SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. This week’s XL pipeline news is in CD 3 Green Notes below.

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

NIOBRARA: JEWEL OF THE NORTH . . . “Niobrara: Jewel of the North,” a 42-minute educational documentary, tells the story of Nebraska’s Niobrara River during the four seasons–from its headwaters in eastern Wyoming, through the National Scenic River stretch near Valentine, and on to its mouth at the Missouri River. Broadcasts continue on NET2 (channel 12.2 in Lincoln), Thursday, June 16, 7:00pm, and Sunday, June 19, 2011, 1:00pm. The film is now also available online here.

ANNUAL WRITERS CONFERENCE . . . The Nebraska Summer Writers Conference began this weekend for registrants, and related events for the public begin Monday, June 13, 2011 at 6:00pm in the Nebraska Union Auditorium.  For a schedule of free events, click here.

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.

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.

MORRILL HALL THURSDAYS . . . The UN-L State Museum, Morrill Hall, at 14th & Vine Streets in Lincoln, is offering free admission every Thursday, 4:30 to 8:00pm, through August 25th. Visit the Morrill Hall website for summer schedule information.

THINK GREEN IT’S THURSDAY . . . TGIT is a new happy hour for planning a sustainable future at the  EcoStores 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 [dot] paine [at] ecostoresne.org.

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.

JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION . . . The 2011 Juneteenth Celebration will be 11:00am to 5:00pm, Saturday, June 18th, at Pentzer Park, North 27th & Potter, Lincoln.

BACKYARD HABITAT TOUR . . . The Wachiska Audubon 22nd Annual Backyard Habitat Tour will be Sunday, June 19, 2011, 11:00am to 4:00pm. Descriptive brochures and maps will be available at all the garden locations.  For more details, and a list of featured yards on the tour this year, click here.

LINCOLN FARMERS MARKETS . . . Farmers markets are now open in Lincoln. The Haymarket Farmers Market is open every Saturday, 8:00am to noon, in the Haymarket District at 7th & P Streets. Expect to find more than 120 vendors with fresh produce, flowers, baked goods and handmade items plus a performance showcase featuring local folk, jazz, blues and classical music. The Market continues through October 15th.  Every Sunday, from 10:00am to 2:00pm, the Old Cheney Road Farmers Market at 5500 Old Cheney Road features in-season heirloom and traditional produce, artisan breads and cheeses, homemade baked goods, wild-crafted and traditional jams, jelly, honey, meats, fish, eggs, and bedding plants. The Piedmont Farmers Market is open Saturdays, 8:00am to noon, at 1265 South Cotner, through mid-September. Saturday Farmers Markets at the FARM, 11855 Yankee Hill Road, 9:00am to noon, run until October 29th. Community CROPS, 1551 South 2nd Street, has garden pick-up 4:00 to 6:00pm Monday and Thursday, May 23 through October 20. A Thursday market from 4:00 to 8:00pm at Fallbrook Town Square Park on the corner of Fallbrook Blvd. between NW Sixth and Seventh Streets will be open through October 13th. Other markets have now started, and more will start in July. Find out what’s new this year, check an interactive map of Lincoln’s Farmers Markets, Farms and Community Supported Agriculture programs, and learn more about markets, CSAs, and local farms at the Buy Fresh, Buy Local Facebook page.

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 “The One Percent,” an 80-minute documentary on the growing “wealth gap” in America. Watch the trailer here.  For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Omaha protests with Guardians of the Good Life continue. E-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net for details. 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.

BENSON SUMMERFEST 2011 . . . The 2011 Benson SummerFest is Saturday, June 18th, on Maple Street between 59th & 63rd, in Omaha. A schedule of the day’s events, starting with a morning pancake feed, includes an auto show, art and crafts fair, beer garden and main stage entertainment from noon to 8:30pm. SummerFest After Dark starts at 9:00pm in five venues hosting 25 bands. Lemon Fresh Day will play on the Main Stage from 7:00 to 8:30.

BUTTERFLIES . . . Reservations are required for “Butterflies: Taking Science to the Backyard,” on Saturday, June 18, 2911, 9:00am to 1:00pm, at Camp Brewster, 1313 Bellevue Blvd., two blocks east of the Learning Center, Bellevue. Bring a sack lunch or snack to the free event. To rsvp, call Laci Prucinsky, 402.731.3140 ext.230, or e-mail lprucinsky [at]fontenelleforest [dot] org.

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. 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.

ENGAGE OMAHA . . . One of the nation’s first city-wide, virtual town hall websites, EngageOmaha, is now online. Omaha residents may weigh in on issues for the city to consider. Pick a topic, and join the mix here.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . The US State Department comment period on the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline through Nebraska’s Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer ended at midnight, Monday, June 6 2011.
The letter opposition groups including Nebraska Green Party submitted to Secretary Clinton before the official State Department comment period ended is linked here.  3,431 Nebraskans submitted comments through the BOLD Nebraska website, and together, “over 265,000 Americans submitted comments urging Secretary Clinton to deny the permit to TransCanada” for Keystone XL. The Nebraska Sierra Club letter to Secretary Clinton is here.
Also on Monday, a statement from the Nebraska Wildlife Federation said the State Department’s Environmental Impact Study on the XL pipeline “falls well short of what is required by the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. It fails to recognize the significant harm the project will do to wildlife, wetlands, rivers, groundwater and the Nebraska Sand Hills, and fails to require TransCanada to put in place measures to deal with that harm.”
Tuesday, June 7th, Lincoln Journal Star reported on the quick two day turn-around from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s warning that continued operation of Keystone I without corrective action “would be hazardous to life, property and the environment,” to allowing TransCanada to resume pumping operations. “Pipeline regulator defends quick turn-around on Keystone,” is here.
Wednesday, June 8th, LJS reported the Environmental Protection Agency’s response to the State Department’s Environmental Impact Study in “EPA lining up with Keystone XL critics,” by Art Hovey. “As the U.S. State Department moves toward a final decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline by the end of the year, the Environmental Protection Agency has yet to be persuaded the project has gotten proper scrutiny. The EPA announced Tuesday that it had placed the TransCanada project in a category headed “Environmental Objections” and said what the State Department has done so far with an environmental impact statement is based on insufficient information.” Quoting a nine-page letter dated June 6, 2011 to State from the EPA: “While the SDEIS has made progress in responding to EPA’s comments on the DElS and providing information necessary for making an informed decision, EPA believes additional analysis is necessary 10 fully respond to our earlier comments and to ensure a full evaluation of the potential impacts of proposed Project, and to identify potential means to mitigate those impacts.” Also on June 6th, the State Department did announce there will be scheduled field hearings along the pipeline route.
LJS published two Editorials on June 8th, both calling on readers to take advantage of this new public hearing opportunity. “Last chance on pipeline,” begins “Nebraskans have been granted a new opportunity — perhaps the last — to present their views on the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline. We hope they take full advantage. This probably is the last chance Nebraskans have to try to change the pipeline plan before heavy equipment starts ripping through the Sandhills. Credit the State Department for scheduling a meeting that will allow Nebraskans to deliver their message in person, face to face.” In “Take time to get it right,” LJS editorializes “Three cheers for the five state lawmakers (Sens. Colby Coash, Annette Dubas, Tony Fulton, Ken Haar and Kate Sullivan) who asked the State Department to delay a decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline until May 2012 to give the state time to strengthen its safeguards. A raspberry for Rep. Lee Terry who wants Congress to set a Nov. 1 deadline for a decision. And a raised eyebrow for US Senator Mike Johanns, who signed on as a cosponsor to an energy policy bill that had a pipeline deadline tucked away in its provisions.”
Also on Wednesday, US Senator Ben Nelson made his strongest statement on the pipeline yet. Thursday’s Omaha World-Herald, “Nelson: Pipeline a state issue,” reported he said responsibility for the in-state path of a controversial oil pipeline sits squarely with Nebraska state government.“  The location is the state’s responsibility and authority, and I hope the state doesn’t just acquiesce and by silence not exercise its responsibilities, because it has responsibilities and they should do something affirmatively — either yes or no – on the location. Not a maybe, not sitting back in their hallowed offices watching others work on this — they need to be engaged. …the location issue is essentially up to … the governor, the Legislature and others in state government,” Nelson said. In support of that position, he pointed to a report by the Congressional Research Service which found that “state laws establish the primary siting authority for oil pipelines.”
Quoting “Piping in some common sense,” a LJS Local View by Lincoln’s National Geographic contributing photographer Joel Sartore, “…For the sake of my family, myself and my state, I challenge the proposed route of the Keystone XL Pipeline. …I don’t wish to offend anyone, but the conclusion I come away with every time is this: I cannot believe this is something we’re considering for even a minute. …If you care, let your voice be heard. Write and call Gov. Dave Heineman, Congressmen Jeff Fortenberry, Adrian Smith and Lee Terry, and Senators Ben Nelson and Mike Johanns. Let them know that trading our environmental heritage in order to cater to greed and increase the wealth of a select few will not be tolerated. Nebraska is better than this.”
Contact information for Nebraska’s 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), FaceBook;  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); Senator Ben Nelson, 720 Hart Senate Office Building, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510, 202.224.6551; Senator Mike Johanns, 404 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510, 202.224.4224. Contact Governor Dave Heineman, at linked e-mail or PO Box 94848, State Capitol Bldg., Lincoln, NE 68509, 402.471.2244. Please contact them all if you oppose the environmental devastation that XL would cause Nebraska’s ecosystems.
Petitions still open to signatures requesting the denial of a permit to TransCanada include “Stop the TransCanada Pipeline” to Secretary Clinton, Governor Heineman, and President Obama; “Protect Nebraska; Say NO to Tar Sands;”  “Protect Nebraska’s Economic Activity, Put the Brakes on the Pipeline;”  “Protect Your Water, Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline!” and a Brave New Foundation petition to Clinton, “Say No to the Kochs and Yes to Protecting Americans.”  Please sign them all, and add personal comments of concern for our ecosystems if you wish. “Time’s Running Out to Stop the Keystone Tar Sands Pipeline — Take Action Now,”  by Tara Lohan, AlterNet, June 3, 2011 also links a new petition to Secretary Clinton. Please sign all the petitions if you haven’t already.
Also urging readers to contact the Nebraska delegation, a June 8th letter to the editor of LJS, “Plain foolishness,” by Jim Elsener, says “If people think they gotta have oil, try living without water. A little horse sense will tell you it’s just plain foolishness to run the sands oil Keystone XL Pipeline through the Sand Hills and over the Ogallala Aquifer. Just this May the first Keystone Pipeline in North Dakota leaked more than 400 barrels of oil. And overall, Keystone has suffered 11 leaks in as many months. I urge people to write their representatives in Congress and let them know this is one foolish idea.” A Sunday June 12th letter by Dianne Petersen comments on TransCanada’s push polls asking misleading questions about gas prices and unemployment. “Do we need lower gas prices and more jobs? Yes, but having to mislead people to garner support proves the tactics are dishonest, so what else isn’t quite above-board in the dealings of pipeline supporters?”
On Thursday, June 9th, Democracy Now! covered a planned Puerto Rico Pipeline that poses a similar threat to the environment and public health: “President Barack Obama is due to visit Puerto Rico next week in what will be the first official US presidential visit to the territory in 50 years. His trip comes as controversy grows over a proposed 92-mile natural gas pipeline that would cut across much of the island. Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño has made the $450 million project a central goal of his administration and insists it is a safe and environmentally friendly way to lower utility bills. Called Vía Verde (Green Way), the pipeline has been dubbed Vía de la Muerte (Death Route) by critics who say it will expose people living near it to deadly explosions and cause irreversible damage to the island’s environmental and cultural resources. We speak with Dr. Arturo Massol, a biology professor and director of the Scientific and Technical Commission of Casa Pueblo, a community-based organization in Puerto Rico that is leading opposition against the pipeline project. He calls for development of infrastructure that can harness the island’s solar and wind power to meet its energy needs.” [“Safe and environmentally friendly.” Sound familiar?] Video is here.
“Faith Groups Call on Obama to Stop Dirty Oil Sands Pipeline,” from the Missionary Oblates Office of Peace, Justice and Integrity of Creating, June 2, 2011, reports “The Oblate JPIC Office has joined 45 other faith-based groups in asking the Obama Administration to deny the presidential permit needed by TransCanada Corporation to construct a pipeline to carry dirty oil sands from Alberta, Canada to Houston, TX.”
A new 6:31 minute YouTube video “Stop the Megaloads Now!” films this country’s scenic natural environments and contrasts the images of beauty with the “biggest, dirtiest, most ecologically destructive extraction operation on Earth” that has turned Alberta, Canada into a “raped and stinking tar pit.” Please watch to see how Exxon will treat Idaho and Montana’s scenic highways when destruction equipment starts rolling for tar sands extraction there. “Fight the Power!”
The Keystone XL Pipeline Story in the United States, is a new 40-minute documentary being produced in association with the National Wildlife Federation to explore environmental, social and political impacts of the $13 billion XL pipeline construction. From the website, “This film will uncover the realities behind building this 1,980-mile pipeline through the heartland of America. It will discuss the ramifications of the growing US reliance on Canadian oil, as well as the sacrifices on people, wildlife and the environment as a result of the transport and refinement of this very polluting tar sands oil.” Pending funding, principal photography is scheduled to begin on June 20, 2011. To learn more about this project and become a supporting financial contributor, click here.
TransCanada representatives are making the rounds to county meetings all along the pipeline route. On June 1st, they held a media event covered by Art Hovey for Lincoln Journal Star. “Keystone XL proponents rally round the cause” mentions the presence of opposition activists. Americans for Prosperity, heavily financed by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, kicked off XL pep rally events in Nebraska last week. Coalition protesters where present in opposition at the Omaha Walnut Grove Park rally.  Former state senator Mike Friend was a high profile presence. His lobbying work for AFG has not been properly registered, prompting Common Cause Nebraska to file a complaint covered by LJS June 11th, here.
Meanwhile, “the Domina Law Group is investigating a class-action lawsuit against the XL pipeline, saying the company may be abusing eminent domain laws to bully Nebraska landowners into making way for the pipeline. Environmental groups are hoping that if even a few landowners can block the pipeline from running over their turf, they can force the pipeline to be re-routed.” “Keystone Facing Potential Legal Hurdle,”  was reported at POLITICO.
A new Nebraska Sierra 9:45 minute YouTube video of pipeline opponents speaking at the May 12, 2011 Citizen Hearing in the capitol rotunda is now posted online. Many letters to the Lincoln Journal Star have been published in the year since the public started realizing the threat posed by TransCanada. Letters linked in Green Notes since May 30, 2010 are in archives here.  (Scroll from the bottom up for links to each week’s Notes.) Comprehensive news coverage related to the XL pipeline is also linked in archives.
Save the Date: Thursday, June 23, 2011.  The XL opposition coalition is planning a statewide festival of the arts in towns across the state, in venues from churches to bars, during the first weekend of August. Arts include dance, theater, cooking, poetry, music, sculpture, origami, flower arrangement, film and photography. Themes will include the Sand Hills, water, and stopping the pipeline. AnyOne can organize an event anywhere. Nebraska writer Mary Pipher is coordinating poetry events. Phone Mary at 402.484.5548 for details about the first organizing meeting for poets on Thursday, June 23rd. We are hoping for 1000 events statewide!
What can you do now that the legislative session has ended and the official Department of State comment period has expired? Sign all the petitions linked above.  Keep writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Keep the issue alive in conversations at the kitchen table, in cafes, churches, and clubs around Nebraska.  E-mail actions [at] boldnebraska [dot] org for yard signs, bumper stickers and t-shirts. More actions EveryOne can take are listed here.
Be a community educator and organizer. Let’s change the world together. Help make Nebraska the first state to successfully oppose a pipeline project.
           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.”

STOP FRACKING NOW . . . “We, the undersigned, call on Congress to pass the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act this year. It’s time to hold the oil and gas production industry to the same standards as any other industry to ensure the safe protection of America’s drinking water.” Sign Petition and view 6:20 minute Colbert Report interview with Tom Ridge.

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 . . . 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

STOP THE PIPELINE