EARTH CIRCLE . . . On the first day of every month, people around the world stop everything for five minutes, joining with thousands of others to visualize peace and focus on new levels of kindness, understanding, and compassion necessary for collectively facing the challenges of the 21st century. New Dimensions invites peacemakers everywhere to join at 4:00pm Greenwich Mean Time, 10:00am in Lincoln and Omaha, 9:00am in District 3 where Mountain Time begins, Wednesday, June 1, 2011, with the intention of deep healing for the Planet and all its people. Click here for more information about Earth Circle.

WILDFLOWER WEEK STATEWIDE . . . Nebraska Wildflower Week, May 28 through June 5 this year, is a celebration of native plants in the wild, the state’s prairies, and gardens at their prime, during the first week of June.  Click here for a schedule of Wildflower events in Eastern Nebraska. More informaton, photos, and a complete list of statewide events can be found here.

PROTECTING WILDLIFE FROM DIRTY TAR SANDS OIL . . . The National Wildlife Federation will host a 30-minute Tele-town Hall: “Protecting Wildlife from Dirty Tar Sands Oil,” Wednesday, June 1, 2011, 7:00pm CST. Learn more about the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline’s threats to wildlife, and how you can help stop it. BOLD Nebraska’s Jane Kleeb will address what is at stake along the 2,000 mile route, and award-winning journalist Andrew Nikiforuk, author of “Why Keystone Pipeline Will Weaken the US,” will give a first-hand account of Canada’s tar sands operations–one of the most polluting and destructive industries on Earth. To join the Town Hall, rsvp here and you will receive a phone call between 6:45 and 7:00pm CST on June 1st. From NWF: “We can’t let this dirty tar sands pipeline put America’s wildlife at risk and jeopardize our clean energy future. Get your questions answered and find out what you can do by joining our Tele-town Hall on June 1st.”

SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. There has never been a successful pipeline opposition campaign in the US. Please help Nebraska be the first state to organize opposition successfully. Actions you can take, regardless of where you live, are in CD 3 Green Notes below. Please help save our land and water from more corporate exploitation. The public comment period ends Monday, June 6, 2011.

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.

EMPTY BOWLS . . . The Food Bank of Lincoln will host the ninth annual Empty Bowls luncheon on Tuesday, May 31, 2011, 11:00am to 1:00pm, at Embassy Suites, 10th & P Streets. For more information, a list of participating restaurants, and to order tickets online, click 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.

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 Paine at mitch [dot] paine [at] ecostoresne.org.

PUBLIC MEETING ON POST OFFICE CONSOLIDATION . . . The public will have an opportunity to offer comments about a proposal to consolidate some Lincoln and Omaha postal services on Thursday, June 2, 2011, 6:00pm, at the Firefighter’s Reception Hall, 241 Victory Lane, Lincoln. For more information about the proposed consolidation, click here for a Lincoln Journal Star article.

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 . . . Farmers markets are now open in Lincoln. 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 through October 20. Other markets start in June and July. Find out what’s new this year, 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 “Progpaganda Swing,” a 60 minute documentary about Charlie and His Orchestra, a 1930’s Hitler propaganda swing band. For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

TOWN HALL DISCUSSION . . . Thursday, June 2, 2011, 9:00am to 4:00pm, there will be a Town Hall Discussion on the mass incarceration of people of color. The free event, “JAIL and the Black Man,” is open to the public at Metropolitan Community College South Omaha Campus, ITC Training Building, 27th & Q Street. For more information, contact Willie Hamilton, 402.502.2081, or willzzway2 [at] yahoo [dot] com.

HIKE FONTENELLE FOREST . . . In celebration of National Trails Day, June 4, 2011, there will be a 9:00am, moderate to difficult Hollow to Hollow Hike at Fontenelle Forest Nature Center, in Bellevue just south of Omaha. For more information, e-mail bobbygoetschkes [at] hotmail [dot] com.

PATTY DUNN BENEFIT FUNDRAISER . . . Patty Dunn was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. Her family, including longtime Progressive Omaha Director Jack Dunn, and friends, are hosting a benefit fundraiser to help with medical expenses on Saturday, June 4, 2011, 3:00 to 7:00pm, at Premier Events, 145 Main Street, Springfield, Nebraska. There will be a buffet dinner, silent auction, door prizes, and a live auction at 6:00pm. All proceeds will go to the Dunn Family for long term cancer treatments. Suggested ticket prices are Adults-$5 and Children-$3. For more information, contact event organizers: Carl Brown, 402.681.6265 or Carol Radke, 402.397.3233. Springfield is just a few minutes south of Millard.

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

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . Monday, June 6, 2011, is the deadline for submitting comments on the proposed XL tar sands pipeline to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. BOLD Nebraska has a new blog post with videos, a petition to Secretary Clinton, background information and action alerts. The Department of State prefers comments specific to the 320-page Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed pipeline through Nebraska’s Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer, but EveryOne’s expressed opposition for whatever personal reasons is needed. A five-page Executive Summary of the SEIS is here.  The Journal Star editorialized “The statement is unfairly dismissive of the unique characteristics of Nebraska’s Sand Hills.” and encourages “Nebraskans — actually all Americans –” to comment on the ESI during this final comment period.  The official State Department Comments Page is here.  Comments may also be submitted via e-mail at keystonexl@cardno.com, by US Postal to Keystone XL EIS Project, P.O. Box 96503-98500, Washington D.C. 20090-6503, or fax 206.269.0098.  In comments, please invite Secretary of State Clinton to visit the Sand Hills, see our unique ecosystem, and meet the people who will be most effected by XL pipeline construction.
A new SignOn.org petition “Stop the TransCanada Pipeline” is here.  To Secretary Clinton, Governor Heineman, and President Obama, it says “Every elected official talks about the need for clean energy, biofuels, and energy independence. Now it’s time to live up to your words. We urge you—Sec. Clinton and Pres. Obama—to deny the permit to TransCanada. We urge you—Gov. Heineman—to get serious about protecting our land and water and get state-based regulations passed in the Unicameral. Stop the TransCanada pipeline. It’s too risky and threatens the good life of Nebraska.” A Sierra Action Alert “Protect Nebraska; Say NO to Tar Sands!” addressed to Secretary Clinton is here.  A Guardians of the Good Life petition “Protect Nebraska’s Economic Activity, Put the Brakes on the Pipeline,” to Secretary Clinton is here.  Take action here, to ask Clinton to “Protect Your Water, Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline!” at a food&waterWatch petition. And a Brave New Foundation petition to Clinton, “Say No to the Kochs and Yes to Protecting Americans,” is here.  Please sign them all, and comment directly to the Department of State here.
Thursday, May 26th, was the last day of the 2011 Nebraska legislative session. LB 629, [pdf] the Oil Pipeline Reclamation Act, regulating petroleum pipelines in Nebraska, passed 47-0, with two senators absent. The narrow “Revegetation Bill” is a small first step that does nothing to address basic safety and landowner rights concerns about the proposed TransCanada Keystone XL protect. Meanwhile, state Senators Ken Haar, Colby Coash, Annette Dubas, Tony Fulton, and Kate Sullivan asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to delay a decision on the project until next May, allowing the legilsature more time to consider further legislation to “ensure that the citizens and landowners of Nebraska are adequately protected by state law.”  “The senators’ letter said that federal regulations are inadequate and that Nebraska needed to explore issues such as siting, routing, eminent domain powers, emergency response and liability of pipeline companies.”
Many letters to the Lincoln Journal Star have been published in the year since the public started realizing the threat posed by TransCanada. Letters linked in Green Notes since May 30, 2010 are in archives here.  (Scroll from the bottom up for links to each week’s Notes.) Sunday, May 29, 2011, LJS published a letter from Jeremiah J. Leubbe, of Broken Bow. “Smith needs to speak out on route” begins “Adrian Smith needs to take a stand, for once, against big business. He needs to speak out and oppose TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline and its proposed route through the Sand Hills.” “New idea for route,” by Larry Fruhling of Wilber asked “Why is the company so insistent on the route that takes it directly over the main source of our drinking water and irrigation water, whose pollution would affect millions of people in the high plains and the global economy? A major pipeline leak could in one day ruin what took 10 million years to develop. I urge people not to be swayed by ads that show little interest in these greater and far-reaching effects.” Quoting from “Heineman asleep at helm,” by Britton Bailey, published May 26th, “Gov. Dave Heineman fell asleep at the helm. Instead of guiding us through rough waters, he may have punched holes in our boat with his silence. We needed a leader in Nebraskan to protect our rights by listening to the majority of citizens who feel the TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline is way off course. I’m starting to question what Heineman has to gain in silence and by letting a foreign company threaten Nebraska landowners with eminent domain for an unapproved pipeline. …Someone in Nebraska government has something to gain at our expense or we wouldn’t be in this sinking boat that’s leaking oil.”
TransCanada’s “disturbing history of oil spills along an existing pipeline in North Dakota” was reported in the Rapid City Journal Editorial “Oil spills keeping regulators busy” on May 18, 2011.  The May 7, 2011 rupture of the Keystone I pipeline in Cogswell, North Dakota was covered extensively, including articles by AlterNet and Friends of the Earth, reporting that “the incident is the 12th spill from the Keystone I pipeline, which is not even a year old.”
FOE describes more about this spill: According to eyewitnesses, Saturday’s rupture of the Keystone I pipeline sent a six-story high gusher of oil into the air. The spill occurred at a pumping station, but the spray contaminated soil and water in a nearby field before it could be contained. The latest spill brings attention again to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, currently (and controversially) under review by the Obama administration. The XL pipeline would carry 900,000 barrels of tar sands oil a day from Canada to Texas. The Keystone I pipeline carries 591,000 barrels a day, and concerns—and opposition—are mounting.”
A May 10th article covering local concern by statepaper.com, “TransCanada Oil Leak Draws Attention In Nebraska,” is here.  Rapid City Journal reporter Kevin Woster calls the North Dakota spill a “sign of things to come,” if the proposed XL pipeline is built. TransCanada’s “disturbing history of oil spills along an existing pipeline in North Dakota” was reported in the Rapid City Journal Editorial Board’s “Oil spills keeping regulators busy” on May 18th.
Just before the North Dakota rupture, Alberta, Canada experienced “one of the largest oil spills …reinforcing Nebraskan’s concerns that our state is not prepared for the massive tarsands oil pipeline planned by TransCanada.”  Both tar sands environmental disasters are covered in a Reuters article, “Latest pair of oil accidents fuel opposition to Keystone pipeline extension” here.
Lincoln Journal Star revealed “TransCanada has encountered problems with the reclamation phase on a 50-mile stretch of a new natural gas pipeline through southeast Montana and western North Dakota that even its own spokesman calls severe. Erosion and …”very severe subsidence,” or settling of the soil, are visible in photographs  taken by the Billings Gazette.” In the May 12th editorial,  LJS referred to the “Wide gaps as deep as three feet and hundreds of feet long (that) have opened above the 30-inch Bison pipeline.  Secretary Clinton has the power to approve or reject the Keystone XL pipeline.  Click here to ask her to stand up to Big Oil and NOT grant a permit to TransCanda.  You might want to remind her that the “European Union may blacklist tar sands because of higher greenhouse gas emissions.”
“US-Canada oil pipeline – water source threatened is a 2:49 minute AlJazeeraEnglish report featuring Nebraska property owners Randy Thompson, Cindy Myers, and Nebraska Audubon representing the issue. Thompson’s letter to TransCanada in response to their “final offer” for his land in Merrick County ends “Until a court of law determines otherwise, your arbitrary claim to condemnation powers is nothing more to us than an empty threat. We feel very strongly that this pipeline could place our property and way of life at risk.  Therefore, we are unwilling to succumb to such a threat and respectfully decline your final offer.” Thompson’s testimony to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power, on behalf of his family and all Nebraskans who share concerns about the risks associated with the massive pipeline, is here. [pdf] Committee background information is here.
The New York Times joined citizens, experts and opinion leaders in opposition to the pipeline in an editorial “No to a New Tar Sands Pipeline,” concluding “Last July, an older bitumen pipeline in Michigan spilled 800,000 gallons of the stuff into the Kalamazoo River. A new TransCanada pipeline that began carrying diluted bitumen last year has already had nine spills. …From all of the evidence, Keystone XL is not only environmentally risky, it is unnecessary.”
Pipeline educator and local musician Jim Pipher recently made a 1:40 minute YouTube video demonstrating a one barrel oil spill. A new documentary making the independent film circuit now, The Pipe, is based on a struggle in Ireland, but there are many similarities with our own Stop the Pipeline efforts in the US. And a new 13:32 minute film by UN-L students Casey Mills and Justin Swanson, “Voices of Nebraska,”  features Jane Kleeb and Mary Pipher, but also includes an erroneous quote that opposition “has spent lots of money fighting the pipeline in Nebraska.” The quote is laughable. The truth about the far-right billionaire Koch brother’s involvement in promoting the pipeline for “making a killing” was reported in Forbes by Osha Gray Davidson May 20th. Quoting a Reuters article, Charles and David Koch are positioned to be the big winners if XL is approved. The Forbes article quotes Susan Seacrest, president emeritus of The Groundwater Foundation about the danger of mixing a major oil pipeline and the Ogallala Aquifer.
TransCanada representatives are making the rounds to county meetings all along the pipeline route. Meanwhile, “the Domina Law Group is investigating a class-action lawsuit against the XL pipeline, saying the company may be abusing eminent domain laws to bully Nebraska landowners into making way for the pipeline. Environmental groups are hoping that if even a few landowners can block the pipeline from running over their turf, they can force the pipeline to be re-routed.” Keystone Facing Potential Legal Hurdle, was reported at POLITICO.
What else 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 for a Bold Nebraska XL Pipeline Action page with resources and background information. E-mail actions [at] boldnebraska [dot] org to get yard signs, bumper stickers and t-shirts. More actions EveryOne can take are listed here.
Be a community educator and organizer. Let’s change the world together.
           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.”

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 . . . In the past 3 weeks, 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.

AGENCY SCIENTISTS OPPOSE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SALMON . . . The following quotes are from Fish and Wildlife Service scientists themselves: “The environmental impact of escaped GE salmon is of great concern.” – Gregory Moyer, Regional Geneticist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; “…approval of the proposal is premature, given the unknowns and uncertainties regarding the possible ecological and environmental effects of these fish.” – Jeff Adams, Branch Chief, Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and “…I do think the chance of escapement is huge” – Deborah Burger, Manager, Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ask the President to stop the GE salmon approval process.

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

SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. There has never been a successful pipeline opposition campaign in the US.  Please help Nebraska be the first state to organize opposition successfully. Actions you can take, regardless of where you live, are in CD 3 Green Notes below. Please help save our land and water from more corporate exploitation. The public comment period ends June 6, 2011.

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.

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.

JPA MEETING . . . A West Haymarket Joint Public Agency meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 3:30pm, at the County City Building, 555 South 10th Street, room 112, Lincoln. “The Salvation of the State is Watchfulness in the Citizen.” –Hartley Burr Alexander

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 Paine at mitch [dot] paine [at] ecostoresne.org.

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 . . . Farmers markets are now open in Lincoln. 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. Other markets start in June and July. Find out what’s new this year, 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

BELLEVUE TOWN HALL MEETING . . . Cyclists, are you interested in improved transportation systems? The City of Bellevue is conducting a Complete Streets public Town Hall meeting on Tuesday, May 24th 2011, 7:00pm, in the auditorium at Bellevue University, 1000 Galvin Road South. City Officials and representatives from Metropolitan Area Planning Association and Metro Area Transit will join the City Citizen Panel to hear from the public about issues and concerns related to safe, efficient transportation needs for all uses.

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 “Black Girl.” For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

OMAHA GREEN DRINKS . . . Wednesday, May 25, 2011, Omaha Green Drinks will meet from 5:30pm to close at Whole Foods Market, 10020 Regency Circle, in the education room by the restaurant–across from the coffee bar. Green Drinks is an informal, organic, self-organizing social network now active in 802 cities internationally. Walk, bike, bus, or carpool if possible. Click here for FaceBook event information.

FROM CAIRO TO MADISON . . . Saturday, May 28, 2011, 2:00pm, there will be a Rally for a Better World at Bemis Park, north of Cumming Street, between 36th and 33rd, in Omaha. Hosted by the International Socialist Organization, a brief presentation will be followed by a discussion about the prospects for building an alternative to the broken system characterized by greed, racism, war, and oppression. For more information, e-mail breadandrosestoo [at] gmail [dot] com or phone 213.880.6380.

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

CONVERSATIONS CONFERENCE . . . Care about Nebraska’s future? The third Conversations Conference on Nebraska Environment and Sustainability will be Thursday, May 26, 2011, 8:00am to 4:30pm, at Bosselman Conference Center, 700 East Stolley Park Road, Grand Island. There will be conversations with area resource specialists On water, On Land, On Energy, On Food, and On Materials. Watch Conversations Conference Videos here.  Register online here.  Contact Katie Torpy at 402.933.0080 or ktorpy [at] sustainabledesign [dot] org with any questions.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . The only pipeline related bill to be advanced out of the legislature’s Natural Resources Committee, LB 629–the Oil Pipeline Reclamation Act, ignores issues like the liability of pipeline companies to clean up a spill or leak; protection for landowners from eminent domain abuses; financial assurances; and state permitting and siting of pipelines. In debate, Lincoln Senator Bill Avery tried to make a distinction between “the best we can do” and “the most we’re willing to do.” As reported by the Lincoln Journal Star, Avery asserted that TransCanada’s efforts to use eminent domain and land condemnation to clear a path for the pipeline — at a time when federal permits have not been granted — amount to a violation of existing state law. He said it’s “a very serious problem” that such tactics got no attention Thursday. “We have here a foreign corporation that can actually invoke eminent domain against the private property interests of Nebraska citizens. That ought to give us pause.” The narrow “Revegetation Bill” was voted 47-0 first-round approval. It is a small first step in the right direction, although it does nothing to address basic safety and landowner rights concerns.
We know that TransCanada is making the rounds to all county meetings in the pipeline route. Meanwhile, “the Domina Law Group is investigating a class-action lawsuit against the XL pipeline, saying the company may be abusing eminent domain laws to bully Nebraska landowners into making way for the pipeline. Environmental groups are hoping that if even a few landowners can block the pipeline from running over their turf, they can force the pipeline to be re-routed.” Keystone Facing Potential Legal Hurdle, was reported at POLITICO.
More letters from Nebraskans were published in Lincoln Journal Star this past week.
Quoting “Nebraskans need to speak up,” by Cindy Myers, LJS lte, May 19, 2011: “TransCanada’s first experience building an oil pipeline is Keystone 1, which crosses eastern Nebraska and has had 12 leaks. The last leak was discovered by a landowner in North Dakota when he saw a geyser of oil shooting 60 feet in the air; 500 barrels of oil spilled. With 12 leaks in the Keystone 1 during its first year of operation, how can we believe it would be safe for TransCanada to build its second oil pipeline, Keystone XL, across our state’s most valuable natural resource, the Ogallala Aquifer? Holt County is vulnerable to oil leaks, particularly through southwest Holt County where the aquifer is saturated at or near ground level and the 36-inch pipeline carrying the world’s most toxic type of oil will be submerged in water only feet above our drinking supply. …Comments on the Supplemental Draft Environmental Statement are needed to discourage Hillary Clinton from signing the presidential permit for this pipeline. The comment period at www.keystonepipeline-XL.state.gov closes June 6, 2011. Don’t let the loud, powerful voice of a foreign company with self-serving interests drown the small voices of rural Nebraskans.”  The entire letter is here.
“Concerns for land, people,” by Jeri Kuchera, LJS lte, May 18, 2011: “How many pipeline leaks (or using TransCanada’s vernacular, “unplanned releases of oil”), or miscalculations of response time, or reclamation problems will have to occur before our elected officials realize the risk they are putting our state in? The 12 incidents on the first Keystone Pipeline in the relatively short time it has been in use certainly does not give me a feeling of confidence that the Keystone XL will prove any less faulty.” Continued here.
“TransCanada shouldn’t get to weigh in,” by Barbara Bailey, May 16, 2011: “In the May 13 story “Panel advances pipeline proposal,” Sen. Chris Langemeier is paraphrased as saying “there’s nothing unusual about allowing a company to weigh in with suggested wording.” In what way is it ethical to listen to a foreign corporation’s, TransCanada’s, suggestions for legislative regulation providing protection of land and water for our state in the construction of its pipeline, which will carry corrosive and toxic diluted bitumen through fragile ecosystems?  Why don’t we let al-Qaida “weigh in” on the security measures adopted by Homeland Security?”
“Concerned about pipeline,” by Joyce Petit, LJS, May 15, 2011: “I do not understand how a foreign company like TransCanada is allowed to come into our country without even having gotten a permit and try to coerce the landowners into letting it contract an easement to their land to install the Keystone XL Pipeline, which will transport dirty oil to a refinery in Texas. I guess the company’s leaders expect the landowners to just roll over and play dead like our elected officials have chosen to do. We have been told that everything is safe and “if” there is a leak in the pipeline, the company has machinery that will detect the leak right away and workers will get right out and shut it off and fix it. But reading about the six-story geyser of dirty oil in North Dakota, that isn’t necessarily the way it is.” Continued here.  TransCanada’s “disturbing history of oil spills along an existing pipeline in North Dakota” was reported in the Rapid City Journal Editorial Board’s “Oil spills keeping regulators busy” on May 18, 2011.
Media coverage of the May 12, 2011 “Citizen Hearing” at the capitol rotunda included a tv report from KHAS, “Citizens speak out against future pipeline,” “Pipeline bill gets boost,” KVNO News audio, “Deadlock broken, panel advances pipeline bill,” by LJS reporter Art Hovey, and “Frustration over proposed pipeline fills capitol rotunda,”  published in the Hastings Tribune. That morning, Lincoln Journal Star editorialized “Indifference over pipeline hard to fathom: The passivity of Nebraska’s elected state officials to the planned crude oil pipeline through the Sandhills becomes more alarming with every new reported problem. …It’s unfathomable that the pipeline route is not even a matter of public debate in the Legislature.”
A five-page Executive Summary of the 320-page Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed XL pipeline through Nebraska’s Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer is here. [pdf]  The Journal Star editorialized “The statement is unfairly dismissive of the unique characteristics of Nebraska’s Sand Hills.” and encourages “Nebraskans — actually all Americans –” to comment on the ESI during this final comment period.  The official State Department Comments Page is here.   Comments may also be submitted via e-mail at keystonexl@cardno.com, by US Postal to Keystone XL EIS Project, P.O. Box 96503-98500, Washington D.C. 20090-6503, or fax (206) 269-0098.  In comments, please invite Secretary of State Clinton to visit the Sand Hills, see our unique ecosystem, and meet the people who will be most effected by XL pipeline construction.
A new Sierra Action Alert “Protect Nebraska; Say NO to Tar Sands!” addressed to Secretary Clinton is here.  At a Food & Water Watch webpage you can enter your zip code and send a message asking your state representative to protect Nebraska’s landowners and natural resources. And Jane Kleeb’s petition to Secretary Clinton, Governor Heineman, and President Obama says “Every elected official talks about the need for clean energy, biofuels, and energy independence. Now it’s time to live up to your words. We urge you—Sec. Clinton and Pres. Obama—to deny the permit to TransCanada. We urge you—Gov. Heineman—to get serious about protecting our land and water and get state-based regulations passed in the Unicameral. Stop the TransCanada pipeline. It’s too risky and threatens the good
life of Nebraska.” The petition is being circulated by MoveOn. Sign it here.
The Saturday, May 7, 2011 rupture of the Keystone I pipeline in Cogswell, North Dakota was covered extensively, including articles by AlterNet and Friends of the Earth, reporting that “the incident is the 12th spill from the Keystone I pipeline, which is not even a year old.”
FOE describes more about this spill:  “According to eyewitnesses, Saturday’s rupture of the Keystone I pipeline sent a six-story high gusher of oil into the air. The spill occurred at a pumping station, but the spray contaminated soil and water in a nearby field before it could be contained. The latest spill brings attention again to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, currently (and controversially) under review by the Obama administration. The XL pipeline would carry 900,000 barrels of tar sands oil a day from Canada to Texas. The Keystone I pipeline carries 591,000 barrels a day, and concerns—and opposition—are mounting.”
LJS coverage, “TransCanada cleaning up spill at N.D. pump station,” reported that Bob Banderet saw a geyser of oil higher than cottonwood trees about a mile and a half from his farm when he got up Saturday. He “called the TransCanada hotline and said he spent five minutes on hold, suspecting the person who answered thought his call might be a hoax.”
A May 10th article covering local concern by statepaper.com, “TransCanada Oil Leak Draws Attention In Nebraska,” is here.  Rapid City Journal reporter Kevin Woster calls the North Dakota spill a “sign of things to come,” if the proposed XL pipeline is built. TransCanada’s “disturbing history of oil spills along an existing pipeline in North Dakota” was reported in the Rapid City Journal Editorial Board’s “Oil spills keeping regulators busy” on May 18th.
Just before the North Dakota rupture, Alberta, Canada experienced “one of the largest oil spills …reinforcing Nebraskan’s concerns that our state is not prepared for the massive tarsands oil pipeline planned by TransCanada.” Both tar sands environmental disasters are covered in a Reuters article, “Latest pair of oil accidents fuel opposition to Keystone pipeline extension” here.
A LJS Local View, “Fence off Sand Hills to pipeline,” by Ben Gotschall, was published May 9th.
Letters to the LJS encouraging legislative action include “Shouldn’t governor lead charge?” by Kevin L. Johnson, and “Strangely quiet on pipeline,” by Dorothy A. Kubick, both from Lincoln.
“Silence deafening references Mary Pipher’s April 24th letter urging “all readers to do what they can to motivate our state senators and governor to act now. …The silence of most, but not all, of our elected senators and Gov. Dave Heineman on the subject is deafening.” Marilyn Barnes writes “Nebraska must take action concluding “Nebraska should not cede its oil pipeline siting authority to a Canadian corporation. I hope those who care about Nebraska’s water and agriculture will call or write to the governor and state senators urging immediate legislation to regulate this and future pipelines.”
April 21st, LJS revealed “TransCanada has encountered problems with the reclamation phase on a 50-mile stretch of a new natural gas pipeline through southeast Montana and western North Dakota that even its own spokesman calls severe. Erosion and …”very severe subsidence,” or settling of the soil, are visible in photographs  taken by the Billings Gazette.” In the May 12th editorial, LJS referred to the “Wide gaps as deep as three feet and hundreds of feet long (that) have opened above the 30-inch Bison pipeline.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL tar sands pipeline.  A Study and Memo from the Congressional Research Service dated September 20, 2010 determined that primary authority over location of interstate pipelines belongs to individual states. A BOLD Nebraska blog post, includes background information, a transcript of the media roundtable held upon discovery of the memo, and action alert.
Action: write your state senator urging that oil pipeline regulations be in place, not only to govern the existing pipeline, but also any future pipeline proposed by TransCanada or other environmental exploiters.  Find your state senator’s contact information at the map linked here.  Contact Governor Dave Heineman, PO Box 94848, State Capitol Bldg., Lincoln, NE 68509, 402.471.2244 asking that he be responsive to the citizens of Nebraska who oppose the environmental devastation this pipeline would bring to the entire region.
Secretary Clinton has the power to approve or reject the Keystone XL pipeline.  Click here to ask her to stand up to Big Oil and NOT grant a permit to TransCanda.  You might want to remind her that the “European Union may blacklist tar sands because of higher greenhouse gas emissions.”
“US-Canada oil pipeline – water source threatened,” is an excellent 2:49 minute AlJazeeraEnglish report featuring Nebraska property owners Randy Thompson, Cindy Myers, and Nebraska Audubon representing the issue. Thompson’s letter to TransCanada in response to their “final offer” for his land in Merrick County ends “Until a court of law determines otherwise, your arbitrary claim to condemnation powers is nothing more to us than an empty threat. We feel very strongly that this pipeline could place our property and way of life at risk.  Therefore, we are unwilling to succumb to such a threat and respectfully decline your final offer.” Thompson’s May 13th letter to the LJS editor is here.  Thompson was invited to testify in front of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power. He will speak Monday, May 23rd, on behalf of his family and all Nebraskans who share concerns about the risks associated with the massive pipeline. Committee background information is here.  Watch his testimony live here.
New Neal Obermeyer cartoons addressing the legislature’s inaction were published in the Lincoln Journal Star on May 8, 2011,  and May 1st.  Pipeline educator and local musician Jim Pipher recently made a 1:40 minute YouTube video demonstrating a one barrel oil spill. A new documentary making the independent film circuit right now, The Pipe,  is based on a struggle in Ireland, but there are many similarities with our own Stop the Pipeline efforts in the US. And a new 13:32 minute film by UN-L students Casey Mills and Justin Swanson, “Voices of Nebraska,” features interviews with Jane Kleeb and Mary Pipher, but also includes an erroneous quote that opposition “has spent lots of money fighting the pipeline in Nebraska.” The quote is laughable. The truth about the far-right billionaire Koch brother’s involvement in promoting the pipeline for “making a killing” was reported in Forbes by Osha Gray Davidson May 20th. Quoting a Reuters article, Charles and David Koch are positioned to be the big winners if XL is approved.  Forbes quotes Susan Seacrest, president emeritus of The Groundwater Foundation, about the danger of mixing a major oil pipeline and the Ogallala Aquifer.
           What else can you do? Keep writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Other excellent letters to Lincoln Journal Star are here, here, and here.  Keep the issue alive in conversations at the kitchen table, in cafes, churches, and clubs around Nebraska.
E-mail actions [at] boldnebraska [dot] org to get yard signs, bumper stickers and t-shirts. More actions EveryOne can take are listed here.  For comprehensive references in media since May 30, 2010, click here and scroll from the bottom up for links to each week’s Green Notes coverage.
Be a community educator and organizer. Let’s change the world together.
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.”
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 . . . In the past 3 weeks, 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.

AGENCY SCIENTISTS OPPOSE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SALMON . . . The following quotes are from Fish and Wildlife Service scientists themselves: “The environmental impact of escaped GE salmon is of great concern.” – Gregory Moyer, Regional Geneticist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; “…approval of the proposal is premature, given the unknowns and uncertainties regarding the possible ecological and environmental effects of these fish.” – Jeff Adams, Branch Chief, Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and “…I do think the chance of escapement is huge” – Deborah Burger, Manager, Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ask the President to stop the GE salmon approval process.

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

SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. News items and contact information for needed communication with specific elected officials are below in District 3 Green Notes.

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.

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.

RIDE OF SILENCE . . . Wednesday, May 18, 2011, The Great Plains Bicycling Club will lead the fifth annual Ride of Silence in memory of cyclists who have been killed or injured while riding. The 10-12 mph ride will start at 7:00pm, Sawyer Snell Park, 1st & South Street, go through downtown, the Haymarket, and back to the park.

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 Paine at mitch [dot] paine [at] ecostoresne.org.

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTIONS . . . The Lancaster County Health Department will host two household hazardous waste collections this week: Friday, May 20,2011, 3:00 to 7:00pm, at the Community Center, 115 and Locust Streets, in Hickman; and Saturday, May 21st, 9:00am to 1:00pm, at Pfizer, 601 West Cornhusker Highway, Lincoln. Phone 402.477.3606 for more information.

NEBRASKA BOOK FESTIVAL . . . The public is invited to celebrate Nebraska’s literary heritage and contemporary authors at the 2011 Nebraska Book Festival, “Cultivating Creativity,”  Saturday, May 21, at the Nebraska State Historical Society’s Nebraska History Museum, 15th and P Streets, and NuVibe Juice & Java, 126 North 14th Street, in downtown Lincoln. The keynote panel, “Local Wonders: From Book to Musical Theatre Production,” features US Poet Laureate and Nebraska poet Ted Kooser, Nebraska Repertory Theater’s Virginia Smith, and Columbia College Chicago’s Paul Amandes discussing how Kooser’s book “Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps,” has evolved into musicial theater. Writers who will present their 2010 works, conduct free workshops, and participate in the keynote panel are listed and linked here.  View the schedule of events by category here.

QUEEN OF THE SUN: WHAT ARE THE BEES TELLING US? . . . Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling us? examines the global bee crisis through the eyes of beekeepers, scientists, farmers, and philosophers unveiling 10,000 years of beekeeping, highlighting how our historic and sacred relationship with bees has been lost due to highly mechanized industrial practices. The 1 hour and 23 minute documentary runs at The Ross, 313 North 13th Street, Lincoln, through Thursday, May 19, 2011.

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 opened Saturday, May 14th, at 1265 South Cotner, 8:00am to noon, and runs to 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. Other markets start in June and July. Find out what’s new this year, 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 “The Constant Gardener,” a suspense-thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz. 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

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . Since Nebraskans were not given an opportunity to speak out about the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed XL pipeline through our fragile Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer, BOLD Nebraska and the coalition of groups opposing the project held a May 12, 2011, “Citizen Hearing” at the state capitol rotunda. That morning, the Lincoln Journal Star editorialized “Indifference over pipeline hard to fathom: The passivity of Nebraska’s elected state officials to the planned crude oil pipeline through the Sandhills becomes more alarming with every new reported problem. …It’s unfathomable that the pipeline route is not even a matter of public debate in the Legislature.”
Media coverage of the Citizen Hearing included a tv report from KHAS, “Citizens speak out against future pipeline,”  “Pipeline bill gets boost,” KVNO News audio, “Deadlock broken, panel advances pipeline bill,” by LJS reporter Art Hovey, and “Frustration over proposed pipeline fills capitol rotunda,” published in the Hastings Tribune.
A BOLD Nebraska blog “Langemeier Says Citizens Have No Relevance,” by Jane Kleeb, expresses a shared theme: “There is at least one thing that is crystal clear out of this process–Sen. Langemeier is a weak leader who is out of touch and not serious about protecting our land and water.” Call or e-mail Langemeier. Phone: 402.471.2719; E-mail: clangemeier [at] leg [dot] ne [dot] gov.
New action alerts this week include a Food & Water Watch webpage where you can enter your zip code and send a message asking your state representative to protect Nebraska’s landowners and natural resources; and Jane Kleeb’s petition to Secretary Clinton, Governor Heineman, and President Obama: “Every elected official talks about the need for clean energy, biofuels, and energy independence. Now it’s time to live up to your words. We urge you—Sec. Clinton and Pres. Obama—to deny the permit to TransCanada. We urge you—Gov. Heineman—to get serious about protecting our land and water and get state-based regulations passed in the Unicameral. Stop the TransCanada pipeline. It’s too risky and threatens the good life of Nebraska.” MoveOn is circulating the petition. Sign it here.
The Saturday, May 7, 2011 rupture of the Keystone I pipeline in Cogswell, North Dakota was covered extensively, including articles by AlterNet and Friends of the Earth, reporting that “the incident is the 12th spill from the Keystone I pipeline, which is not even a year old.”
FOE describes more about this spill:  “According to eyewitnesses, Saturday’s rupture of the Keystone I pipeline sent a six-story high gusher of oil into the air. The spill occurred at a pumping station, but the spray contaminated soil and water in a nearby field before it could be contained. The latest spill brings attention again to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, currently (and controversially) under review by the Obama administration. The XL pipeline would carry 900,000 barrels of tar sands oil a day from Canada to Texas. The Keystone I pipeline carries 591,000 barrels a day, and concerns—and opposition—are mounting.”
LJS coverage, “TransCanada cleaning up spill at N.D. pump,” reported that Bob Banderet saw a geyser of oil higher than cottonwood trees about a mile and a half from his farm when he got up Saturday. He “called the TransCanada hotline and said he spent five minutes on hold, suspecting the person who answered thought his call might be a hoax.”
A May 10th article covering local concern by statepaper.com, “TransCanada Oil Leak Draws Attention In Nebraska,” is here.  Rapid City Journal reporter Kevin Woster calls the North Dakota spill a “sign of things to come,” if the proposed XL pipeline is built.
Just before the North Dakota rupture, Alberta, Canada experienced “one of the largest oil spills …reinforcing Nebraskan’s concerns that our state is not prepared for the massive tarsands oil pipeline planned by TransCanada.” Both tar sands environmental disasters are covered in a Reuters article, “Latest pair of oil accidents fuel opposition to Keystone pipeline extension” here.
For background information about the tar sands extraction process, and photos showing Alberta’s devastated landscapes, BOLD Nebraska has posted a 9:44 minute YouTube segment from last summer’s Tar Sands Pipeline Summit in Lincoln. A 53:46 minute audio interview with John Hansen, Ken Winston, & Graham Christensen on the Derry Brownfield Show discusses TransCanada Pipeline Issues (mp3).
A five-page Executive Summary of the 320-page Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement is here. [pdf]  The Journal Star editorialized “The statement is unfairly dismissive of the unique characteristics of Nebraska’s Sand Hills.” and encourages “Nebraskans — actually all Americans –” to comment on the ESI during this final comment period.  The official State Department Comments Page is here.  Comments may also be submitted via e-mail at keystonexl@cardno.com, by US Postal to Keystone XL EIS Project, P.O. Box 96503-98500, Washington D.C. 20090-6503, or fax (206) 269-0098.  In comments, please invite Secretary of State Clinton to visit the Sand Hills, see our unique ecosystem, and meet the people who will be most effected by XL pipeline construction.
A LJS Local View, “Fence off Sand Hills to pipeline,” by Ben Gotschall, was published May 9th.  Letters to the LJS encouraging legislative action include “Shouldn’t governor lead charge?” by Kevin L. Johnson, and “Strangely quiet on pipeline,” by Dorothy A. Kubick, both from Lincoln.
“Silence deafening,” references Mary Pipher’s April 24th letter urging “all readers to do what they can to motivate our state senators and governor to act now. …The silence of most, but not all, of our elected senators and Gov. Dave Heineman on the subject is deafening.” Marilyn Barnes writes “Nebraska must take action,” concluding “Nebraska should not cede its oil pipeline siting authority to a Canadian corporation. I hope those who care about Nebraska’s water and agriculture will call or write to the governor and state senators urging immediate legislation to regulate this and future pipelines.”
April 21st, LJS revealed “TransCanada has encountered problems with the reclamation phase on a 50-mile stretch of a new natural gas pipeline through southeast Montana and western North Dakota that even its own spokesman calls severe. Erosion and …”very severe subsidence,” or settling of the soil, are visible in photographs taken by the Billings Gazette.” In the May 12th editorial, LJS referred to the “Wide gaps as deep as three feet and hundreds of feet long (that) have opened above the 30-inch Bison pipeline. Saturated with spring meltwater, the loamy, sandy soil along Bison’s 50-foot permanent easement is sinking into broad crevasses through wheat fields, corn fields, alfalfa and rangeland. …In low areas of the rolling ranchland where deep snow gathered, fissures branch across the easement, eroding the topsoil and washing it out into creeks and ponds.”
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL tar sands pipeline.  A Study and Memo from the Congressional Research Service dated September 20, 2010 determined that primary authority over location of interstate pipelines belongs to individual states. A BOLD Nebraska blog post, [pdf] includes background information, a transcript of the media roundtable held upon discovery of the memo, and action alert.
Action: write your state senator urging that oil pipeline regulations be in place, not only to govern the existing pipeline, but also any future pipeline proposed by TransCanada or other environmental exploiters. Find your state senator’s contact information at the map linked here.  Contact Governor Dave Heineman, PO Box 94848, State Capitol Bldg., Lincoln, NE 68509, 402.471.2244 asking him to be responsive and join opposition efforts.  Secretary Clinton has the power to approve or reject the Keystone XL pipeline.  Click here to ask her to stand up to Big Oil and NOT grant a permit to TransCanda.  You might want to remind her that the “European Union may blacklist tar sands because of higher greenhouse gas emissions.”
“US-Canada oil pipeline – water source threatened,” is an excellent 2:49 minute AlJazeeraEnglish report featuring Nebraska property owners Randy Thompson, Cindy Myers, and Nebraska Audubon representing the issue. Thompson’s letter to TransCanada in response to their “final offer” for his land in Merrick County ends “Until a court of law determines otherwise, your arbitrary claim to condemnation powers is nothing more to us than an empty threat. We feel very strongly that this pipeline could place our property and way of life at risk. Therefore, we are unwilling to succumb to such a threat and respectfully decline your final offer.” Thompson’s May 13th letter to the LJS editor is here.
The New York Times joined citizens, experts and opinion leaders in opposition to the pipeline in an editorial “No to a New Tar Sands Pipeline,” concluding “Last July, an older bitumen pipeline in Michigan spilled 800,000 gallons of the stuff into the Kalamazoo River. A new TransCanada pipeline that began carrying diluted bitumen last year has already had nine spills. …From all of the evidence, Keystone XL is not only environmentally risky, it is unnecessary.” Read the entire editorial here.
New Neal Obermeyer cartoons addressing the legislature’s passive inaction were published in the Lincoln Journal Star on May 8, 2011, and May 1st.  Pipeline educator and local musician Jim Pipher recently made a 1:40 minute YouTube video demonstrating a one barrel oil spill. And a new documentary making the independent film circuit right now, The Pipe is based on a struggle in Ireland, but there are many similarities with our own Stop the Pipeline efforts in the US.
What else can you do?  Keep writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Other excellent letters to Lincoln Journal Star are here, here, and here. Keep the issue alive in conversations at the kitchen table, in cafes, churches, and clubs around Nebraska.
Click here for a Bold Nebraska XL Pipeline Action page with resources and background information. E-mail actions [at] boldnebraska [dot] org to get yard signs, bumper stickers and t-shirts. More actions EveryOne can take are listed here. For comprehensive references in media since May 30, 2010, click here and scroll from the bottom up for links to each week’s Green Notes coverage.
Be a community educator and organizer. Let’s change the world together.
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.“

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 . . . In the past 3 weeks, 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.

AGENCY SCIENTISTS OPPOSE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SALMON . . . The following quotes are from Fish and Wildlife Service scientists themselves: “The environmental impact of escaped GE salmon is of great concern.” – Gregory Moyer, Regional Geneticist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; “…approval of the proposal is premature, given the unknowns and uncertainties regarding the possible ecological and environmental effects of these fish.” – Jeff Adams, Branch Chief, Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and “…I do think the chance of escapement is huge” – Deborah Burger, Manager, Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ask the President to stop the GE salmon approval process.

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

The second annual Hemp History Week is Monday, May 2 through Sunday, May 8, 2011.  Discover the benefits of hemp!

SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. News items and contact information for needed communication with specific elected officials are below in District 3 Green Notes.  Note the Omaha Education and Action Forum Tuesday, May 3, 2011.

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.

VOTE . . . The General Election in Lancaster County is Tuesday, May 3, 2011. Early voting continues at the Election Commission, 601 North 46th Street, Lincoln. A sample ballot is here. [pdf]

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.

MEETING WITH SENATOR NELSON’S STAFF . . . Thursday, May 5, 2011, there will be a noon meeting with Senator Nelson’s staff to address accountability for his votes against clean air. The senator’s Lincoln office is at 440 North 8th Street, Suite 120. Sign up to attend here.

COOPER NUCLEAR PERFORMANCE MEETING . . . Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of the Nebraska Public Power District in a 4:00pm public meeting Thursday, May 5, 2011, at the Brownville Concert Hall, Atlantic Avenue and Second Street, Brownville. In addition to the performance assessment, NRC staff will answer questions from the public on the Cooper safety record.

THINK GREEN IT’S THURSDAY . . . TGIT is a new happy hour for planning a sustainable future at the EcoStores  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 Paine at mitch [dot] paine [at] ecostoresne.org.

CANNABIS RIGHTS RALLY . . . The Nebraska Cannabis Coalition of nonprofit and political groups will rally Saturday, May 7, 2011, on the north side of the state capitol. Music and speeches will be from noon to 3:30pm, followed by a march to and from the federal building. The rally is designed to educate and reach out with new solutions to current environmental, political, and cultural problems. At 5:00pm there will be a potluck barbecue with live music at University Park, North 40th and Adams Street.

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.

FARMERS MARKETS BEGIN . . . The first local farmers market is open from 10:00am to 2:00pm every Sunday at 5500 Old Cheney Road. The Old Cheney Road Farmers Market 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.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

OMAHA MEETING WITH SENATOR NELSON’S STAFF . . . Wednesday, May 4, 2011, there will be a noon meeting with Senator Nelson’s staff addressing accountability for his votes to undermine the Clean Air Act’s carbon pollution limiting ability at the Senator’s Omaha office, 11819 Miracle Hills Drive, Suite 205. Attendance is limited to eleven people. Click here to rsvp.

UN-O NFP END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR DROP-IN . . . Tuesday, May 3, 2011, progressives and peace wagers are invited to stop by the UN-O Nebraskans for Peace office on the third floor of Milo Bail Student Center for light snacks between 2:00 and 4:00pm, to celebrate the end of the school year. E-mail Candella at c [dot] ing [dot] the [dot] light [at] gmail [dot] com.

STOP THE PIPELINE EDUCATION AND ACTION FORUM . . . The Omaha Education and Action Forum on the proposed XL pipeline will be Tuesday, May 3, 2011, 7:00 to 8:30pm, at First Unitarian Church, 31st & Harney. Speakers will include Jane Kleeb, BOLD Nebraska, Jane Wilson, Guardians of the Good Life, Marian Langan, Audubon Nebraska, Duane Hovorka, Nebraska Wildlife Federation, Ken Winston, Sierra Nebraska, as well as other presenters on the impact to Nebraska’s water and land resources. Click here for a FaceBook link.

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 “Harlan County, USA,” an award-winning documentary record of a thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line. Watch the 3:00 minute trailer here.  For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

OMAHA CINCO DE MAYO 2011 . . . Celebrating 26 Years in South Omaha, events for Cinco de Mayo Omaha 2011 will begin on Thursday, May 5, and run through Sunday, May 8, 2011, featuring a parade, carnival, food, entertainment, vendors, contests, kids’ activities and national Latin group.
Thursday, May 5th, a Cinco de Mayo Reception hosted by the Mexican Consulate and the South Omaha Business Association to honor 2011 Sponsors and Grand Marshals will be at 7444 Farnam Street, 6:00pm.
Friday, May 6th, Carnival will start at 5:30pm on South 25th Streets (O-M Streets). Group Control will play at Plaza de la Raza (25th & N), 7:00pm.
Saturday, May 7th, one of Omaha’s largest parades will begin at 10:00am, and will extend from 24th & B streets to 24th & O streets. Following the parade will be a fiesta at Noon. There will be food, a carnival, music and booths. Over 80 shops and restaurants will offer a wide variety of Mexican Cuisines.
Sunday, May 8th, starts with Mariachi Mass on Plaza de la Raza (25th & N) with fiesta and carnival following on the Plaza from Noon to 10:00pm.

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

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . More great letters to the Lincoln Journal Star were published Sunday, May 1st, and Tuesday, April 26, 2011. “Silence deafening,” by LaVonne Dilla, references Mary Pipher’s April 24th letter urging “all readers to do what they can to motivate our state senators and governor to act now.” Dilla writes “Those who care about Nebraska’s natural resources should let someone know. The silence of most, but not all, of our elected senators and Gov. Dave Heineman on the subject is deafening.” An April 26th letter from Marilyn Barnes, “Nebraska must take action,” concludes “Nebraska should not cede its oil pipeline siting authority to a Canadian corporation. I hope those who care about Nebraska’s water and agriculture will call or write to the governor and state senators urging immediate legislation to regulate this and future pipelines.”
Also on April 26, Art Hovey wrote about state senators not acting on pipeline regulations, with a focus on Fullerton Senator Dubas, in a LJS article “Sen. Annette Dubas defends actions on Keystone XL pipeline.”  Sierra’s Ken Winston and BOLD Nebraska’s Jane Kleeb are both quoted, raising questions and expressing equally incredulous remarks about this legislature’s obvious lack of serious concern for the state’s natural resources.
“National groups, Merrick board, weigh in on Keystone XL,” was published Thursday, April 28, 2011. A new 20-page report by Friends of the Earth says TransCanada “bullies farmers, manipulates oil markets, threatens fresh water and skimps on safety in the United States.” The article also reported on a Merrick County Board vote giving support to the Keystone XL pipeline.  A Daily Journal news item from Central City reports “The Merrick County Board voted Tuesday to write a letter of support for TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which is being reviewed by the US State Department.” The rationale? “TransCanada has promised that the pipeline would be safe and reliable.” Safe and reliable. It’s a promise. Meanwhile, there have been eleven documented leaks on the first Keystone pipeline carrying tar sands through Nebraska since fall of 2010. A BOLD Nebraska blog commentary and action alert is here.
In response to a 320-page Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed pipeline through Nebraska’s fragile Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer, the Journal Star editorialized “The statement is unfairly dismissive of the unique characteristics of Nebraska’s Sand Hills.” “Pipeline impact statment disappoints” also encourages “Nebraskans — actually all Americans –” to comment on the 300-page ESI during this final comment period. A five-page Executive Summary is here. [pdf]  The official State Department Comments Page is here.  Comments may also be submitted via e-mail at keystonexl [at] cardno [dot] com, by US Postal to Keystone XL EIS Project, P.O. Box 96503-98500, Washington D.C. 20090-6503, or fax (206) 269-0098.  In comments, please invite Secretary of State Clinton to visit the Sand Hills, see our unique ecosystem, and meet the people who will be most effected by XL pipeline construction.
One of two Nebraska mayors who signed a letter supporting the pipeline has taken his support back–and he noted that TransCanada essentially lied to him about the letter. “Further review” reverses mayor’s pipeline support, April 21, 2011, reported that “after …consulting with others, Ralston Mayor Don Groesser retracted previous support of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline expansion in an April 13 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The same week, Lincoln Journal Star revealed “TransCanada has encountered problems with the reclamation phase on a 50-mile stretch of a new natural gas pipeline through southeast Montana and western North Dakota that even its own spokesman calls severe. Erosion and …”very severe subsidence,” or settling of the soil, are visible in photographs  taken by the Billings Gazette.”
A 13:26 minute interview with John Hansen, President of coalition member Nebraska Farmers Union, aired on NET News Capitol Comments. Hansen discussed the three pipeline regulation bills stalled in the Unicameral’s Natural Resources Committee.  Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL tar sands pipeline.  A Study and Memo from the Congressional Research Service dated September 20, 2010 determined that primary authority over location of interstate pipelines belongs to individual states. A BOLD Nebraska blog post, [pdf] includes background information, a transcript of the media roundtable held upon discovery of the memo, and action alert.
Action: write your state senator urging that oil pipeline regulations be in place, not only to govern the existing pipeline, but also any future pipeline proposed by TransCanada or other environmental exploiters.  Find your state senator’s contact information at the map linked here.  Also contact members of the Natural Resources Committee asking that they move the pending bills, LB 340, [pdf]  LB 578 [pdf] and LB 629 [pdf] out for floor debate. And please contact Governor Dave Heineman, PO Box 94848, State Capitol Bldg., Lincoln, NE 68509, 402.471.2244 asking him to be responsive and join opposition efforts.
Secretary of State Clinton has the power to approve or reject the Keystone XL pipeline.  Click here to ask her to stand up to Big Oil and NOT grant a permit to TransCanda. You might want to remind her that the “European Union may blacklist tar sands because of higher greenhouse gas emissions.”
“US-Canada oil pipeline – water source threatened,” is an excellent 2:49 minute AlJazeeraEnglish report featuring Nebraska property owners Randy Thompson, Cindy Myers, and Nebraska Audubon representing the issue. Thompson’s letter to TransCanada in response to their “final offer” for his land in Merrick County ends “Until a court of law determines otherwise, your arbitrary claim to condemnation powers is nothing more to us than an empty threat. We feel very strongly that this pipeline could place our property and way of life at risk.  Therefore, we are unwilling to succumb to such a threat and respectfully decline your final offer. Our conclusion is that the courts need to make the final determination on this issue.”
The New York Times joined citizens, experts and opinion leaders in opposition to the pipeline in an editorial “No to a New Tar Sands Pipeline,” concluding “Last July, an older bitumen pipeline in Michigan spilled 800,000 gallons of the stuff into the Kalamazoo River. A new TransCanada pipeline that began carrying diluted bitumen last year has already had nine spills. …From all of the evidence, Keystone XL is not only environmentally risky, it is unnecessary.” Read the entire editorial here.
Nebraska Greens John Carlini and Shari Schwartz have produced a 30-minute public access tv show “Cornhuskers vs. Dirty Oil.” It airs on cable channel 13, Sundays at 8:00pm, and Wednesdays at 9:30pm.
What else can you do?  Keep writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Other excellent recently published letters to Lincoln Journal Star are here, here, and here.  Keep the issue alive in conversations at the kitchen table, in cafes, churches, and clubs around Nebraska.
Click here for a Bold Nebraska XL Pipeline Action page with resources and background information. E-mail actions [at] boldnebraska [dot] org to get yard signs, bumper stickers and t-shirts. More actions EveryOne can take are listed here.  For comprehensive references in media since May 30, 2010, click here and scroll from the bottom up for links to each week’s Green Notes coverage.
Be a community educator and organizer. Let’s change the world together.
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.”

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 . . . In the past 3 weeks, 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.

AGENCY SCIENTISTS OPPOSE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SALMON . . . The following quotes are from Fish and Wildlife Service scientists themselves: “The environmental impact of escaped GE salmon is of great concern.” – Gregory Moyer, Regional Geneticist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; “…approval of the proposal is premature, given the unknowns and uncertainties regarding the possible ecological and environmental effects of these fish.” – Jeff Adams, Branch Chief, Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and “…I do think the chance of escapement is huge” – Deborah Burger, Manager, Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ask the President to stop the GE salmon approval process.

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

SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. News items and contact information for needed communication with specific elected officials are below in District 3 Green Notes. Note the Omaha Education and Action Forum on Tuesday, May 3, 2011.

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

VOTE . . . Early voting for City elections began Monday, April 18,2011, at the Lancaster County Election Commission office, 601 North 46th Street, Lincoln. A sample ballot is here. [pdf]

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.

WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES SEMINARS . . . The final UN-L seminar focused on urban stormwater runoff, gobal climate change, and related environmental issues is Wednesday, April 27, 2011, 3:30 to 4:30pm, in the first-floor auditorium of Hardin Hall, on the northeast corner of North 33rd and Holdrege Streets, Lincoln. For more information, phone the UN-L Water Center, 402.472.3305.

LINCOLN GREEN DRINKS . . . Wednesday, April 27, 2011, starting at 5:30pm, Lincoln Green Drinks will meet at Lazlo’s Brewery and Grill, 210 North 7th Street, in the Haymarket. Green Drinks is an informal self-organizing network now active in 793 cities worldwide. For more information, e-mail Rick Yoder, ryoder [at] mail [dot] unomaha [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.

THINK GREEN IT’S THURSDAY . . . TGIT is a new happy hour for planning a sustainable future at the EcoStores 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 Paine at mitch [dot] paine [at] ecostoresne.org.

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.

NEAC ANNUAL MEETING AND BANQUET . . . This year’s Nebraska Environmental Action Coalition Annual Meeting is Saturday, April 30, 2011, 10:00am to 4:00pm, in Lincoln at the Unitarian Church 6300 A Street. Morning speakers include Ted Thieman, and Laura Krebsbach,a from NEAC. The 1:15pm Keynote is by Lynn Henning, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, winner of the 2010 Goldman Prize for North America. The movie Food, Inc. will be shown at 3:00pm. Please make reservations for the noon local food lunch–vegetarian pasta salad or roast beef–by calling 402.276.7321, or e-mail chrisneac [at] gmail [dot] com. The meeting is free and open to the public, with a small charge for the lunch.

FUNDRAISER FOR MATT TALBOT KITCHEN . . . Local actress Pippa White will perform her one woman show “Women Who Make a Difference,” at a benefit to raise funds for a new piano at Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach, Saturday, April 30, 2011, from 2:00 to 4:00pm. The piano will be used in a new music outreach program for homeless people in Lincoln. Tea with a dessert bar will follow the performance at Matt Talbot, 2121 North 27th Street. Reserve tickets online here.

WORKING CLASS SOLIDARITY MARCH . . . There will be a Solidarity March starting at 2:30pm, Sunday, May 1, 2011, at the north steps of the State Capitol Building. The rally is sponsored by the IWW and the LUNk Collective.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

HIKE STANDING BEAR LAKE . . . Wednesday, April 27, 2011, there will be a 9:00am hike around Standing Bear Lake, one of the early trail systems built around Omaha lakes. This will be a good hike for beginners, lasting approximately 2 hours, covering between 5 and 6 miles. E-mail omahahikingclub [at] cox [dot] net for more information.

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 “Bugsy Malone.” A cast of child actors, including Scott Baio as Bugsy and Jodie Foster as a speakeasy songbird, sends up Prohibition-era mobster flicks in this Alan Parker musical. 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.  SAVE THE DATE: An Omaha Pipeline Education and Action Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, 2011, 7:00 to 8:30pm, at First Unitarian Church, 31st & Harney, in Omaha.

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. The garden needs sponsors to help with the costs of building (hardware, lumber, etc.). 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.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . “We are entering a 45-day review period for comments to the State Department on the risks of the Keystone XL Pipeline to our Sandhills and Ogallala Aquifer. We are up against a corporation that has spent millions of dollars on an aggressive political and public relations campaign in D.C. and Nebraska (the primary lobbyist for TransCanada served on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign staff.)” So begins Mary Pipher’s April 24, 2011 letter to the Lincoln Journal Star urging “all readers to do what they can to motivate our state senators and governor to act now.”
In response to the 320-page Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed pipeline through Nebraska’s fragile Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer, on April 19th, the Journal Star editorialized “The statement is unfairly dismissive of the unique characteristics of Nebraska’s Sand Hills.”  “Pipeline impact statment disappoints” also encourages “Nebraskans — actually all Americans –” to comment on the ESI during this final comment period. A five-page Executive Summary is here.  The official State Department Comments Page is here.  Comments may also be submitted via e-mail at keystonexl [at] cardno [dot] com, by US Postal to Keystone XL EIS Project, P.O. Box 96503-98500, Washington D.C. 20090-6503, or fax (206) 269-0098.  In comments, please invite Secretary of State Clinton to visit the Sand Hills, see our unique ecosystem, and meet the people who will be most effected by XL pipeline construction.
More than 150 people participated in the April 17 Pipeline Education and Action Forum in Stuart, Nebraska. They stayed until after 5:00pm asking questions, continuing the discussion, and preparing activism in District 3. Norfolk Daily News coverage of the event is here.
In other news of the week, one of two Nebraska mayors who signed a letter supporting the pipeline has taken his support back–and he noted that TransCanada essentially lied to him about the letter. “Further review” reverses mayor’s pipeline support,” by Joe Shearer, The Gateway, April 21, 2011, reported that “after …consulting with others, Ralston Mayor Don Groesser retracted previous support of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline expansion in an April 13 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.” The Lincoln Journal Star revealed “TransCanada has encountered problems with the reclamation phase on a 50-mile stretch of a new natural gas pipeline through southeast Montana and western North Dakota that even its own spokesman calls severe. Erosion and …”very severe subsidence,” or settling of the soil, are visible in photographs taken by the Billings Gazette.”
A 13:26 minute interview with John Hansen, President of coalition member Nebraska Farmers Union, was broadcast on NET News Capitol Comments. Hansen discussed the three pipeline regulation bills stalled in the Unicameral’s Natural Resources Committee.
           Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL tar sands pipeline.  A Study and Memo from the Congressional Research Service dated September 20, 2010 determined that primary authority over location of interstate pipelines belongs to individual states. A BOLD Nebraska blog post [pdf] includes background information, a transcript of the media roundtable held upon discovery of the memo, and an action alert.
It is important to write your state senator urging that oil pipeline regulations be in place, not only to govern the existing pipeline, but also any future pipeline proposed by TransCanada or other environmental exploiters.  Find your state senator’s contact information at the map linked here.  Also contact members of the Natural Resources Committee asking that they move the pending bills, LB 340, [pdf] LB 578 [pdf] and LB 629 [pdf] out for floor debate. And please contact Governor Dave Heineman, PO Box 94848, State Capitol Bldg., Lincoln, NE 68509, 402.471.2244 asking him to be responsive and join opposition efforts.
Secretary of State Clinton has the power to approve or reject the Keystone XL pipeline. She needs to stand up to Big Oil and stop it.  Click here to tell her NOT to grant a permit to TransCanda.  You might want to remind her that the “European Union may blacklist tar sands because of higher greenhouse gas emissions.”
An April 2011 Prairie Fire article by Julie Myers concludes “If TransCanada can put a pipeline anywhere as they claim, then they can move it off the Sand Hills, and Nebraska should demand that. The upcoming hearings for the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement will offer Nebraskans a good opportunity to tell what they know of the Sand Hills and its water, and to demand a safer route.” Read “The XL Shellgame,” by a writer who grew up in the Sand Hills, here. “Tar Sands Make Their Mark,”  by Ellen Cantarow, was published April 7. The Nation article quotes Nebraska organic rancher Ben Gotschall: “My family has been producing grass-fed beef for five generations.  We do this organically, without chemicals and with minimum fossil fuel inputs…. Nebraska farmers and ranchers were producing food long before we had the benefit of fossil fuels and we can and will find a way to produce food long after fossil fuels are gone. But we will never be able to produce food without clean water. To me, this pipeline is an issue of national security that threatens our domestic food and water supply.”
“Koch Industries, Keystone XL Pipeline … a BP on the Prairie?” reports “Tar sands are plentiful in the US and Canada, but environmentally treacherous to mine and transport – yet, this is the ‘green energy’ the Obama administration has leaned toward.” “US-Canada oil pipeline – water source threatened,” is an excellent new 2:49 minute AlJazeera English report featuring Nebraska property owners Randy Thompson, Cindy Myers, and Nebraska Audubon representing the issue. Thompson’s letter to TransCanada in response to their “final offer” for his land in Merrick County ends “Until a court of law determines otherwise, your arbitrary claim to condemnation powers is nothing more to us than an empty threat. We feel very strongly that this pipeline could place our property and way of life at risk.  Therefore, we are unwilling to succumb to such a threat and respectfully decline your final offer. Our conclusion is that the courts need to make the final determination on this issue.”
The New York Times joined citizens, experts and opinion leaders in opposition to the pipeline in an editorial “No to a New Tar Sands Pipeline,” concluding “Last July, an older bitumen pipeline in Michigan spilled 800,000 gallons of the stuff into the Kalamazoo River. A new TransCanada pipeline that began carrying diluted bitumen last year has already had nine spills. …From all of the evidence, Keystone XL is not only environmentally risky, it is unnecessary.” Read the entire editorial here.
Nebraska Greens John Carlini and Shari Schwartz have produced a 30-minute public access tv show “Cornhuskers vs. Dirty Oil.” It airs on cable channel 13, Sundays at 8:00pm, and Wednesdays at 9:30pm.
           What else can you do?  Keep writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Excellent recently published letters to the Lincoln Journal Star are here, here, and here.  Keep the issue alive in conversations at the kitchen table, in cafes, churches, and clubs around Nebraska.
Click here for a Bold Nebraska XL Pipeline Action page with resources and background information. E-mail actions [at] boldnebraska [dot] org to get yard signs, bumper stickers and t-shirts. More actions EveryOne can take are listed here.  For comprehensive references in media since May 30, 2010, click here and scroll from the bottom up for links to each week’s Green Notes coverage.
Be a community educator and organizer. Let’s change the world together.
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.“

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 . . . In the past 3 weeks, 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.

AGENCY SCIENTISTS OPPOSE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SALMON . . . The following quotes are from Fish and Wildlife Service scientists themselves: “The environmental impact of escaped GE salmon is of great concern.” – Gregory Moyer, Regional Geneticist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; “…approval of the proposal is premature, given the unknowns and uncertainties regarding the possible ecological and environmental effects of these fish.” – Jeff Adams, Branch Chief, Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and “…I do think the chance of escapement is huge” – Deborah Burger, Manager, Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ask the President to stop the GE salmon approval process.

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

SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. News items and contact information for needed communication with specific elected officials are below in District 3 Green Notes.

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

FOCUS NEBRASKA . . . National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore will give the keynote lecture for Focus Nebraska, a week-long celebration of Earth Day at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Focus of the celebration featuring bike rides, faculty talks, films, tree planting and art exhibits will be climate change and the environment. A full schedule of the five day event is here.  For more information, contact Matan Gill, 402.917.6583, or e-mail matan [dot] gill [at] gmail [dot] com.

VOTE EARLY, IF YOU KNOW THE FACTS . . . Early voting begins Monday, April 18,2011, at the Lancaster County Election Commission, 601 North 46th Street, Lincoln. A sample ballot is here. [pdf]

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.

LGBT COMMUNITY TOWNHALL . . . Monday, April 18, 2011, 7:00 to 8:30pm, Saint Paul United Methodist Church, 1144 M Steet, Lincoln, will host a “LGBT Community Physical, Mental, Social & Sexual Health Townhall” in room 155. Dr. Christopher Fisher and Dr. Jay Irwin will present preliminary data from their current research on health issues in the LGBT community, followed by a discussion about how the information should be analyzed and reported.

WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES SEMINARS . . . A 14-lecture series of seminars at UN-L focused on urban stormwater runoff, gobal climate change, and related environmental issues continues Wednesday, April 20, 2011, 3:30 to 4:30pm, in the first-floor auditorium of Hardin Hall, on the northeast corner of North 33rd and Holdrege Streets, Lincoln. The series runs through April 27th. For more information, contact the UN-L Water Center, 402.472.3305. Click here for a schedule of the lectures. View most lectures online after they have been presented 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.

STOP THE PIPELINE MEETING . . . Thursday, April 21, 2011, leaders of Stop the Pipeline coalition groups will meet in Lincoln at 5:30pm. To get involved with planning for local actions, e-mail Marian at scp [at] audubon [dot] org for more details.

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 Paine at mitch [dot] paine [at] ecostoresne.org.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL UN-L BANQUET . . . The UN-L Chapter of Amnesty International, in cooperation with Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty, welcomes Curtis McCarty back to Lincoln as Keynote Speaker for the 2011 Annual Banquet, Thursday, April 21st, 6:30pm, at Arbor Suite in the UN-L East Campus Student Union. McCarty was exonerated in 2007 after serving 21 years, including 19 years on death row, for a 1982 Oklahoma City murder he did not commit. Read more about his story at the Innocence Project website.  For more information, and to reserve tickets that include a catered meal from Vincenzo’s Italian Ristorante and beverages from The Coffee House, e-mail Jill Francke, jill [at] nadp [dot] net, or call the NADP office at 402.477.7787.

RECYCLE FOR EARTH DAY . . . Recycle unwanted electronics on Earth Day, April 22nd, at Open Harvest, 1618 South Street, in Lincoln. Drop off is 12:00 noon to 5:00pm. Read more details in the Open Harvest Newsletter here. [pdf]

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.

NEW WATCHDOGS OF LINCOLN GROUP . . . Lincoln Urban Development Director Dave Landis will answer pre-submitted questions with the new Watchdogs of Lincoln Government group on Saturday, April 23, 2011, 10:00am, at Gere Library, 56th & Normal Blvd. The discussion is open to the public, and all Concerned Citizens from Lincoln are welcome to participate. From the North Portal of the Nebraska State Capitol Building, “The Salvation of the State is Watchfulness in the Citizen.”  –H.B. Alexander.  For more information about the new citizen action group, e-mail Jane Kinsey, jakin3 [at] juno [dot] com.

EARTH DAY IN LINCOLN . . . Saturday, April 23, 2011, Lincoln will celebrate Earth Day starting with morning fun runs, followed by live music on the solar-powered main stage, family activities, and informational booths at Antelope Park from noon to 6:00pm. Earth Night will be at the Bourbon Theater, 1415 O Street, 7:00pm, with local food, drinks, art, dancing and live music by Son of 76, Jarana, and DJ Spence. Admission is free. Walk, ride, or carpool if possible. Limited parking is available at the Park for those who drive to daytime events. For more information about Earth Day in Lincoln, click here.

SPRING AFFAIR . . . The 25th Annual Spring Affair Plant Sale will be Saturday, April 23, 2011, 9:00am to 4:00pm, at the Lancaster Event Center, 4100 North 84th Street, Lincoln. For more information about the free event, including plant lists, click here.

NEAC ANNUAL MEETING AND BANQUET . . . This year’s Nebraska Environmental Action Coalition Annual Meeting is Saturday, April 30, 2011, 10:00am to 4:00pm, in Lincoln at the Unitarian Church, 6300 A Street.  Morning speakers include Ted Thieman, and Laura Krebsbach,a from NEAC. The 1:15pm Keynote is by Lynn Henning, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, winner of the 2010 Goldman Prize for North America. The movie Food, Inc. will be shown at 3:00pm. Please make reservations for the noon local food lunch–vegetarian pasta salad or roast beef–by calling 402.276.7321, or e-mail chrisneac [at] gmail [dot] com. The meeting is free and open to the public, with a small charge for the lunch.

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 “Garbage Warrior.” Shot over three years in the US, India and Mexico, “Garbage Warrior” is a feature-length documentary telling the epic story of maverick architect Michael Reynolds, his crew of renegade house builders, and their fight to introduce radically different ways of living. A snapshot of contemporary geo-politics and an inspirational tale of triumph over bureaucracy, Garbage Warrior is above all an intimate portrait of an extraordinary individual and his dream of changing the world. View the trailer here.  For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

HIKE NEALE WOODS NATURE CENTER . . . The Neale Woods Nature Center, 14323 Edith Marie Avenue, is a nature preserve in the hills along the Missouri River, just north of Omaha. Saturday, April 23, 2011, the Omaha Hiking Club will meet at the visitor’s center, 8:30am, to hike about 4.5 miles. E-mail omahahikingclub [at] cox [dot] net for more information.

OMAHA EARTH DAY . . . There will be local food and a beer garden, live music, demonstrations, speakers and activities for the kids at Omaha’s Earth Day, Friday, April 22, 2011, Elmwood Park, 808 South 60th Street, 11:00am to 6:00pm. This year’s theme is Earth Day Every Day. For a full schedule of the day’s events, click here.

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Omaha protests with Guardians of the Good Life continue. E-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net for details of this week’s protest. 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 DATE:  An Omaha Pipeline Education and Action Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, 2011, 7:00 to 8:30pm, at First Unitarian Church, 31st & Harney, in Omaha.

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. The garden needs sponsors to help with the costs of building (hardware, lumber, etc.). 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.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . US Department of State published a 320-page Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on Friday, April 15, 2011. A five-page Executive Summary is here.  The information released appears to argue against a route change that would take the 36-inch Keystone XL tar sands pipeline around the Sand Hills. Lincoln Journal Star coverage of the EIS publication is here.  Quoting BOLD Nebraska  Director Jane Kleeb, “To say it is disappointing is an understatement.” The Department of State will not hold in-state field hearings, and they are not expanding the 45-day comment period. The EIS DID emphasize that eminent domain is a state law issue. Opposition groups, Nebraska landowners and environmentalists throughout the country and the world now must refocus pressure on state senators and the Nebraska governor to be responsive. Our state can pass a law right now saying no to oil pipelines in the Sand Hills. BOLD Nebraska’s blog covering the SEIS, and our next steps, is here. The official State Department Keystone XL Project EIS comment page is here.
Nebraska Green Party joined BOLD Nebraska, Audubon Nebraska, Guardians of the Good Life, Nebraska Bioneers, Nebraskans for Peace, the Nebraska League of Conservation Voters, the Nebraska Sierra Club, Lincoln 350.org, and the Western Nebraska Resources Council in signing a coalition response to the April 6, 2011 Omaha World-Herald editorial, “Let’s settle the question.”  Bruce Kennedy, President of the Nebraska Wildlife Federation, signed for coalition members. Our response was published April 13th.
An April 2011 Prairie Fire article by Julie Myers concludes “If TransCanada can put a pipeline anywhere as they claim, then they can move it off the Sand Hills, and Nebraska should demand that. The upcoming hearings for the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement will offer Nebraskans a good opportunity to tell what they know of the Sand Hills and its water, and to demand a safer route.” Read “The XL Shellgame,” by a writer who grew up in the Sand Hills, here.  “Tar Sands Make Their Mark,”  by Ellen Cantarow, was published April 7. The Nation article quotes Nebraska organic rancher Ben Gotschall: “My family has been producing grass-fed beef for five generations.  We do this organically, without chemicals and with minimum fossil fuel inputs…. Nebraska farmers and ranchers were producing food long before we had the benefit of fossil fuels and we can and will find a way to produce food long after fossil fuels are gone. But we will never be able to produce food without clean water. To me, this pipeline is an issue of national security that threatens our domestic food and water supply.”
Is There Such a Thing as ‘Ethical Oil’? by Jason Mark, from Earth Island Journal, was published by AlterNet April 8, 2011. The nine page article asks “Is it OK for some people to suffer as long as many others benefit?” Clearly, although exploitation of precious natural resources does not “benefit” The Earth, when financial profits are part of the equation, Big Oil benefits at the expense of Our Home Planet. The sometimes heartbreaking article starts by recounting destruction of the “quaint village of Fort McKay,” in northern Alberta, where wilderness is now stripped bare by tar sands industry “roads, power lines, smokestacks, and long lakes of hazardous waste surrounded by barbed wire,” and humans are surrounded by toxic devastation. Read the article here.
“Koch Industries, Keystone XL Pipeline … a BP on the Prairie?” reports “Tar sands are plentiful in the US and Canada, but environmentally treacherous to mine and transport – yet, this is the ‘green energy’ the Obama administration has leaned toward.”
The Lincoln Journal Star’s April 10, 2011 editorial, “Make Sand Hills off lmits,” describes how easy it would be for Nebraska legislators to end the threat to our Sand Hills by making crude oil pipelines off limits there. “The Legislature should simply pass a law declaring the Sand Hills off limits to any future crude oil pipeline. The in-state ramifications will be few. The giant oil pipeline company simply would have to reroute the pipeline farther east in Nebraska to a location where the land and Ogallala Aquifer are not as vulnerable.”
“US-Canada oil pipeline – water source threatened,” is an excellent new 2:49 minute AlJazeeraEnglish report featuring Nebraska property owners Randy Thompson, Cindy Myers, and Nebraska Audubon representing the issue.
The New York Times joined citizens, experts and opinion leaders in opposition to the pipeline in an April 2nd editorial “No to a New Tar Sands Pipeline,” concluding “Last July, an older bitumen pipeline in Michigan spilled 800,000 gallons of the stuff into the Kalamazoo River. A new TransCanada pipeline that began carrying diluted bitumen last year has already had nine spills. …From all of the evidence, Keystone XL is not only environmentally risky, it is unnecessary.” Read the entire editorial here.
A Study and Memo from the Congressional Research Service dated September 20, 2010, determined that primary authority over location of interstate pipelines belongs to individual states. BOLD Nebraska and Stop the Pipeline coalition members held a roundtable with press upon discovery of the memo. Media coverage was in the Omaha World-Herald, and on NTV. A BOLD Nebraska blog post including background information, a transcript of the roundtable, and action alert is here.  The Congressional Memo is here. [pdf]  To help with the campaign to save Nebraska’s fragile Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer from potential environmental devastation at the hands of Canada’s tar sands pipeline promoters, please write your state senator asking for personal involvement in opposition.  Find your state senator’s contact information at the map linked here.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL tar sands pipeline.  Contact information for 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); 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); and Governor Dave Heineman, PO Box 94848, State Capitol Bldg., Lincoln, NE 68509, 402.471.2244. The Secretary of State has the power to approve or reject the Keystone XL pipeline, and your senators can ask her to stand up to Big Oil and stop it. Tell them that oil pipeline regulations need to be in place, not only to govern the existing pipeline, but also any future pipeline proposed by TransCanada or other environmental exploiters.
Click here to tell Secretary Clinton NOT to grant a permit to TransCanda.
What else can you do?  Keep writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Excellent recently published letters to the Lincoln Journal Star are here, here, and here.
Nebraska Greens John Carlini and Shari Schwartz have produced a 30-minute public access tv show “Cornhuskers vs. Dirty Oil.” It airs on cable channel 13, Sundays at 8:00pm, and Wednesdays at 9:30pm. Keep the issue alive in conversations at the kitchen table, in cafes, churches, and clubs around Nebraska.
Click here for a Bold Nebraska XL Pipeline Action page with resources and background information. E-mail actions [at] boldnebraska [dot] org to get yard signs, bumper stickers and t-shirts. A website refuting TransCanada’s myths with an interactive graphic is here.  More actions EveryOne can take are listed here.  For comprehensive references in media since May 30, 2010, click here and scroll from the bottom up for links to each week’s Green Notes coverage.
Be a community educator and organizer. Let’s change the world together.
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.“

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 . . . In the past 3 weeks, 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.

AGENCY SCIENTISTS OPPOSE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SALMON . . . The following quotes are from Fish and Wildlife Service scientists themselves: “The environmental impact of escaped GE salmon is of great concern.” – Gregory Moyer, Regional Geneticist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; “…approval of the proposal is premature, given the unknowns and uncertainties regarding the possible ecological and environmental effects of these fish.” – Jeff Adams, Branch Chief, Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and “…I do think the chance of escapement is huge” – Deborah Burger, Manager, Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ask the President to stop the GE salmon approval process.

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

SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. News items and contact information for needed communication with specific elected officials are below in District 3 Green Notes. Note the Pipeline Education and Action Forum in Stuart, Nebraska on Sunday, April 17, 2011.

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

GREEN WHEELS COMMUTER CHALLENGE . . . Registration deadline is Monday, April 11, 2011, for the Lincoln Earth Day Green Wheels Commuter Challenge. Any group can form 4-person teams, and participation is free. The Challenge: reduce your carbon footprint by riding a bicycle, taking public transportation, carpooling, or walking the week of April 11 through 18, 2011. Team members will record the number of miles utilizing alternative modes of transportation. After the week’s results are submitted and counted, totals will be posted on the website and announced at Earth Day. There will be prizes for the biggest carbon reducing team. Challenge your co-workers, and then sign up 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.

FOCUS ON AFRICAN AMERICAN HEALTH . . . A free program, “Protect Your Health Heritage,” will address the changing outlook for African Americans in today’s society on Monday, April 11, 2011, 5:30-8:00pm, at the Center For People In Need, 3901 North 27th Street, Lincoln. Reservations are requested. Phone 402.219.7000 to rsvp. For more information, contact Christine Bleich, 402.423.4893 ext. 4106, or e-mail christine [dot] bleich [at] cancer [dot] org.

ERNIE CHAMBERS TO HEADLINE LINCOLN RALLY . . . Nebraska political legend Ernie Chambers will lead a rally at the Lincoln Federal Building, 100 Centennial Mall North (15th & ‘O’ Streets), in front of the West Entrance, Tuesday, April 12, 2011, starting at 5:30pm, calling on Congress to slash America’s bloated military budget instead of essential domestic programs. Be part of a Global Day of Action on Military Spending–an international mobilization to cut world military spending. Ernie Chambers will be joined by his former legislative colleague, Rev. Lowen Kruse, UN-L Associate Professor of Accountancy Linda Ruchala, and Nebraskans For Peace President Emeritus Paul Olson. Learn more at the NFP website here.

WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES SEMINARS . . . A 14-lecture series of seminars at UN-L focused on urban stormwater runoff, gobal climate change, and related environmental issues continues Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 3:30 to 4:30pm, in the first-floor auditorium of Hardin Hall, on the northeast corner of North 33rd and Holdrege Streets, Lincoln. The series runs through April 27th. For more information, contact the UN-L Water Center, 402.472.3305. Click here for a schedule of the lectures. View most lectures online after they have been presented 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.

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 Paine at mitch [dot] paine [at] ecostoresne.org.

WACHISKA ANNUAL AT SPRING CREEK PRAIRIE . . . The 2011 Wachiska Audubon Annual Awards Banquet/Potluck will be at Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, south of Denton, on Thursday, April 14, 2011, 6:15pm. Open to the public, everyone is asked to bring one or two dishes to share, along with your own table service. Beverages will be provided. No reservations or costs are involved. Click here for directions to SCPAC. Phone 402.797.2301 for more information.

NATURE’S MARKET . . . There will be a “Nature’s Market” at Pioneers Park Nature Center, 3201 South Coddington Avenue at the west end of Pioneers Park, on Saturday, April 16, 2011, 9:00am to 2:00pm. The free family event will feature art, music, food and activities, including a silent auction. Thirty-three birdhouses designed by local artists, currently on display throughout Lincoln, will be auctioned by local radio personality Tom Bassett at 9:30am.

MAYORAL CANDIDATE FORUM . . . Saturday, April 16, 2011, 1:30pm, Friends of Wilderness Park, Wachiska Audubon, and the Nebraska Chapter of Sierra Club will co-sponsor a Forum for mayoral candidates at Gere Library, South 56th and Normal Blvd., in Lincoln. The Forum is open to the public. Anyone planning to attend is encouraged to submit candidate questions ahead of time to friendsofwildernessparkne [at] yahoo [dot] com. Questions may also be submitted the evening of the Forum.

NEAC ANNUAL MEETING AND BANQUET . . . This year’s Nebraska Environmental Action Coalition Annual Meeting is Saturday, April 30, 2011, 10:00am to 4:00pm, in Lincoln at the Unitarian Church, 6300 A Street.  Morning speakers include Ted Thieman and Laura Krebsbach from NEAC. The 1:15pm Keynote is by Lynn Henning, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, winner of the 2010 Goldman Prize for North America. The movie Food, Inc. will be shown at 3:00pm. Please make reservations for the noon local food lunch–vegetarian pasta salad or roast beef–by calling 402.276.7321, or e-mail chrisneac [at] gmail [dot] com before Monday April 18th.  The meeting is free and open to the public, with a small charge for the lunch.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

FATHER JACK GOES TO COURT . . . Father Jack McCaslin, an 82 year old Omaha peace activist, will go to court again on Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 2:00pm, at the 2nd floor Federal Court of Judge Thomas Thalken, 18th and Douglas Street. A National Catholic Reporter article “Behind peace witness, a prophetic, transforming priest: Fr. Jack McCaslin – friends,
reflect on priest’s ministry, impact,” by Joshua McElwee, was published March 25, 2011. Father Jack crossed the line at STRATCOM last August 9th.  An 8 minute Youtube clip of statements by the four peace activists arrested at the line crossing is here.  To show support and solidarity with Father Jack, please be at the Court House on Tuesday. Remember to bring a photo ID (for access to the building). Leave cameras and cell phones at home. Court will likely last 45 minutes. For updates or any questions, e-mail The Omaha Catholic Worker, cwomaha [at] gmail [dot] com, or phone 402.502.5887.

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 “The New Jim Crow – A Videotaped Talk by Michelle Alexander.” An LA Progressive article “More Black Men Now in US Prison System than Were Enslaved,” and 9:10 minute interview with Alexander here.  For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

GREEN NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP . . . Become the Sustainability Leader in your Neighborhood. The Green Omaha Coalition’s Green Neighborhood Council is presenting a “Green Neighborhood Leader Workshop” on April 14, 2011, 5:30 to 7:00pm, at The Neighborhood Center, 115 South 49th Avenue. The organization hopes to find individuals throughout the community to become “Green Neighborhood Leaders.” The workshop is free, and light refreshments will be provided. For more information, and to RSVP, e-mail kdeffenbacher [at] cox [dot] net.

“SEARCHING FOR ANGELA SHELTON” . . . Thursday, April 14 2011, 7:00pm, in an effort to raise awareness about domestic violence and sexual assault, Voices of Hope will host a screening of “Searching for Angela Shelton, a documentary following filmmaker Angela Shelton as she interviewed 40 other Angela Sheltons in the United States, more than half of whom had been sexually abused. The film, followed by a brief discussion, will be at the UN-L East Campus Union Cottonwood Room. Admission is free of charge. Voices of Hope provides services to survivors of sexual assault, including a 24-hour crisis line at 402.475.7273.

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Omaha protests with Guardians of the Good Life continue. E-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net for details of this week’s protest. 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 DATE: An Omaha Pipeline Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, 2011, 7:00 to 8:30pm, at First Unitarian Church, 31st & Harney.

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. The garden needs sponsors to help with the costs of building (hardware, lumber, etc.). 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.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

HOLT COUNTY STOP THE PIPELINE FORUM . . . A Stop the Pipeline Education and Action Forum will be presented in CD 3 on Sunday, April 17, 2011, 2:00 to 3:30pm, at the Stuart Auditorium, 204 Parnell Street, Stuart, Nebraska.  Nebraska Green Party is a co-sponsor with Audubon Nebraska,  BOLD Nebraska, Nebraska Wildlife Federation, Nebraska Farmers Union, Nebraska Sierra Club, Guardians of the Good Life, Nebraskans for Peace and the Nebraska chapter of 350.org. T-shirts, bumper stickers and yard signs will be available for purchase. Action Guides will be distributed at no cost. Click here for the FaceBook Link.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . This past week, Nebraska Green Party joined 34 other national and state groups, 12 from Nebraska, in signing a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton requesting an extention of the proposed time period for comments on the draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Keystone XL pipeline. The letter [pdf] was mailed on Monday, April 4, 2011. “Koch Industries, Keystone XL Pipeline … a BP on the Prairie?” published at TruthOut April 7th reported “Tar sands are plentiful in the US and Canada, but environmentally treacherous to mine and transport – yet, this is the ‘green energy’ the Obama administration has leaned toward – with heavy prodding from its most threatening political enemy, Koch Industries – disputed founders of the Tea Party movement.”
The Lincoln Journal Star’s April 10, 2011 editorial, “Make Sand Hills off limits,”  describes how easy it would be for Nebraska legislators to end the threat to our Sand Hills by making crude oil pipelines off limits there. “The Legislature should simply pass a law declaring the Sand Hills off limits to any future crude oil pipeline. The in-state ramifications will be few. The giant oil pipeline company simply would have to reroute the pipeline farther east in Nebraska to a location where the land and Ogallala Aquifer are not as vulnerable.”
On April 6, 2011, the Omaha World-Herald editorialized “Let’s settle the question.”  It begins “Someone in Nebraska state government needs to clear up an important matter about the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Maybe that someone is the Attorney General’s Office. Maybe it’s the professional staff of the Legislature’s Natural Resources committee. At any rate, Nebraskans deserve to have a key question answered clearly and thoroughly, citing the relevant law, whether state or federal. Namely: Does the State of Nebraska have any legal authority to regulate the pipeline, or doesn’t it?” Our coalition response will be linked in Green Notes after it is published by OW-H.
The New York Times joined citizens, experts and opinion leaders in opposition to the pipeline in an April 2nd editorial “No to a New Tar Sands Pipeline,” concluding “Last July, an older bitumen pipeline in Michigan spilled 800,000 gallons of the stuff into the Kalamazoo River. A new TransCanada pipeline that began carrying diluted bitumen last year has already had nine spills. …From all of the evidence, Keystone XL is not only environmentally risky, it is unnecessary.” Read the entire editorial here.
A Congressional Study and Memo from the Congressional Research Service dated September 20, 2010, determined that primary authority over location of interstate pipelines belongs to individual states. BOLD Nebraska and Stop the Pipeline coalition members held a roundtable with press on Wednesday, March 30, 2011, to discuss the recently unearthed memo. Coverage of the discovery was in the Omaha World-Herald, and on NTV.  Other articles covering the memo are at KVNO News, at Lincoln Journal Star, and at statepaper.com. A BOLD Nebraska blog post including background information, a transcript of the roundtable, and action alert is here.  The Congressional Memo is here.
To help with the campaign to save Nebraska’s fragile Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer from potential environmental devastation at the hands of Canada’s tar sands pipeline promoters, please write your state senator asking for personal involvement in opposition. The legislature’s Natural Resources Committee has stalled all three pipeline related bills that were introduced this session.  Find your state senator’s contact information is at the map linked here.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL tar sands pipeline.  Contact information for 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); 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); and Governor Dave Heineman, PO Box 94848, State Capitol Bldg., Lincoln, NE 68509, 402.471.2244.
The Secretary of State has the power to approve or reject the Keystone XL pipeline, and your senators can ask her to stand up to Big Oil and stop it. Tell them that oil pipeline regulations need to be in place, not only to govern the existing pipeline, but also any future pipeline proposed by TransCanada or other environmental exploiters.
Click here to tell Secretary Clinton NOT to grant a permit to TransCanda.
What else can you do?  Keep writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. “Langemeier’s comments ridiculous,” a letter by Barbara Bailey, was published in Lincoln Journal Star March 20, 2011. From the letter, “It was with great disappointment and anger that I read Sen. Chris Langemeier’s comments (“Pipeline regulations languish,” March 15) concerning the pipeline bills before the Natural Resources Committee. Sen. Langemeier and the six members of the Committee voting against advancing these basic safety regulations for our citizens and natural resources are not providing responsible legislating.” Another excellent letter by Jan Enstrom, “Lack of Civil Stewardship,” was published March 21, 2011.
Nebraska Greens John Carlini and Shari Schwartz have produced a 30-minute public access tv show “Cornhuskers vs. Dirty Oil.” It airs on cable channel 13, Sundays at 8:00pm, and Wednesdays at 9:30pm. BOLD Nebraska’s Jane Kleeb, and Nebraska Sierra’s Ken Winston participated in phone interviews about pipeline concerns aired April 9th on KZUM, 89.3FM  Lincoln’s Community Radio Station. “Science Odyssey: TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline: Boon or Threat?” also questioned a TransCanada spokesperson.
Keep the issue alive in conversations at the kitchen table, in cafes, churches, and clubs around Nebraska. We have a brief window. The State Department has called for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study with a new 45 day comment period. The State Department’s news release is here.  “We welcome the news from the US State Department on a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study,” declared Duane Hovorka for coalition member Nebraska Wildlife Federation.  “However, we want to be clear, our state elected officials must now lead by providing an alternative route for the risky TransCanada pipeline.”
The National Farmers Union has passed policy language opposing “any infrastructure or resource development that jeopardizes the health, safety and quality of the Ogallala Aquifer and other freshwater resources.” The new policy also addresses Eminent Domain, and pipeline development specifically. The Nebraska Farmers Union, a Stop the Pipeline coalition member, was successful in calling for this new policy language.
From previous Green Notes: A 2:10 minute video explaining the tar sands extraction process is included with “Oil pipeline from Canada stirring anger in US Great Plains,” by McClatchy, published in the Kansas City Star. “Extracting oil from tar sands and liquefying it enough so it will move through a pipeline is an energy-intensive process that adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Getting it out of the ground involves clear-cutting forests, leaving a wasteland that oil companies say they will restore. Some scientists say that rivers also become polluted. “From start to finish, this a dirty project,” said Stephanie Cole, a spokeswoman for the Kansas chapter of the Sierra Club. “Forests in Canada are being destroyed, and increased reliance on fossil fuels will accelerate global warming.”
“Tar Sands Pipelines Safety Risks,” was published jointly by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Wildlife Federation, Pipeline Safety Trust, and the Sierra Club.  The Executive Summary begins “Tar sands crude oil pipeline companies may be putting America’s public safety at risk. Increasingly, pipelines transporting tar sands crude oil into the United States are carrying diluted bitumen or “DilBit”—a highly corrosive, acidic, and potentially unstable blend of thick raw bitumen and volatile natural gas liquid condensate—raising risks of spills and damage to communities along their paths. The impacts of tar sands production are well known. Tar sands extraction in Canada destroys Boreal forests and wetlands, causes high levels of greenhouse gas pollution, and leaves behind immense lakes of toxic waste. Less well understood, however, is the increased risk and potential harm that can be caused by transporting the raw form of tar sands oil (bitumen) through pipelines to refineries in the United States.” Download the 16 page report here. [pdf]
Click here for a Bold Nebraska XL Pipeline Action page with resources and background information. E-mail actions [at] boldnebraska [dot] org to get yard signs, bumper stickers and t-shirts. A website refuting TransCanada’s myths with an interactive graphic is here.  More actions EveryOne can take are listed here.  For comprehensive references in media since May 30, 2010, click here and scroll from the bottom up for links to each week’s Green Notes coverage.
Be a community educator and organizer. Let’s change the world together.
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.”

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 . . . In the past 3 weeks, 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.

AGENCY SCIENTISTS OPPOSE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SALMON . . . The following quotes are from Fish and Wildlife Service scientists themselves: “The environmental impact of escaped GE salmon is of great concern.” – Gregory Moyer, Regional Geneticist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; “…approval of the proposal is premature, given the unknowns and uncertainties regarding the possible ecological and environmental effects of these fish.” – Jeff Adams, Branch Chief, Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and “…I do think the chance of escapement is huge” – Deborah Burger, Manager, Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ask the President to stop the GE salmon approval process.

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

SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. News items and contact information for needed communication with specific elected officials are below in District 3 Green Notes.

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

WOMEN’S WELLNESS . . . Registration deadline is Monday, April 4, 2011, for Saturday’s April 9th wellness program for women at Pioneers Park Nature Center, 3201 South Coddington Avenue, Lincoln. For more information, phone 402.441.7895.

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.

WE ARE ONE RALLY . . . A “We Are One Rally” sponsored by the Nebraska State AFL-CIO, will be Monday, April 4, 2011, 5:30 to 7:30pm, on the north steps of the State Capitol Building in Lincoln. The purpose is to show solidarity with working families nationwide. For more information, contact the host, Justin Petty, here.

STOP THE PIPELINE MEETING . . . Monday, April 4, 2011, leaders of Stop the Pipeline coalition groups will meet in Lincoln at 5:30pm. To get involved with planning for local actions and events, e-mail Marian at scp [at] audubon [dot] org for more details.

VOTE . . . Primary Election Day is Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Help strengthen Nebraska Green Party for a future Green Party candidate with a click on the PayPal link here.

WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES SEMINARS . . . A 14-lecture series of seminars at UN-L focused on urban stormwater runoff, gobal climate change, and related environmental issues continues Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 3:30 to 4:30pm, in the first-floor auditorium of Hardin Hall, on the northeast corner of North 33rd and Holdrege Streets, Lincoln. The series runs through April 27th. For more information, contact the UN-L Water Center, 402.472.3305. Click here for a schedule of the lectures. View most lectures online after they have been presented 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.

HEALTH CARE FORUM . . . The Nebraska Center for Rural Affairs will host a Community Forum on Health Care, Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 6:30 to 8:30pm, at the Public Library, 100 North 16th Street, Beatrice, Nebraska.

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 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 Paine at mitch [dot] paine [at] ecostoresne.org.

CLIMATE SCIENTIST AT UN-L . . . Michael Mann, one of the country’s leading climate scientists, will present public talks on climate change April 7 and 8, 2011 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Mann will speak on his 2008 book, “Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming,” co-authored with Lee Kump, Thursday, April 7, 2011, 7:30pm, in the East Campus Hardin Hall auditorium at 33rd and Holdrege. Friday, April 8th, he will present “Climate Change: What Can We Learn from Past Centuries?” at 3:30pm, in 117 Bessey Hall, UN-L City Campus. Both talks are free and open to the public.

THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED WORKSHOP . . . Saturday, April 9, 2011, 1:00 to 6:00pm, former Nebraska Green Party Co-Chair Doug Paterson, UN-O Department of Theatre, will facilitate an interactive workshop to explore our collective realities of oppression at Tugboat Gallery, North 14th Street, Lincoln. Grounded in a philosophy that “we are all theatre,” Theatre of the Oppressed moves beyond empowering community, to bring out the power that is already there. It includes physical interactions designed to challenge us to truly listen to what we hear, feel what we touch, and see what we are looking at. Expect learning. Expect fun! EveryOne is welcome. E-mail nebraskabrad [at] gmail [dot] com for more
information, and to register if you plan to attend.

CANDIDATE FORUM . . . Friends of Wilderness Park, the Nebraska Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Wachiska Audubon Society invite the public and candidates running for Lincoln City Council in the May 3 general election to a forum on Saturday, April 9, 1:30pm, at Gere Branch Library, 56th Street and Normal Boulevard.  Friends of Wilderness Park and the other co-sponsors have hosted candidate forums for every mayoral, council, Lancaster County Board and Natural Resources District election since 2002.

FRIENDS OF WILDERNESS PARK TOUR OF FLOWERS . . . Sunday, April 10, 2011, Rob Klein, an expert on the plants of Wilderness Park, will host a tour of the rare flora of spring at the Park. Meet Friends of Wilderness Park at the Pioneers Blvd. Entrance east of B&B Greenhouses, at 1:00pm. The event is free and open to the public.

“SEARCHING FOR ANGELA SHELTON” . . . Sunday, April 10, 2011, 7:00pm, in an effort to raise awareness about domestic violence and sexual assault, Voices of Hope will host a screening of “Searching for Angela Shelton,” a documentary following filmmaker Angela Shelton as she interviewed 40 other Angela Sheltons in the United States, more than half of whom had been sexually abused. The film, followed by a brief discussion, will be at the Lincoln Unitarian Church, 6300 A Street.  A second showing will be Thursday, April 14th at UN-L. Admission is free. Voices of Hope provides services to survivors of sexual assault, including a 24-hour crisis line at 402.475.7273.

GREEN WHEELS COMMUTER CHALLENGE . . . Registration deadline is Monday, April 11, 2011, for the Lincoln Earth Day Green Wheels Commuter Challenge. Any group can form 4-person teams, and participation is free.  The Challenge: reduce your carbon footprint by riding a bicycle, taking public transportation, carpooling, or walking the week of April 11 through 18, 2011. Team members will record the number of miles utilizing alternative modes of transportation. After the week’s results are submitted and counted, totals will be posted on the website and announced at Earth Day. There will be prizes for the biggest carbon reducing team. Challenge your co-workers, and then sign up here.

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 “It Was A Wonderful Life.” The feature-length documentary, narrated by Jodie Foster with music by Melissa Etheridge, deals with homeless women, once secure in their middle-class status, who through divorce, misfortune, or circumstances were reduced to living on the street. For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

OMAHA TABLE TALK . . . “The History of Mexican Americans in South Omaha,” presented by Jose F. Garcia, Executive Director of Mexican American Historical Society of the Midlands, will be Thursday, April 7, 2011, 6:00pm to 7:30pm, at The Collaborating Center 115 South 49th Avenue. Omaha has a rich history of different ethnic and racial groups. Omaha Table Talk seeks  to help people appreciate our cultural diversity. For more information contact A’Jamal Byndon by telephone, 402.561.7594, or at abyndon [at] unomaha [dot] edu.

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Omaha protests with Guardians of the Good Life continue. E-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net for details of this week’s protest. 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.

PROMOTING THE GENERAL WELFARE Labor Studies CONFERENCE . . . The 12th Annual “Promoting the General Welfare” Labor Studies Conference will be Saturday, April 9, 2011, 8:00am to 5:00pm, at the University of Nebraska CPACS Bldg-Commons, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha. The keynote speaker is Liz Shuler, Secretary-Treasurer AFL-CIO. The three workshops will address: how taxation works or doesn’t work today; why all three legs of the retirement stool are much shorter than 30 years ago; and how union and non-union people in industrial nations with high union density are more satisfied/happy with their lives than in nations with lower union densities. An online registration form is here.

LAURITZEN GARDENS TOUR . . . The Omaha Hiking Club will meet at the base of the Kennefick Park staircase leading to the train engines from the parking lot at Lauritzen Botanical Gardens, 9:00am, Saturday April 9, 2011. The hiking tour will cover between four to five miles at the Gardens, mostly paved or blacktopped, except on the woodland trail. For more information, e-mail mvgoutings [at] googlegroups [dot] com.

PROGRESSIVE OMAHA MEETING . . . All are welcome at the next Progressive Omaha meeting, Saturday, April 9, 2011, 6:00 to 9:00pm at 4924 Chicago, in Dundee.  Ken Winston, Sierra Club Nebraska legislative lobbyist, will discuss the battle against TransCanada’s tar sands pipeline.  Ken is front and center in the effort to Stop the Pipeline. He will provide an in-depth look at the issue, including an analysis of Nebraska legislation, what is currently happening at both the state and federal levels, and what citizens can do in response. Click here for Ken’s latest Sierra update.

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. The garden needs sponsors to help with the costs of building (hardware, lumber, etc.). 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.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . This past week, the New York Times joined the movement of citizens, experts and opinion leaders saying “no” to the risky TransCanada pipeline. “No to a New Tar Sands Pipeline,” publlished April 2, 2011, begins “Later this year, the State Department will decide whether to approve construction of a 1,700-mile oil pipeline from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast called Keystone XL. The underground 36-inch pipeline, built by TransCanada, would link the tar sands fields of northern Alberta to Texas refineries and begin operating in 2013. The department should say no.” It continues, “The environmental risks, for both countries, are enormous. The first step in the process is to strip-mine huge chunks of Alberta’s boreal forest. The oil, a tar-like substance called bitumen, is then extracted with steam or hot water, which in turn is produced by burning natural gas. The E.P.A. estimates that the greenhouse gas emissions from tar sands oil — even without counting the destruction of forests that sequester carbon — are 82 percent greater than those produced by conventional crude oil. The project poses a major threat to water supplies on both sides of the border. Turning two tons of tar sand into a barrel of oil requires four times as much water as producing a barrel of conventional oil. Operations in Alberta have already created 65 square miles of toxic holding ponds, which kill migrating birds and pollute downstream watersheds, a serious matter for native communities. In the United States, the biggest potential problem is pipeline leaks. The Keystone XL would carry bitumen — which is more corrosive than crude oil — thinned with other petroleum condensates and then pumped at high pressure and at a temperature of more than 150 degrees through the pipeline. Last July, an older bitumen pipeline in Michigan spilled 800,000 gallons of the stuff into the Kalamazoo River. A new TransCanada pipeline that began carrying diluted bitumen last year has already had nine spills….From all of the evidence, Keystone XL is not only environmentally risky, it is unnecessary.” Read the entire editorial here.
A Congressional Study and Memo from the Congressional Research Service dated September 20, 2010, concludes that primary authority over location of interstate pipelines belongs to individual states. BOLD Nebraska and Stop the Pipeline coalition members held a roundtable with press on Wednesday, March 30, 2011, to discuss the recently unearthed memo. Coverage of the discovery includes the following quotes:
“Opponents of a controversial pipeline that will cross Nebraska’s Sand Hills said Wednesday that a recently discovered federal memo proves state lawmakers should know — and should have known late last year — that they have the power to regulate such projects,” from the Omaha World-Herald.
“Buried under budget bills, paying for schools and roads, lawmakers have yet to debate one of Nebraska’s most controversial issues. That’s how to handle a proposed oil pipeline, if at all. Farmer Union President John Hansen said, “It’s created a huge amount of public unrest and anger and frustration on the part of landowners and this deserves to be
discussed on the floor of the legislature.” Hansen is joined in the push by groups like the Sierra Club and Bold Nebraska.  They point to a congressional memo that says states can in fact regulate pipelines like this. “It says in plain English in the absence of federal authority, state laws establish primary siting authority for an oil pipeline,” Hansen read from the memo sent to Rep. Lee Terry,” from NTV.
Other articles covering the memo are here, at KVNO News, here, at Lincoln Journal Star, and here, at statepaper.com.  A BOLD Nebraska blog post including background information, a transcript of the roundtable, and action alert is here.  The Congressional Memo is here. [pdf]
An excellent letter to the editor was published in the Lincoln Journal Star on March 21, 2011. Please read Jan Enstrom’s “Lack of Civil Stewardship,” here.
EveryOne who wants to see Nebraska’s fragile Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer saved from potential environmental devastation at the hands of Canada’s tar sands pipeline promoters needs to write their own state senator asking for personal involvement in opposition. The legislature’s Natural Resources Committee has stalled all three pipeline related bills that were introduced this session.  Find your state senator’s contact information is at the map linked here.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL tar sands pipeline.  Contact information for 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); 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); and Governor Dave Heineman, PO Box 94848, State Capitol Bldg., Lincoln, NE 68509, 402.471.2244.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has the power to approve or reject the Keystone XL pipeline, and your senators can ask her to stand up to Big Oil and stop it. Tell them that oil pipeline regulations need to be in place, not only to govern the existing pipeline, but also any future pipeline proposed by TransCanada or other environmental exploiters.
Click here to tell Secretary Clinton NOT to grant a permit to TransCanda.
           What else can you do?  Keep writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. “Langemeier’s comments ridiculous,” a letter by Barbara Bailey, was published in Lincoln Journal Star March 20, 2011. From the letter, “It was with great disappointment and anger that I read Sen. Chris Langemeier’s comments (“Pipeline regulations languish,” March 15) concerning the pipeline bills before the Natural Resources Committee. Sen. Langemeier and the six members of the Committee voting against advancing these basic safety regulations for our citizens and natural resources are not providing responsible legislating.”
Keep the issue alive in conversations at the kitchen table, in cafes, churches, and clubs around Nebraska. We have a brief window. The State Department has called for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study with a new 45 day comment period.  The State Department’s news release is here.  “We welcome the news from the US State Department on a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study,” declared Duane Hovorka for coalition member Nebraska Wildlife Federation.  “However, we want to be clear, our state elected officials must now lead by providing an alternative route for the risky TransCanada pipeline.”
SAVE THE DATES: The next Pipeline Forums are scheduled for Sunday, April 17, 2011, 2:00pm to 3:30pm, in Holt County at the Stuart Auditorium, 204 Parnell Street, Stuart, Nebraska, and Tuesday, May 3, 2011, 7:00 to 8:30pm, at First Unitarian Church, 31st & Harney, in Omaha.
The National Farmers Union has passed policy language opposing “any infrastructure or resource development that jeopardizes the health, safety and quality of the Ogallala Aquifer and other freshwater resources.” The new policy also addresses Eminent Domain, and pipeline development specifically. The Nebraska Farmers Union, a Stop the Pipeline coalition member, was successful in calling for this new policy language.
From previous Green Notes: A 2:10 minute video explaining the tar sands extraction process is included with “Oil pipeline from Canada stirring anger in US Great Plains,”  by McClatchy, published in the Kansas City Star. “Extracting oil from tar sands and liquefying it enough so it will move through a pipeline is an energy-intensive process that adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Getting it out of the ground involves clear-cutting forests, leaving a wasteland that oil companies say they will restore. Some scientists say that rivers also become polluted. “From start to finish, this a dirty project,” said Stephanie Cole, a spokeswoman for the Kansas chapter of the Sierra Club. “Forests in Canada are being destroyed, and increased reliance on fossil fuels will accelerate global warming.”
“Tar Sands Pipelines Safety Risks,” was published jointly by the Natural Resources Defense Council,  the National Wildlife Federation, Pipeline Safety Trust, and the Sierra Club.  The Executive Summary begins “Tar sands crude oil pipeline companies may be putting America’s public safety at risk. Increasingly, pipelines transporting tar sands crude oil into the United States are carrying diluted bitumen or “DilBit”—a highly corrosive, acidic, and potentially unstable blend of thick raw bitumen and volatile natural gas liquid condensate—raising risks of spills and damage to communities along their paths. The impacts of tar sands production are well known. Tar sands extraction in Canada destroys Boreal forests and wetlands, causes high levels of greenhouse gas pollution, and leaves behind immense lakes of toxic waste. Less well understood, however, is the increased risk and potential harm that can be caused by transporting the raw form of tar sands oil (bitumen) through pipelines to refineries in the United States.” Download the 16 page report here. [pdf]
Click here for a Bold Nebraska XL Pipeline Action page with resources and background information. E-mail actions [at] boldnebraska [dot] org to get yard signs, bumper stickers and t-shirts. A website refuting TransCanada’s myths with an interactive graphic is here.  More actions EveryOne can take are listed here.  For comprehensive references in media since May 30, 2010, click here and scroll from the bottom up for links to each week’s Green Notes coverage.
Be a community educator and organizer. Let’s change the world together.
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.”

HIV AIDS BENEFIT CONCERT . . . Working for an AIDS-Free World, the third Annual HIV AIDS Benefit Concert will be Saturday, April 8, 2011, in Gollaher Chapel, Trinity United Methodist Church, 511 North Elm Street, Grand Island, Nebraska. Doors open at 6:15pm. Musicians performing include Scott Taylor, Paul Siebert, Peggy Lang, and Emily Dunbar. For more information, e-mail mvetter [at] charter [dot] net.

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 . . . In the past weeks, 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.

AGENCY SCIENTISTS OPPOSE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SALMON . . . The following quotes are from Fish and Wildlife Service scientists themselves: “The environmental impact of escaped GE salmon is of great concern.” – Gregory Moyer, Regional Geneticist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; “…approval of the proposal is premature, given the unknowns and uncertainties regarding the possible ecological and environmental effects of these fish.” – Jeff Adams, Branch Chief, Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and “…I do think the chance of escapement is huge” – Deborah Burger, Manager, Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Ask the President to stop the GE salmon approval process.

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

MARCH IS WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH celebrating women’s contributions to history, culture and society. The 2011 theme is “Our History Is Our Strength.”

EARTH CIRCLE . . . On the first day of each month, people around the world stop for five minutes to visualize peace and focus on new levels of kindness, understanding, and compassion necessary for collectively facing the challenges of the 21st century. Join peacemakers everywhere at 4:00pm Greenwich Mean Time, 10:00am in Lincoln and Omaha, 9:00am Mountain Time in CD 3, on Friday, April 1, 2011, with the intention of deep healing for the Planet and all its beings. Click here for more information about Earth Circle.

SCROLL DOWN FOR TRANSCANADA XL PIPELINE UPDATE. News items and contact information for needed communication with specific elected officials are below in District 3 Green Notes.

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.

STOP THE PIPELINE MEETING . . . Monday, March 28, 2011, leaders of Stop the Pipeline coalition groups will meet in Lincoln at 5:30pm. To get involved with planning for local actions and events, e-mail Marian at scp [at] audubon [dot] org for more details.

CONVICTION . . . There will be a free screening of the film “Conviction,” starring Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell, Tuesday, March 29, 2011, at the Un-L City Campus Student Union, 1400 R Street, Lincoln, 5:00pm. (Room will be posted that day.) “ Conviction” chronicles the true story of Betty Anne Waters’ 18-year effort to put herself through college and law school to challenge the wrongful conviction of her older brother, Kenny.  Kenny Waters was exonerated in 2001 with assistance from the national Innocence Project after spending over a third of his life in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. View the trailer here. For more information, e-mail Jill Francke, jill [at] nadp [dot] net.

PUBLIC HEARING ON COMMERCIAL WIND FARMS . . . Lancaster County residents will get a chance to comment on proposed regulations for commercial wind farms, Tuesday, March 29, 2011, at a public hearing during the County Board’s meeting set to begin at 5:00pm on the first-floor of the County-City Building, 555 South 10th Street, Lincoln. The proposed regulations apply to wind turbines with a generating capacity of more than 100 kilowatts.

WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES SEMINARS . . . A 14-lecture series of seminars at UN-L focused on urban stormwater runoff, gobal climate change, and related environmental issues continues Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 3:30 to 4:30pm, in the first-floor auditorium of Hardin Hall, on the northeast corner of North 33rd and Holdrege Streets, Lincoln. The series runs through April 27th. For more information, contact the UN-L Water Center, 402.472.3305. Click here for a schedule of the lectures. View most lectures online after they have been presented 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.

SUSAN HERMAN AT LAW COLLEGE . . . National security issues and their interplay with court systems will be the subject of a lecture by new National ACLU Board President Susan Herman, on Thursday, March 31, 2011, noon, in the Hamann Auditorium, UN-L College of Law Ross McCollum Hall, East Campus Loop and Fair Street, in Lincoln. The talk, titled “How the Bush/Obama War on Terror Threatens Ordinary Americans, Constitutional Rights, and Democracy,” is free, and open to the public.

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 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 Paine at mitch [dot] paine [at] ecostoresne.org.

AAPER PALESTINE FILM FESTIVAL-UN-L . . . The American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights Nebraska, will host a festival showcasing films that highlight the situation in Palestine and experiences of the Palestinian people, Friday, April 1 and Sunday, April 3, 2011, at UN-L and Meadowlark Coffee & Espresso in Lincoln. Friday’s films are at UN-L in the City Campus Union, 1400 R Street.  “With God on Our Side,” a look at what Christian Zionism teaches, and the impact it has on people of the Middle East, will show in the Colonial Room at 10:00am; “Salt of This Sea,” a romantic drama about a working-class woman traveling home, will be screened at 6:00pm; and “Private,” about a Palestinian family trapped inside a house commandeered by Israeli soldiers, will show at 8:00pm, both in the City Campus Auditorium. (See Note below for Sunday’s film schedule.)

“JOURNEYS OF JUSTICE” . . . New ACLU National President Susan Herman will be keynote speaker at the 2011 ACLU Nebraska Annual Dinner on Friday, April 1, 2011, 6:00pm, at the Grand Manse Jasmine Room, 129 North 10th Street, in Lincoln. This year’s theme is “Journeys of Justice.” For more information, e-mail trichard [at] aclunebraska [dot] org or check the Facebook page here.

SUSTAINABLE AG AT INDIGO BOOKS . . . Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P Street, Lincoln, will host the photographer and one of her subjects from a new book titled “Farm Together Now: A Portrait of People, Places, and Ideas for a New Food Movement,” on Sunday, April 3, 2011, from 2:00 to 3:00pm. Native Lincoln photographer Anne Hamersky and Jim Knopik, founder of the Nebraska Food Cooperative, will discuss the work they are doing together now. The event is free and open to the public.

AAPER PALESTINE FILM FESTIVAL-Meadowlark . . . The American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights Film Festival continues Sunday, April 3, 2011, with films at Meadowlark Coffee & Expresso, 1624 South Street in Lincoln. One family’s story reveals the larger tragedy of Gaza in “One Family in Gaza,” screened at 7:00pm; and “Something to Prove,” a documentary following 15 boys from Gaza as they visit the US for the first time, showing at 7:30pm. Spread the word about the Film Festival on Facebook here.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

PIPELINE OPPOSITION BRAINSTORMING . . . The next Guardians of the Good Life meeting will be Tuesday, March 29, 2011, 6:30pm, at 1st Unitarian Church, 31st & Harney, Omaha. A scheduled XL Pipeline Education/Action Forum in May and other awareness projects will be discussed. E-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net for more information.

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.

LEAD IN A COMMUNITY GARDEN . . . Last fall, two UN-O environmental engineering classes tested the Decatur Street gardening site for lead. Wednesday, March 30th, 2011, 6:30 to 8:00pm, leaders of the project will report on their results at City Sprouts, 4002 Seward Street, Omaha. Since many people in Omaha live in a Lead Superfund site, this is an important issue as the community looks to scale up the local food supply. The public is invited for no charge. For more information, phone Jeannie at 402.680.0118, or e-mail jeaninedickes [at] gmail [dot] com.

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 “Palestine Trilogy,” These three thematically related videos tell the tragic story of Palestine and dispel many myths. For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

SOLAR TOUR OF MCC GREENHOUSE . . . Metropolitan Community College will commission a solar hot water system in the Horticulture Department’s Fort Omaha Campus [pdf] greenhouse on Friday, April 1, 2011. This is the first solar installation of its kind in the state, and the first in any community college across the country. The purpose of the solar system is to assist with heating the greenhouse during the winter and to provide heat for bedding plant growing tables. The Nebraska Solar Energy Society will hold a bi-monthly meeting at the Fort Omaha Campus and provide a speaker at the buffet following the commissioning tour of the solar system. The free solar tour begins at 6:00pm. A buffet dinner follows at 7:00pm. To rsvp, e-mail focuseg [at] cox [dot] net, or call Gary Boe at 402.321.2797.

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Omaha protests with Guardians of the Good Life continue. E-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net for details of this week’s protest. 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.

VICTIMS AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY . . . Saturday, April 2, 2011, 12:30 to 2:30pm, Victims Against Police Brutality will gather at Washington Branch Library, 2868 Ames Avenue, just west of the turnpike, in Omaha. This is a relatively new group of victims, their families, and friends who want violence by police officers to stop. It happens in Nebraska, and they are working to end it. For more information, phone Mark Welsch, 402.453.0776.

BEANS AND RICE ANNUAL . . . Saturday, April 2, 2011, the Annual Rice and Beans Annual fundraiser to benefit Nebraskans for Peace will start at 6:00pm. State Senator Brenda Council will address event speaking on “Child Poverty: Caring for All of Omaha’s Children.” The potluck meal and program will be at Hanscom Park United Methodist Church, 4444 Frances Street, Omaha. Rice and drinks will be provided. For more information, and to let organizers know what type of dish you’ll bring, RSVP by phone at the NFP Omaha Office, 402.453.0776.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . A good letter to the editor was published in the Lincoln Journal Star on March 21, 2011, Please read Jan Enstrom’s letter “Lack of Civil Stewardship,” here.
EveryOne who wants to see Nebraska’s fragile Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer saved from potential nvironmental devastation at the hands of Canada’s tar sands pipeline promoters needs to write their own state senator asking for personal involvement in opposition. The legislature’s Natural Resources Committee has stalled all three pipeline related bills that were introduced this session.  Find your state senator’s contact information is at the map linked here.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL tar sands pipeline.  Contact information for 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); 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); and Governor Dave Heineman, PO Box 94848, State Capitol Bldg., Lincoln, NE 68509, 402.471.2244.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has the power to approve or reject the Keystone XL pipeline, and your senators can ask her to stand up to Big Oil and stop it. Tell them that oil pipeline regulations need to be in place, not only to govern the existing pipeline, but also any future pipeline proposed by TransCanada or other environmental exploiters.
Click here to tell Secretary Clinton NOT to grant a permit to TransCanda.
What else can you do? Keep writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. “Langemeier’s comments ridiculous,” a letter by Barbara Bailey, was published by Lincoln Journal Star March 20, 2011. From the letter, “It was with great disappointment and anger that I read Sen. Chris Langemeier’s comments (“Pipeline regulations languish,”  March 15) concerning the pipeline bills before the Natural Resources Committee.  Sen. Langemeier and the six members of the Committee voting against advancing these basic safety regulations for our citizens and natural resources are not providing responsible legislating.”
Keep the issue alive in conversations at the kitchen table, in cafes, churches, and clubs around Nebraska. We have a brief window. The State Department has called for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study with a new 45 day comment period. The State Department’s news release is here.  “We welcome the news from the US State Department on a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study,” declared Duane Hovorka for coalition member Nebraska Wildlife Federation.  “However, we want to be clear, our state elected officials must now lead by providing an alternative route for the risky TransCanada pipeline.”
The public will have 45 days to express concerns on the Supplemental Draft EIS after the anticipated mid-April comment period begins. Following issuance of a Final EIS, the State Department will solicit public comment and host a public meeting in Washington, D.C., before it makes a determination under Executive Order 13337 on whether issuance of this permit is in the US national interest. The Department of State expects to make a decision on whether to grant or deny the permit before the end of 2011.
SAVE THE DATES: The next Pipeline Forums are scheduled for Sunday, April 17, 2011, 2:00pm to 3:30pm, in Holt County at the Stuart Auditorium, 204 Parnell Street, Stuart, Nebraska, and Tuesday, May 3, 2011, 6:00 to 7:30pm, at First Unitarian Church, 31st & Harney, in Omaha.
The National Farmers Union has passed policy language opposing “any infrastructure or resource development that jeopardizes the health, safety and quality of the Ogallala Aquifer and other freshwater resources.” The new policy also addresses Eminent Domain, and pipeline development specifically. The Nebraska Farmers Union, a Stop the Pipeline coalition member, was successful in calling for this new policy language.
From previous Green Notes: A 2:10 minute video explaining the tar sands extraction process is included with “Oil pipeline from Canada stirring anger in US Great Plains,”  by McClatchy, published in the Kansas City Star. “Extracting oil from tar sands and liquefying it enough so it will move through a pipeline is an energy-intensive process that adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Getting it out of the ground involves clear-cutting forests, leaving a wasteland that oil companies say they will restore. Some scientists say that rivers also become polluted. “From start to finish, this a dirty project,” said Stephanie Cole, a spokeswoman for the Kansas chapter of the Sierra Club. “Forests in Canada are being destroyed, and increased reliance on fossil fuels will accelerate global warming.”
“Tar Sands Pipelines Safety Risks,” was published jointly by the Natural Resources Defense Council,  the National Wildlife Federation, Pipeline Safety Trust, and the Sierra Club.  The Executive Summary begins “Tar sands crude oil pipeline companies may be putting America’s public safety at risk. Increasingly, pipelines transporting tar sands crude oil into the United States are carrying diluted bitumen or “DilBit”—a highly corrosive, acidic, and potentially unstable blend of thick raw bitumen and volatile natural gas liquid condensate—raising risks of spills and damage to communities along their paths. The impacts of tar sands production are well known. Tar sands extraction in Canada destroys Boreal forests and wetlands, causes high levels of greenhouse gas pollution, and leaves behind immense lakes of toxic waste. Less well understood, however, is the increased risk and potential harm that can be caused by transporting the raw form of tar sands oil (bitumen) through pipelines to refineries in the United States.” Download the 16 page report here. [pdf]
The Natural Resources Defense Council calls tar sands “the dirtiest, most destructive oil on the face of the Earth.” The Keystone XL pipeline would threaten Nebraska’s underground source of fresh water, the 175,000-square-mile High Plains Aquifer that provides water to 1.9 million people and irrigation for thousands of square miles of farmland throughout eight states. Nebraska’s geologically unique Sand Hills, where many bird species rest during migration, would also be threatened.
Click here for a Bold Nebraska XL Pipeline Action page with resources and background information. E-mail actions [at] boldnebraska [dot] org to get yard signs, bumper stickers and t-shirts. A website refuting TransCanada’s myths with an interactive graphic is here. More actions EveryOne can take are listed here.  For comprehensive references in media since May 30, 2010, click here and scroll from the bottom up for links to each week’s Green Notes coverage.
Be a community educator and organizer. Let’s change the world together.
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.”

PEACE VIGIL . . . Central Nebraska Peace Workers, a Chapter of Nebraskans for Peace, will gather to Vigil for Peace on Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 5:00 to 6:00pm, at State Street and Webb Road in Grand Island. Stop for a few minutes, or vigil for the hour. For more information, e-mail Charles Richardson, ceryf [at] windstream [dot] net.

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.

TAKE ACTION: NO NEW LEASES IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN . . . Department of Interior Secretary Salazar is looking to the public for input on where and when to drill for oil in our oceans for the next 5 years. Please tell Secretary Salazar to heed the warnings of the President’s Oil Spill Commission to be cautious in the Arctic. Until we have a better understanding of the region and can fully clean up a large oil spill there if it occurs, Secretary Salazar should not offer additional oil and gas leases in the Arctic. Instead, the Secretary should use the next five years to undertake a comprehensive scientific study of the area to understand the basic ecology of the Arctic Ocean, how it is shifting due to climate change, and what effects oil and gas drilling would have on the region’s wildlife and people. Tell the Interior Department: The Arctic Ocean should not be considered for drilling!

TELL PRESIDENT OBAMA NOT TO CAVE TO MONSANTO AND THE BIOTECH INDUSTRY . . . In the past 3 weeks, 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.
AGENCY SCIENTISTS OPPOSE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SALMON . . . The following quotes are from Fish and Wildlife Service scientists themselves: “The environmental impact of escaped GE salmon is of great concern.” – Gregory Moyer, Regional Geneticist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; “…approval of the proposal is premature, given the unknowns and uncertainties regarding the possible ecological and environmental effects of these fish.” – Jeff Adams, Branch Chief, Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and “…I do think the chance of escapement is huge” – Deborah Burger, Manager, Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ask the President to stop the GE salmon approval process.

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