GREENS ARE GATHERING SIGNATURES. . . The Green Party is qualified for ballot status this election cycle in all of the four biggest states: New York, California, Florida, and Texas. At this time, 20 states have ballot status in November 2012. For brief information about current candidates for President, click here.
NGP is gathering signatures so voters here will also have the choice of voting for the Green Party presidential slate. In Lincoln, petitions are available at Meadowlark Coffee and Espresso, 1624 South Street. Registered Nebraska voters are invited to stop by for coffee, visit with Adam Hintz from 6:00am to 2:00pm daily, sign a petition, or pick up one to circulate. In Omaha, look for Charles Ostdiek at McFoster’s, 38th and Harney, to sign and pick up petitions.
You must be a registered voter to circulate the county specific petitions. Fill out a voter registration application online here.[pdf] If you can help us identify a public place in CD 3 where petitions could be available, if you would like us to mail you petitions to circulate, or to participate in the ballot access process in any way, please let us know by e-mailing mjberry [at] inebraska [dot] com. Printable NGP brochures on FaceBook are here. Let’s take Our democracy back from Wall Street!
CANDIDATE WORKSHOP . . . The candidate training workshop hosted by Nebraska League of Conservation Voters has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 24, 2012, in Lincoln and Omaha. Rescheduling allowed for time to reach out to conservation-minded candidates following the March 1st filing date. E-mail Larry Zink, LarryZ [dot] nlcv [at] gmail [dot] com for more information.
PAGE DOWN FOR KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE.
Lincoln area: Congressional District 1
VIGIL AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY . . . Every Monday, 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. When weather is bad, 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 more information about NADP, click here. “It is the deed that teaches, not the name we give it. Murder and capital punishment are not opposites that cancel one another, but similars that breed their kind.” –George Bernard Shaw
OCCUPY EDUCATION . . . Occupy Education, an initiative of Occupy Lincoln, is offering a free and open university with weekly talks/discussions through March 19, 2012. The teach-in workshops are Mondays, 7:00 to 8:00pm, at Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P Street. The Monday Phil 99 Course, “A Philosophical Look at Law, Punishment, and Power,” consists of informal lectures, followed by an open discussion. March 19, 2012 will be “Part 5: Bringing the Offender, Victim, and Community Together — A Closer Look at Restorative Justice,” presented by Steve Swartzer, Lecturer of Philosophy and Assistant Director of the Center for the Teaching and Study of Applied Ethics at UN-L.
Tuesday Teach-In Workshops will be hosted by a different member of the Occupy Lincoln community, on a topic of their choosing, Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:00pm, at Meadowlark Coffee and Espresso, 1624 South Street. March 20th, the topic will be “The Psychological, Cognitive, and Biological Differences of the Political Spectrum” presented by John Hibbing, Regents Professor of Political Science and Psychology at UNL and co-director of the Political Physiology lab. For more information, e-mail Hendrik van den Berg, hvan-den-berg1 [at] unl [dot] edu
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.
OCCUPY LINCOLN . . . “City officials and Occupy Lincoln have reached an agreement that will keep tents pitched on Centennial Mall until May 1, two months later than the city had planned.” Read Lincoln Journal Star coverage here.
The Occupy Lincoln camp site is located on Centennial Mall north of the state capitol. There is a General Assembly every Sunday, 1:30-2:30pm, at Bennett Martin Library, 14th and N Streets, in the 4th floor auditorium; Wednesday, 6:30pm at Indigo Bridge Books; and Friday, 6:00 to 9:00pm. The Facebook page is here. The Twitter feed is @OccupyLincoln. For more information, e-mail occupylincoln [at] gmail [dot] com or phone 402.585.5865. Corporate Greed is Revolution’s Seed!
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. Wednesday, March 21, 2012, the film will be “Forks Over Knives,” a feature film examining “the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods.” View a 2:12 minute trailer at the website. An informal discussion will follow the film. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.
CANDIDATE’S FORUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES . . . Thursday, March 22, 2012, 7:00pm, environmental issues including clean energy, the federal government’s role in protecting the environment, public transportation, and land conservation, will be among topics discussed at a non-partisan Candidates Forum featuring candidates for Nebraska’s Second Congressional District, at First United Methodist Church, 7020 Cass Street, Omaha. (Enter north door Education Wing.) The Forum is free and open to the public. For more information, click here.
OCCUPY OMAHA . . . The official Occupy Omaha website is here. The FaceBook page is here. The Twitter feed is #occupyomaha
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 . . . At the national level, there was good news in a McClatchy article by Sean Cockerham, March 14, 2012, “Senate Rejects Arctic Drilling and Keystone Pipeline,” sourced to Reader Supported News, beginning “The Senate on Tuesday resoundingly rejected a sweeping measure to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other protected areas to oil drilling, as well as to approve construction of the Keystone pipeline project.”
“Another Keystone XL Victory,” by Bill McKibben for Reader Supported News, March 11th, begins “A year ago almost no one had heard of the pipeline. Even four months ago, a poll of 300 ‘energy insiders’ still found 97 percent predicting it would get its permit. But it didn’t. For now, people power … overturned the odds.”
SAVE THE DATE: Friday, March 30, 2012. 350.org founder and Keystone XL opposition leader Bill McKibben will speak at a Rally to Protect Land and Water, Friday, March 30th, at either at 5:30 or 7:30pm, in Lincoln. Details are still being worked out.
Why a Rally Now? From BOLD Nebraska, “the Nebraska Legislature is considering a bill (LB 1161) that essentially grants TransCanada immediate power of eminent domain (versus waiting for a federal permit) and creates a loophole just for TransCanada to have a “new route” approved by Nebraska before TC submits a new application through the State Department. The bill also sticks Nebraskans with a $2 million price tag for pipeline review.”
From Press Releases March 13th, after LB 1161 was voted to General File for first round consideration, 6-2:
“Nebraska Farmers Union is encouraging Nebraska landowners and citizens to contact their state senators and ask them to reject LB 1161. It is likely unconstitutional, is a sweetheart deal for TransCanada, and breaks faith with promises made to Nebraska landowners. All new oil pipeline projects were supposed to follow the process delineated in LB1”, said John Hansen. “The state bargain made with TransCanada ended when the President denied their pending permit. It is now important to follow the law and process for all new oil pipelines. That is the bargain made with Nebraska landowners and citizens,” Hansen said.”
From Bold Nebraska: “The Natural Resources latest move to give TransCanada everything they ask for is another example of how our Unicameral is simply bought and paid for by big oil and how they have forgotten their Nebraska roots. “Most of the Natural Resources Committee can no longer say they represent the people of Nebraska and can no longer say they are looking out for our state’s natural resources. Senator Smith and those that voted to advance his bill care about their “duty” to TransCanada and have forgotten about their Nebraska roots and responsibility to our state’s constitution. Citizens will fight to block LB 1161 and continue to protect our water and property rights from this risky export pipeline. Enough is enough. TransCanada does not deserve special treatment. They do not deserve a special law written just for them. TransCanada should re-apply for a federal permit and then submit their proposed routes to Nebraska’s Public Service Commission. We have a law in place to review any future oil pipelines that was passed during the pipeline Special Session last year. TransCanada should follow our laws. The Unicameral needs to get out of TransCanada’s pocket.” Background on LB 1161 is here.
From Nebraska Sierra Club: “The vote by a majority of the Natural Resources Committee to advance LB 1161 disregarded the Nebraska Constitution, the rights of Nebraska landowners and the wishes of all the Nebraska citizens who testified at the committee hearing,” said Ken Winston, Nebraska Sierra Club spokesperson. “The committee had been given a legal memo that raises serious questions about the constitutionality of LB 1161, but disregarded that opinion. They had heard testimony from landowners that the rights of Nebraska landowners needed to be strengthened against eminent domain threats by private pipeline companies, yet they advanced this bill that weakens landowner rights. And every Nebraska citizen who testified on LB 1161 opposed it, yet the majority of the Committee ignored their testimony.”
From “XL-Pipeline Community Meetings, Input on PSC,” by Malinda Frevert, March 15th, “BOLD Nebraska and partner groups are hosting a series of meetings to update the community on the status of TransCanada’s rejected Keystone XL, the possibilities of a new application, happenings in Washington and to review Nebraska’s Public Service Commission (PSC) public comment process on how they will certify oil pipeline routes. Our goal of the community meetings is to not only give updates on the pipeline, but to get input on what we as citizens and landowners think the PSC should consider when analyzing and certifying oil pipeline routes.
The meeting schedule is as follows: Tuesday, March 27th, 7:00pm, First Unitarian Church, 3114 Harney Street, Omaha; Thursday, March 29th, 7:00pm, O’Neill Community Center, 501 South 4th (Hwy 281), O’Neill; Monday, April 2nd, 7:00pm, American Legion, 204 Broadway, Fullerton; Thursday, April 5th, 7:00pm, Unitarian Church of Lincoln, 6300 A Street, Lincoln. BOLD will be gathering public comments to deliver to the PSC. The more public input the better! (There will be #nokxl cookies and lemonade.)”
“Rebuilding land destroyed by oil-sands may not restore it, researchers say” by Ben Weber, The Canadian Press, March 11th, begins “In a small corner of the vast scrape the oilsands have left on northern Alberta, wetlands reclamation is underway. But academic researchers point out at least half the region’s wetlands will be permanently lost. And then there is the carbon. …There’s the fate of a huge ecosystem being disrupted at an increasing pace. There’re the millions of dollars companies have spent studying how to rebuild wetlands destroyed by oil-sands mining. And there’s the social licence of an industry that promises to restore land — in the words of one ad — to “where you’d never know there’d been a mine in the first place.”
“Ogallala Aquifer still at risk,” by Lisa Song, March 14th, for InsideClimate News reports that the map used to define Nebraska Sand Hills doesn’t include nearby areas also vulnerable to contamination. “…It was always about the water,” said Amy Schaffer, a fifth-generation Nebraskan whose father runs a Sand Hills ranch. “This isn’t over until they get [the pipeline] out of the Ogallala aquifer.” Landowner concerns with LB 1161 were also reported at Chadron.com on March 14th. There is an excellent map of current and proposed pipelines here.
Paul Hammel, reporting for Omaha World-Herald in “Pipeline lobbying costs incredible,” writes “During the fourth quarter of 2011, when the Nebraska Legislature held a special session on the pipeline, TransCanada reported $529,099 in lobbying and legal expenses. That spending works out to about $10,800 for each of the 49 senators during those three months.”
Sign a Natural Resources Defense Council Action Alert telling Congress to reject all attempts to force approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline by attaching it to any unrelated legislation. The Keystone XL will deliver billions in profits to Big Oil while the people get stuck with poisoned water, contaminated land and an overheated planet.
STOP FRACKING NOW . . . Quoting Bill McKibben in “Why Not Frack?” “The planet is running short of the easy stuff, where you stick a drill in the ground and crude comes bubbling to the surface. The great oil fields of Saudi Arabia and Mexico have begun to dwindle; one result has been a rising price for energy. We could, as a civilization, have taken that dwindling supply and rising price as a signal to convert to sun, wind, and other noncarbon forms of energy-it would have made eminent sense, most of all because it would have aided in the fight against global warming, the most difficult challenge the planet faces. Instead, we’ve taken it as a signal to scour the world for more hydrocarbons. And it turns out that they’re there-vast quantities of coal and oil and gas, buried deep or trapped in tight rock formations or mixed with other minerals. Getting at them requires ripping apart the earth: for instance, by heating up the ground so that the oil in the tar sands formation of Canada can flow to the surface. Or by tearing holes in the crust a mile beneath the surface of the sea, as BP was doing in the Gulf of Mexico when the Deepwater Horizon well exploded. Or by literally removing mountaintops to get at coal, as has become commonplace across the southern Appalachians.”
“Confirmed: Fracking Caused Ohio Earthquakes,” by Brad Johnson, ThinkProgress, in Reader Supported News March 10, 2012 reports “A dozen earthquakes in northeastern Ohio were almost certainly induced by injection of gas-drilling wastewater into the earth, Ohio oil and gas regulators said Friday as they announced a series of tough new regulations for drillers.”
Petition Congress: “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.”
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.
From FitLife.tv, “In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto’s Genetically Engineered crops from contaminating the nation’s 25,000 organic farms and ranches, America’s organic consumers and producers are facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite, spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, has decided it’s time to surrender to Monsanto. Top executives from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto’s controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and cut a deal for “coexistence” with Monsanto and USDA biotech cheerleader Tom Vilsack.”
“Monsanto’s Roundup Shown to Be Ravaging Butterfly Populations,” by Mike Barrett, Natural Society, for Truthout, March 9th: “Although the butterfly population may be suffering, humans are taking heat from Monsanto’s creations as well. Past research has shown that Monsanto’s Roundup ready crops are leading to mental illness and obesity, primarily by destroying the amount of good bacteria found in the gut. The corporation’s Roundup, containing glyphosate, has also been shown to cause infertility and birth defects.”
To help organize or coordinate a Millions Against Monsanto and Factory Farms Truth-in-Labeling campaign in your local community, sign up here. To pressure Whole Foods Market and the nation’s largest supermarket chains to voluntarily adopt truth-in-labeling practices, sign editable text here.
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 Substitute Hemp for oil.“