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 29, 2011 XL Action Education Forum in Lincoln.
Lincoln area: Congressional District 1
COMMITTEE HEARING ON LB 333 . . . The Nebraska State Legislature is considering eliminating the Nebraska Department of Education Multicultural Education Program as a budget saving measure, proposed in LB 333 [pdf] (scroll down to page 11). The Nebraska Department of Education DID NOT propose this plan for cutting 10% of their budget. The recommendation came from the Education Committee: “Eliminating the program will mean that school districts are no longer required to integrate multicultural education into their curriculum.” Contact information for Committee members is linked here. The Education Committee will hold a hearing on LB 333 Monday, January 24, 2011, 1:30pm, in Room 1525 of the state capitol building. Be there in solidarity, or testify for multicultural education in Nebraska if possible.
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.
WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES SEMINARS . . . A 14-lecture series of seminars at UN-L focused on urban stormwater runoff, gobal climate change, and related environmental issues, began January 19, 2011. All lectures are 3:30 to 4:30PM, in the first-floor auditorium of Hardin Hall, on the northeast corner of North 33rd and Holdrege Streets, Lincoln. The series continues 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.
UNITY EVENT AGAINST LB 48 . . . Due to bad weather, the 1/11/11 Unity Rally has been rescheduled twice. The event will now take place on Thursday, January 27, 2011, at noon, on the west side of the state capitol at the Lincoln statue. Nebraska Green Party joined other progressive groups signing a Unity Statement [pdf] collectively opposing LB 48, [pdf] an Arizona-style “Illegal Immigration Enforcement Act” that would drain resources, diminish public safety, and divide our communities. Contact Judiciary Committee members expressing opposition due to economic cost, the social conflict and negative publicity it would cause, the misplaced priorities it would represent: LB 48 would be a political and economic disaster for Nebraska. Help stop it before it starts at the Thursday Rally. For more information contact rgonzales [at] neappleseed [dot] org. We are Strongest Together.
BOLD NEBRASKA XL ACTION EDUCATION FORUM . . . Saturday, January 29, 2011, 10:00am to 12:30pm, there will be an education forum in Lincoln at First United Methodist Church, 2723 North 50th Street. The Forum will begin with a Sand Hills powerpoint photo display, followed by a panel including landowners and legislators, plus Q&A. Learn how to help stop the XL pipeline, and lobby state senators to protect our land and water. Find your senator’s web page by name and by District here. Contact information is included for each Senator.
LINCOLN SEED SWAP . . . In solidarity with National Seed Swap Day, Saturday, January 29, 2011, starting at 1:00pm, there will be a community seed exchange at Meadowlark Coffee & Espresso, 1624 South Street, in Lincoln. Bring labeled seeds for vegetables, herbs, flowers, and native plants to share. Evrett Lundquist, biodynamic farmer of Common Good Farm, will be on hand to discuss seed saving, and how to start seeds. There will also be information about plant selection for our local climate, and additional seed sources. Kickstart your garden at Meadowlark.
SUNDAY LECTURE SERIES . . . The Unitarian Church of Lincoln, 6300 A Street, is hosting its annual free winter lecture series about Russia and Post-Soviet states. Each two-hour Sunday lecture begins at 7:00pm. The first hour features a guest lecturer, followed by refreshments with a half hour of questions and dialogue. Sunday, January 30, 2011, James C. McClelland, Associate Professor Emeritus of History at UN-L, will speak on Soviet and Russian history.
LOCAL ARTISTS WANTED . . . The Third Annual Artistic Rain Barrel Program invites local artists to paint rain barrels with original designs for display citywide next spring. Twenty-five artists will be chosen for a public auction of barrels in May, 2011. Click here [pdf] for an application, which includes a short summary and preliminary sketch of your intended design. Applications are due by February 11, 2011. For more information, contact Ellen Wright, 402.441.7075.
Omaha area: Congressional District 2
OMAHA SPECIAL ELECTION TUESDAY . . . Omaha is facing a very important vote Tuesday, January 25, 2011. The question of whether Mayor Suttle should be removed from office will be the only issue on the ballot. Thousands of people have voted early. If voters remove Suttle, a second election will be held in 90-150 days.
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 GREEN DRINKS . . . This month’s Omaha Green Drinks will be Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 5:30pm to close, at Whole Foods Market, 10020 Regency Circle, in the education room by restaurant seating–across from the coffee bar. Green Drinks is an informal self-organizing network with monthly meetings in 739 cities worldwide. Walk, cycle, bus, or carpool if possible.
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 “The Garden.” From progressiveomaha: “After the riots of 1992, the city of Los Angeles set aside fourteen acres of land not far from the downtown area to be used as a community produce garden, the largest such parcel in the United States. In 2003, the owner of the property decided to sell the land to make way for a storage facility and soccer field, resulting in a tremendous loss for the farmers who had invested so much of their time and lives working there. The documentary “The Garden,” directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy, chronicles the fight the workers waged against the powers-that-be to preserve the place that had come to mean so much to them.” For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.
SIERRA NEBRASKA MEETING . . . How the destruction of an ecosystem affects the area’s hydrology, and how that impacts us, even if we don’t live directly in the affected area, will be addressed Thursday, January 27, 2011, 7:00pm, at First United Methodist Church, 69th & Cass Streets, Omaha (Enter north door Education Wing). The Sierra Club Nebraska Program “Ecological Restoration and Impacts on Hydrology: A Case for Restoring our Natural Areas” with Chad Graeve, Natural Resources Specialist at Hitchcock Nature Center in Pottawattamie County, is free and open to the public. For more information contact Mary Green, 402.556.1830, or mary [dot] green [at] nebraska [dot] sierraclub [dot] org
PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Saturday protest actions by Guardians of the Good Life are on hold until weather warms up. STOP THE PIPELINE yard signs are available in Omaha by calling Nebraskans for Peace Coordinator Mark Welsch, 453.0776, or e-mail NFPOmaha [at] nebraskansforpeace [dot] org. For more information, e-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net
Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3
TRAINING WORKSHOP . . . There will be a Suicide Prevention Workshop Monday, January 24, 2011, at Goodwill Industries, 1804 South Eddy, Grand Island, NE. Sponsored by the Hall Country Suicide Prevention Project, registration starts at 5:30, and the free training seminar is from 6:00 to 8:00pm. Snacks will be provided. The focus will be “QPR: Question, Persuade, Refer.” For more information, e-mail hallcountrysuicideprevention [at] gmail [dot] com
KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . Last week, the Lincoln Journal Star editorialized on the Keystone XL pipeline again. “State needs pipeline oversight,” was published January 21, 2011. It begins “When TransCanada decided to run the Keystone XL oil pipeline through Nebraska’s environmentally fragile Sandhills, many Nebraskans were dismayed to find out that state government was powerless to do anything about it.” and ends with “It would be terribly disappointing if the session ends with Nebraska still sitting on its hands.”
Senator Annette Dubas has 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 LJS report is here.
Media coverage of the January 5th protest against the XL pipeline threat was extensive. “Recap: Pipeline Rally Sends Clear Message,” a blog written by Bold Nebraska and Nebraskans for Peace, includes links, video and quotes from the rally.
January 29, 2011, 10:00am to 12:30pm, there will be an education forum in Lincoln 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.
Save the Date: Sunday, March 6, 2011. Members of the groups actively working to protect Nebraska land and water from further pipeline exploitation will hold a benefit at Lincoln’s Zoo Bar, 136 North 14th Street, 2:30 to 5:00pm. Live music to be announced.
“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