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
FOCUS NEBRASKA . . . National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore will give the keynote lecture for Focus Nebraska, a week-long celebration of Earth Day at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Focus of the celebration featuring bike rides, faculty talks, films, tree planting and art exhibits will be climate change and the environment. A full schedule of the five day event is here. For more information, contact Matan Gill, 402.917.6583, or e-mail matan [dot] gill [at] gmail [dot] com.
VOTE EARLY, IF YOU KNOW THE FACTS . . . Early voting begins Monday, April 18,2011, at the Lancaster County Election Commission, 601 North 46th Street, Lincoln. A sample ballot is here. [pdf]
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.
LGBT COMMUNITY TOWNHALL . . . Monday, April 18, 2011, 7:00 to 8:30pm, Saint Paul United Methodist Church, 1144 M Steet, Lincoln, will host a “LGBT Community Physical, Mental, Social & Sexual Health Townhall” in room 155. Dr. Christopher Fisher and Dr. Jay Irwin will present preliminary data from their current research on health issues in the LGBT community, followed by a discussion about how the information should be analyzed and reported.
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 20, 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.
STOP THE PIPELINE MEETING . . . Thursday, April 21, 2011, leaders of Stop the Pipeline coalition groups will meet in Lincoln at 5:30pm. To get involved with planning for local actions, e-mail Marian at scp [at] audubon [dot] org for more details.
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 an 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.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL UN-L BANQUET . . . The UN-L Chapter of Amnesty International, in cooperation with Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty, welcomes Curtis McCarty back to Lincoln as Keynote Speaker for the 2011 Annual Banquet, Thursday, April 21st, 6:30pm, at Arbor Suite in the UN-L East Campus Student Union. McCarty was exonerated in 2007 after serving 21 years, including 19 years on death row, for a 1982 Oklahoma City murder he did not commit. Read more about his story at the Innocence Project website. For more information, and to reserve tickets that include a catered meal from Vincenzo’s Italian Ristorante and beverages from The Coffee House, e-mail Jill Francke, jill [at] nadp [dot] net, or call the NADP office at 402.477.7787.
RECYCLE FOR EARTH DAY . . . Recycle unwanted electronics on Earth Day, April 22nd, at Open Harvest, 1618 South Street, in Lincoln. Drop off is 12:00 noon to 5:00pm. Read more details in the Open Harvest Newsletter here. [pdf]
WEEKLY WALKABOUTS AT WILDERNESS PARK . . . Friends of Wilderness Park is hosting weekly hikes through the Park, led by Adam Hintz, starting at 1:00pm every Saturday from now through October. Each week will focus on a different area, highlighting the diversity of life in the Park. Hikes will start in parking lots according to the following schedule: the first and second Saturday of the month, meet at the Pioneers Boulevard entrance; the third Saturday, meet at Old Cheney Road; the fourth Saturday, meet at 14th Street north of Rokeby Road; and every fifth Saturday, the hike will start at Saltillo Road east of the Jamaica Trail. For more information, contact Adam at 402.421.8464.
NEW WATCHDOGS OF LINCOLN GROUP . . . Lincoln Urban Development Director Dave Landis will answer pre-submitted questions with the new Watchdogs of Lincoln Government group on Saturday, April 23, 2011, 10:00am, at Gere Library, 56th & Normal Blvd. The discussion is open to the public, and all Concerned Citizens from Lincoln are welcome to participate. From the North Portal of the Nebraska State Capitol Building, “The Salvation of the State is Watchfulness in the Citizen.” –H.B. Alexander. For more information about the new citizen action group, e-mail Jane Kinsey, jakin3 [at] juno [dot] com.
EARTH DAY IN LINCOLN . . . Saturday, April 23, 2011, Lincoln will celebrate Earth Day starting with morning fun runs, followed by live music on the solar-powered main stage, family activities, and informational booths at Antelope Park from noon to 6:00pm. Earth Night will be at the Bourbon Theater, 1415 O Street, 7:00pm, with local food, drinks, art, dancing and live music by Son of 76, Jarana, and DJ Spence. Admission is free. Walk, ride, or carpool if possible. Limited parking is available at the Park for those who drive to daytime events. For more information about Earth Day in Lincoln, click here.
SPRING AFFAIR . . . The 25th Annual Spring Affair Plant Sale will be Saturday, April 23, 2011, 9:00am to 4:00pm, at the Lancaster Event Center, 4100 North 84th Street, Lincoln. For more information about the free event, including plant lists, click here.
NEAC ANNUAL MEETING AND BANQUET . . . This year’s Nebraska Environmental Action Coalition Annual Meeting is Saturday, April 30, 2011, 10:00am to 4:00pm, in Lincoln at the Unitarian Church, 6300 A Street. Morning speakers include Ted Thieman, and Laura Krebsbach,a from NEAC. The 1:15pm Keynote is by Lynn Henning, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, winner of the 2010 Goldman Prize for North America. The movie Food, Inc. will be shown at 3:00pm. Please make reservations for the noon local food lunch–vegetarian pasta salad or roast beef–by calling 402.276.7321, or e-mail chrisneac [at] gmail [dot] com. The meeting is free and open to the public, with a small charge for the lunch.
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 “Garbage Warrior.” Shot over three years in the US, India and Mexico, “Garbage Warrior” is a feature-length documentary telling the epic story of maverick architect Michael Reynolds, his crew of renegade house builders, and their fight to introduce radically different ways of living. A snapshot of contemporary geo-politics and an inspirational tale of triumph over bureaucracy, Garbage Warrior is above all an intimate portrait of an extraordinary individual and his dream of changing the world. View the trailer here. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.
HIKE NEALE WOODS NATURE CENTER . . . The Neale Woods Nature Center, 14323 Edith Marie Avenue, is a nature preserve in the hills along the Missouri River, just north of Omaha. Saturday, April 23, 2011, the Omaha Hiking Club will meet at the visitor’s center, 8:30am, to hike about 4.5 miles. E-mail omahahikingclub [at] cox [dot] net for more information.
OMAHA EARTH DAY . . . There will be local food and a beer garden, live music, demonstrations, speakers and activities for the kids at Omaha’s Earth Day, Friday, April 22, 2011, Elmwood Park, 808 South 60th Street, 11:00am to 6:00pm. This year’s theme is Earth Day Every Day. For a full schedule of the day’s events, click here.
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. SAVE THE DATE: An Omaha Pipeline Education and Action Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, 2011, 7:00 to 8:30pm, at First Unitarian Church, 31st & Harney, in Omaha.
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 . . . US Department of State published a 320-page Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on Friday, April 15, 2011. A five-page Executive Summary is here. The information released appears to argue against a route change that would take the 36-inch Keystone XL tar sands pipeline around the Sand Hills. Lincoln Journal Star coverage of the EIS publication is here. Quoting BOLD Nebraska Director Jane Kleeb, “To say it is disappointing is an understatement.” The Department of State will not hold in-state field hearings, and they are not expanding the 45-day comment period. The EIS DID emphasize that eminent domain is a state law issue. Opposition groups, Nebraska landowners and environmentalists throughout the country and the world now must refocus pressure on state senators and the Nebraska governor to be responsive. Our state can pass a law right now saying no to oil pipelines in the Sand Hills. BOLD Nebraska’s blog covering the SEIS, and our next steps, is here. The official State Department Keystone XL Project EIS comment page is here.
Nebraska Green Party joined BOLD Nebraska, Audubon Nebraska, Guardians of the Good Life, Nebraska Bioneers, Nebraskans for Peace, the Nebraska League of Conservation Voters, the Nebraska Sierra Club, Lincoln 350.org, and the Western Nebraska Resources Council in signing a coalition response to the April 6, 2011 Omaha World-Herald editorial, “Let’s settle the question.” Bruce Kennedy, President of the Nebraska Wildlife Federation, signed for coalition members. Our response was published April 13th.
An April 2011 Prairie Fire article by Julie Myers concludes “If TransCanada can put a pipeline anywhere as they claim, then they can move it off the Sand Hills, and Nebraska should demand that. The upcoming hearings for the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement will offer Nebraskans a good opportunity to tell what they know of the Sand Hills and its water, and to demand a safer route.” Read “The XL Shellgame,” by a writer who grew up in the Sand Hills, here. “Tar Sands Make Their Mark,” by Ellen Cantarow, was published April 7. The Nation article quotes Nebraska organic rancher Ben Gotschall: “My family has been producing grass-fed beef for five generations. We do this organically, without chemicals and with minimum fossil fuel inputs…. Nebraska farmers and ranchers were producing food long before we had the benefit of fossil fuels and we can and will find a way to produce food long after fossil fuels are gone. But we will never be able to produce food without clean water. To me, this pipeline is an issue of national security that threatens our domestic food and water supply.”
Is There Such a Thing as ‘Ethical Oil’? by Jason Mark, from Earth Island Journal, was published by AlterNet April 8, 2011. The nine page article asks “Is it OK for some people to suffer as long as many others benefit?” Clearly, although exploitation of precious natural resources does not “benefit” The Earth, when financial profits are part of the equation, Big Oil benefits at the expense of Our Home Planet. The sometimes heartbreaking article starts by recounting destruction of the “quaint village of Fort McKay,” in northern Alberta, where wilderness is now stripped bare by tar sands industry “roads, power lines, smokestacks, and long lakes of hazardous waste surrounded by barbed wire,” and humans are surrounded by toxic devastation. Read the article here.
“Koch Industries, Keystone XL Pipeline … a BP on the Prairie?” reports “Tar sands are plentiful in the US and Canada, but environmentally treacherous to mine and transport – yet, this is the ‘green energy’ the Obama administration has leaned toward.”
The Lincoln Journal Star’s April 10, 2011 editorial, “Make Sand Hills off lmits,” describes how easy it would be for Nebraska legislators to end the threat to our Sand Hills by making crude oil pipelines off limits there. “The Legislature should simply pass a law declaring the Sand Hills off limits to any future crude oil pipeline. The in-state ramifications will be few. The giant oil pipeline company simply would have to reroute the pipeline farther east in Nebraska to a location where the land and Ogallala Aquifer are not as vulnerable.”
“US-Canada oil pipeline – water source threatened,” is an excellent new 2:49 minute AlJazeeraEnglish report featuring Nebraska property owners Randy Thompson, Cindy Myers, and Nebraska Audubon representing the issue.
The New York Times joined citizens, experts and opinion leaders in opposition to the pipeline in an April 2nd editorial “No to a New Tar Sands Pipeline,” concluding “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 Study and Memo from the Congressional Research Service dated September 20, 2010, determined 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 upon discovery of the memo. Media coverage was in the Omaha World-Herald, and on NTV. A BOLD Nebraska blog post including background information, a transcript of the roundtable, and action alert is here. The Congressional Memo is here. [pdf] To help with the campaign to save Nebraska’s fragile Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer from potential environmental devastation at the hands of Canada’s tar sands pipeline promoters, please write your state senator asking for personal involvement in opposition. Find your state senator’s contact information 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. The Secretary of State 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. Excellent recently published letters to the Lincoln Journal Star are here, here, and here.
Nebraska Greens John Carlini and Shari Schwartz have produced a 30-minute public access tv show “Cornhuskers vs. Dirty Oil.” It airs on cable channel 13, Sundays at 8:00pm, and Wednesdays at 9:30pm. Keep the issue alive in conversations at the kitchen table, in cafes, churches, and clubs around Nebraska.
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.“
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 3 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