DEQ HEARING, RALLY AND LANDOWNERS MEETING . . . A Department of Environmental Quality hearing on the review of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline route in Nebraska will be Tuesday, December 4, 2012, 6:00pm, at the Boone County Fairground, Albion, Nebraska. See CD 3 Green Note below for details. Sign a Pledge to Speak at the Hearing, and find links to submit comments via e-mail.

FORSBERG DOCUMENTARY ON NET . . . Sunday, November 25, 2012, 8:30pm, acclaimed Nebraska photographer Michael Forsberg will be featured in a new documentary,”Great Plains: America’s Lingering Wild,” airing on NET1 and NET-HD. Watch an 11:46 minute trailer here.  Forsberg explores what remains of the Great Plains wilderness in 11 states. One Nebraska segment features the annual Platte River Valley Sand Hill Crane migration.

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

IMMIGRATION . . . Monday, November 26, 2012, 11:30am, Nebraska Appleseed Executive Director Becky Gould will discuss the “Intersection of US Immigration Policy and Human Rights” at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 84th and South Streets, Lincoln. To reserve lunch (at 11:30) e-mail unanebraska [at] gmail [dot] com. The free program begins at noon.

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. “It’s barbaric. It’s outlawed in all but a few extremely repressive countries like Iran, China, and not many others. It’s shameful that it continues to be performed. It’s well established that mistakes are made–yet half of our states practice pre-meditated state-sponsored murder. It’s also known that it’s not effective. So why is it done? Revenge & retribution? That’s not what our justice system is supposed to be about. It’s not an effective deterrent.” –Jill Stein, GP Presidential Nominee.

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.

FORUM ON THE DEATH PENALTY . . . Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 7:00pm, the E.N. Thompson Forum Series will present “The Death Penalty: Justice, Retribution and Dollars” at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, 301 North 12th Street, Lincoln. Moderated by Susan Poser, Dean of UNL College of Law, speakers will be J. Kirk Brown, Nebraska Solicitor General, and Michael Radelet, University of Colorado Boulder Professor. Radelet has testified in dozens of death penalty cases, before congressional committees, and legislatures. He has worked with scores of death row inmates and works closely with families of homicide victims in Colorado. Click here for (free) ticket information. The Forum will be streamed live online at http://www.unl.edu/. Log on 10 minutes before the Forum.

OCCUPY EDUCATION LINCOLN . . . Occupy Education Lincoln and the Calvary United Methodist Church, 1610 South 11th Street, Lincoln, (corner of South 11th and Garfield Streets) will hold weekly Workshop/Skills Teaching Sessions, The Repair Cafe, every Thursday, starting at 5:30pm. (The time coincides with the start of FoodNet.)  Toss It? No Way! Fix it, find another use, use some of its parts, recycle it, and say no to the throw away culture. Everything and everyone has value. We must discover the value. For more information, contact Barbara van den Berg, 402.488.6926, barbvandenberg [at] hotmail [dot] com.

GREEN HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE . . . Sunday, December 2, 2012, 1:00 to 4:00pm, Spring Creek Prairie is partnering with Keep Lincoln and Lancaster County Beautiful for an Annual Green Holiday Open House.  There will be live music, hot cider and treats, and the prairie trails will be open for a brisk winter stroll. No registration is needed for the free afternoon event. Twenty miles southwest of Lincoln near Denton, SCP Audubon Center features more than 800 acres of native tallgrass prairie. For more information, phone 402.797.2301.

OCCUPY LINCOLN . . . There is a calendar of Occupy Lincoln events here. 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

PUBLIC HEARINGS ON BLENDING 102 AND 22 . . . The Omaha City Council will hold two Public Hearings this week: Monday, November 26, 2012, 4:00pm, at the City Council Office, 1819 Farnam Street, Ste LC-1. Room to be arranged; and Tuesday, November 27, 2012, 4:00 pm, at the Swanson Library, 9101 West Dodge Road, Omaha. The City has only one channel for public access television previously utilizing two channels, channels 109 and 22. By December 4, there will be only one channel, broadcasting on the basic tier in the spot now used by Channel 22. The issue that must be decided immediately is how to create a new station blending the existing channels in a way that would best serve the people of Omaha. Your input is needed. For further information, phone Frances Mendenhall, 402.208.3717.

GREEN DRINKS . . . Omaha Green Drinks will meet from 5:30 to 8:30pm, Wednesday, November 28, 2012, at Whole Foods Market, 10020 Regency Circle, in the education room by restaurant seating, across from the coffee bar. Green Drinks social networks are now active in 695 cities worldwide.

OMAHA PEOPLE’S FILM FESTIVAL . . . There is a People’s Film Festival every Wednesday, 7:00pm, at McFoster’s Natural Kind Cafe, 38th and Harney in Omaha. Wednesday, November 28, 2012, will be Occupy Omaha Night. Check the Progressive Omaha website for details. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

OMAHA PEACE VIGILS . . . Every Saturday, 1:00-2:00pm, there is a Peace Vigil at the northwest corner of 72nd and Dodge Streets in Omaha. Park next to 72nd Street, in the pet store lot. Contact Steve Horn, 402.426.9068, for more information about Saturday vigils.

NEBRASKA SIERRA ANNUAL BANQUET . . . The Nebraska Sierra Club Annual Banquet with Bill McKibben will be from noon to 3:00pm, Saturday, December 1, 2012, at Fontenelle Nature Association’s Camp Brewster Lodge, 1313 Bellevue Blvd., Bellevue. For more information, e-mail ClydeLAnderson [at] cox [dot] net.

DO THE MATH TOUR . . . The “Do the Math” 350.org tour with Bill McKibben will continue in Omaha on Saturday, December 1, 2012, 6:00 to 9:00pm, at the Joslyn Museum, Witherspoon Concert Hall, 2200 Dodge Street, Omaha. McKibben will be on a nationwide tour talking about climate, oil subsidies, and the pipeline, bringing together tens of thousands of people over one month to start an historic push to win real solutions to the climate crisis. Purchase tickets online here.

ATM LEAFLETTING IN OMAHA . . . An Alternatives To the Military supporter who lives in Omaha would like to put together and participate in a local leafletting group there. She wants to start small–maybe leafletting at just one or two schools. If you have an interest in joining a Omaha ATM group, please contact Kevin Haake, atmlincoln@gmail.com. The FB link is http://www.facebook.com/atmlincoln. Twitter is http://www.twitter.com/ATMLincolnNE.
Leafletting in Omaha.

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 at http://www.engageomaha.com/.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

DEQ HEARING, RALLY AND LANDOWNERS MEETING . . . A Department of Environmental Quality hearing on the review of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline route in Nebraska will be Tuesday, December 4, 2012, 6:00pm, at the Boone County Fairground, Albion, Nebraska. It is critical that voices of opposition to the pipeline continue to be heard. This route is no better than the last one–it is still in sandy soil, it is still crossing the Aquifer, and it is still carrying tarsands and chemicals that TransCanada will not disclose. There will be a NEAT landowner meeting before the hearing, 4:00 to 5:00pm, at J’s Grill, 333 South 1St Street, Albion. And a No KXL Pipeline Rally will be from 5:00 to 5:30pm at the Boone County Fairground, in Albion. Gather at 5:00pm to hold signs before hearing. Bring homemade signs, line the streets with signs. Citizens’ voices will continue to move this pipeline right out of our state! For more information, the facebook event page is here.  Sign a Pledge to Speak at the DEQ Hearing on December 4th, and find links to submit comments via e-mail.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . Thousands gathered in Washington DC last Sunday, November 18, 2012, to protest the TransCanada Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Read the Huffington Post coverage, with photos, calling this the “next chapter in the fight against” the pipeline. Among other media coverage, the protest was reported by Reuters,
The Globe and Mail, InsideClimate News, and MSNBC videos with Bill McKibben.
Meanwhile, as reported by Roberta Rampton, Reuters, sourced to Reader Supported News, November 19th: “A bipartisan group of senators [including Nebraska’s Mike Johanns] on Friday urged President Barack Obama to quickly issue a permit for the northern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline.” Read “Senators Turn Up Pressure on Obama to Approve Keystone Pipeline” here.
It is time for President Obama to draw a line in the tar sands, and reject the Keystone XL pipeline. Click here to sign a CredoAction petition to President Obama. The petition reads: “If you are committed to fighting climate change, you must reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. You simply cannot have it both ways.” If you are on Facebook, click here to post the petition to your Wall. If you have a Twitter account, click here to automatically tweet: Tell @BarackObama: You can’t have it both ways on climate change. Reject the Keystone XL pipeline.
SAVE THE DATES: The “Do the Math” 350.org tour with Bill McKibben will be in Omaha on Saturday, December 1, 2012, 6:00 to 9:00pm, at the Joslyn Museum Witherspoon Concert Hall, 2200 Dodge Street, Omaha. See CD 2 Green Note above. Purchase tickets online here.
DEQ HEARING, RALLY AND LANDOWNERS MEETING . . . A Department of Environmental Quality hearing on the review of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline route in Nebraska will be Tuesday, December 4, 2012, 6:00pm, at the Boone County Fairground, Albion, Nebraska. It is critical that voices of opposition to the pipeline continue to be heard. This route is no better than the last one–it is still in sandy soil, it is still crossing the Aquifer, and it is still carrying tarsands and chemicals that TransCanada will not disclose. There will be a NEAT landowner meeting before the hearing, 4:00 to 5:00pm, at J’s Grill, 333 South 1St Street, Albion. And a No KXL Pipeline Rally will be from 5:00 to 5:30pm at the Boone County Fairground, in Albion. Gather at 5:00pm to hold signs before hearing. Bring homemade signs, line the streets with signs. Citizens’ voices will continue to move this pipeline right out of our state! For more information, the facebook event page is here.  Sign a Pledge to Speak at the DEQ Hearing on December 4th, and find links to submit comments via e-mail.
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.
Dear President Obama: 171 reasons to deny the pipeline.
“The Keystone pipeline will spew a massive amount of carbon pollution into our fragile atmosphere. It should be stopped. ” –Jill Stein, 2012 Green Party Presidential Nominee.

STOP FRACKING NOW . . . From “Five Effects of Fracking You May Not Know About” by Alyssa Figueroa, AlterNet, October 23rd: “What comes to mind when you think of fracking? Perhaps it’s images of tap water being lit on fire or stories of families suffering health problems after nearby wells are fracked. Indeed, the health and environmental impacts of fracking are being documented, but it’s important to know that fracking is a catalyst for widespread negative consequences.” 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.”

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.“