion of a major river
in Western Greece to boost the
Athens water supply and to support
wasteful cultivation of cotton in
Thessaly that survives only on EU
subsidies. The EU Commission has
levied numerous fines on Greece
for failure to apply environmental
directives. Recently a leading
Athens newspaper Kathimerini has
made environmental issues a major
theme.
Trevor Thomas ‘69
Environmentalism, as it was first
taught me at Cate, was about
being a good citizen in the natural
world. It was about understanding
one’s relation to other things and
respecting limits and boundaries.
Environmentalism was about
humility—about understanding both
one’s place in nature and one’s
unimportance in the grand scheme
of things.
That sense of humility came to
be viewed as dangerous by later
generations of environmentalists.
A belief in one’s insignificance
allows one to doubt the enduring
consequence of irresponsible
behavior. Humility of that sort
had to be driven out of the human
38
consciousness. Man had to be
re-programmed to believe that we
could by our actions alter the very
fabric of planetary physics—that
bovine effluvia and petrochemical
residues could make the oceans
overrun the land. Only then would
there be justification sufficient
to warrant the imposition by
fiat of the far-reaching limits on
human activity demanded by
Environmentalism, limits which the
normal operation of politics would
never sanction.
I come by my deep skepticism
of manmade global warming as
a result of a childhood spent in
the company of my father and
his colleagues, Rocky Mountain
geologists who filled my head with
images of endlessly repeating
cycles of glaciation and global
warming; of times when the cold
and desolate plains of Wyoming
were the beds of warm tropical
seas. I vividly remember seeing a
graph that described a time when
Earth’s atmosphere was so rich
in greenhouse gases that today’s
politicized scientists would call it
a global catastrophe just waiting
to happen. Instead, primitive
Arthropods chose that epoch to
crawl out of the shallow seas and
colonize the landmass—and some
400 million years later, here we all
are.
Philip Bowles ’69
I’ve spent the past 28 years in
production agriculture, trying to
grow useful crops in a sustainable,
safe, and economically rewarding
manner. Having a decent high
school background in chemistry,
physics, and biology allowed to me
to take college level courses and
survive without too much trouble
(even though I was a Drama major).
It never ceases to amaze me how
many “environmental activist”
types have not acquired even the
rudiments of a scientific education.
Many of the environmental
“debates” now clogging the courts
and legislatures could have been
avoided, or made useful, had
the parties on either side had
the benefit a decent high school
science education. Cate, and
schools like it, play a vital role in
producing creative and nuanced
minds.
Marty Troup ’75
I think there are really a couple of
key levels for discussions on this
topic.
1. Local/personal actions and
results. These are things like
LCD monitors changed from CRT,
selective use of compact florescent
lighting (not great in high cycle
areas where they fail fast), better
water heaters and appliances,
better car choices, drive less etc.
These are increasingly “good”
things to do. They are morally,
logically and even financially
appealing and valuable.
2. Large scale policy issues. This
is a complete mess. With some
estimates showing that China has
already usurped the green house
gas king title from the US and is
opening something like two new
coal fired power plants a week
and creating as much as 60% of
the green house gas seen over
the US, the scale of the problem is
staggering.
Personally, I would like to take
reasonable and aggressive action,
and I have replaced appliances,
gotten rid of all but two CRTs
in my house, installed five CFLs
plus upgrade insulation, and
installed dual pane windows, all at
considerable cost. But at a certain
level, I feel that such actions are
a farce unless power generation
and other massive areas of green

house gas production are brought
onto some sane path towards large
scale reductions. Many studies
show that nearly 2/3 of the green
house gas problem in the US is
due to power plant production;
thus, no other area offers so much
opportunity for resolution. So far
the US and China, not to mention
India and a few other developing
nations, have done virtually nothing
to address the issue. Even the EU,
which has been more active, has
achieved almost nothing and not
met their own short term goals. (If
you correct out for “dirty” Eastern
European facilities that were shut
down over the last 10 years.)
We can only hope that leadership
arrives from somewhere that places
a priority on the concept of a well
articulated national energy policy
rather than aggressively seeking
to extend the status quo, which has
been the current US policy.
Michael C. Keenan ’76
The Green Paradigm has been a
big factor in my business plan
for the winery that I run. We farm
sustainably, putting more into
the system than we take out. I
provide on-site housing for my key
employees, eliminating commute
time and traffic stress. We just
switched to biodegradable shipping
containers from the old styrofoam,
even though the styrofoam was a
little more foolproof. And perhaps,
most importantly, we installed a
photo-voltaic system last year that
provides all the power that the
entire campus needs, houses
and all.
As far as reaching back in time and
trying to remember anything from
my Cate experience that sparked
an interest in things green...
My outdoor experiences at Cate
certainly had a hand in shaping my
’green’ thinking. The camping trips
with Mr. Bowler and the Ornithology
class that I started with Mr. Spittler
all helped develop a love for and
an appreciation of our natural
systems. Great memories.
Rob Dunton ’79
There was a broader environmental
movement afoot while I was at
Cate in the 70’s. Cate had no formal
outdoor program that I remember.
I went on only one camping trip to
Yosemite and spent one weekend in
the Channel Islands during my four
years, but these two experiences
of pristine nature at a time when
Iron Eyes Cody was crying about
pollution on TV and litter-prone
pull-tab cans were outlawed made a
big impact on me as a teenager. My
soda cans were changing.
Environmental issues were part of
the national consciousness, and
somewhere down deep, my outdoor
experiences at Cate coincided with
this larger movement to make
an impact and environmental
awareness that shapes my actions
and perceptions daily. I look
forward to championing further
composting, solar power, expansion
of our use of organic foods and the
purchase of hybrid cars at Cate—to
continue our path toward becoming
a beacon of environmental action,
awareness and sustainability. Why
not be the first energy-neutral
school in America with no carbon
footprint? We can do it...if we want.”
Amy Williams Black ’86
I am no maven of “green-ness,” but
as with all areas of my life, Cate was
profoundly influential in developing
my environmental awareness.
The beauty of the natural world
surrounds Cate: the mountains, the
high eucalyptus trees, the Pacific
Ocean and its beaches. Years later
when I was living in bleak urban
landscapes (New York, Berlin,
Chicago) I suffered from the lack
environmental notes
of daily exposure to green things
and realized how important it was
for me to move back California and
be near the ocean and mountains
and spend a part of each day
outdoors. Part of enjoying this part
of the world is the obligation to
help maintain it, which I do and am
teaching my kids to do as well.
Monty Schmitt ’86
I have worked since ’91 doing some
kind of habitat restoration or
environmental water policy work. I
am currently beginning my eighth
year at the Natural Resources
Defense Council as a senior water
resources scientist. I am the project
manager for an effort to restore
salmon and habitat over 150 miles
of the San Joaquin River and this
summer was a co-author on a
report regarding the effects of
global warming on water resources.
5-year-old Elisha Schiller saving energy.
Allison Pomerantz Schiller ’89
‘Going Green’ plays a prominent
role in my family’s daily life. I have
three small children (6 1/2, 5 and 2)
and we ride our bikes everywhere
to get around. We recycle, compost,
and grow herbs and vegetables in
our garden. We used cloth diapers
for the kids. This year for all of the
kids’ birthdays, we had ’zero-impact
parties’: gathering friends in a
park or in our backyard, using only
our own plates, silverware, etc.,
(even in the park!) and threw away
nothing. The gifts for the children
were either hand-made, from thrift
stores or something usable (i.e.,
a rosemary plant to put in the
garden). Cate played a large role
in my ’greening’. This was the first
time I even considered turning the
water off when brushing teeth or
showering. The impact of living in
such a remarkably beautiful place
left me with a heightened sense of
the natural world that surrounded
me. I will never forget driving
to Thacher for soccer games (I
played on the JV team) and pulling
oranges off the trees to peel and
eat. I am applying for a Masters’
in Architecture and look to study
sustainable and green building.
Thanks to Cate for so many positive
influences!
Amanda Clark Happle ’91
My husband and daughter and
I have been living in Boquete,
Panama, for the past year. In
a matter of weeks, we are set
to open the first restaurant to
feature organic produce in our
area. We have been working with a
coalition of organic farmers in the
province to provide organic fruits,
vegetables, eggs, honey and other
items to the community. It is our
hope that by showing other farmers
how profitable organic farming
can be, that we can convince more
farmers to abandon their use of
chemical pesticides in favor of
organic, gentler, and more “earth
friendly” methods. Our restaurant
will also participate in the
community recycling program that
provides funds to local schools.
Finally, as our own experiment
in organic farming, we also grow
organic coffee on our finca where
we live.
SPRING 2008 39
 environmental notes
April Phungrasamee
Newman ’94
Below is a list of some things I do to
’live green:’
+ use public transportation, walk,
or bike to consume less fuel,
contribute less to pollution, and
decrease traffic
+ fuel my car with local biodiesel
instead of petroleum-based diesel
when I drive (no conversion on
a diesel car is necessary to use
biodiesel)
• use canvas shopping bags
• eat organic, local, and shade
grown (and fair trade)
• use natural and organic toiletries
and housecleaning products
• purchase recycled goods
whenever possible (e.g.,
paper, t.p., Preserve-brand
toothbrushes, clothing made
from recycled fibers)
• use rags instead of disposable
mop inserts (swiffer-type)
• recycle and compost
• turn off lights, monitors, and
faucets when not in use
• love a spouse who works in the
solar energy industry!
Environmental and social
sustainability are overlapping
more and more. I think of fair trade
products and other measures which
take care of the environment while
concurrently treating people better
than old alternatives.
Scott Claassen ’97
It would be impossible to separate
my current convictions with
regard to the environment from
my experience at Cate. Although
I had expressed my love for the
outdoors through beach clean-
ups and the like before I came
to the Mesa, my knowledge and
practical skills changed drastically,
thanks to the faculty, staff, and
opportunities available at Cate.
First of all, the Outdoor Program
40
allowed me to experience the
beauty of the natural world. It is
the envy of my hiking, climbing,
surfing, kayaking, and outdoors
friends. Secondly, the faculty had
a huge impact. Cheryl Powers is
one name that stands out for me.
I distinctly remember a project in
an honors Chemistry class in which
we had to design “green” living
space. If I remember correctly, Jim
Masker’s International Relations
course was nearly paper-free, even
back then. It was also at Cate that I
learned the finer points of recycling
through sorting plastic and other
materials and carting them off to
the recycling facility—a practice I
continued at my less-than-green
university. A series of convocations
and speakers related to
environmental awareness also had
a major impact. Most importantly,
the rhetoric of the community
was—and I assume IS—oriented
towards awareness.
As for the practical application of
my “greenness,” yes—I am very
conscious of my water usage. I
changed all of the light bulbs in
my house to fluorescents. I recycle
and compost. I bicycle whenever
possible. I carpool whenever
possible. I use reusable bags for my
shopping. I practice Leave No Trace
principles when outdoors. When I
have a home, I will do my best to
make it as green as possible.
I am very concerned. I’ve had
the opportunity to see firsthand
the shrinking of glaciers all over
the world. The effects on polar
ice—particularly in the Arctic over
the past year—is staggering. Climate
change is certain. Anything that I
can do to minimize that change I try
to do. Many of the changes we can
make in our lives are simple, and
the majority of their side effects
are beneficial to our physical and
mental health.
Bill Boyd ’00
I just got back from an
environmental trip. I drove to
Panama from Newport Beach, CA.
We converted our diesel truck to
run on the used vegetable oil from
restaurants and collected it from
the restaurants along the way.
That idea is particularly relevant
in Mexico and Central America,
because mid-size diesel trucks
are everywhere down there, and
diesels can be converted easily.
We spread the knowledge and
information to hundreds of hotel
and restaurant owners with fleets
of diesel trucks, as well as telling
the average Joe. Everyone was
excited to hear what was possible,
and every single person we talked
to was interested in a conversion.
It makes sense, because by burning
vegetable oil instead of diesel your
car’s emissions drop significantly,
and fuel is usually free. Restaurants
give away their used vegetable oil,
because it is useless to them. We
also passed out 100 copies of a
children’s book we had translated
into Spanish. The book shows how
litter ends up in the ocean and all of
its negative effects. We brought the
books to schools or just rounded up
twenty kids in the street and read it
with them. We dropped copies off at
schools all along the Pacific coast.
The response we got was amazing.
The kids loved it.
Jessie King ’02
I am from Hong Kong, land of
consumerism, bright lights, and
extreme waste. When I arrived at
Cate, it was the first time I had
heard the word “recycling” uttered
everyday. I even had it as my chore
in ’25 house. God forbid you throw
your Coke can in the trash (those
were my initial thoughts). During
my junior year at Cate, my exposure
to the green movement grew. I
switched into Mrs. Powers’ advisee
group; it was the first year AP

Environmental Science was offered;
there was a school-wide recycling
competition (mainly between the
dorms); and it was the year of
rolling blackouts across California.
It was a bit like “wake up and smell
the coffee” for me (that or “wake
up and smell the mulch”). In any
case, it was clear green was in.
I went to Georgetown University
(School of Foreign Service in
particular) where I majored
in Science, Technology and
International Affairs, my focus
being the “environment.” I studied
energy policy, water policy
issues, environmental security,
oceanography, development in
cities of the south to name a few
of the “environmentally-focused”
issues I dealt with. I wrote my
thesis on traditional agricultural
practices in China in the face of
scarce resources, mainly land and
water. Now, I am in my second
year of law school at Lewis & Clark
and hoping to emerge in a year
in a half with a JD and a Natural
Resources Certificate. Jokingly,
I often tell people I want to save
the world hugging one tree at a
time, but that’s only because I’m in
Oregon, the land of so-called “tree
huggers.” In reality, I want to take
my environmental law education
and go home to China and do
environmental work there.
People often ask me what struck
my interest in the environment.
I never say Al Gore. Surprisingly
enough, I find myself, while not the
most gung-ho Cate alum, definitely
attributing my drive for public
service and the environment as
something I was exposed to at Cate.
I spent the past summer working
for a non-profit in San Francisco,
San Francisco Baykeeper, and
while in college, SeaWeb Marine
Photobank (another environmental
non-profit). As someone who was
lucky enough to go to Cate, a
school whose motto is “Servons,”
it’s taken me far, above and beyond
what I thought was possible in
public service (I did make my
rounds with foster homes which
was good pre-training in working
with the community). My hope
is (and my friends tell me I’m
succeeding on a smaller scale with
them, as they now bring their own
bags to grocery stores, car pool,
and turn the water off while they
are brushing their teeth) that I can
bring my environmental education
back from the States to China.
William O’Rahilly Dowling ’03
However Cate approaches
environmental issues I would hope
that it is not driven (directed) by
the global warming craze. Mercury
and carbon monoxide are much
more harmful than carbon dioxide
(which isn’t a pollutant at all),
and I think that when we focus
on global warming and the dread
carbon dioxide, we divert millions
of dollars away from projects that
can have a positive effect NOW.
Despite the alarmist war cries,
even the grandest global scheme
of carbon credits and emissions
reductions would not significantly
impact ’global warming’, and
that’s if our models are correct,
and scientifically speaking,
models are never correct (though
some fit better than others). And
a correlation does NOT imply
causation. I think personally that
we should focus on creating real
restrictions on development in our
own country (especially in the West
where developers disregard that all
organisms, including humans, need
water, and that in deserts and most
of the west, it can be very scarce),
and I think that globally we should
focus on the basic necessities such
as clean water and being able to
grow one’s own food. Some of the
recent global warming craze is
environmental notes
sparking interest in biofuels and
alternatives to oil, but consumers
are ill-informed. An increase
in biofuel production means a
decrease in food production (crops
once used for food are now used
for biofuel) and in countries where
food is desperately needed! The
Prius, hailed as green by likely the
same ones crying “stop global
warming!” actually has a greater
carbon footprint than the H2 (when
you include production, especially
of the battery), and its battery has
a much shorter life and is much
more chemically hazardous than
generic car batteries!
Climate change is not a man-made
phenomenon. Stopping global
warming would be like stopping
the seasons. Most of what we
know is based on imperfect
models and imperfect knowledge.
The facts are NOT in—science is
NOT belief in a politician or even
an environmentalist’s rhetoric.
Science by definition cannot have
a consensus and if when a group
of researchers who credit their
institution with representing
“Science” reach a consensus, it’s
always wrong. Science does not
PROVE, science supports with data.
As an alumni of Cate, I wouldn’t
like to see Al Gore teaching science
at that school, and I’d hope that
students are learning to question
everything they hear and think
(and research) for themselves
rather than learn to follow in step
while blindly believing rhetoric
and dogma. I feel strongly that
there are environmental issues
worth tackling, but we must tread
carefully, and we must use a
practical, rather than an alarmist
and dogmatic, approach.
Jesse Sleamaker ’05
I’m the president of Northwestern
University’s Students for Ecological
and Environmental Development
(SEED), whose mission is to pioneer,
teach, and model environmental
stewardship in order to inspire our
future leaders to act in ways that
protect and sustain our planet. I
came into the organization last
year and saw a tremendous need
for change. SEED was lethargic
and stuck in its ways, attracting
the same old types of less-than-
dynamic environmentalists, and
putting on the same old events.
This year we gave it a jump-start:
By expanding our inter-dorm
energy-saving competition, we
created space and time to travel
to residences on campus to give a
dynamic lesson on sustainability
and conservation. The lesson is
based on the multiple-intelligences
principles of learning, and
puts discovery back into the
hands of students. (Exercises
include a mock Sustainability
Committee that has to make
funding recommendations.) We’re
also bringing together a spring-
term “intersections” lecture
series that will focus on the
intersection of human-rights and
environmentalism, on deepening
interdisciplinary problem solving
capacity, and on engaging in critical
discussion of two of the most
important issues of our generation.
(The lecture series will be a
quarterly event, focusing on other
intersections like “business and the
environment” or “literature and
wilderness”.)
SPRING 2008 41
 ALUMNI GREEN LIST
Many Cate alumni are involved in green businesses. Below is a partial list of
alumni and their areas of work. Visit www.catealumni.org/?green for more details
on their businesses and to add your own.

Austin E. Hills ’53 Philip Berolzheimer ’53 Gillian Friedrichs Ockner ’92
Organic winery Charles Berolzheimer ’78 Sustainability consulting
Parke Berolzheimer ’80
David R. Young ’56 Cedar products/fire logs Jono Stevens ’92
Oceanographer Photovoltaic systems
Lee W. Waldrep ’80
Davis (Janet Davis/Sam Davis ‘59, Architecture Hilary Decker Sinnamon ’94
Mike Davis ‘62, Don Davis ‘68) Environmental consulting
Organic farm James N. Smith ’81 Children’s furniture manufacturing
Architecture
C. Michael Haugh ’63 Robert Abbott ’95
Manufacturing partnership/green Eric Carl Faber ’81 Organic farming
suppliers network Packaging resources
Chris Wittwer ’95
Thomas Escher ’65 Matthew Morphy ’84 Windpower
Sightseeing San Francisco Building systems
Cielo Rios ’98
Philip Bowles ’69 Audrey Kremer Monke ’84 Shoes
Farming Children’s camp
Richard Rojas ’98
John Schubert ’70 Jeff Haines ’84 Urban planning
Transportation consulting School supplies
Jack Walker ’99
Bruce King ’72 Bruce King ’85 Capital management
Ecological building network Solar power
Vanessa Janss Menke ’99
Kim Gunther ’72 Monty Schmitt ’86 Surf education
Manufacturing Natural Resources Defense Council
Bill Boyd ’00
Alden Marin ’74 Richard J. Marks ’86 Construction
Wine marketing and distribution Communications/Creative director
Ben Christensen ’00
Jamie Bourret ’77 Carter Kirkwood ’87 Research
Architecture Software
Derek Zobrist ’03
Greg Clow ’77 Jason Hotchkiss ’88 Energy retrofits
Marketing graphics Home builder
Joshua Soper ’03
Alan H. Nichols Jr. ’77 Fred Pope ’89 Geologist
Equity fund Energy systems

Timur Tecimer ’78 Amanda Clark Happle ’91

LEED building Organic restaurant

42 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
SPECIAL CLASS NOTE
The American PR Sergeant took this picture
of Richard MacDonald ’82 during a photo
session for the helicopter detachment.
Richard (McGrath)
MacDonald ’82 of Scotland
has been in Iraq with the
Royal Marines since last year.
Following is an excerpt from
a letter he sent to his Cate
friends and schoolmates.
It seems a long, long time since I
was mobilised. The seven weeks I
had before stepping on a charter
plane to Kuwait passed quickly,
taken up with wrapping up civilian
life and pre-deployment training.
Before spending the last two weeks
down in Southern England on a ba-
sic infantry refresher course, I said
goodbye to my wife, my four and
almost-two year-old girls and our
six-month old baby boy with a heart
so heavy I don’t know how I coped.
My job here is to support a Royal
Air Force helicopter detachment.
Some days are good, some days are
mixed, some days are bad. At least
over the holidays we had a couple
of breaks. At Christmas we had two
beers and a glass of wine and din-
ner with about sixty other Brits on
base. The incoming alarm sounded
during the queen’s speech, but as
we were packed in ’elbow room
only’ at tables, no one moved (I for
one didn’t want to spill my drink!).
For New Years we had two beers,
watched a film, played charades and
a game of poker (I won $15!).
Today’s been a good day.
I got up early, made it to breakfast
for the first time since arriving, got
the weekly short military hair cut
and picked up a few things I needed
from the BX (the base exchange
shop). I couldn’t help thinking
how quiet things were. I was even
conscious of birds singing for the
first time (sparrows- I don’t know
why, but I was really surprised to
find sparrows in Iraq). Of course I
laughed when I listened and rea-
lised I could hear at least one C-130
Hercules on the runway and a pair
of American Blackhawks touching
down, but to me the noise levels
seemed insignificant.
We had an ’Incoming! Incoming!
Incoming!’ alarm at 0835. As I was
within sight of my cabin I sprinted
to get to my body armour and
laid on the floor until the all clear
sounded. If there was a ripple in my
cheeriness it was the fact the water
was turned off in the showers. They
do this sometimes for maintenance;
it means you have to shave with
cold bottled water and if you’re
really brave, take a shower with
cold bottled water too. When the
showers do work we’re limited to 3
minutes.
Flying is the exhilarating but
frequently scary part of the job. We
brief and then go to chow at the
’D-FAC,” the dining facility, which
has loads of food and choice, sort of
like a modern High School canteen
really. Then we begin tasking. If I’m
flying I suit-up in body armour, avia-
tion helmet, assault vest, rifle and
pistol. I can sit between the pilots in
the jump seat, but I’d rather sit by
the open doors to each side of the
helicopter. I can wear Night Vision
Goggles if I want, which turns the
world green, but I prefer not to. The
senses are dominated by the noise
of the engines, the thumping of the
rotors, the smell of aviation fuel, the
vibrations of the aircraft and the
wind/cold of the night.
If I’m in the back, my job is to help
the crewman/gunner look out for
threats, usually small arms tracer,
and call out a warning through the
intercom while trying to figure out
the point of origin. The funny thing
is that tracer rounds are decep-
tively mesmerising in their own
way. They’re either red or green
with a yellow centre and I know it
sounds crazy, but they seem to float
innocently up into the sky in a non-
threatening manner.
While this all sound exciting (if not
slightly terrifying) my job is mostly
ground-based. We’re a small RAF
detachment in a sea of US Air Force
and US Army units. While our job
has its dangers, the army guys go
’out through the wire’ in convoys
to face things on the ground. We’re
located next to an emergency med
centre, and I have seen dustoff
(medical evacuation) Blackhawks
come in with wounded; I have also
seen awkwardly sagging body bags
being unloaded, which hits home
hard. In the background there is
always the hum and noise of trans-
ports coming in and helicopters
turning & burning on the pad.
The incoming klaxon and alarm
went off three times yesterday,
which can be scary and tends to
put folk on a nervous edge. When
they happen there’s a moment of
disbelief quickly followed by mild
panic as you see others running
for cover. We’ve heard and felt
the explosions, but so far (fingers
crossed/knock on wood) we’ve been
lucky. One of the loudest explosions
that rocked our bunks and sent a
shock wave through our bodies was
from a vehicle-bourne improvised
explosive device over a mile away
- what it must have been like at the
scene is hard to imagine.
And then of course there’s the sur-
real moments- sitting underneath a
palm tree by a man-made lake with
the sun beating down and listen-
ing to Tonga Marines talking in the
background; blasting the Landrov-
er’s stereo to Nickleback Rockstar
with the dust billowing behind and
waving to the door gunners as a
flight of helicopters passes 50 ft
overhead; pulling up next to a camel
sitting in the back of a lorry in
downtown Baghdad; looking down
on fifty or more massive oil tankers
in the bay off Kuwait city; flying low
over Baghdad during the day and
waving back to a boy herding goats
in a field; watching a ladybird land
on my hand and wondering where
to let it go in a world of concrete
and wind turbulence, or visiting
the Al Faw Palace to see the ’rear
rear echelon’ clerks sitting at desks
surrounded by marble, gold gilt and
chandeliers.
I’m missing a birthday today, - my
middle one. She’s two and my wife
says she’s been sitting by the front
window lately looking outside and
calling for ’Daddy.’ On the bad days
I just daydream about walking up to
my house, dropping my gear on the
front lawn and embracing my family
as they come tumbling out the door.
It was hard over the holidays, not
helped by the fact our military wel-
fare phones crashed over Christmas
and mail deliveries are few and
far between. Anyway, time to grab
some food and then start prepping
for my brief. Hope this finds you all
well and safe.
SPRING 2008 43
 CLASS NOTES

Jeff Barton’s advisee group on Service Day at Carpinteria Beach. From l-r: Adrian Robins ‘10, Michael Reyes ‘08, Efren Huerta-Ruiz ‘09, Dave Soto ‘08, Anne Sewall ‘08,
Emily Xiao ‘08, advisor Jeff Barton

John Hamilton ’59 and his daughter, Flora,
in front a Li Lan painting showing a scene
near Taidong on Taiwan’s mountainous
east side. John writes, “Looks a little like
Carpinteria, don’t you think?”
1935
Brose Cramer writes, “I’m still
alive at 90! Hope all my other
classmates are still the same!”
Stowe Phelps is still thriving:
writing, playing golf, and enjoying
his grandchildren and five great-
grandchildren.
1948
Bob Chang hopes to see the Class
of ’48 at Camp Cate in June for
their 60th reunion!
1951
Wes Robinson is enjoying retire-
ment. He lives in Maryland near
his son and daughter.
1959
John Hamilton attended the
2007 Cate Taiwan Reception
with other Cate alumni and
prospective families. Judd Hanna
attended the January Alumni
Council meeting in San Francisco
before the reception at the St.
Francis Yacht Club. Following
the reception, he and fellow
classmates John Luce, Larry
Onderdonk, Jon Newhall, and Bo
Davis enjoyed catching up over
dinner.
1961
John Diamante reports Matthew
is doing junior year abroad in
London. 2009 will mark the 25th
year of Editorial Services (proof-
reader.com). Doug Raymond
reports that he has discovered
that retirement makes his life
even more busy!
1964
John Kuney is now living in Ojai,
California, and enjoys walking his
dogs at Rincon Point. He cannot
believe he surfed in this ocean
without a wetsuit while at Cate!
1966
Alex Comfort is the Executive
Director of the Cradle of Forestry
Interpretive Association, with
offices in Brevard and Asheville,
North Carolina. John Fiske plans
to retire and move to Santa
Barbara in July 2008.
1968
Billy Steinberg’s 10-year-old
son, Ezra, is an excellent pitcher
and shortstop for his West Los
Angeles Little League and All-Star
Baseball Teams. Billy manages
the teams and marvels that songs
and baseball, his two loves since
childhood, are still his favorite
things.
1969
Trevor Thomas recently pub-
lished a new history of the Civil
War, which is currently being used
nationwide by students prepar-
ing for this year’s United States
Academic Decathlon.
1972
Stephen Royce writes, “Any
friend of Cate, alumnus/a or stu-
dent wanting any tips on where
to stay, dine, or play whilst in the
South of France is welcome to call
on me by phone, email, or knock
on the door.”
1973
Andy Stoessel continues to
serve as Rector of St. Michael’s
Episcopal Church in Marblehead,
Massachusetts. Jon Upham
writes, “Maybe we can get Chuck
Port and Dicke Liselle to cater our
35th! I’ll have my usual ’blue plate
special’ in that case! All my love
and best wishes to Betty Wood-
worth and Eleanor Caldwell.”
1974
Will Anderson’s musical, Return,
has been accepted to the New
American Musical Festival. This
new festival is in its first year in
Los Angeles, California, under
the hands of Jason Alexander
and Marcia Seligman. The show is
based on Sonia Levitin’s award-
winning novel, The Return, now
in its eighth printing. Will also
is composing the score for the
prime time television show,
Moment of Truth, and for the
sequel to the stop motion classic,
The Year Without a Santa Claus,
titled, A Miser Brother’s Christ-
mas. Alden Marin is living in LA
designing wine labels, writing
poetry, and painting pictures. He
invites all alumni to visit his site
at www.aldenmarin.com. Alden
writes, “Long live the phoenix!”
Myles Temby is a morning news
anchor at KOIT 96.5 FM and trans-
portation reporter for ABC/7 KGO
TV San Francisco.
1976
After attending Cate, Jorge
Molina graduated from Univer-
sidad de las Americas in Mexico
City. He earned a degree in
Business Administration and spe-

44 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N

Caties Blair Eliott Paige ’86, Calysta Drake
’89, Colin Drake ’87, Kent Elliott ’88, Jason
Burkey-Skye ’87, Dana Cronin ’87, Bill
Werksman ’85, and Mike Kelley ’85 with the
bride and groom, Ashley Harrison and Mike
Morris ’87.
cialized in Hospital Administration
and Drugstores. He worked in
Clínica Londres for thirty years
and now works as a real estate
investor and volunteers for a
medical research foundation
named for his father, Fundación
Olegario Molina Montes. Jorge
and his wife, Rebeca de la Rosa,
live in Cancun, México. Halsted
Morris is still skiing and teaching
about avalanche awareness and
rescue in Colorado. He met up for
dinner with Steve Goldenberg
in December 2007, and is off to
Canada to enjoy some helicopter-
skiing.
1977
Kirk Phelps had a great time
fly fishing for salmon in Brit-
ish Columbia with his brothers,
Charlie ’78 and Cord (father of
Austin ’02) in August 2007. They
also spent Thanksgiving together
with their mom in Reno, Nevada.
Kirk writes, “I loved reading that
such a high percentage of Caties
participate in the Foster Homes
program. Go, Doc!”
1979
Jim Olmstead reports he is
“living the dream and gathering
steam.”
1981
Michael Brown’s recently
launched Weaver’s Coffee &
Tea, which will commemorate
2008 with an all-new lineup of
hand-crafted, artisan coffees.
Andy Meyer and his wife, Kellen,
welcomed a son, Haven Quin,
who was born October 7, 2007
weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce and
measuring 21.5 inches long. Baby,
mom, big sister (Brynkly), big
brother (Zander), and dad are all
well. Steve Ostercamp joined a
small commodities consultancy in
London with sales responsibility
for Europe and the Middle East.
He enjoys having a fun job where
he can use French, German, and
Arabic with his clients! John
Warner is managing the Arroyo
Hondo Preserve in Gaviota, Cali-
fornia, with his wife, Jennifer, and
running his native plant nursery.
He invites classmates to visit!
1982
Richard MacDonald was mobi-
lized and deployed to Iraq for
four months over Christmas with
the Royal Air Force. Working with
a British helicopter detachment
he says, “Things are okay here,
sometimes a bit scary (i.e. flying
over the city at night) and we’re
sort of low on luxuries, but we’re
all in the same situation, so we
make the best of it and try to take
care of each other as best we
can. We’re ’dry’ here, so you can
imagine how much a cold beer
would go down right now!”
1984
Mac Bowyer is looking forward
to coming back and visiting the
Mesa soon! Baret Bertea Walker
will compete in a car rally start-
ing in Budapest and ending in
Bamako, a distance covering 4,742
miles. She will be competing with
her team, the Iron Camel. Check
out the official race website at
budapestbamako.org/en.
class notes
1985 1989
Bruce King, his wife Alexandra David Andrews married Lisa Ma-
and new big sister Caroline are rie Steele on September 1, 2007.
pleased to announce the arrival Rob Vandenburg and Holley
of a baby boy to their family. Shepard Murphy attended. David
Parker Harrison King was born on continues to work in residential
November 10, 2007 at 3:40 a.m. He real estate in Boise, ID. He plans
weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces and to start a new record in February,
was 20.5 inches long. In addition 2008. Sarah Carpenter continues
to his new role as father of two, her third year working as a physi-
Bruce continues his three-year cian with Doctors Without Borders
term as Alumni Council President. in Africa. Valarie Janklow Gardner
is loving being a mom of two. Her
1987 children, Ella Bea and Joshua,
Sarah Richards Gansa reports keep her on her toes! Jonas Ma-
that baby Renzo (now one year son saw Kipchoge Spencer ’91
old) is babbling incessantly, cruis- at Burning Man this year. He was
ing the furniture, and is a true hoping to kayak the Point Reyes
delight for his parents, brother, Seashore for Thanksgiving.
Ruca, and the family’s new kitty,
Dante! Mike Morris married 1990
Ashley Harrison on September Ellen Cowan writes, “Greeting
22, 2007, in Pasadena, California. Caties! 2007 was a great one, full
Alumni in attendance were Mike of growth and challenge. I found
Kelley ’85, Bill Werksman ’85, myself joining the roster of the
Blair Elliott Paige ’86, Jason New York City Opera, continuing
Burkey-Skye, Dana Cronin, my work with the Aspen Institute
Calysta Drake ’89, Colin Drake, and Community Music, and ac-
and Kent Elliott. cepting a business development
position with Linked In. Join me
online: www.linkedin.com/in/
SAVE THE DATE
Cate Celebrates Gaby Edwards
May 10, 2008
Gaby is retiring this year. Please join us
for a day-long celebration of her Cate
career. Alumni, parents, grandparents,
faculty and friends are invited to attend
classes and a special all-school assembly,
play in Alumni Sports Day spring games,
and join Gaby for a dinner in her honor.
For more details, visit
www.catealumni.org
SPRING 2008 45
 class notes
ellencowan” RaeLee Hudson
continues to enjoy practicing law
and raising her daughter, Brenna.
Nick Meyer married Misty Marie
Mueller of St. Louis, Missouri on
August 26, 2006. There were sev-
eral Caties in attendance, includ-
ing, Austin and Liza Blue, Hilary
Magowan and her husband Anton,
Brett Niven and his wife Amy,
John Kim and his wife Susan,
and Rusty Bacon ’93, who’s wife
Paige was not there because she
was home with their one-week old
daughter, Caroline.
1991
Tina Abbott Wainwright and
her husband, Shep, are building a
house in Newport Beach and plan
to move in April 2008.
1992
Danielle Pergament married
Devin Friedman on July 7, 2007, in
Tuscany, Italy. Alumni in atten-
dance were Michelle Homme ’91,
Sam Hansen, Laura Clark Ma-
cleod, and Lisa Browne Stanson.
Former Cate Music Department
Faculty Member Andy Camp-
bell officiated. Mara Krieger
Sweeney is a doctor of internal
medicine in Santa Barbara. She
and her husband, Dan Sweeney,
have two children, 4 year-old
Nathaniel and 1 year-old Addison.
1993
Wyatt Gruber was married in
New York at the Lighthouse at
Chelsea Piers to Jane Frances
Griffin on October 20, 2007. Jeb
Owen graduated from the Univer-
sity of California, Riverside, with
a PhD in entomology in August,
2007, and is a new assistant
professor at Washington State
University. He conducts research
on the interactions of the immune
system with parasitic insects
that are responsible for disease
46 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Lea Redmond’s hand drawn puzzles are brain teasers
that combine two things and two words.
The drawing to the right: accordiant
transmission. He sends his fond-
est regards to Cheryl Powers,
as the recent Bulletin article
reminded him of what an out-
standing teacher she is. Jeb, his
wife Amanda, and their two kids,
2 year-old Ryder and 8 month-old
Teague, saw Josh Conviser ’92
and his wife Barbara on recent
trip to Denver. He is in touch with
classmate Jamie Colman, who
is also living in Washington, in
Seattle. John Schneider and his
wife, Jenny, had a baby daughter
on December 19, 2007. Madeleine
“Maddie” Schneider joins her par-
ents and her 2-year-old brother,
Christopher.
1994
Amy Lopez-Hollis Balducci and
her husband, Charles, happily
celebrated their third wedding
anniversary in August, 2007.
Amy is working at Cushman and
Wakefield in commercial real
estate in New York City. They live
in a two-bedroom apartment and
welcome any classmates to visit!
Jon Chang and his wife, Kather-
ine Pike, welcomed a baby girl,
Harriet Sheng Yi Chang, on June
11, 2007. Jamie Morris Persoon
is teaching 5th grade at Canalino
Elementary School in Carpinteria,
California.
1995
Catherine S. Dudley has opened
Mix Studio, a new Eastside studio
in Austin, Texas. As an artist,
Catherine collects visual ele-
ments and works them into her
art through photography, stencils,
and collage. She partnered with
photographer Sarah Wilson,
who recently moved back to
Austin from NYC. Sara Doughty
Giordani, her husband, John, and
big-brother, James, welcomed
Daniel “Landi” on June 6, 2007.
Karen Herbert Gustafson and
her husband, Zack, are the proud com. Eli Miller is still living in
parents of a new baby girl, Anna Rhode Island, pursuing his rock
Sophia Gustafson. She was born ’n’ roll dreams with his band,
at 11:19 a.m., Tuesday, December Zox. They released their new
18, 2007. She weighed 6 pounds album on January 22 and will be
9 ounces and she was 20 inches touring through the US, Europe,
long. Jack Jackson married and Japan this year. Check them
Julie Anne Applegarth on July 28, out at www.zoxband.com. Lea
2007, at Quail Lodge in Carmel Redmond has begun her first
Valley, California. Alumni in adventure in mass-production!
attendance were Nelson Jones
’48, groomsman David Dolby,
Hadley Tomicki, Shepley Smith
’94, Colin Browne, and Brooks
Rosenquist. After the reception,
Nelson Jones ’48 whisked Jack
and Julie away in a classic 1934
Packard Club Sedan.
Casey McCann ’97, Camille Freeman ’97,
1996
Chris Skelton ’02, Grayson Bryant ’95,
Gregory Lemmons successfully Blair Elliott Paige ’86, Stephen Worsley ’75,
passed the 2007 California Bar Amy Nichols ’93, Geoff McDonald ’89, Alex
Exam. McCormack ’86, and Arthur Conner ’87
sorted, packaged, and boxed 33 barrels of
goods—over 3,000 pounds of food at the San
1997 Francisco Food Bank, December 4, 2007.
David Amerikaner is a first
year law student University of
Pennsylvania Law School. After
graduating from the University
of Michigan with a degree in eco-
nomics and Harvard’s Kennedy
School of Government with a
Master’s in public policy, Ronny
Luhur is very much enjoying
working in DC at Environmental
Defense. Adam Rives moved to
David Dolby ’95, Hadley Tomicki ’95, and
Kansas City to do his residency in Colin Browne ’95 at Jack Jackson’s ’95 wed-
Orthopedic Surgery. He writes, “If ding in Carmel Calley, California
anyone’s in town, give me a call!”
Bik Tomkoria continues to work
in bond analysis.
1998
Nadine Haobsh’s first book,
Beauty Confidential, is in stores
now. Nadine is embarking on a
college book tour this spring and
is excited for the publication of
her second book in September Cate alumni Ashwin Atre ’05, Justin Ha ’05,
Danny Seigle ’05, Alex Farber ’06, Sebastian
2008. She lives in LA and invites
Vollering ’06, Celine Cutter ’06, and Laura
former classmates to email Seidman ’06 at Welcome Week at the Uni-
her at nadine@nadinehaobsh. versity of California at Berkeley.

Jeb Owen ’93 is the new Assistant Profes-
sor of Entomology at Washington State
University. He is pictured with his wife,
Amanda, and their sons, Ryder and Teague,
all sporting Cougar gear!
Her hand-drawn puzzles are sur-
realistic creatures that combine
two things and two words. You
can see her puzzle cards at www.
phenomenonsense.com
1999
Peter Given and his brother
opened SMARTBOX, a portable
storage company in San Fernando,
California. Adam Horowitz is
in his second year at the UCLA
Anderson School of Management.
2001
Char Carlson is living in San
Francisco and is a second-year
medical student at University of
California San Francisco. Char
can be found playing her old
time fiddle in cafes around the
city when she is not studying.
Danny Seigle ’05’s parents, Janet and
Michael, on their way dinner with Danny
and fellow Caties: Morgan Dyson ’05, Celine
Cutter ’06, and Sebastian Vollering ’06.
ments and works them into her art through
photography, stencils and collage
Julian Davis was spotted at the
Monterey Jazz Festival at UCSB.
Kathleen Dowling is working
in the Alumni and Development
Office for Columbia’s School of
Journalism. Uche Kanu is pursu-
ing his PhD in medical science.
2002
Andrew Hawkins was the tour
guide for the USS Ronald Reagan’s
media visitors during the Santa
Barbara Navy League’s Welcome
Weekend. Allie Phelps is living in
San Francisco. Laura Oliver ’01,
Laramie Glen ’03, Alex Karlinski
’03, Lauren McEwen ’03, and
Ben Luikart ’04 have all come
to visit Allie and her brother, Will
Phelps ’04, this year! Davina
Pike still plays squash occasion-
ally and sends her best to Coach
Terry Eagle!
CAMP CATE
2008
All welcome.
Reunion classes:
Your feet are required.
Catherine Dudley ’95 collects visual ele-
2003
JJ Seaman is living and working
in San Francisco.
2004
Arrington McCoy is in a Boston
University International Honors
Program called Rethinking Global-
ization. After a 3-week orientation
in DC, the group traveled to Tan-
zania, Dar Es Salam, Zanzibar, and
India. Lauren Lambert ’05 is also
in the program; they took a Cate
picture after trekking Mt. Meru!
2005
Candace Griffith is spending sec-
ond semester of her junior year
interning at Beacon Consulting
Group, a full service government
relations firm representing hu-
man service, youth development,
health care, and cultural organiza-
tions across the US. A politics
The Mesa hasn’t changed.........Have you?
Camp Cate • June 6–8 1943 • 1948 • 1953
for more information and to register:
www.catealumni.org
science major at Ohio Wesleyan,
Candace is excited about this new
challenge! Tina Seaman is a junior
at Boston College and traveling to
Madrid this winter.
2007
Ben Anshutz is enjoying life at
Tufts University. First semester,
three of his six classes were music.
He joined a progressive rock band,
and they are playing local shows
and recording. Lydian Blossom is
loving New York! She has been see-
ing plays and taking great classes.
At Sarah Lawrence, Lydian joined a
Shakespeare Troupe preparing to
perform Hamlet with an all female
cast. She will also light up the
stage in a play about Iraqi women.
Lydian loves living near classmate
Kyle Hester and visits him often.
1958 • 1963 • 1968
1973 • 1978 • 1983
1988 • 1993 • 1998
2003
SPRING 2008 47
 Distinguished Alumnus Award
In 1972, Cate School Alumni Association honored its first Distinguished Alumnus. Coincidentally,
he happened to be Cate’s very first graduate, Dohrmann K. Pischel ’14. Since then, the Alumni
Association has honored over 20 Alumni for distinguished service to the School, a distinguished
career, or exemplary public service. Recipients of the Award include a senator, scientists, several
long-time trustees, entrepreneurs, artists, and philanthropists.

Many Cate alumni can remember gazing up from a book in the McBean Library to read citations Caroline holding Parker Harrison King
of the Distinguished Alumnus Award recipients, perhaps wondering if they might someday do (Bruce King ’85)
something to earn such as honor. Though the Award has not been given every year, the Alumni
Council recently voted to make it an annual award. The first few Awards were displayed in the
McBean Library, but soon they became too numerous to fit into one location. Beginning in
1998, the Awards are displayed in the Raymond Commons, Keck Conference Room, and various
classrooms. In these more prominent locations, it is hoped that current Cate students will develop
a better appreciation of the School’s past and, more importantly, an appreciation of how a Cate
education can be put to good use.

If you would like to nominate an alumnus/a for this honor, please contact
Grayson Bryant ’95 in the Alumni and Development office with your nomination.
Harriet Sheng Yi Chang (Jon Chang ’94)

MARRIAGES BIRTHS
1987 1981
Mike Morris to Haven Quin Meyer to
Ashley Harrison Kellen and Andy Meyer
September 22, 2007 October 7, 2007

1989 1985
David Andrews to Parker Harrison King to
Lisa Marie Steele Alexandra and Bruce King Anna Sophia Gustafson (Karen Herbert
David Andrews ’89 and Lisa Marie Steele
September 1, 2007 November 10, 2007 Gustafson ’95)

1990 1993
Nick Meyer to Madeleine “Maddie” Schneider to
Misty Marie Mueller Jenny and John Schneider
August 26, 2006 December 19, 2007

1992 1994
Jack Jackson ’95 and Julie Anne Applegarth Danielle Pergament to Harriet Sheng Yi Chang to
at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley, California.
Nelson Jones ’48 played chauffeur. Devin Friedman Katherine Pike and Jon Chang Daniel “Landi” and big brother James (Sara
July 7, 2007 June 11, 2007 Doughty Giordani ’95)

1993 1995
Wyatt Gruber to Daniel “Landi” Giordani to
Jane Frances Griffin John and Sara Doughty Giordani
October 20, 2007 June 6, 2007

1995 Anna Sophia Gustafson to

Laura Clark Macleod ’92, Lisa Browne Stan- Jack Jackson to Zach and Karen Herbert Gustafson
son ’92, former music department faculty Julie Anne Applegarth December 18, 2007
member Andy Campbell, Danielle Pergament July 28, 2007
Friedman ’92, Sam Hansen ’92, and Michelle
Homme ’91 at Danielle’s wedding to Devin
Haven Quin Meyer (Andy Meyer ’81)
Friedman, July 7, 2007.

48 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
IN MEMORIAM
J. Corbett Donohue ’59
February 10, 1941-October 5, 2007
by John Caldwell ’59
My good friend and classmate, Jo-
seph Corbett Donohue, Cate, 1959,
died on October 5, 2007, after
battling an extended illness with
cancer. “Corb” and I really started
getting close and reacquainted
at our 20th reunion in 1979, one
of the first on the Mesa. Corb
had just gotten married (for the
third time) to Melantha Tatum,
the love of his life, I believe,
to this day. Corb and Melantha
combined their two families with
Corb’s daughter Jessica, now a
botanist in Ashland, Oregon, with
Melantha’s two children, Daniela
Sea, now an actress in New York,
and Payson Muller, a restoration
stonemason in London. Although
Corb’s and Melantha’s marriage
sadly didn’t last, they remained
good friends and Melantha’s
children always regarded Corb
as their best friend and father. I
mention these family details at
the outset because they were
such an important part of Corb’s
life. And what a life it was.
Corb was one of those rare souls
who lives life to the fullest. Being
in his company was always a plea-
sure. His accomplishments were
wide and varied and his work was
the source of endless stories. His
professional career ranged from
being one of the early promot-
ers of Motown Records to being
a successful sales executive for
Quiksilver to helping develop one
of the first television home shop-
ping networks in Asia.
My real affection and respect
for Corb derives from something
quite simple: Corb himself. His en-
thusiasm for living each day well
was infectious. He surfed nearly
every day of his life, even though
the constant exposure to the sun
started a skin carcinoma that
finally ended his life. But I don’t
think Corb ever had the slightest
regret. He knew the risks, and
being in the water, and catching
the next wave, was simply an
important part of how he lived his
life. He was never really very far
from a beach, even when he was
in New York, Honolulu, Beijing,
Sydney, or San Clemente.
Corb was an accomplished
sportsman, a world-class surfer,
a varsity athlete at Cate in soccer
and tennis, later a skilled sailor,
and a superb fly fisherman. It was
Corb and Melantha who intro-
duced me to a wonderful, gin-
clear stream in the Rockies called
Bellows, which drains into the Rio
Grande up near its headwaters at
La Garita Ranch at Wagon Wheel
Gap, Colorado. Numerous mutual
friends have benefited from our
15-year association with La Garita.
It has become a touchstone of
strength and vitality, and being
there with Corb out on Bellows
was one of life’s unique pleasures.
By the time Corb had introduced
me to La Garita, we had already
been fly fishing companions for
many years, fishing the Klamath
in the fall for steel head with our
classmate, the late August H.
“Gus” Schilling, also a ’59 Cate
classmate, and a few other close
friends and alumni from Corb’s
days at Cal Berkeley. It was on the
banks of the Klamath that many
Cate stories got told and retold.
Indeed, for me, those fall days
were, among other fine things,
an occasion for renewal of our
fondness for the Mesa, which for
us, was where our lives really
began. We had that very much in
common.
I mentioned that Corb was fun to
be around. I’ll just mention one
example. Corb, despite having to
live down a 1950s’ appellation of
“pseudo-intellectual,” was an ex-
traordinarily well-read, educated,
and cultivated man – with a won-
derful turn of phrase. I don’t know
where he got this originality, but
he read The New Yorker cover-to-
cover for many years and always
knew more about its contents
than I, and I am a regular sub-
scriber. I mention The New Yorker
because Corb admired good
writing and original expression.
About two years ago, my wife,
Karen, and I were lunching on a
patio with Corb at a place called
the Hamburger Haven in Pagosa
Springs, Colorado; we were on our
way to La Garita. The hamburg-
ers, which were excellent, were
served with some particularly
spicy chilis. Corb bit into one,
smiled brightly with pleasure,
and exclaimed, “Now, that has
authority.” For some inimitable
reason, for Karen and me, those
four words define Corb.
Corb, to me, always seemed
indestructible. Among the most
physically fit men I know of those
of us over 60, I thought we would
become truly old together. He was
courageous in fighting what de-
veloped into a lethal lymphoma.
I never heard him complain once.
Within two weeks of his death,
because I didn’t know how rapidly
the disease was making him sick-
er in just a few weeks, I called him
to ask whether he was game for
the Klamath this year one more
time. He begged off, but casually,
saying he was completing an-
other bout of chemotherapy and
would be back in touch soon. The
next thing I knew he was gone. So
I am left remembering Corb as an
indefatigably positive spirit.
He made me feel comfortable. I
miss him every day – I think of
him that often. He is one of those
people who are not going to fade
away.
SPRING 2008 49
 CALENDAR
March 2008
1 Boston Alumni Happy Hour
Grayson Bryant ’95
Legal Sea Foods, Charles Square,
20 University Rd., Cambridge, MA

6 San Francisco Alumni Happy Hour

Umami, 2909 Webster St, San Francisco
6:30-8:30 p.m.

April 2008
1 Santa Barbara Phonathon
Cate School, 6-8 p.m.

3 Los Angeles Phonathon & Alumni Council Meeting

Hosted by Dan Emmett ’99, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

8 San Francisco Phonathon

Hosted by John Luce ’59, 6-8 p.m.

10 Pasadena Reception
Hosted by Marne Crowley Hon. ’90
6:30-8:30 p.m.

TBD Orange County Reception

May 2008
4 7th Annual Wine Tasting
Robert Keenan Winery, St. Helena, CA

10 Spring Alumni Sports Day

Grandparents Day
Gaby Edwards Day

June 2008
6 – 8 Camp Cate
Cate School

7 Annual Alumni Council Meeting

30 End of Fiscal Year

50 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
 TRUSTEES
Members
Christopher Arnold
Henry F. Burroughs ’68
John D. Caldwell ’59
Kate Colmery Firestone
Lawrence N. Gelb, MD
Stephen J. Giusto ’80
Perri V. Harcourt
David Horowitz
Margaret Hyde ’92
Blake W. Jones ’81
Jenny Jones
Bruce W. King ’85,
Alumni Council President
Peter F. King ’80
James D. Klingbeil
Christopher P. Maloney ’80
J.C. Massar
Sean M. McAvoy ’82
Monique Parsons ’84
Wendy Read,
CPO President
Eric C. Taylor ’80
Mark S. Whiting ’74

Officers
Chairman of the Board
George B. James

President
Greg H. Kubicek ’74

Treasurer
Norman F. Sprague III, MD

Headmaster/Secretary
Benjamin D. Williams IV

Life Trustees
Richard D. Baum ’64
James F. Crafts Jr.
Dan A. Emmett ’99
Nelson D. Jones ’48

Faculty Advisory
Trustees
Peter Arango, English/History teacher
Patrick Collins, Art Department Chair

Allegra Roth and Ainsley Hegener lead a discussion on Of Mice and Men in their English 10 class
Sophomore Humanities class from l–r: Kirk Seaman, Thomas Yu, Victor Grajski, Christina Lowe, Brett Diemer, teacher Anna
Fortner, Tyler Barnes-Diana, Kara Oopik, Tori Donovan, Stephanie Ruys de Perez, Megan Falvey
Front Row (facing away) l–r: Ainsley Hegener, Allegra Roth

SPRING 2008 51
CATE SCHOOL Non-Profit
Organization
1960 Cate Mesa Road U.S. Postage
Post Office Box 5005 PAID
Carpinteria, CA Santa Barbara, CA
93014-5005 Permit #1020
www.cate.org
Tel. 805.684.4127