AGENCY SCIENTISTS OPPOSE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SALMON . . . The following quotes are from Fish and Wildlife Service scientists themselves: “The environmental impact of escaped GE salmon is of great concern.” – Gregory Moyer, Regional Geneticist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; “…approval of the proposal is premature, given the unknowns and uncertainties regarding the possible ecological and environmental effects of these fish.” – Jeff Adams, Branch Chief, Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and “…I do think the chance of escapement is huge” – Deborah Burger, Manager, Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ask the President to stop the GE salmon approval process.
SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. News items, and contact information for needed communication with specific elected officials, is below–following Green Notes by Congressional District. Note the January 22, 2011 action at 72nd & Dodge Streets in Omaha.
Lincoln area: Congressional District 1
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WEEK AT UN-L . . . Martin Luther King Jr. would have been 82 on January 15, 2011. Monday, January 17th, is the 25th anniversary of the holiday recognizing his birth. The 16th Annual MLK Jr. Youth Rally and March begins with a pre-rally program at 8:45am in the UN-L City Campus Union Ballroom, 14th & R Street. Doors open at 8:15. The March starts at 10:00am. Knowing the future depends on our youth, Leola Bullock’s desire to promote youth leadership inspired the annual rally. Click here for more information, phone 402.436.1974, or e-mail pfergus [at] lps [dot] org
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 when weather is good, 1425 H Street, Lincoln. In winter, the vigil is inside the capitol, near the Information Desk. 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.
CIVIL RIGHTS SERIES . . . The Nebraska Historical Society series of programs, “Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in Nebraska: Understanding the Past, Looking to the Future,” will present former State Senator Ernie Chambers, Nebraska’s longest serving legislator–a strong voice for civil rights–on Tuesday, January 18, 2011, 5:30pm, speaking on his views about change over the decades. For more information, phone 402.471.3270.
1/11/11 UNITY EVENT . . . Due to bad weather on January 11th, the 1/11/11 Unity Rally will now take place on WEDNESDAY, January 19, 2011, at noon, on the west side of the capitol at the Lincoln statue. Nebraska Green Party joined other progressive groups signing a Unity Statement [pdf] collectively opposing LB 48, an Arizona-style law that would drain resources, diminish public safety, and divide our Nebraska communities. For more information contact rgonzales [at] neappleseed [dot] org. We are Strongest Together.
WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES SEMINARS . . . A 14-lecture series of seminars at UN-L will focus on urban stormwater runoff, gobal climate change, and related environmental issues beginning Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 3:30 TO 4:30PM. All lectures are at that time in the first-floor auditorium of Hardin Hall, on the northeast corner of North 33rd and Holdrege Streets, in Lincoln. The series will continue each Wednesday afternoon through April 27th, except during spring brake on March 23rd. For more information, contact the UN-L Water Center, 402.472.3305. Click here for a schedule of the lectures. View most lectures online after they have been presented 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.
IGNITE LINCOLN . . . 17 speakers with topics varying from biking in Lincoln to guerrilla gardening will present fast-paced, inspiring talks for five minutes each at Ignite Lincoln, Thursday, January 20, 2011, 6:00 to 8:00pm. The event, at Bourbon Theater, 1415 O Street, is free with tickets available here. A list of speakers is here. Ignite Lincoln is part of a series of global events started in Seattle, December 2006, as a way for people to share ideas with their community. Since then, more than events have been launched all over the globe.
SPRING CREEK PRAIRIE WORKSHOP . . . Register by Friday, January 21, 2011, for “Nature Inside and Out,” a new program at Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, an 808-acre tallgrass prairie nature preserve located 20 minutes southwest of Lincoln. The Saturday, January 22nd workshop, from 9:00am to noon, will emphasize discovering new ways of seeing and experiencing nature’s everyday happenings. To register, phone 402.797.2301, or e-mail scp [at] audubon [dot] org
SUNDAY LECTURE SERIES BEGINS . . . The Unitarian Church of Lincoln, 6300 A Street, will host its annual free winter lecture series about Russia and Post-Soviet states this year. Each two-hour Sunday lecture will begin at 7:00pm. The first hour features a guest lecturer, followed by refreshments and a half hour of questions and dialogue. Sunday, January 23, 2011, Robert Stoddard, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor emeritus, will speak on the geography of the area.
Omaha area: Congressional District 2
THE DREAM CONTINUES . . . This week’s Creighton University events celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. are listed here. The 26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at Metropolitan Community College, Fort Omaha Campus, 30th and Fort streets, is Tuesday, January 18, 2011, noon to 1:30pm. For more information, phone 402.457.5231.
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 a Peace Vigil at 72nd and Dodge Streets. Park next to 72nd Street, in the pet store parking lot. Contact Steve Horn at 402.426.9068 for more information.
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 “Digital Nation.” Over a single generation, the Web and digital media have remade nearly every aspect of modern culture. This 90-minute documentary is the product of a unique collaboration with visitors to the Digital Nation Web site, who for the past year have been able to react to the work in progress and post their own stories online. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.
CITY SPROUTS CLASS . . . “Healthy Eating for the New Year,” a City Sprouts class designed for the whole family, will be Saturday, January 22, 2011, 10:00 to 11:30am, at the Sprouts house, 4002 Seward Street, in Omaha’s historical Orchard Hill neighborhood. The class is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Vickie Gregorio, vickie-g [at] hotmail [dot] com or 402.215.7145.
PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Guardians of the Good Life will rally to protest the XL tar sands pipeline on Saturday, January 22, 2011, noon to 1:00pm, at 72nd & Dodge, in Omaha. Walk, bike, or carpool to the rally if possible. If you drive, park on the west side of Petco’s parking lot. Help educate and raise awareness of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline threat to fragile ecosystem of the entire region. The rally will be canceled if there is precipitation or the temperature is below 30 degrees. For more information, e-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net
Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3
SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVIE NIGHT . . . Friday, January 21, 2011, Grand Island Trinity United Methodist Church will present The Battle for Whiteclay, a documentary about the sale of alcohol to Native Americans living on the reservation near Whiteclay, NE, by Nebraska filmmaker Mark Vasina. Part of a monthly series, the film will be shown at the Denton’s home, 6:30pm. Phone Trinity UMC, 308.382.1952, for more information, to rsvp, or for the Denton’s address. Bring a snack to share.
KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . The company that wants to build the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline through Nebraska would have to negotiate a regulatory maze to complete the project if Sen. Annette Dubas of Fullerton gets her way. Dubas introduced legislation, LB 340, that would require oil pipeline companies such as TransCanada, to go through a complex permit process overseen by the state Public Service Commission.
The role of China is discussed in a January 15, 2011 article “Are We Risking Our Land and Water for China?” A new Solve Climate story on the pipeline, this time focusing on the ads TransCanada is pushing in DC, “TransCanada Takes Oil Sands Heat In Stride,” is here.
Media coverage of the January 5th protest against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline threatening our land and water was compiled by BOLD Nebraska. Youtube video of rally coverage is here; “Lawmakers Feel Heat of Keystone XL Opponents,” Lincoln Journal Star story with pictures and quotes from various citizens, group leaders, state senators and union representatives; “Oil Pipeline Legislation,” 10/11 News tv coverage; and “Recap: Pipeline Rally Sends Clear Message,” blog written by Bold Nebraska and Nebraskans for Peace including links, video and quotes from the rally.
Save this date: January 29, 2011, 10:00am to 12:30pm. There will be an education forum in Lincoln get feedback on how to help stop the pipeline and lobby to protect our land and water, at First United Methodist Church, 2723 North 50th Street. Find your state senator’s web page by name and by District here. Contact information is included for each Senator.
“Risks outweigh pipeline benefits,” a January 4, 2010 letter to the LJS editor from Ellen Beck in Seward, NE, begins “The Seward County League of Women Voters has written to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking that the government deny a permit to build the proposed TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline. The Seward league believes it is important for organizations and Nebraska residents to voice opposition to this project.” “On Precaution,” by Naomi Klein for Reader Supported News, features photos of Canadian landscapes gutted by tar sands extraction. To get involved with planning XL pipeline opposition strategy, e-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net
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. 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 tar sands 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.
Stop the Keystone XL pipeline — call your senators. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has the power to approve or reject the Keystone XL pipeline, and your senators can pressure her to stand up to Big Oil and stop it. Help put some needed peer pressure on Secretary Clinton by calling your senators today. Tell them 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.“
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.
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