SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. News items and contact information for needed communication with specific elected officials are below in District 3 Green Notes.
Lincoln area: Congressional District 1
WOMEN’S WELLNESS . . . Registration deadline is Monday, April 4, 2011, for Saturday’s April 9th wellness program for women at Pioneers Park Nature Center, 3201 South Coddington Avenue, Lincoln. For more information, phone 402.441.7895.
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.
WE ARE ONE RALLY . . . A “We Are One Rally” sponsored by the Nebraska State AFL-CIO, will be Monday, April 4, 2011, 5:30 to 7:30pm, on the north steps of the State Capitol Building in Lincoln. The purpose is to show solidarity with working families nationwide. For more information, contact the host, Justin Petty, here.
STOP THE PIPELINE MEETING . . . Monday, April 4, 2011, leaders of Stop the Pipeline coalition groups will meet in Lincoln at 5:30pm. To get involved with planning for local actions and events, e-mail Marian at scp [at] audubon [dot] org for more details.
VOTE . . . Primary Election Day is Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Help strengthen Nebraska Green Party for a future Green Party candidate with a click on the PayPal link 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 continues Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 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 runs through April 27th. 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.
HEALTH CARE FORUM . . . The Nebraska Center for Rural Affairs will host a Community Forum on Health Care, Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 6:30 to 8:30pm, at the Public Library, 100 North 16th Street, Beatrice, Nebraska.
THINK GREEN IT’S THURSDAY . . . TGIT is a new happy hour for planning a sustainable future at the Eco Stores Conference Room, 530 West P Street, Lincoln. This is informational, educational, and social weekly event, with locally grown food and beverages. (Beverage donations will be accepted.) Learn about the latest green products, businesses, policies and practices every Thursday from 5:00 to 6:00pm. For the spring schedule of TGIT speakers, click here. For more information, e-mail Mitch Paine at mitch [dot] paine [at] ecostoresne.org.
CLIMATE SCIENTIST AT UN-L . . . Michael Mann, one of the country’s leading climate scientists, will present public talks on climate change April 7 and 8, 2011 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Mann will speak on his 2008 book, “Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming,” co-authored with Lee Kump, Thursday, April 7, 2011, 7:30pm, in the East Campus Hardin Hall auditorium at 33rd and Holdrege. Friday, April 8th, he will present “Climate Change: What Can We Learn from Past Centuries?” at 3:30pm, in 117 Bessey Hall, UN-L City Campus. Both talks are free and open to the public.
THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED WORKSHOP . . . Saturday, April 9, 2011, 1:00 to 6:00pm, former Nebraska Green Party Co-Chair Doug Paterson, UN-O Department of Theatre, will facilitate an interactive workshop to explore our collective realities of oppression at Tugboat Gallery, North 14th Street, Lincoln. Grounded in a philosophy that “we are all theatre,” Theatre of the Oppressed moves beyond empowering community, to bring out the power that is already there. It includes physical interactions designed to challenge us to truly listen to what we hear, feel what we touch, and see what we are looking at. Expect learning. Expect fun! EveryOne is welcome. E-mail nebraskabrad [at] gmail [dot] com for more
information, and to register if you plan to attend.
CANDIDATE FORUM . . . Friends of Wilderness Park, the Nebraska Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Wachiska Audubon Society invite the public and candidates running for Lincoln City Council in the May 3 general election to a forum on Saturday, April 9, 1:30pm, at Gere Branch Library, 56th Street and Normal Boulevard. Friends of Wilderness Park and the other co-sponsors have hosted candidate forums for every mayoral, council, Lancaster County Board and Natural Resources District election since 2002.
FRIENDS OF WILDERNESS PARK TOUR OF FLOWERS . . . Sunday, April 10, 2011, Rob Klein, an expert on the plants of Wilderness Park, will host a tour of the rare flora of spring at the Park. Meet Friends of Wilderness Park at the Pioneers Blvd. Entrance east of B&B Greenhouses, at 1:00pm. The event is free and open to the public.
“SEARCHING FOR ANGELA SHELTON” . . . Sunday, April 10, 2011, 7:00pm, in an effort to raise awareness about domestic violence and sexual assault, Voices of Hope will host a screening of “Searching for Angela Shelton,” a documentary following filmmaker Angela Shelton as she interviewed 40 other Angela Sheltons in the United States, more than half of whom had been sexually abused. The film, followed by a brief discussion, will be at the Lincoln Unitarian Church, 6300 A Street. A second showing will be Thursday, April 14th at UN-L. Admission is free. Voices of Hope provides services to survivors of sexual assault, including a 24-hour crisis line at 402.475.7273.
GREEN WHEELS COMMUTER CHALLENGE . . . Registration deadline is Monday, April 11, 2011, for the Lincoln Earth Day Green Wheels Commuter Challenge. Any group can form 4-person teams, and participation is free. The Challenge: reduce your carbon footprint by riding a bicycle, taking public transportation, carpooling, or walking the week of April 11 through 18, 2011. Team members will record the number of miles utilizing alternative modes of transportation. After the week’s results are submitted and counted, totals will be posted on the website and announced at Earth Day. There will be prizes for the biggest carbon reducing team. Challenge your co-workers, and then sign up here.
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 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 about Saturday vigils.
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 “It Was A Wonderful Life.” The feature-length documentary, narrated by Jodie Foster with music by Melissa Etheridge, deals with homeless women, once secure in their middle-class status, who through divorce, misfortune, or circumstances were reduced to living on the street. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.
OMAHA TABLE TALK . . . “The History of Mexican Americans in South Omaha,” presented by Jose F. Garcia, Executive Director of Mexican American Historical Society of the Midlands, will be Thursday, April 7, 2011, 6:00pm to 7:30pm, at The Collaborating Center 115 South 49th Avenue. Omaha has a rich history of different ethnic and racial groups. Omaha Table Talk seeks to help people appreciate our cultural diversity. For more information contact A’Jamal Byndon by telephone, 402.561.7594, or at abyndon [at] unomaha [dot] edu.
PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Omaha protests with Guardians of the Good Life continue. E-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net for details of this week’s protest. STOP THE PIPELINE yard signs are available in Omaha by calling Nebraskans for Peace Coordinator Mark Welsch, 402.453.0776, or e-mail NFPOmaha [at] nebraskansforpeace [dot] org.
PROMOTING THE GENERAL WELFARE Labor Studies CONFERENCE . . . The 12th Annual “Promoting the General Welfare” Labor Studies Conference will be Saturday, April 9, 2011, 8:00am to 5:00pm, at the University of Nebraska CPACS Bldg-Commons, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha. The keynote speaker is Liz Shuler, Secretary-Treasurer AFL-CIO. The three workshops will address: how taxation works or doesn’t work today; why all three legs of the retirement stool are much shorter than 30 years ago; and how union and non-union people in industrial nations with high union density are more satisfied/happy with their lives than in nations with lower union densities. An online registration form is here.
LAURITZEN GARDENS TOUR . . . The Omaha Hiking Club will meet at the base of the Kennefick Park staircase leading to the train engines from the parking lot at Lauritzen Botanical Gardens, 9:00am, Saturday April 9, 2011. The hiking tour will cover between four to five miles at the Gardens, mostly paved or blacktopped, except on the woodland trail. For more information, e-mail mvgoutings [at] googlegroups [dot] com.
PROGRESSIVE OMAHA MEETING . . . All are welcome at the next Progressive Omaha meeting, Saturday, April 9, 2011, 6:00 to 9:00pm at 4924 Chicago, in Dundee. Ken Winston, Sierra Club Nebraska legislative lobbyist, will discuss the battle against TransCanada’s tar sands pipeline. Ken is front and center in the effort to Stop the Pipeline. He will provide an in-depth look at the issue, including an analysis of Nebraska legislation, what is currently happening at both the state and federal levels, and what citizens can do in response. Click here for Ken’s latest Sierra update.
BENSON COMMUNITY GARDEN . . . Omaha’s newest community garden is at 60th & Lafayette, at the south side of the historic Benson neighborhood. The Benson Community Garden is looking for individuals and families interested in garden plots. The garden needs sponsors to help with the costs of building (hardware, lumber, etc.). For more information, phone 402.714.0290 or e-mail goetzinger2 [at] cox [dot] net. To get involved, or help support the garden, please register here.
Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3
KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . This past week, the New York Times joined the movement of citizens, experts and opinion leaders saying “no” to the risky TransCanada pipeline. “No to a New Tar Sands Pipeline,” publlished April 2, 2011, begins “Later this year, the State Department will decide whether to approve construction of a 1,700-mile oil pipeline from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast called Keystone XL. The underground 36-inch pipeline, built by TransCanada, would link the tar sands fields of northern Alberta to Texas refineries and begin operating in 2013. The department should say no.” It continues, “The environmental risks, for both countries, are enormous. The first step in the process is to strip-mine huge chunks of Alberta’s boreal forest. The oil, a tar-like substance called bitumen, is then extracted with steam or hot water, which in turn is produced by burning natural gas. The E.P.A. estimates that the greenhouse gas emissions from tar sands oil — even without counting the destruction of forests that sequester carbon — are 82 percent greater than those produced by conventional crude oil. The project poses a major threat to water supplies on both sides of the border. Turning two tons of tar sand into a barrel of oil requires four times as much water as producing a barrel of conventional oil. Operations in Alberta have already created 65 square miles of toxic holding ponds, which kill migrating birds and pollute downstream watersheds, a serious matter for native communities. In the United States, the biggest potential problem is pipeline leaks. The Keystone XL would carry bitumen — which is more corrosive than crude oil — thinned with other petroleum condensates and then pumped at high pressure and at a temperature of more than 150 degrees through the pipeline. Last July, an older bitumen pipeline in Michigan spilled 800,000 gallons of the stuff into the Kalamazoo River. A new TransCanada pipeline that began carrying diluted bitumen last year has already had nine spills….From all of the evidence, Keystone XL is not only environmentally risky, it is unnecessary.” Read the entire editorial here.
A Congressional Study and Memo from the Congressional Research Service dated September 20, 2010, concludes that primary authority over location of interstate pipelines belongs to individual states. BOLD Nebraska and Stop the Pipeline coalition members held a roundtable with press on Wednesday, March 30, 2011, to discuss the recently unearthed memo. Coverage of the discovery includes the following quotes:
“Opponents of a controversial pipeline that will cross Nebraska’s Sand Hills said Wednesday that a recently discovered federal memo proves state lawmakers should know — and should have known late last year — that they have the power to regulate such projects,” from the Omaha World-Herald.
“Buried under budget bills, paying for schools and roads, lawmakers have yet to debate one of Nebraska’s most controversial issues. That’s how to handle a proposed oil pipeline, if at all. Farmer Union President John Hansen said, “It’s created a huge amount of public unrest and anger and frustration on the part of landowners and this deserves to be
discussed on the floor of the legislature.” Hansen is joined in the push by groups like the Sierra Club and Bold Nebraska. They point to a congressional memo that says states can in fact regulate pipelines like this. “It says in plain English in the absence of federal authority, state laws establish primary siting authority for an oil pipeline,” Hansen read from the memo sent to Rep. Lee Terry,” from NTV.
Other articles covering the memo are here, at KVNO News, here, at Lincoln Journal Star, and here, at statepaper.com. A BOLD Nebraska blog post including background information, a transcript of the roundtable, and action alert is here. The Congressional Memo is here. [pdf]
An excellent letter to the editor was published in the Lincoln Journal Star on March 21, 2011. Please read Jan Enstrom’s “Lack of Civil Stewardship,” here.
EveryOne who wants to see Nebraska’s fragile Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer saved from potential environmental devastation at the hands of Canada’s tar sands pipeline promoters needs to write their own state senator asking for personal involvement in opposition. The legislature’s Natural Resources Committee has stalled all three pipeline related bills that were introduced this session. Find your state senator’s contact information is at the map linked here.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL tar sands pipeline. Contact information for 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.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has the power to approve or reject the Keystone XL pipeline, and your senators can ask her to stand up to Big Oil and stop it. 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.
What else can you do? Keep writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. “Langemeier’s comments ridiculous,” a letter by Barbara Bailey, was published in Lincoln Journal Star March 20, 2011. From the letter, “It was with great disappointment and anger that I read Sen. Chris Langemeier’s comments (“Pipeline regulations languish,” March 15) concerning the pipeline bills before the Natural Resources Committee. Sen. Langemeier and the six members of the Committee voting against advancing these basic safety regulations for our citizens and natural resources are not providing responsible legislating.”
Keep the issue alive in conversations at the kitchen table, in cafes, churches, and clubs around Nebraska. We have a brief window. The State Department has called for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study with a new 45 day comment period. The State Department’s news release is here. “We welcome the news from the US State Department on a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study,” declared Duane Hovorka for coalition member Nebraska Wildlife Federation. “However, we want to be clear, our state elected officials must now lead by providing an alternative route for the risky TransCanada pipeline.”
SAVE THE DATES: The next Pipeline Forums are scheduled for Sunday, April 17, 2011, 2:00pm to 3:30pm, in Holt County at the Stuart Auditorium, 204 Parnell Street, Stuart, Nebraska, and Tuesday, May 3, 2011, 7:00 to 8:30pm, at First Unitarian Church, 31st & Harney, in Omaha.
The National Farmers Union has passed policy language opposing “any infrastructure or resource development that jeopardizes the health, safety and quality of the Ogallala Aquifer and other freshwater resources.” The new policy also addresses Eminent Domain, and pipeline development specifically. The Nebraska Farmers Union, a Stop the Pipeline coalition member, was successful in calling for this new policy language.
From previous Green Notes: A 2:10 minute video explaining the tar sands extraction process is included with “Oil pipeline from Canada stirring anger in US Great Plains,” by McClatchy, published in the Kansas City Star. “Extracting oil from tar sands and liquefying it enough so it will move through a pipeline is an energy-intensive process that adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Getting it out of the ground involves clear-cutting forests, leaving a wasteland that oil companies say they will restore. Some scientists say that rivers also become polluted. “From start to finish, this a dirty project,” said Stephanie Cole, a spokeswoman for the Kansas chapter of the Sierra Club. “Forests in Canada are being destroyed, and increased reliance on fossil fuels will accelerate global warming.”
“Tar Sands Pipelines Safety Risks,” was published jointly by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Wildlife Federation, Pipeline Safety Trust, and the Sierra Club. The Executive Summary begins “Tar sands crude oil pipeline companies may be putting America’s public safety at risk. Increasingly, pipelines transporting tar sands crude oil into the United States are carrying diluted bitumen or “DilBit”—a highly corrosive, acidic, and potentially unstable blend of thick raw bitumen and volatile natural gas liquid condensate—raising risks of spills and damage to communities along their paths. The impacts of tar sands production are well known. Tar sands extraction in Canada destroys Boreal forests and wetlands, causes high levels of greenhouse gas pollution, and leaves behind immense lakes of toxic waste. Less well understood, however, is the increased risk and potential harm that can be caused by transporting the raw form of tar sands oil (bitumen) through pipelines to refineries in the United States.” Download the 16 page report here. [pdf]
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. A website refuting TransCanada’s myths with an interactive graphic is here. More actions EveryOne can take are listed here. For comprehensive references in media since May 30, 2010, click here and scroll from the bottom up for links to each week’s Green Notes coverage.
Be a community educator and organizer. Let’s change the world together.
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.”
HIV AIDS BENEFIT CONCERT . . . Working for an AIDS-Free World, the third Annual HIV AIDS Benefit Concert will be Saturday, April 8, 2011, in Gollaher Chapel, Trinity United Methodist Church, 511 North Elm Street, Grand Island, Nebraska. Doors open at 6:15pm. Musicians performing include Scott Taylor, Paul Siebert, Peggy Lang, and Emily Dunbar. For more information, e-mail mvetter [at] charter [dot] net.
PETITION THE EPA . . . Tell the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately prohibit the use of clothianidin and conduct a full scientific review to determine its impact on honey bee populations. Learn more about clothianidin and sign the petition here.
TELL PRESIDENT OBAMA NOT TO CAVE TO MONSANTO AND THE BIOTECH INDUSTRY . . . In the past weeks, the Obama administration has unbelievably chosen to approve three biotech crops, Roundup Ready genetically modified alfalfa, Roundup Ready genetically modified sugar beets and a new industrial biotech corn for ethanol production. These decisions are a devastating blow to our democracy and the basic rights of farmers to choose how they want to grow food on their land and the rights of consumers who increasingly choose organic and sustainably grown food for its positive health and environmental impacts. Please tell the President it’s time to stand up to Monsanto and reject GMO crops.
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.
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