AMERICA RECYCLES DAY . . . ‘I Recycle’ is the theme of this year’s 13th annual America Recycles Day, Monday, November 15, 2010. Recycle More–at home, at work, and on the go. Cick here to learn about Keep Nebraska Beautiful.
SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. News items, new letters to Lincoln Journal Star, and contact information for needed communication with specific elected officials are included, following Green Notes by Congressional District. Please note the weekly Omaha rally in CD 2 Notes below.
Lincoln area: Congressional District 1
VIGIL AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY . . . Every Monday, from noon to 1:00pm, Nebraskans for abolition of the death penalty meet in front of the governor’s mansion, 1425 H Street, Lincoln. The lunch-hour presence reminds the governor of a constituency that does not want state killings. Weekly vigils have taken place year-round since July, 1991. All abolitionists are welcome to participate for a few minutes, or the hour. For information about Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty, click here.
LINCOLN PEACE VIGILS . . . Lincoln peace vigils continue at the Federal Building, 15th and O streets, every Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00pm. Contact Mark at 402.499.6672 or e-mail mark [at] weddleton [dot] com for more information.
ABENDMUSIK SWEATER DRIVE . . . . Abendmusik Lincoln is sponsoring a drive for new or gently-used winter-wear until Saturday, November 20, 2010, followed by a special “Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Concert featuring music of Mr. Rogers’Neighborhood on Sunday, November 21, 2010, 4:00pm, at First-Plymouth Church, 2000 D Street. Admission will be free, but a sweater donation is encouraged. More than 300 sweaters have already been collected. Drop off sweaters at West Gate Banks at Hiway 2 & Old Cheney, 27th & Old Cheney, 17th & South, 27th & Cornhusker Hiway, 50th & O Street, 84 & Holdrege, West O & Capitol Beach; Runza Drive-ins at 27th & Superior, 33rd & Hiway 2, 56th & Holdrege, 70th & Van Dorn, 40th & Yankee Hill; and First-Plymouth.
NEBRASKA WRITERS SPEAK . . . Joseph Wydeven, author of “Wright Morris Revisited,” will speak about Morris and his book “The Home Place,” One Book One Nebraska’s 2010 selection on Sunday, November 21, 2010, at The Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, third floor Bennett Martin Public Library, 14th & N Streets, Lincoln. Joe Starita will celebrate Native American History Month and his book “I Am A Man: Chief Standing Bear’s Journey for Justice,” with a talk and booksigning Sunday, November 21st, 1:00 to 2:30pm, at Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P Street, on the first floor of Lincoln’s Creamery Building in the Haymarket. Starita’s book is this year’s One Book One Lincoln title. Both presentations are free an open to the public.
TOWN HALL MEETING . . . A Town Hall Meeting with Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, will be Sunday, November 21, 2010, 5:00pm, at the Holiday Inn Downtown, 141 North 9th Street, Lincoln. The free presentation, followed by Q&A and open discussion, will focus on HSUS programs and activities, key priorities, and work on high-impact changes for animals in Nebraska and across the country. To RSVP (required) click here or phone 301.258.1513.
Omaha area: Congressional District 2
OMAHA PEACE VIGILS . . . Omaha peacemakers vigil every Wednesday, 4:30-5:30pm, at StratCom/UN-O, 6801 Pine Street, east of the Scott Technology Center on the UN-O campus. Free parking is available at the NE Corner of 67th Street and Pine in a student lot. For more information, phone Jerry Ebner, 402.502.5887. Every Saturday, 1:00-2:00pm, there is an Anti-War and Peace Vigil at 72nd and Dodge Streets. Contact Steve Horn at 402.426.9068.
OMAHA PEOPLE’S FILM FESTIVAL . . . There is a People’s Film Festival every Wednesday evening, 7:00pm, at McFoster’s Natural Kind Cafe, 38th and Harney in Omaha. The event is always free and open to the public. This week’s film is “Title: 8: The Mormon Proposition.” Through never-before seen documents, recordings & insider-interviews, 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION, exposes the efforts of the Mormon Church and its members to halt nearly every piece of LGBT legislation on the desks of lawmakers from Hawaii to New York. Watch 2:39 minute trailer here. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.
PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Guardians of the Good Life will rally to protest the XL tar sands pipeline on Saturday, November 20, 2010, 1:00 to 2:30 or 3:00pm, at 72nd & Dodge, in Omaha. Walk, bike, or carpool to the rally if possible. Help educate and raise awareness of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline threat to the fragile ecosystem of the entire region. If weather is bad, the rally will be cancelled. For more information, e-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net
SUSTAINABLE CITIES FORUM . . . The Nebraska League of Conservation Voters will sponsor a forum on improving the quality of urban life with ecological, cultural, political, social and economic components on Friday, November 19, 2010, from 3:30 to 5:30pm, at Embassy Suites LaVista Conference Center Windsor V, 12520 Westport Parkway, LaVista, Nebraska. Click here for details, and a list of sponsors, supporters and presenters. Click here to register, or e-mail cbrenner [at] nlcv [dot] org for more information.
FOOD SUMMIT: A BLUEPRINT FOR THE HARVEST . . . A Food Summit to support development of a local and regional food system that is environmentally sound, socially just, and economically viable leading to self-sufficiency for the community will be Friday and Saturday, November 19 and 20, 2010, at Metropolitan Community College Institute for the Culinary Arts, 32nd Street & Sorenson Pkwy, Omaha. Presented by No More Empty Pots “A Blueprint for the Harvest” will begin at noon on Friday, with lunch, a speaker and workshops, and continue from 8:00am to noon on Saturday, with breakfast and workshops. For more information contact Susan Whitfield, Project Manager, at 402.972.7330, or email nomoreemptypots [at] gmail [dot] com.
DAY HIKE AND WINE TASTING . . . There will be a day hike, Saturday, November 20, 2010, at the DeSoto Bend National Wildlife Refuge. Meet at 10:30am. An “Art of the Wild Show and Sale,” featuring a variety of local artwork, will be on display. DeSoto Refuge is located 25 miles north of Omaha. Take US Hwy 75 North to Hwy 30, then go east 5 miles to the entrance on DeSoto Avenue. At noon, there will be a special tasting of four Nebraska wines at Too Far North, 111 North 14th (Hiway 75), a wine shop and tasting room at Fort Calhoun. For carpool information and to rsvp, contact James Phernetton, jamesphernet [at] gmail [dot] com or phone 402.319.2322.
Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3
BUY FRESH. BUY LOCAL . . . . Farmers, gardeners, and craftspeople meet through The Nebraska Food Cooperative, an on-line, year-round farmers’ market and local food distribution service offering the best in local freshness. For ordering and pickup schedules, refer to the calendar here. Click here for products and prices from North Star Neighbors, a Cooperative member that doesn’t therapeutically medicate or unduly confine animals. Click here for Tomato Tomäto, Omaha’s year-round indoor Farmer’s Market at 156th & West Center. Shop for fresh foods grown in or very near your own community at Open Harvest, Lincoln’s member-owned natural foods retail cooperative at 1618 South Street. Buying local grows family farming, grows the local economy, and is thousands of miles fresher.
KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . A South Dakota landowner along Keystone I writes about his experience with TransCanada in a November 8, 2010 letter to the Lincoln Journal Star here. Click here and scroll down the Green Notes Index to follow the TransCanada tar sands pipeline issue since May 30, 2010.
The Natural Resources Defense Council calls tar sands “the dirtiest, most destructive oil on the face of the Earth.” The Keystone XL pipeline would threaten Nebraska’s underground source of fresh water, the 175,000-square-mile High Plains Aquifer, that provides water to 1.9 million people and irrigation for thousands of square miles of farmland throughout eight states. Nebraska’s geologically unique Sand Hills, where many bird species rest during migration, would also be threatened.
A Proposed Dirty Oil Pipeline Would Put Americans at Risk for Cancer and Asthma–Why Are Senators Pushing For Its Hasty Approval? was published by AlterNet on September 23, 2010. ” …We know the Keystone XL pipeline would put American health at risk. In addition to threatening drinking water, processing tar sands oil releases pollutants directly linked to asthma, emphysema and birth defects. Refining tar sands crude from the pipeline would create far more air pollution in American communities that are already burdened with cancer and poor air quality as a result of the oil industry. We also know the pipeline would cross the most important source of agricultural water in the United States, the Ogallala aquifer. And we know pipeline disasters happen.” Read Ken Winston’s November 4, 2010 Tar Sands Pipeline Update for Nebraska Sierra here.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL sand tars pipeline. Nebraska’s Congressional delegation and the governor need to receive letters, e-mails and phone calls from constituents demanding regulation on the existing pipeline, expressing concern about more TransCanada construction in our state. Contact information for Nebraska Congressional Representatives is as follows: Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, CD-1, 1517 Longworth House Office Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20515, 202.225.4806, 402.438.1598 (Lincoln); Rep. Lee Terry, CD-2, 1524 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515, 202.225.4155, 402.397.9944 (Omaha); Rep. Adrian Smith, CD-3, 503 Cannon House Office Bldg., Washington, DC 20515, 202.225.6435, 888.ADRIAN7 (Toll Free); and Governor Dave Heineman, PO Box 94848, State Capitol Bldg., Lincoln, NE 68509, 402.471.2244. Senator Mike Johanns is at 202.224.4224, 402.476.1400 in Lincoln; and Senator Ben Nelson is at 202.224.6551, 402.441.4600 in Lincoln. Please tell them all that oil pipeline regulations need to be in place, not only to govern the existing pipeline, but also any future pipeline proposed by TransCanada or other environmental exploiters.
Click here to tell Secretary Clinton NOT to grant a permit to TransCanda, tell Gov. Heineman to put forth laws that protect our resources and economic activity and tell President Obama to live up to his promise of clean energy and energy independence. Click here for a Bold Nebraska XL Pipeline Action page with resources and background information. E-mail actions [at] boldnebraska [dot] org to get yard signs, bumper stickers and t-shirts, or stop by Bold Nebraska at 1141 H Street, 3rd Floor, Lincoln, 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday.
Remember, every man-made by-product of the petroleum industry could be replaced by hemp. “Help Save the Earth, Time to Subsitute Hemp for Oil.”
HELP NEBRASKA GREENS WITH GOODSEARCH . . . Each time you search the Internet (or shop online at a participating store), a donation can be made to Nebraska Green Party at no cost to you! To help NGP in this way, enter Nebraska Green Party where it says WHO DO YOU GOODSEARCH FOR? here. Bookmark the GoodSearch Homepage, or make it your own Home Page. Enter the url you want in the GoodSearch search box. Each time you do, one penny will be donated to Nebraska Greens. THANK YOU for your support!
We are no longer the alternative; we are the imperative. –Rosa Clemente