MIDWEST RISING: Convergence 2011 . . . Friday, August 12 through Monday, August 15, 2011, 300 environmental justice and climate activists and 300 grassroots low income community members are converging in St. Louis, Missouri, for four days that could change the organizing equation in the Midwest. Climate justice and social justice activists will unite to fight back against corporate power, engage in creative direct action, and envision a more sustainable world. Click here for more information at the official website.

SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE.

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

TOWN HALL MEETINGS . . . Monday, August 8, 2011, Senator Johanns will hold Town Halls in Lincoln at 11:30am and 3:00pm.  Click here [pdf] for locations. CD 1 Representative Fortenberry’s 5:15pm Lincoln Town Hall will be at Southeast Community College, Room U102.  If you go, please thank Fortenberry for splitting with his Republican counterparts and voting against HR 1938, Lee Terry’s bad bill setting a deadline “for determining if the $7 billion Keystone XL project is in the national interest.” If you can’t be at the Town Hall, his local phone number is 402.438.1598. Thank Fortenberry for his vote against rushing a final decision on FaceBook 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. 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.

CITY BUDGET . . . A $144 Million budget reflecting the mayor’s proposed property tax increase has been presented to the City Council. A public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for Monday, August 8, 2011, 2:30 to 10:30pm (with 1/2 hour dinner break). The council has 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 and at Winterized.

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 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 [dot org.

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, 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

TOWN HALL IN PAPILLION . . . Senator Johanns will hold a Monday, August 8, 2011, Open Coffee at the Shadow Lake Hy-Vee, 11650 South 73rd Street, from 7:30am to 8:30am.

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 “Inside Tyson’s Hell: Why I Got Out of the Chicken Slaughtering Business,” a detailed account of what goes on inside a chicken slaughter plant by a former Tyson worker turned animal activist. 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 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

JOHANNS TOWN HALL MEETINGS . . . Click here for dates and locations of Johanns’ Town Hall meetings in CD 3 August 15 through August 19, 2011.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . Between 1,150 and 1,200 XL pipeline opponents circled the governor’s mansion Friday night with flashlights shining light on Dave Heinemann–letting him know he is being watched and will be held accountable for his lack of action to protect Nebraska’s land, water and human resources threatened with eminent domain by TransCanadia. An incorrect, misleading number of protesters was published in the Lincoln Journal Star article Saturday morning. Speaking Friday night, Randy Thompson, the Merrick County property owner standing up to TransCanada, was joined by two farmers from North Dakota who told about the May 28th rupture of Keystone I that sent a six-story high gusher of oil into the air on their land–the 12th spill from the Keystone I which is not even a year old.” The protest was described as “awesome,” “amazing,” “wonderful” and “inspiring,” although the governor was not present.
BOLD Nebraska hosted a Thursday Pipeline Briefing for elected officials on what jurisdiction they have over pipelines, but many of the questions were addressed to the North Dakota farmers about the May oil geyser. LJS coverage is here.
State Senator Ken Haar called for a Special Session of the Nebraska legislature last week. His Midlands Voices editorial in the Omaha World Herald begins “Nebraska is home to twin jewels — the Sand Hills and the Ogallala Aquifer. The Sand Hills is a region of mixed-grass prairie on grass-stabilized sand dunes in north-central Nebraska. The Ogallala Aquifer is the largest aquifer in the United States, containing as much water as Lake Erie and having a saturated depth of more than 1,000 feet in many parts of the Sand Hills. Gov. Dave Heineman has called the Ogallala Aquifer “the lifeblood of agriculture.” TransCanada Corp. plans to run its proposed Keystone XL pipeline through a part of the Sand Hills where the Ogallala Aquifer is both deepest and closest to the surface — and therefore most vulnerable to contamination.
“Over the past year there has been a great deal of confusion about who has the authority to route the pipeline. While the U.S. State Department has the authority to approve or deny a permit for the pipeline, State has no power to dictate the pipeline’s route. It is now well established that routing of pipelines is reserved to the states.
“Unlike Montana and South Dakota, which have siting criteria for oil pipelines, Nebraska has no siting laws on its books. Therefore, in the absence of any state law, TransCanada is free to lay its pipeline through the Sand Hills once it has its permit from the State Department.
“This action could have grave consequences for our state. Consider recent developments, which spotlight this issue:
1. There have been at least 12 leaks reported in TransCanada’s first year of operation of the new Keystone 1 pipeline that runs through eastern Nebraska, including a 21,000-gallon leak — a geyser of oil shooting 60 feet into the air in South Dakota.
2. On July 20, TransCanada experienced a massive explosion on a brand-new natural gas pipeline in Wyoming. This is the same pipeline that had problems with trenches caving in, which TransCanada blamed on its haste to finish the project.
3. Less than a month ago, ExxonMobil had a leak of at least 42,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River from a ruptured pipeline exposed by floodwaters.
4. University of Nebraska-Lincoln hydrologists John Gates and Wayne Woldt sent a letter to the State Department stating there are no studies that evaluate the potential hydrological impact of a spill in Sand Hill soil types. They cited the need for studies to determine how to best protect the Ogallala Aquifer and prepare for remediation in the event of a spill.
5. John Stansbury, associate professor and associate chair of environmental/water resources engineering at UNL, performed an analysis of the worst-case scenarios projected by TransCanada. He concluded that the number of leaks and the amount that would be leaked are far greater than estimated by TransCanada and that the water supplies of Lincoln and Omaha could be at risk.”
Haar’s compelling op-ed continues here.  Heineman was quick to follow the call for a special session with a statement that he opposes the idea.
Bill McKibben’s latest article, “New Pipeline to Challenge Obama’s Promises,” says the president now has the opportunity to make good on his environmental promises, but questions if he will. McKibben will join as many as a thousand people, including Nebraskans, who will risk arrest in daily protests of the XL pipeline at the White House over the last two weeks in August. This will be the largest outbreak of civil disobedience in recent environmental history. There is still money available for plane transportation for Nebraskans who want to go to DC. E-mail jane [at]boldnebraska [dot] org or call 402.705.3622 for more information. There is also money to cover the cost of getting arrested. The fine will be similar to a j-walking ticket, with no jail time. A Tarsands Action Stop The Pipeline White House Sit-In Website is here.
August 4th, BBC New Africa covered a new UN report that the Nigeria Ogoniland oil clean-up ‘could take 30 years’ and cost $1 Billion.  The report indicates that in at least 10 Ogoni communities where drinking water is contaminated with high levels of hydrocarbons, public health is seriously threatened. Key findings of the UN report are here.
Ogoniland lies in the Niger Delta, and residents from several Ogoni communities spent Sunday afternoon Standing With Randy at Antelope Park, singing, dancing and sharing their stories of survival.
Keystone XL is “the fuse to the biggest carbon bomb ever.” Now the US Chamber of Commerce has announced the “Partnership to Fuel America,” which they claim will promote energy policy to keep America “clean.” The first major initiative of this partnerhship is a campaign to promote the Keystone XL pipeline–one of the dirtiest projects on the entire planet. Here’s the 3-part plan to fight back from 350.org.
1) Petition President Obama to reject the permit for the pipeline. Already, nearly 30,000 people have signed on–but we’ll need many more to make a big impact for our high-profile petition delivery in DC. The petition says “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 focusing on developing safe, clean energy.” Please click here, www.350.org/take-a-stand and sign on.
2) Spread the word about a civil disobedience campaign being planned in DC this August. If you’re ready to escalate your committment to this movement–or know someone who is–please click here.
3) Join hard-hitting activism in all the states that the Keystone pipeline passes through. 350.org will be dominating public comment hearings to oppose the pipeline, recruiting local chambers of commerce to take a stand to stop the tar sands, and on September 24th there wil be big rallies for the Moving Planet day of action.
“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 internationally acclaimed National Geographic contributing photographer Joel Sartore wrote in a Journal Star Local View, please “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.
Stop The Tar Sands Pipeline is a new 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.
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.)
Thanks to EveryOne who circled the governor’s mansion Friday night, and All who participated in the many “I Stand With Randy” events statewide.  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 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!

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