SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. Plan to “Stand With Randy” the weekend of August 5th thought August 7, 2011. Green Notes for all three Congressional Districts have information about Nebraska’s statewide Festival in opposition to TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline.
Lincoln area: Congressional District 1
CITY BUDGET . . . A $144 Million budget reflecting the mayor’s proposed property tax increase has been presented to the City Council. Monday July 25, 2011, 3:00pm, the council votes on changes. A public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for Thursday, August 8, 2011, 2:30 to 10:30pm (with 1/2 hour dinner break). And the council gets one more chance to make changes on Wednesday, August 10th, at 5:30pm. Deena Winter blogs on “What you need to know about the Mayor’s budget proposal,” here at Winterized.
HELP THE FOOD BANK . . . Lincoln Food Bank donations are being accepted in bright red bins at the Bennett Martin Public Library, 126 South 14th Street, and Anderson, 3635 Touzalin Avenue, Bethany, 1810 North Cotner, Eiseley, 1530 Superior, Gere, 2400 South 56th, South, 2675 South Street, and Walt branch library, 6701 South 14th, through Monday, July 25, 2011. Click here for a list of the most needed foods.
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. A July 13, 2011 Lincoln Journal Star front page feature story with photo about Norma Fleisher’s statewide summer tour of all Nebraska counties calling for an end to the death penalty is here.
PUBLIC HEARING ON BUDGET CUTS FOR STARTRAN . . . Lincoln’s StarTran Advisory Board will hold a public hearing Tuesday, July 26, 2011, 4:00pm, at Aging Partners, 1005 O Street, to address proposed Saturday service hour cuts contained in the mayor’s 2011-12 budget. Written comments may be sent to StarTran, 710 J Street, Lincoln, 68508, or e-mail startraninfo [at] lincoln [dot] ne [dot] gov.
LOOKING AT THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE . . . Tuesday, July 26, 2011, 7:00pm, Susan Seacrest, founder of the Groundwater Foundation, and Ken Winston, attorney for the Sierra Club Nebraska, will present “A New Look” at the Keystone XL pipeline project at First-Plymouth Church, Calvert Parlor, 2000 D Street, Lincoln. They will discuss the proposed route, the Ogallala Aquifer, and needs assessment.
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.
OPEN HOUSE ON ANTELOPE CREEK PROJECT . . . Wednesday, July 27, 2011, 5:30 to 7:00pm, the City will host an open house on proposed water quality “improvements” for Antelope Creek near 70th & Pioneers at Hyde Memorial Observatory in Holmes Park. Construction in the area is expected to begin this summer. For more information, contact Don Day, 402.458.5644.
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.
GROUNDWATER RULES . . . The Lower Platte South Natural Resources District is holding a series of public hearings about proposed changes to its groundwater rules. This week’s hearing is July 27, 2011, at the Elmwood Village Hall, 113 West E Street, Elmwood, Nebraska. Changes requested by NRD are listed in LJS coverage here. For more information, or a complete copy of proposed changes, contact Dick Ehrman or Dan Schulz at the district office, 402.476.2729 or lpsnrd [at] lpsnrd [dot] org.
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 [dot] paine [at] ecostoresne.org.
SAVE THE DATE . . . Friday, August 5, 2011, one of Lincoln’s “I Stand With Randy” events will circle the governor’s mansion, 1425 H Street, at 9:00pm. Bring a flashlight and help shine a light to show we are watching and will keep him accountable on the pipeline. “Bicyclists Stand With Randy” will meet at 8:30pm, 1624 South Street, and ride from the Near South Community Bike Kitchen to the Governor’s Mansion together. Friday morning, 9:00 to 10:00am, there will be a Read-In for solidarity with Randy at A Novel Idea, Lincoln’s unique downtown bookstore at 118 North 14th Street. That night, First Friday visual arts events at the Burkholder Project and the Tugboat Gallery will also “Stand With Randy” against the XL pipeline. Saturday, August 6th, 2:00pm, “Poets Standing With Randy” will will read water haiku and poems in honor of the Sand Hills and the Aquifer at 816 P Street hosted by Jim and Mary Pipher. sunday, August 7th, 2:00pm, local actress Pippa White will present scenes from her production of Enemy of the People at the Center for People in Need, 3901 North 27th Street, as part of the weekend to Stand with Randy. Iben’s famous play is about a physician who, in attempting to rid his town of contaminated water, instead is labeled An Enemy of the People. Also on Sunday, Sierra Nebraska will sponsor a “Songs for the Sand Hills” concert at Duggan’s Pub, 440 South llth Street, Lincoln, 4:00 to 10:00pm, headlined by the Tijuana Gigolos. A growing list of “I Stand With Randy” events is here. Get ideas for other events, and sign up to host your own at links provided here.
SAVE THE DATE . . . The annual potluck supper for Alternatives to the Military will be on 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.
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.
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
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 “A Jihad for Love,” a documentary dealing with the reality of severe religion based oppression of homosexuals. View the trailer here. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.
PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE, OPPOSE H.R. 1938 . . . Omaha protests with Guardians of the Good Life continue. E-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net for details. BOLD Nebraska blogged about CD 2 US Representative Lee Terry’s bill, the “Oil Disaster Promotion Act,” here, and here. (See XL Update in CD 3 Green Notes below.) E-mail, Tweet or write on Terry’s Facebook wall letting him know his pipeline bill was reckless and he needs to pull it now. Call him at 402.397.9944. Plan events ouside his Omaha office, 11717 Burt Street, Suite 106. Stand outside, alone, with a friend or group of friends, holding a sign such as “don’t rush the pipeline.” Or hold a BOLD Nebraska STOP THE PIPELINE sign for a presence at his office. 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 DATES . . . Throughout the weekend of August 5, 2011, Sierra Nebraska will provide messages in opposition to the pipeline as part of the Hullabaloo festival in Western Douglas County. There will be a table with information about the pipeline, and presentations about tar sands. Saturday, August 6th, 2:00 to 6:00pm, Bands Against the Tar Sands will “Stand with Randy” at the PS Collective, 6056 Maple Street (adjoining The Pizza Shoppe in Benson), for an event featuring music by various local bands, such as the Prairie Gators’ fabulous Cajun Louisiana French rhythms, and smaller acts by other artists between sets–think poetry, drama, dance, etc. Hosted by Jane Wilson, the suggested donation for pipeline opposition is $5.
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 . . . “State Department firms up timetable for Keystone XL Pipeline decision,” by Art Hovey, was published in the Lincoln Journal Star Saturday, July 23, 2011. It begins “The State Department is pointing to November as the time frame for a final decision on the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline. In a Friday conference call, department spokesman Daniel Clune also said a final environmental impact statement is likely to be issued next month on the $7 billion petroleum project. And Clune announced that State Department officials would come to Lincoln and to the Nebraska Sand Hills in September to give residents two more chances to weigh in on the controversial project. Similar meetings are planned for state capitals in the five other states the pipeline would cross on its way from the oil sands of Alberta to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Information on specific dates and locations will be circulated next month.”
The Sierra Club welcomed the State Department announcement with the following statement: “The spill of more than 42,000 gallons of oil into the formerly pristine Yellowstone River from a broken Exxon pipeline this month is the latest tragic example of the shortcomings of our pipeline safety regulations. Luckily both Houses of Congress have proposed legislation that would require much-needed updates to these regulations, as well as require a study of the safety of tar sands oil pipelines. This legislation should be passed, and the tar sands oil pipeline safety study conducted, before the Keystone XL pipeline is permitted. In the end, though, our nation should instead be investing in a clean energy economy, not more fossil fuels. We don’t need another dirty oil pipeline – just ask the residents along the Yellowstone River. We don’t need to further our addiction to oil – just ask the residents along the Gulf Coast. We don’t need more polluting oil refineries – just ask the residents in Port Arthur, Texas.” Opposition leader, BOLD Nebraska Executive Director Jane Kleeb blogged on the importance of these public hearings July 22nd.
Monday, July 18th, there was a new oil spill in northwestern Montana. From Helena, Matt Volz reported that the spill “involving hundreds of gallons of crude” was discovered in Montana “350 miles from where cleanup crews are mopping up a larger one on the Yellowstone River.” The new spill “went unreported for a month before a neighboring landowner complained to the Blackfeet Indian Tribe.” The FX Drilling Company oil field is in a remote corner of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
More than three weeks after the Yellowstone River spill, “federal officials remain unsure how many pipelines carrying hazardous fuels cross the nation’s rivers and streams, nor can they say how deeply those pipelines are buried.” “Keystone XL would cross water 1,904 times, 160 in Nebraska.”
Wednesday, July 20th, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against ExxonMobil barring it from transporting heavy oilfield equipment through western Montana, granting a request from Missoula County and three conservation groups. Reported in the Missoulian, the groups, which oppose oil sands development, say the state transportation department did inadequate environmental analysis before approving the move.
Also on Wednesday, the New York Times publiched the Editorial “Wrong Pipeline, Wrong Assessment.” The op-ed begins and ends as follows: “For the second time in a year, the State Department has issued an environmental impact statement about the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry diluted bitumen — an acidic crude oil — from the tar sands of northern Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast. And for the second time in a year, the Environmental Protection Agency has excoriated the State Department for the inadequacy of its assessment. …On the merits — economic and environmental — and in terms of future energy policy, this is the wrong pipeline for the wrong oil.”
Wednesday night, a TransCanada natural gas pipeline exploded, shaking nearby homes and echoing at least 30 miles away, in Wyoming. The blast ripped open a 60-foot section of the Bison Pipeline and shot several pieces of 30-inch-diameter pipe around bluffs about 20 miles west of Gilette.. around the bluffs on land about 20 miles west of Gillette. Click here for a Billings Gazette report on the explosion published Thursday.
Thursday, July 14th, The LA Times editorialized “…TransCanada has a poor record when it comes to spills. Its first pipeline, Keystone I, has already sprung more than a dozen leaks in its first year of operation. The State Department is promising to make a decision on Keystone XL before the end of the year, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee is pushing for approval by Nov. 1, but there is no rush. The environmental risks should be thoroughly studied and mitigation measures must be put in place.” Read “The Risks of the Keystone XL Pipeline,” here.
“Should Alberta’s cross-border oil pipeline be extended to Texas?” The CBC News article and poll are still online. At 1,342 votes Saturday, July 23rd, the “No” percentage was 67.81. “No” continues to be the resounding answer. Please click here and scroll down to Vote if you haven’t already!
Friday, August 5, 2011, plan now to join a circle around the governor’s mansion at 9:00pm for one of Lincon’s “I Stand With Randy” events against the pipeline. XL pipeline opposition groups are planning a Statewide Festival to coincide with the Washington DC Action August 5 through August 7, 2011. In towns across the state, in venues from churches to bars, artists will use the themes of Water, the Sand Hills, and stopping the XL pipeline to create a statewide Festival. Arts include dance, theater, cooking, poetry, music, sculpture, origami, flower arrangement, film, photography and more. AnyOne can organize an event anywhere. Think about what kind of event you’d like to plan. Your event can be small–just a few friends talking over dinner. A new Stand With Randy website maps and lists all the events planned so far. Please join the network of actions statewide, and guarantee that your event is posted online by filling out the form here. Joel Sartore, internationally acclaimed National Geographic contributing photographer, challenges all Nebraskans to “Write and call 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.
A petition to Secretary of State Clinton: “Stop the Pipeline. Save Our Songbirds!” says “The numbers are staggering: tar sands mining in Canada’s Boreal forest could claim the lives of 160 million migratory birds — including millions of backyard songbirds we love seeing and hearing every summer.” A petition from the National Wildlife Federation, “Save SandHill Cranes from Dirty Oil,” is addressed to the president, the signer’s senators, representative, and the State Department. Other 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.”
A new Sierra Action Alert to call President Obama at 202.456.1111 outlines talking points for asking him to reject the dirty and dangerous XL tar sands pipeline. And readers can sign a letter asking Dole and Chiquita not to use toxic tar sands oil for transporting their bananas here.
“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 take all these actions, if you haven’t already.
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.)
What more can you do? 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. Click here to learn about planning your own “I Stand With Randy” event August 5th through the 7th. 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.
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 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 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