SCROLL DOWN FOR THIS WEEK’S TRANSCANADA KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE.

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

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. here. A Lincoln Journal Star front page feature story about Norma Fleisher’s statewide summer tour of all Nebraska counties calling for an end to the death penalty is 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.

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, 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.

ALTERNATIVES TO THE MILITARY ANNUAL PEACEMAKER OF THE YEAR POTLUCK . . . The annual potluck supper for Alternatives to the Military will be Thursday, August 25, 2011, 5:30pm, at Christ United Methodist Church, 45th & A Street, Lincoln. Longtime local peace and justice activists Paul Olson and Lela Shanks will receive the Peacemaker of the Year Award. For more information, and to rsvp, phone Marge Schlitt, 402.474.0682.

PFLAG CELEBRATION . . . The 30th Anniversary of Lincoln’s Chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays will be celebrated Sunday, August 28, 2011, 3:30pm, at Auld Pavilion in Anelope Park, 1650 Memorial Drive. Longtime member Jean Eileen Durgin-Clinchard will present a history of the group, and recognition of honorees. There will be music and refreshments. PFLAG meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month, 7:00pm, at the Unitarian Church, 6300 A Street. For more information, phone 402.434.9880.

LINCOLN FARMERS MARKETS . . . 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. Through mid-September, a Wednesday market in University Place is open from 3:00 to 7:00pm at the former Green’s Plumbing site, 48th & Madison Streets. Thursday’s 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. 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

BUDRUS . . . Monday, August 22, 2011, 7:00pm, there will be a free preview of BUDRUS, a film that looks at the unintended consequences of the wall between Israel and Palestine, at First United Methodist Church, room 112, 7020 Cass Street, Omaha (use entrance on the east end of the north side). A discussion will follow the 58 minute film.

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 “Blood in the Mobile,” a 2010 documentary addressing the issue of illegal mining and lack of corporate social responsibility from the mobile phone industry. View the official 2:48 minute trailer here.  For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

DUNDEE COMMUNITY DAY . . . Saturday, August 27, 2011, Dundee Community Day will start at 8:00am with a pancake breakfast. Click here [pdf] for a schedule of the Day’s events at 50th & Underwood in Omaha’s Dundee neighborhood.

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 COMMUNITY GARDEN . . . Omaha’s newest community garden is at 60th & Lafayette, at the south side of the historic Benson neighborhood. 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 . . . Jane Kleeb, Executive Director of BOLD Nebraska, is currently in Washington DC with environmentalists from around the country who will hold sit-ins and other acts of civil disobedience outside the White House every day for the next two weeks. The protest action is intended to pressure the Obama administration to deliver on years of clean energy promises and decide against approval of TransCanada’s tar sands pipeline project. Friday, August 19, 2011, Jane was on Democracy Now! debating an American Petroleum Instutute issues manager on the question “Should the US approve TransCanada’s massive Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline?” Watch the broadcast from DC here.
“Massive Protest at White House Against Alberta Tar Sands Pipeline,” by Suzanne Goldenberg, Guardian UK, was published in Reader Supported News, August 21st: “A protest at the White House against a pipeline from the Alberta tar sands is emerging as the biggest green civil disobedience campaign in a generation, organizers said.” Read here.  Another August 21st update on the mass action from Reader Supported News reports “65 Arrested Outside White House in Keystone Pipeline Protests.  The article begins “US President Barack Obama wasn’t around to see it, but 65 protesters were arrested Saturday as they participated in a peaceful protest outside the White House aimed at pressuring him to block TransCanada’s controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Bill McKibben, a leading American environmentalist and one of the organizers of the two-week protest, was among those arrested. Others included gay rights activist Dan Choi; Jane Hamsher, the founder of the popular liberal blog Firedoglake; and Gus Speth, a onetime environmental expert under former president Jimmy Carter.”
Daily Climate coverage of the DC action, “Climate Justice Movement Keys off Civil Rights Crusade,” by Geoff Dembicki, was also published August 19th. Quoting 350.org’s Bill McKibben, at time of writing, “More than 1,500 people have signed up to be arrested so far, including Hollywood actors Danny Glover and Mark Ruffalo.” At the time of McKibben’s next update, the number was 2,000. “This is getting exciting,” reports “As momentum builds, we’re hearing from the famous and powerful: the wonderful Bernie Sanders just offered up a blogpost pointing out how many more jobs we’d create if we concentrated on clean energy; and the dynamic actor Mark Ruffalo chipped in a heartfelt video imploring people to head to Washington for the protest.”
August 16th, The Washington Post published McKibben’s article “A watershed moment for Obama on climate change.” Also printed in the Lincoln Journal Star, it calls the DC action “the biggest display of civil disobedience in the environmental movement in decades, and one of the largest nonviolent direct actions since the World Trade Organization demonstrations in Seattle back before September 11, 2001. …The issue is simple: We want the president to block construction of Keystone XL, a pipeline that would carry oil from the tar sands of northern Alberta down to the Gulf of Mexico. We have, not surprisingly, concerns about potential spills and environmental degradation from construction of the pipeline. But those tar sands are also the second-largest pool of carbon in the atmosphere, behind only the oil fields of Saudi Arabia. If we tap into them in a big way, NASA climatologist James Hansen explained in a paper issued this summer, the emissions would mean it’s “essentially game over” for the climate. That’s why the executive directors of many environmental groups and 20 of the country’s leading climate scientists wrote letters asking people to head to Washington for the demonstrations. In scientific terms, it’s as close to a no-brainer as you can get.” Continued here.
In “3 Reasons Why the Tar Sands Pipeline Has to be Stopped,” Janet Redman writes “why the pipeline is truly idiotic and why I’m willing to get arrested to stop it.” The AlterNet article published August 19th begins “The latest bone-headed move by the fossil fuel industry to build a pipeline across the United States is testing my patience. And I’m someone who’s seen a lot of really dumb environmental behavior. …For all the oil money in politics — and there’s about $24 million of it in Congress — I still hold out the hope that with a little help from his friends Obama will see the Keystone XL pipeline expansion as a really stupid idea. Obama’s no dummy. He knows that increasing national energy security means reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. He knows that we don’t have extra money lying around to clean up spills and foot the bill for health impacts. And he knows that building a clean, renewable energy economy in the United States would create millions of jobs.” The complete article is here.
“Protest Makes Canada-To-US Pipeline Project Newest Front in Climate Clash,” by Elana Schor, is in the August 19th New York Times. “…Enlisted participants in the White House anti-pipeline event are “not typically who people think of as activists — it’s farmers, doctors, lawyers, church and faith leaders, not the cliche college student out there protesting in the streets,” said Matt Leonard, coordinator of the demonstration and a veteran environmental protester, in an interview. “It’s a cross section of average American citizens who realize that they have an obligation to address climate change for their sons and their daughters.” The complete article is here.
From “Environmentalists Put Obama to Test on Climate Over Pipeline Plan,” by Renee Schoof, McClatchy, published in TruthOut, “Two weeks of protests will raise the question of what the United States should do about climate change, putting the topic back into the spotlight. They’ll pressure President Barack Obama, who must decide whether the pipeline is in the national interest and whether it will be built. For some participants, the key issues are local matters of land and water conservation. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline from the oil sands of Alberta would run from Canada through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.” Read here.
The August 21st Lincoln Journal Star published a Local View by Richard Schmeling, “Consider rail as safe alternative to Keystone XL.”  Schmeling begins “The proposed Keystone XL Pipeline that would be used to transport crude oil extracted from oil shale in Alberta, Canada, to Louisiana for refining is a genuine threat to the Ogallala Aquifer and should not be approved. The danger of pipeline rupture or spill from some other casualty is real, dangerous and may be deadly. It still has not been determined if the extraction process uses benzine (a known cause of cancer), which remains in the crude following the extraction of the oil. A spill in Michigan of crude from oil shale resulted in significant releases of benzine into the water and soil.”  He introduces the reader to “a very real alternative to pipeline transportation of the crude. It is via Tanktrain.” Schmeling encourages giving “Tanktrain a hard look as an alternative to the pipeline. Let’s let Hillary Rodham Clinton and her bunch know an alternative exists. We just might not need to have any new pipelines built across Nebraska in view of our fine existing rail network.” An August 21st letter to the editor at LJS, “Pipeline consequences ignored,” by Jim Anderson, addresses the very misleading argument of necessity in an August 10th Guest View.
Common Dreams published Joe Uehlein’s August 10th article “Joining the Labor Movement and the Sustainabilty Movement: Together We Can Stop the Tar Sands Climate Catastrophy,” explaining why he’s marching with McKibben to protest the XL pipeline: “I’ve decided to walk the walk.”
An August 19th press release announced that the Transport Worker Union and the Amalgamated Transit Union oppose approval of the Keystone XL pipeline and call for an end to increased use of tar sands oil. The unions’ joint statement calls on the State Department NOT to approve construction of the XL pipeline saying that approval of this project now would be reckless given the EPA’s own assessment of the environmental risks. The statement calls for “major “New Deal” type public investments in infrastructure modernization and repair, energy conservation and climate protection as a means of putting people to work and laying the foundations of a green and sustainable economic future for the United States.”
This past week an unrefined gasoline pipeline leak between Decatur, Nebraska, and Onawa, Iowa became the latest “in a string of pipeline accidents in a year, many of which–like the leaks on Enbridge’s two crude lines last summer and the 1,000 barrels of crude oil spilled from Exxon Mobil’s Silvertip pipeline in July–have raised serious environmental concerns.” A Reuter’s report is here.  A Nebraska City News Press article, “Pipeline Leak in Missouri River Flood Plain in Monona County, Iowa,” begins “A pipeline carrying natural gasoline developed a leak over the weekend, with the potential to lose about 140,000 gallons of gasoline in the Missouri River floodplain southwest of Onawa.”
The Daily Climate also published “A quest to clean up Canada’s oil Sands Carbon,” a National Geographic article reporting “The first large-scale effort to capture carbon dioxide emissions in the Canadian oil sands surmounted a crucial hurdle this summer with the signing of government agreements to underwrite nearly two-thirds of the $1.35 billion project’s cost.”  The entire article is here.
Another article about the Friday August 5th “I Stand With Randy” protest against the XL pipeline at the governor’s mansion in Lincoln was published August 15th at HARVEST. “Pipeline controversy continues as decision deadline gets closer” was written by Fred Knapp. Photos from the event are here.  Although the governor was not present, protesters described the action as “awesome,” “amazing,” “wonderful” and “inspiring.”
From “Overheard: Asia’s View of Alberta, Tar Sands and Pipelines,” by Michael Byers, August 15th, “…If the Canadians were smart, they’d build the capacity to refine all their bitumen at source, so as to ship a much more valuable product to Asia and elsewhere. But there are only a handful of upgraders in Alberta — and their capacity is actually going down. …But the people at the State Department aren’t stupid,” I protest. “Surely they can see right through this?” “Don’t count on it,” he laughs derisively. “They’re focused on the Middle East. They don’t understand the Asian energy market. They really don’t.” He leans over and whispers: “And even if they did realize that Gateway is an empty threat, they’d still approve Keystone XL, eventually. No matter what the EPA says, the State Department isn’t about to depart from its practice of approving pipelines from Canada. It’ll just spin out the decision as long as it can, hoping the project dies for other reasons.”” Read here.  Read more on the Enbridge pipe-dream in “Rumours of pipeline’s demise grow as speculation surrounds Enbridge.”
“Dismayed by Heineman,” a Lincoln Journal Star letter to the editor by Vernon Forbes published August 18th begins “I was dismayed that Governor Dave Heineman will not call for a special session of the Legislature to protect the Ogallala Aquifer, even though he admits that a majority of Nebraskans (including himself) believe that the Keystone XL Pipeline should not go through the Sandhills. He believes this should have been taken care of in the regular session, that a special session is too expensive, and that the votes to pass a bill are not there. During the regular session, the senators did not feel they had the authority to determine a pipeline’s route through the state. It is now clear they do have that authority, and Senator Ken Haar is trying to make that correction.” The letter continues here.
Other recent letters: “Economic interest,” by Merle Myers, begins “The interesting part of the debate over the Keystone XL pipeline is that those who defend the pipeline across the aquifer always have an economic interest. …Never do they acknowledge or even address the mere act of moving the pipeline path away from the aquifer, which would resolve the problem! Why? Additional cost to TransCanada, that’s why. Our senators need to address this problem and force TransCanada to rethink its shortsighted strategy. If they don’t they won’t have to worry about term limits since their term will end come the next election.” In “Not the Sandhills,” Larry Caldwell writes “I have lived in, worked in and taken a conservation course in the Sandhills of Nebraska. It simply is NOT the place for a pipeline. I would ask anyone that doubts this to spend some time traveling through, living in or studying the Sandhills.”
In “Oil insider misleads,” Dianne S. Ferguson writes “The latest pro-Keystone XL pipeline guest view by petroleum industry insider Michael Economides plays fast and loose with fact, ignoring contamination issues at the heart of the debate over Keystone XL.” An August 11th letter by Charles Holderby also commented on the Guest View “Keystone pipeline necessary.”
SolveClimate News published Lisa Song’s “Keystone XL Primer: How the Pipeline’s Route Could Impact the Ogallala Aquifer,” on August 11th, reporting “In the debate over TransCanada’s controversial Cananda-to-Texas oil pipe, the Ogallala aquifer and the Nebraska sandhills have emerged as flashpoints.” Page 1 of 5 is here.
A Tarsands Action–Stop The Pipeline White House Sit-In Website is here, and a 350.org Stop The TarSands! petition to the president reads “The tar sands represent a catastrophic threat to our communities, our climate, and our planet. We urge you to demonstrate real climate leadership by rejecting the requested permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and instead focus on developing safe, clean energy.” Please sign, and add comments if you wish, here.
“Stop The Tar Sands Pipeline” is a Credo Action petition to the president that reads “The tar sands represent a catastrophic threat to our communities, our climate, and our planet. President Obama, you have the final word. You do not have to negotiate with Congress or industry. We urge you to demonstrate real climate leadership by rejecting the requested permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.” Click here to sign and add personal comments.
“Cornhuskers vs Dirty Oil” is a new four part YouTube video by Nebraska Greens featuring a great original song to the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies; interviews with Senators Dubas, Fulton, Avery, and Coash; clips from the rally at the capitol, and great quotes from Raymond Joe Moller, a Douglas, NE resident with family property near Central City. Thanks to John Carlini, Shari Schwartz, and Anthony DiCostanzo for production. View Part 1 of 4 here.
As National Geographic contributing photographer Joel Sartore wrote in a Journal Star Local View, please contact “Governor Dave Heineman, Congressmen Jeff Fortenberry, Adrian Smith and Lee Terry, and Senators Ben Nelson and Mike Johanns” and 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.
Comprehensive Green Notes covering international, national and local opposition to the XL pipeline since May 30, 2010 are in archives here.  (Scroll from the bottom up for links to each week’s Notes.)
           The governor could stop this pipeline madness right now by making the Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer off limits to pipelines. He needs to hear from EveryOne who opposes the XL project.  Please contact him, continue writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper, and 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. Help make Nebraska the first state to successfully oppose a pipeline project.

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 the 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.

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 asks you to name your cause 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!

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 THE PIPELINE