Category Archives: Green Notes

Green Notes Week of October 31, 2010

October 31, 2010Green Notesgreenone

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. NewDimensions 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, on Monday, November 1, 2010, with the intention of deep healing for the Planet and all its beings. Click here for more information about Earth Circle.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . Center for Rural Affairs opposes Keystone oil pipeline across Nebraska. The Nebraska-based Center for Rural Affairs says the pipeline has the potential to cause environmental damage in a number of places, and there are cleaner sources of energy for America.
In September, SolveClimate News reporter Elizabeth McGowan was in Nebraska investigating the Keystone XL pipeline TransCanada plans to build to carry the tar sands of Alberta to Gulf refineries in Texas. “Tribal Councils in US and Canada Uniting Against Oil Sands Pipeline,” is the resulting report published by TruthOut October 7, 2010. Click here and scroll down the Green Notes Index to follow the TransCanada tar sands pipeline issue since May 30, 2010.
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.
A Proposed Dirty Oil Pipeline Would Put Americans at Risk for Cancer and Asthma–Why Are Senators Pushing For Its Hasty Approval? was published by AlterNet on September 23, 2010. “…We know the Keystone XL pipeline would put American health at risk. In addition to threatening drinking water, processing tar sands oil releases pollutants directly linked to asthma, emphysema and birth defects. Refining tar sands crude from the pipeline would create far more air pollution in American communities that are already burdened with cancer and poor air quality as a result of the oil industry. We also know the pipeline would cross the most important source of agricultural water in the United States, the Ogallala aquifer. And we know pipeline disasters happen.” See CD 2 Green Notes below for this week’s action against the XL project.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL sand tars pipeline. Nebraska’s Congressional delegation and the governor need to receive letters, e-mails and phone calls from constituents demanding regulation on the existing pipeline, expressing concern about more TransCanada construction in our state. Contact information for Nebraska 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. Senator Mike Johanns is at 202.224.4224, 402.476.1400 in Lincoln; and Senator Ben Nelson is at 202.224.6551, 402.441.4600 in Lincoln. Please tell them all 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, tell Gov. Heineman to put forth laws that protect our resources and economic activity and tell President Obama to live up to his promise of clean energy and energy independence. 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, or stop by Bold Nebraska at 1141 H Street, 3rd Floor, Lincoln, 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday.
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.”
Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

STEVE LARRICK FOR LOWER PLATTE SOUTH NATURAL RESOURCES SUBDISTRICT 5 . . . Nebraska’s only elected Green Party official is on the November 2, 2010 ballot for re-election to the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, Subdistrict 5. Click here for Steve’s Lincoln Journal Star 2010 Voters Guide answers, here (and scroll down to the bottom) for a map of the Lincoln Subdistrict 5 area, and here for links to Larrick’s Speech of Hope, profile information, and news from Larrick for Senate 2008.
Saturday, October 30, 2010, the Lincoln Journal Star endorsed Larrick in Subdistrict 5 with the following language: “Although Steve Larrick of Lincoln, who has run for office on the Green Party ticket, seems overly obsessed by anti-war activities (See Voter’s Guide), he has done a respectable job on the NRD board.” NGP supporter Ruth Thone’s response: “We need to be obsessed all the time everyday on the dangerous condition of this world we live in — and the politics of our own government!” Indeed. Thanks, Ruth.
The Lincoln Journal Star Voter’s Guide for all candidates with bios and Q&A is here.

LEOLA BULLOCK REMEMBERED . . . Tributes for Leola Bullock continued in the Lincoln Journal Star this week. “Minister tells next generation to stand up,” reported on the Celebration of Life for Leola October 26, 2010. From John Krejci’s letter to the editor October 29th: “…encourage the mayor to do the right thing and reappoint a human rights coordinator for the city. …rename the position the Leola Bullock Human Rights Coordinator. We need a Leola-like person to protect human rights in our city. And it would be fitting to honor this champion of justice we have lost.” From last week’s Green Notes, “Longtime civil rights advocate Leola Bullock dies at 81,” and “Leola Bullock’s legacy is everywhere,” the October 20th LJS Editorial. “Leola Bullock was a powerful and enduring force for human rights in Lincoln. Her legacy is everywhere in the Capital City, from the workplace to the classroom to the government.” The Nebraska Green Party bids farewell to a civil rights icon for equality and justice, with appreciation for the model she brought to this world. “She was truly a person who walked the talk and stood as a gentle yet firm giant among us. She was like a mighty Oak planted next to the rushing waters of needed change.” –Reverend Lauren Ekdahl, United Methodist Church. Rest in peace, Leola.

BUY FRESH BUY LOCAL HARVEST CELEBRATION . . . Reservations are requested by the end of the day Monday, November 1st, for Thursday’s November 4, 2010 Buy Fresh Buy Local Nebraska Harvest Celebration at the Isles Reception Hall, 6232 Havelock Avenue, Lincoln. Doors open at 5:00pm. There will be fresh local food, live music and a live auction of items listed on facebook here. For reservations, phone 402.472.8012, 800.328.2851, or e-mail ltesch [at] unl [dot] edu

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, 1425 H Street, Lincoln. 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.

PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST . . . Author and activist Mark Braverman will speak on “The Path to Peace in the Middle East,” Monday, November 1, 2010, 7:30pm, at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 1144 M Street, Lincoln. Co-founder of Friends of Tent of Nations North America, Braverman’s recent book is called “Fatal Embrace: Christians, Jews, and the Search for Peace in the Holy Land.” The lecture is free and open to the public.

VOTE . . . General Election, Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Click here [pdf] for a sample ballot.

LUNCH AT THE LIBRARY . . . UN-L professor and writer John Janovy Jr. will discuss his latest work “Pieces of the Plains: Memories and Predictions from the Heart of America,” Wednesday, November 3, 2010, 12:10pm, in the fourth-floor auditorium of Bennett Martin Public Library, 14th & N Streets, Lincoln. For more information, phone 402.441.8516.

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.

PULITZER PRIZE NOMINEE ROBERT WRIGHT IN LINCOLN . . . Global thinker and Pulitzer Prize Nominee Robert Wright will speak in Lincoln on Thursday, November 4, 2010, 7:00pm, at First-Plymouth Church, 2000 D Street. Wright is the author of New York Times bestseller “The Evolution of God and Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny.” In Lincoln, his topice is “Can Islam, Judaism and Christianity peacefully co-exist? …The fate of the world may depend on it.” For more information, and to register, e-mail addie [at] firstplymouth [dot] org or phone 402.476.7550.

BIRDING FIELD TRIP . . . Saturday, November 6, 2010, John Carlini will lead a one-day field trip to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas, a favorite stopover for migrating whooping cranes from mid-October to mid-November. Call John at 402.475.7275 for details.

NAACP 2010 FREEDOM FUND BANQUET . . . “One Nation. One Dream.” is the theme of this year’s NAACP Annual Banquet, Saturday, November 6, 2010, at Lincoln’s Downtown Holiday Inn, 141 North 9th Street. State Senator Brenda Council will be the Keynote Speaker. Social hour will begin at 5:30; Dinner and Program will start at 6:30pm. For ticket information and reservations, phone 402.430.7003.

PEACEMAKING WORKSHOP . . . There will be “A Conversation about Faith and Immigration,” on Sunday, November 7, 2010, 1:30 to 6:00pm, at First United Methodist Church, 50th Street and St. Paul Avenue, Lincoln. A loving, compassionate response to the challenges facing immigrants and their families will be the theme, featuring Dr. Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, professor of political science and assistant director of Latino/Latin American Studies at UN-O, and former state senator Rev. Lowen Kruse. For more information about this free event, open to the public, contact Coleen Seng, 402.466.1906, or Bob Reeves, 402.464.1803.

ABENDMUSIK SWEATER DRIVE . . . . Abendmusik Lincoln will sponsor a drive for new or gently-used winter-wear until November 20, 2010, followed by a special “Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Concert featuring music of Mr. Rogers’Neighborhood on Sunday, November 21, 2010, 4:00pm, at First-Plymouth Church, 2000 D Street. Admission will be free, but a sweater donation is encouraged. Drop off sweaters at West Gate Banks at Hiway 2 & Old Cheney, 27th & Old Cheney, 17th & South, 27th & Cornhusker Hiway, 50th & O Street, 84 & Holdrege, West O & Capitol Beach; Runza Drive-ins at 27th & Superior, 33rd & Hiway 2, 56th & Holdrege, 70th & Van Dorn, 40th & Yankee Hill; and First-Plymouth.

LINCOLN FARMERS MARKETS . . . The last farmers market of the season, the Old Cheney Road Garden Market, is from 10:00am to 2:00pm, Sunday, November 7, 2010, at 55th Street and Old Cheney Road (behind the Lincoln Racquet Club).

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

The Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) will host a series of public meetings in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area to gather public input on the draft 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan. Public meetings will be at the following locations from 4:30pm to 6:30pm: Fort Omaha Metro Community College Campus, North 30th & Fort Streets, Building 10, Conference Rooms 136C and 136D – November 3, 2010; La Vista Library, 91st and Giles, Room 138 – November 9, 2010; Ezra Elementary School, 141st and Blondo Streets – November 10, 2010; Neighborhood Center, 115 South 49th Avenue (just south of 49th and Dodge Streets) – November 16 2010; Council Bluffs Public Library, 400 Willow Avenue – November 17, 2010; and South Omaha Metro Community College, South 27th & Q Streets, Library Conference Room in the Connector Building – December 2, 2010. For those unable to attend a meeting, comments may be submitted by e-mail to lrtp [at] mapacog [dot] org or by phone at 402.444.6866. A draft document will be available by November 3, 2010 here.

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 an Anti-War and Peace Vigil at 72nd and Dodge Streets. Contact Steve Horn at 402.426.9068 for more information.

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 “Race: The Power of an Illusion – Episode 2 – The Story We Tell.” The episode is an eye-opening tale of how race served to rationalize, even justify, American social inequalities as “natural.” For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Guardians of the Good Life will rally to protest the XL tar sands pipeline on Thursday, November 4, 2010, 5:15 to 6:30pm, at 90th & Center Streets, in Omaha. Walk, bike, or carpool to the rally if possible. Help educate and raise awareness of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline threat to the fragile ecosystem of the entire region. For more information, e-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net

SOLAR PANEL TOUR . . . Saturday, November 6, 2010, 10:30am, there will be a free tour of a warm air solar collector system at the Peck Manufacturing Plant in Herman, Nebraska. Herman is about an hour drive from Omaha, and one and a half hours from Lincoln. To carpool from Omaha, meet at the Walmart Supercenter, 6304 North 99th Street, at 9:15am. These collectors are an under-appreciated and under-utilized resource for a green energy alternative. For more information, phone Dan Anderson, 402.250.3454.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

NEBRASKA WIND POWER 2010 CONFERENCE . . . The third annual Nebraska Wind Power 2010 Conference is November 9 and 10, 2010, at the New Younes Conference Center, Kearney, Nebraska. Online registration will be disabled as of noon Friday, November 5, 2010. Click here for more information.

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

Green Notes Week of October 24, 2010

October 24, 2010Green Notesgreenone

LONGTIME CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATE LEOLA BULLOCK DIES AT 81. Following the October 19, 2010 Lincoln Journal Star front page coverage of Leola’s death, the LJS Editorial “Leola Bullock’s legacy is everywhere” was published on October 20th. “Leola Bullock was a powerful and enduring force for human rights in Lincoln. Her legacy is everywhere in the Capital City, from the workplace to the classroom to the government.” The Nebraska Green Party bids farewell to a civil rights icon for equality and justice, with appreciation for the model she brought to this world. “She was truly a person who walked the talk and stood as a gentle yet firm giant among us. She was like a mighty Oak planted next to the rushing waters of needed change.” –Reverend Lauren Ekdahl, United Methodist Church. Rest in peace, Leola.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . In San Francisco this week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was “inclined” to approve Keystone XL,” the TransCanada tar sands pipeline that threatens Nebraska’s fragil Sand Hills and the Ogalalla Aquifer. A response requesting clarification was quick from both Nebraska US Senators and local opposition organizations. An October 24, 2010 Lincoln Journal Star Editorial “Hillary Clinton undermines Keystone XL pipeline approval” calls Clinton’s premature comments inexcusable. “The purpose of the environmental review is to see that the impact of the pipeline will be accurately and fairly considered. Clinton’s comment undercuts confidence this will actually occur.”
Meanwhile, “Michigan State researchers to study Ogallala Aquifer,” reports that a Michigan research team will spend the next four years developing a sustainability plan for the Aquifer.
In September, SolveClimate News reporter Elizabeth McGowan was in Nebraska investigating the Keystone XL pipeline TransCanada plans to build to carry the tar sands of Alberta to Gulf refineries inTexas. “Tribal Councils in US and Canada Uniting Against Oil Sands Pipeline,” is the resulting report published by TruthOut October 7th. Click here and scroll down the Green Notes Index to follow the TransCanada tar sands pipeline issue since May 30, 2010.
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. America’s First Oil Sands Project in Utah to Face Legal Challenges was published September 24th at SolveClimate.
“A Proposed Dirty Oil Pipeline Would Put Americans at Risk for Cancer and Asthma–Why Are Senators Pushing For Its Hasty Approval?” was published by AlterNet on September 23, 2010. ” …We know the Keystone XL pipeline would put American health at risk. In addition to threatening drinking water, processing tar sands oil releases pollutants directly linked to asthma, emphysema and birth defects. Refining tar sands crude from the pipeline would create far more air pollution in American communities that are already burdened with cancer and poor air quality as a result of the oil industry. We also know the pipeline would cross the most important source of agricultural water in the United States, the Ogallala aquifer. And we know pipeline disasters happen.” See CD 2 Green Notes below for the new week’s actions against the XL project.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL sand tars pipeline. Nebraska’s Congressional delegation and the governor need to receive letters, e-mails and phone calls from constituents demanding regulation on the existing pipeline, expressing concern about more TransCanada construction in our state. Contact information for Nebraska 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. Senator Mike Johanns is at 202.224.4224, 402.476.1400 in Lincoln; and Senator Ben Nelson is at 202.224.6551, 402.441.4600 in Lincoln. Please tell them all 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, tell Gov. Heineman to put forth laws that protect our resources and economic activity and tell President Obama to live up to his promise of clean energy and energy independence. 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, or stop by Bold Nebraska at 1141 H Street, 3rd Floor, Lincoln, 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday.
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.”

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

STEVE LARRICK FOR LOWER PLATTE SOUTH NATURAL RESOURCES SUBDISTRICT 5 . . . Nebraska’s only elected Green Party candidate is on the November 2, 2010 ballot for re-election to the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, Subdistrict 5. A pre-election weekend brochure blitz for Steve Larrick is planned on Saturday, October 30, Sunday, October 31, and Monday, November 1, 2010. Click here to contact Steve online for more information about his campaign, here for his Lincoln Journal Star 2010 Voters Guide answers, here and scroll down to the bottom for a map of the Lincoln Subdistrict 5 area, and here for links to Larrick’s Speech of Hope, profile information, and news from Larrick for Senate 2008. E-mail mjberry [at] inebraska [dot] com to get involved with helping distribute Larrick for NRD brochures.
The Lincoln Journal Star Voter’s GUide for all candidates with bios and Q&A is here.

NATIVE AMERICAN READ-IN . . . A One Book-One Lincoln Native American event will be Tuesday, October 26, 2010, noon to 1:00pm, at the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska Lincoln office, 1701 E Street. Author Joe Starita and Native American leaders will read and discuss the impact of One Book-One Lincoln 2010 title “I Am a Man: Chief Standing Bear’s Journey to Justice.” The Read-in is free and open to the public, in celebration of Native American Heritage Month.

WEBINAR ON LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS . . . The Center for Urban Farmers Webinar Series will present “Assessing the Impact of Local Food Systems,” a free webinar, open to the public, on Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 12:45 to 2:00pm. Click here for more information, and to register. Click here for “Food in Uncertain Times: How to Grow and Store the 5 Crops You Need to Survive,” a Chelsea Green Publishing article from October 21, 2010.

IN MY DAUGHTER’S NAME . . . A play inspired by the life and 2009 death of Amanda Thomas in Missouri, written by Becky Key Boesen to raise questions and awareness of domestic violence, will be performed by the Angels Theater Company at the Johnny Carson Theater, on the west side of the Lied Center, 11th & R Streets, in Lincoln, Tuesday, October 26 through Friday, October 29, 2010. A facilitated discussion will follow each performance. Click here for times and ticket details. For more information, phone 402.474.2206.

GREEN DRINKS . . . Lincoln Green Drinks is Wednesday, October 27, 2010, starting at 5:30pm, Lazlo’s Brewery & Grill, 210 North 7th Street. This is a monthly social networking event welcome to anyone with an interest in environmental issues. There are now Green Drinks groups in 746 cities around the world. Walk, cycle, bus or carpool if possible.

DEBATING MEDICAL MARIJUANA . . . There will be a Lincoln Science Cafe [pdf] on Thursday, October 28, 2010, 6:30 to 7:30pm, at red9, 9th & M Streets. Dr. Ally Dering-Anderson, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy, will present “Debating Medical Marijuana.” Dr. Dering-Anderson is a frequent speaker on pharmacy and health issues for local groups, state associations, and regional meetings who has presented nationally and internationally. For more information, phone Kacie Gerard at 402.559.4319, or e-mail kgerard [at] unmc [dot] edu

NAACP 2010 FREEDOM FUND BANQUET . . . “One Nation. One Dream.” is the theme of this year’s NAACP Annual Banquet. Friday, October 29, 2010, is the reservations deadline for the Saturday, November 6th event at Lincoln’s Downtown Holiday Inn, 141 North 9th Street. State Senator Brenda Council will be the Keynote Speaker. Social hour will begin at 5:30; Dinner and Program will start at 6:30pm. For ticket information and reservations, phone 402.430.7003.

ABENDMUSIK SWEATER DRIVE . . . . Until November 20, 2010, Abendmusik Lincoln will sponsor a drive for new or gently-used winter-wear followed by a special “Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Concert featuring music of Mr. Rogers’Neighborhood on Sunday, November 21, 2010, 4:00pm, at First-Plymouth Church, 2000 D Street. Admission will be free, but a sweater donation is encouraged. Drop off sweaters at West Gate Banks at Hiway 2 & Old Cheney, 27th & Old Cheney, 17th & South, 27th & Cornhusker Hiway, 50th & O Street, 84 & Holdrege, West O & Capitol Beach; Runza Drive-ins at 27th & Superior, 33rd & Hiway 2, 56th & Hodrege, 70th & Van Dorn, 40th & Yankee Hill; and First-Plymouth.

LINCOLN FARMERS MARKETS . . . Locally grown produce and baked goods are still available at Lincoln Farmers Markets. The Old Cheney Road Garden Market at 55th Street and Old Cheney Road (behind the Lincoln Racquet Club) is open from 10:00am to 2:00pm every Sunday through November 7th. The Havelock Farmers Market, behind the businesses at 62nd and 63rd Streets and Havelock Avenue, continues Wednesdays 3:00 to 6:30pm, through October 27th.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

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 Beautiful Truth.” A trailer for the documentary is here. A full synopsis is here. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Guardians of the Good Life will rally to protest the XL tar sands pipeline on Thursday, October 28, 2010, 5:00, at 72nd & Dodge, in Omaha. Walk, bike, or carpool to the rally if possible. Help educate and raise awareness of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline threat to the fragile ecosystem of the entire region. For more information, e-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE: A NEBRASKA PERSPECTIVE . . . Thursday, October 28, 2010, 7:00pm, the MoValley Sierra Club October 2010 meeting will feature a Nebraska perspective on the environmental implications of Keystone XL pipeline at First United Methodist Church, 69th & Cass Streets, Omaha. (Enter at the north door Education Wing.) Some of Nebraska’s leading pipeline opponents, including Duane Hvorka from the NE Wildlife Federation, Jane Kleeb from Bold Nebraska, and Sierra Club lobbyist Ken Winston, will present the latest information and lead discussion. Read the Sierra Nebraska Perspective here.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

We are no longer the alternative; we are the imperative. –Rosa Clemente

Green Notes Week of October 17, 2010

October 17, 2010Green Notesgreenone

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . The Lincoln Journal Star editorialized “Heineman should speak up about pipeline,” on Tuesday, October 12, 2010, saying “On major issues affecting Nebraska, leadership is expected from the governor. It’s his job. One of the big concerns for many Nebraskans these days is TransCanada’s proposal to build a pipeline through the Ogallala Aquifer and the Sandhills. The Journal Star editorial board two weeks ago took a stand on the project, calling for the pipeline to be rerouted around the Sandhills. We now call for Gov. Dave Heineman to take a stand.” Thursday, Senator Johanns sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raising “significant concerns” about the route selection and permitting process for the Keystone XL Pipeline. “Pipeline analysis incomplete,” was published Friday October 15th.
In September, SolveClimate News reporter Elizabeth McGowan was in Nebraska investigating the Keystone XL pipeline TransCanada plans to build to carry the tar sands of Alberta to Gulf refineries in Texas. “Tribal Councils in US and Canada Uniting Against Oil Sands Pipeline,” is the resulting report published by TruthOut October 7th. Click here and scroll down the Green Notes Index to follow the tar sands pipeline issue since May 30, 2010, if you are new to this website.
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. America’s First Oil Sands Project in Utah to Face Legal Challenges was published September 24th at SolveClimate.
A Proposed Dirty Oil Pipeline Would Put Americans at Risk for Cancer and Asthma–Why Are Senators Pushing For Its Hasty Approval? was published by AlterNet on September 23, 2010. ” …We know the Keystone XL pipeline would put American health at risk. In addition to threatening drinking water, processing tar sands oil releases pollutants directly linked to asthma, emphysema and birth defects. Refining tar sands crude from the pipeline would create far more air pollution in American communities that are already burdened with cancer and poor air quality as a result of the oil industry. We also know the pipeline would cross the most important source of agricultural water in the United States, the Ogallala aquifer. And we know pipeline disasters happen.” See CD 2 Green Notes below for the new week’s actions against the XL project.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL sand tars pipeline. Nebraska’s Congressional delegation and the governor need to receive letters, e-mails and phone calls from constituents demanding regulation on the existing pipeline, expressing concern about more TransCanada construction in our state. Contact information for Nebraska 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. Senator Mike Johanns is at 202.224.4224, 402.476.1400 in Lincoln; and Senator Ben Nelson is at 202.224.6551, 402.441.4600 in Lincoln. Please tell them all 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, tell Gov. Heineman to put forth laws that protect our resources and economic activity and tell President Obama to live up to his promise of clean energy and energy independence. 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, or stop by Bold Nebraska at 1141 H Street, 3rd Floor, Lincoln, 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday.
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.”

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

ABENDMUSIK SWEATER DRIVE . . . . From October 22 to November 20, 2010, Abendmusik Lincoln will sponsor a drive for new or gently-used winter-wear followed by a special “Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Concert featuring music of Mr. Rogers’Neighborhood on Sunday, November 21, 2010, 4:00pm, at First-Plymouth Church, 2000 D Street. Admission will be free, but a sweater donation is encouraged. Drop off sweaters at West Gate Banks at Hiway 2 & Old Cheney, 27th & Old Cheney, 17th & South, 27th & Cornhusker Hiway, 50th & O Street, 84 & Holdrege, West O & Capitol Beach; Runza Drive-ins at 27th & Superior, 33rd & Hiway 2, 56th & Hodrege, 70th & Van Dorn, 40th & Yankee Hill; and First-Plymouth.

CIVIL RIGHTS SERIES . . . The Nebraska State Historical Society is beginning a series on civil rights called “We the People: The Nebraska Viewpoint — Civil Rights and Liberties: Understanding the Past and Looking to the Future.” The first event will be Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 5:30pm, at the Nebraska History Museum, 15th & P Streets, Lincoln, when US District Court Judge Laurie Smith Camp presents “Women’s Rights: Fast Forward for Fifty Years.” Go here and click on “What’s New?” for the schedule of series events.

WELCOME TO SHELBYVILLE . . . Nebraska Appleseed will host a special free screening of Welcome to Shelbyville on Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 7:00pm, at the Bourbon Theatre, 1415 O Street, Lincoln. There will be snacks before the film at 6:30pm. Set against the backdrop of a shaky economy, “Welcome to Shelbyville” looks at small-town Shelbyville, Tennessee, as its residents – whites and African Americans, Latinos and Somalis – grapple with their beliefs, their histories and their evolving ways of life. Lincoln will be one of 15 US cities to host this film before a PBS broadcast in Spring of 2011. There will be a short panel discussion with immigrants and others involved in “Welcoming” efforts in Nebraska after the film.

PUBLIC MEETING ON LES BUDGET . . . There will be a public meeting on the proposed 2011 budget and rate increase for Lincoln Electric System customers on Thursday, October 21, 2010, 7:00pm, at Southeast Community College, 8800 O Street, Room D10. (Enter through the south or east doors.) For more information, and to view the draft electric rate schedules, click here.

DEAD MAN WALKING . . . In preparation for an October 23rd Nebraska Retreat with Sister Helen Prejean, on Friday, October 22, 2010, 7:30pm, there will be a special free showing of the film Dead Man Walking at the St. Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, Nebraska. Refreshments will follow the film. For more information, phone 402.352.8819.

RETREAT WITH SISTER HELEN PREJEAN . . . Saturday, October 23, 2010, internationally known death penalty abolitionist and bestselling author Sister Helen Prejean will present a one-day retreat titled “Dead Man Walking: The Journey Continues,” at St. Benedict Center, north of Schuyler. A Southern srotyteller from Louisiana, Sister Helen has been instrumental in sparking national dialogue on the death penalty, re-shaping the churches’ opposition to state killings. The experience of being spiritual adviser to a death row inmate resulted in her book “Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States.” The book became a movie, an opera, a play and inspired a song. Her second book, “The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions,” will be followed soon by “River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey.” The Retreat will be from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Registration begins at 8:30am. For more information, and to register in advance, e-mail retreats [at] stbenedictcenter [dot] com

WILDERNESS WALKABOUT . . . Friends of Wilderness Park are hosting weekly hikes through different parts of the Park, every Saturday at 3:00pm. The casual strolls will highlight the diversity of life in the Park. Meet at the 14th Street Entrance on Saturday, October 23, 2010. All ages are welcome.

LINCOLN FARMERS MARKETS . . . Locally grown produce and baked goods are still available at Lincoln Farmers Markets. The Old Cheney Road Garden Market at 55th Street and Old Cheney Road (behind the Lincoln Racquet Club) is open from 10:00am to 2:00pm every Sunday through November 7th. The Havelock Farmers Market, behind the businesses at 62nd and 63rd Streets and Havelock Avenue, continues Wednesdays 3:00 to 6:30pm, through October 27th.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

CD 2 CANDIDATES DEBATE . . . October 19, 2010, 6:30 to 7:30pm, challenger Tom White and incumbent Representative Lee Terry will debate each other at the Bellevue University auditorium, 1000 Galvin Road South. The candidates will be taking questions, so voter will have an opportunity to ask about the XL pipeline.

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 “9500 Liberty.” In this documentary, Prince William County, Virginia becomes ground zero in America’s explosive battle over immigration policy when elected officials adopt a law requiring police officers to question anyone they have “probable cause” to suspect is an undocumented immigrant. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Guardians of the Good Life will rally to protest the XL tar sands pipeline on Thursday, October 21, 2010, 5:00 to 7:00pm, at 72nd & Pacific, in Omaha. Walk, bike, or carpool to the rally if possible. Help educate and raise awareness of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline threat to the fragile ecosystem of the entire region. A large crowd would be especially good, because Channel 7 plans to be there. For more information, e-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net

R.E.A.S.O.N. ANNUAL FALL FORUM . . . “Are you Smarter than a Blue Jay? The Evolution of Intelligence,” is the topic of the R.E.A.S.O.N. 11th Annual Fall Forum, Thursday, October 21, 2010, 7:00pm, at the Durham Research Center auditorium, University of Nebraska Medical Center, in the tower south of Farnam and east of Saddle Creek, Lecture Room 1002, Omaha. The Rationalists, Empiricists And Skeptics Of Nebraska Annual free event will feature UN-L Biology Professor Alan Kamil, a world-renowned expert on corvid intelligence, discussing the nature of cognition, sociality, and their evolution in other species, and is open to the public. For more information, phone Jim Bechtel, 402.556.8312.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

CD 3 CANDIDATES DEBATE . . . A three-way debate between candidates for the US House of Representatives from the 3rd Congressional District will be Friday, October 22, 2010, 1:00 to 3:00pm at the Broken Bow Country Club, just west of Broken Bow, Nebraska, on Highway 2–the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway. Incumbent Adrian Smith will face Democratic challenger Rebekah Davis and Independent Dan Hill. Bold Nebraska will be outside the debate venue at 12:30pm with signs saying “Stop the pipeline!” EveryOne is welcome to join the demonstration of opposition.

INSPIRING COMMUNITY CONFERENCE . . . “Inspiring Community: Building a Better Nebraska for LGBTQ People” will be Friday, October 22, 7:30pm to 9:30pm, and Saturday, October 23, 2010, 9:00am to 6:00pm at Hastings College Hazelrigg Student Union, 9th & Elm Street, Hastings. Children and young adults are paying the price for prejudice and bigotry in Nebraska. Bringing about change will require community that says a different, better paradigm is needed. View the conference program, event details, and ticket information here.

BUY FRESH. BUY LOCAL . . . . Farmers, gardeners, and craftspeople meet through The Nebraska Food Cooperative, an on-line, year-round farmers’ market and local food distribution service offering the best in local freshness. For ordering and pickup schedules, refer to the calendar here. Click here for products and prices from North Star Neighbors, a Cooperative member that doesn’t therapeutically medicate or unduly confine animals. Click here for Tomato Tomäto, Omaha’s year-round indoor Farmer’s Market at 156th & West Center. Shop for fresh foods grown in or very near your own community at Open Harvest, Lincoln’s member-owned natural foods retail cooperative in expanded space at 1618 South Street. Buying local grows family farming, grows the local economy, and is thousands of miles fresher.

We are no longer the alternative; we are the imperative. –Rosa Clemente

Green Notes Week of October 10, 2010

October 10, 2010Green Notesgreenone

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . This week, the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission auditor revealed that Governor Heineman and Attorney General Bruning accepted $2,500 each in campaign contributions from TransCanada, the XL pipeline company. An Omaha World Herald article “Heineman, Bruning return donations,” published October 5, 2010, says “Taking contributions from foreigners or foreign corporations such as TransCanada Inc. violates federal campaign finance laws.” The following day, “Complaint filed over contributions,” reported the Nebraska Sierra Club has requested a U.S. Attorney investigation of the matter. Lincoln Journal Star coverage of the issue, “Sierra Club wants probe of pipeline donations to Heineman, Bruning,” was published October 7th. Click here and scroll down the Green Notes Index to follow the TransCanada tar sands pipeline issue since May 30, 2010, if you are new to this website.
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. America’s First Oil Sands Project in Utah to Face Legal Challenges was published September 24th at SolveClimate. A Proposed Dirty Oil Pipeline Would Put Americans at Risk for Cancer and Asthma–Why Are Senators Pushing For Its Hasty Approval? was published by AlterNet on September 23, 2010. ” …We know the Keystone XL pipeline would put American health at risk. In addition to threatening drinking water, processing tar sands oil releases pollutants directly linked to asthma, emphysema and birth defects. Refining tar sands crude from the pipeline would create far more air pollution in American communities that are already burdened with cancer and poor air quality as a result of the oil industry. We also know the pipeline would cross the most important source of agricultural water in the United States, the Ogallala aquifer. And we know pipeline disasters happen.” See CD 1 and 2 Green Notes below for the new week’s actions against the XL project.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL sand tars pipeline. Nebraska’s Congressional delegation and the governor need to receive letters, e-mails and phone calls from constituents demanding regulation on the existing pipeline, expressing concern about more TransCanada construction in our state. Contact information for Nebraska 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. Senator Mike Johanns is at 202.224.4224, 402.476.1400 in Lincoln; and Senator Ben Nelson is at 202.224.6551, 402.441.4600 in Lincoln. Please tell them all 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, tell Gov. Heineman to put forth laws that protect our resources and economic activity and tell President Obama to live up to his promise of clean energy and energy independence. 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, or stop by Bold Nebraska at 1141 H Street, 3rd Floor, Lincoln, 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday.
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.”

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

EARLY VOTING IN LINCOLN . . . Early voting for the November 2, 2010 election is now available to any registered voter. Walk in to vote at the Lancaster County Election Commissioner’s office, 601 North 46th Street, Lincoln. Click here [pdf] for a sample ballot.

ABOLISH COLUMBUS DAY RALLY . . . There will be an Indigenous Peoples Day Event in Lincoln on Monday, October 11, 2010, 5:00pm, at the Lincoln Federal Building, 15th and O Street, to protest the federal holiday, and to observe Native American Survival and Indigenous People’s Resistance. Also known as Native People’s Day, the gathering will honor native people’s struggle against imperialism, and educate about the atrocities committed by Christopher Columbus, the subsequent genocide of Native Americans, and the reasons why his memory should not be honored. For more information, e-mail brian [at] lunkradio [dot] org

EARTH TO LINCOLN ON XL PIPELINE . . . Monday, October 11, 2010, the TransCanada tar sands pipeline project will be discussed on Earth To Lincoln, a 30-minute local KZUM radio program broadcast at 89.3fm and online here. Air time is 6:00pm. The project will also be discussed on Tuesday night, October 12th, at 11:00pm, at 89.3fm.

LIBERTY 9500 AT WESLEYAN . . . Wednesday, October 13, 2010, 6:00pm, there will be a free screening of “9500 Liberty” at Nebraska Wesleyan University Olin B Lecture Hall, one block east of 50th Street and St. Paul Avenue, Lincoln. Watch the trailer of this documentary here. The Director, Eric Byler, will lead a discussion of the film at 8:00pm in Callen Conference Center.

“STAYING AHEAD WHILE GOING GREEN” . . . Thursday, October 14, 2010, 7:30pm, former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman will speak about energy and environmental sustainability at the second lecture of the E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues enthompson.unl.edu at UN-L, Lied Center for Performing Arts, 301 North 12th Street, Lincoln. For free tickets, call 402.472.4747, or click here.

WILDERNESS WALKABOUT . . . Friends of Wilderness Park are hosting weekly hikes through different parts of the Park, every Saturday at 3:00pm. The casual strolls will highlight the diversity of life in the Park. Meet at the Old Cheney Entrance on Saturday, October 16, 2010. All ages are welcome.

CANDIDATES FORUM . . . Sunday, October 17, 2010, Friends of Wilderness Park and Wachiska Audubon will co-sponsor a candidates forum with Lancaster County Board and Lower Platte South Natural Resources District candidates on the November general election ballot. The NRD forum will begin at 2:30pm, and the County Board Forum will start at 4:00pm. Nebraska Green Party candidate Steve Larrick is running for re-election to District 5 Lower Platte South NRD. The Forum will be at the Lincoln Unitarian Church, 6300 A Street. Questions may be submitted at the forum, or in advance by phone at 402.477.8282.

FRIENDS OF WILDERNESS PARK MEETING . . . The monthly meeting of Friends of Wilderness Park will be Sunday, October 17, 2010, 2:30pm, at the Lincoln Unitarian Church, 6300 A Street.

FALL FARM SOCIAL . . . Sunday, October 17, 2010, 1:00pm to 4:00pm, Common Good Farm will host a Fall Farm Social with guided tours at 1:30 and 3:30pm, walk about self-touring at leisure, family music with Jim King at 2:30pm, light refreshments, and good company. Common Good Farm is a mom & pop operation: a certified organic & certified Biodynamic farm growing and featuring CSA, produce, plants, pastured eggs, pastured pork and grass-fed beef–the oldest CSA in Nebraska. Click here for directions and an online contact page, or phone 402.783.9005.

LINCOLN FARMERS MARKETS . . . Locally grown produce and baked goods are still available at The Old Cheney Road Garden Market, 55th Street and Old Cheney Road (behind the Lincoln Racquet Club) from 10:00am to 2:00pm every Sunday through November 7th; and the Havelock Farmers Market, behind the businesses at 62nd and 63rd Streets and Havelock Avenue, Wednesdays 3:00 to 6:30pm, through October 27, 2010.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

VOTE EARLY RIDES . . . The North Omaha Voter Project is providing rides to the polls every Tuesday at 11:00am from the Urban League office, 3040 Lake Street. Meet at the Urban League parking lot at 11:00am. To volunteer to drive, or for questions, phone 402.991.3883.

OMAHA PUBLIC FORUM . . . The Omaha Citizens Coalition will host a final public forum to provide dialog on the city budget in response to an effort to recall the mayor at North High School, 36th and Ames, Monday, October 11, 2010, 7:00pm. There will be an open mike, and everyone is invited to share specific ideas on how to manage city finances. All comments will be forwarded to the city council and mayor.

CUBA . . . “Participation and Alienation in Cuba’s Political Process – Life in Cuba After Fidel Castro,” will be the topic of a presentation by Cuban researcher Rodrigo Gonzalez on Tuesday, October 12, 2010, noon to 1:30pm, in the ‘U Mo Ho’ Room at Mil Bail Student Center, UN-O.

BLACK-WHITE DIALOGUES . . . The fall Black-White Dialogues public series, where people of the different races meet, listen to a short presentation, and then discuss the topic and other concerns, building connections in order to address and eliminate racism, continues Tuesday, October 12, 2010, with Harris Payne, Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator for OPS, and City Councilman Ben Gray, from 7:00 to 9:00pm, at First Central Congregational Church, 421 South 36th Street, in Omaha. Gather at 6:45pm. To get involved, phone Elaine Wells, 573-1720, or click here for information and registration.

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 “Boys Will Be Men,” a documentary about growing up male in America. Watch the trailer here. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Guardians of the Good Life will rally to protest the XL tar sands pipeline on Thursday, October 14, 2010, 5:00 to 7:00pm, at 72nd & Pacific, in Omaha. Walk, bike, or carpool to the rally if possible. Help educate and raise awareness of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline threat to the fragile ecosystem of the entire region. For more information, e-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net

OMAHA TOGETHER ONE COMMUNITY CONVENTION . . . The 15th Anniversary Convention of OTOC will be Friday, October 15, 2010, 2:30 to 4:00pm, at Benson High School, 5120 Maple Street Omaha. Click here for more information.

NEBRASKANS FOR PEACE CONFERENCE . . . The Annual Peace Conference hosted by Nebraskans for Peace will be Saturday, October 16, 2010, 9:00am to 4:30pm, at the First United Methodist Church, 7020 Cass Street, Omaha. For details, an online brochure and registration, click here.

PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION FOR SUDAN . . . The Sudanese Civil Society of Nebraska will host a peaceful demonstration in support of a free and fair referendum to pave the way for Self-Determination in Southern Sudan on Saturday, October 16, 2010, 11:00am to 3:00pm, at Memorial Park, 5700 Dodge Street, in Omaha. For more information, phone James Guek, 402.812.5330, or John Badeng, 402.699.0837.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

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 in expanded space at 1618 South Street. Buying local grows family farming, grows the local economy, and is thousands of miles fresher.

We are no longer the alternative; we are the imperative. –Rosa Clemente

Green Notes Week of October 3, 2010

October 3, 2010Green Notesgreenone

KEEP SPACE FOR PEACE WEEK . . . October 2 through October 9, 2010, is Keep Space for Peace Week: International Week of Protest to Stop the Militarization of Space. Learn about the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space at the website here, blog here, or e-mail the organization at globalnet [at] mindspring [dot] com Stop the Drones. Convert the Military Industrial Complex. Bring War Money Home. To learn about Alternatives to The Military – Lincoln, visit the new page on this website here.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . This past week, the Keystone XL Pipeline became a political issue in the November governor’s race. “Dave Heineman, Mike Meister spar over Keystone XL pipeline,” was published in the Lincoln Journal Star, as was another letter to the editor, on September 30, 2010. “TransCanada, Keystone XL pipeline critics reach out to Nebraskans” covered a Wednesday news conference with Nebraska Sierra and Common Cause spokespeople opposing the project. TransCanada has send letters to landowners threatening condemnation proceedings if they don’t sign easements, before the route has even been federally approved. “Texas Pipeline Landowners Say ‘No Thanks’ to Canadian Pipeline,” was published by Plains Justice on September 29, 2010. A September 28th LJS editorial opinion called for TransCanada to Reroute Keystone XL pipeline around Sand Hills.”
Nebraska rancher Teri J. Taylor’s Local View, “With pipeline plan comes an end ot complacency,” was published September 22nd. Click here and scroll down the Green Notes Index to follow the TransCanada tar sands pipeline issue since May 30, 2010, if you are new to this website.
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. America’s First Oil Sands Project in Utah to Face Legal Challenges was published September 24th at SolveClimate.
A Proposed Dirty Oil Pipeline Would Put Americans at Risk for Cancer and Asthma–Why Are Senators Pushing For Its Hasty Approval? was published by AlterNet on September 23, 2010. ” …We know the Keystone XL pipeline would put American health at risk. In addition to threatening drinking water, processing tar sands oil releases pollutants directly linked to asthma, emphysema and birth defects. Refining tar sands crude from the pipeline would create far more air pollution in American communities that are already burdened with cancer and poor air quality as a result of the oil industry. We also know the pipeline would cross the most important source of agricultural water in the United States, the Ogallala aquifer. And we know pipeline disasters happen.” See CD 2 Green Notes below for the new week’s Omaha event demonstrating against the XL project.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL sand tars pipeline. Nebraska’s Congressional delegation and the governor need to receive letters, e-mails and phone calls from constituents demanding regulation on the existing pipeline, expressing concern about more TransCanada construction in our state. Contact information for Nebraska 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. Senator Mike Johanns is at 202.224.4224, 402.476.1400 in Lincoln; and Senator Ben Nelson is at 202.224.6551, 402.441.4600 in Lincoln. Please tell them all 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, tell Gov. Heineman to put forth laws that protect our resources and economic activity and tell President Obama to live up to his promise of clean energy and energy independence. Click here http://www.boldnebraska.org/pipeline-background-resources 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, or stop by Bold Nebraska at 1141 H Street, 3rd Floor, Lincoln, 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday.
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.”

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

LES OPEN HOUSE FOR COMMENTS . . . Lincoln Electric System customers will have one last chance to comment on the route for a proposed transmission line through some of the city’s core neighborhoods. The open house will be 11:00am to 1:00pm, and 4:30 to 7:00pm, Monday, October 4, 2010, at Auld Pavilion in Antelope Park near A Street and Capitol Parkway. The proposed routes can be viewed online by clicking on Central Lincoln Reliability Project here. For more information, phone 402.817.4040.

NATURE EDUCATION WORKSHOP . . . Tuesday, October 5, 2010, 6:00 to 8:00pm, Pioneers Park Nature Center will host a workshop to teach educators and parents how to use Growing Up WILD, an early education program that builds on a child’s sense of wonder about nature and encourages exploration of wildlife and the world, providing 3 to 7 year olds opportunities to develop positive impressions about nature. Phone 402.441.7895 to make reservations.

LUNCH AT THE LIBRARY . . . Nebraska writer Lisa Knopp will open this year’s Nebraska Literary Heritage Association Lunch at the Library series on Wednesday, October 6, 2010, noon, at Bennett Martin Library, 14th & N Streets, Lincoln, in the fourth floor auditorium. Knopp is known for her creative nonfiction nature essays. She will be talking about her current writing project, Three Rivers: Journeys and Junctures. For more information, phone 402.441.8516.

NADP ANNUAL DINNER . . . Friday, October 8, 2010, Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty will host the 2010 Annual Dinner, Silent Auction and Awards at Roy G Story Student Center, Nebraska Wesleyan University, 5000 Staint Paul Avenue, Lincoln. Social hour and Silent Auction will begin at 6:30, followed by Dinner and Program, featuring keynote address by Shari Silberstein from Equal Justice USA, at 7:30pm. Click here for more information.

2010 VEGFEST . . . VegFest in Havelock Park, Lincoln Saturday, October 9, 2010, 2:00 to 6:00pm. This is a family event celebrating community & veggies. Music, kids activities, crafts, market vendors, food & fun. Stop by & enjoy the afternoon!

WILDERNESS WALKABOUT . . . Friends of Wilderness Park are hosting weekly hikes through different parts of the Park, every Saturday at 3:00pm. The casual strolls will highlight the diversity of life in the Park. Meet at the Pioneers Blvd. Entrance on October 9, 2010. All ages are welcome.

10/10/10/ GLOBAL WORK PARTY . . . Details about Lincoln’s Global Work Party, Sunday, September 10, 2010, can be found here. Organized internationally by 350.org, a global movement to reduce carbon emissions by encouraging behavior change, “Bike Power for Commnity,” the Lincoln event, begins at 10:10am in Lincoln’s Peter Pan Park, 32nd and X Streets. The Bike Repair Party, organized by Lincoln Bioneers, will feature live music, and teach how to fix a bicycle. From 12:30 to 1:30pm there will be a Massive Bike Ride from Lincoln High School, 2229 J Street, ending at Union Plaza, 21st and O Streets. There will be a Prairie Grass Seeding at Union Plaza from 1:30 to 2:00pm.
Distribution of at least 350 compact fluorescent light bulbs, the “Lincoln Energy Challenge,” will be from 2:00 to 5:00pm, and a Global Work Party Celebration event at Antelope Park will be from 5:00 to 8:00pm. Register for any of the events, or learn more and contact organizers, by clicking on the respective links.

WACHISKA WETLANDS TOUR . . . Sunday, October 10, 2010, Wachiska Audubon will host a tour of the Frank Shoemaker Marsh restoration project at 10:00am. The 160 acre marsh contains rare saline wetlands, woodland and grassland. Home to endangered wildlife, and more than 60 species of birds, the marsh is located 1.3 miles north of Arbor Road and 27th Street. For more informaiton, phone John Carlini at 402.475.7275.

BENEFIT FOR WILDERNESS PARK BRIDGE . . . Friends of Wilderness Park will host a benefit concert with The Blues Messengers to replace a collapsed pedestrian bridge at the Park on Sunday, October 10, 2010, 3:00 to 5:00pm, at the day camp area near First and Calvert Streets, Lincoln. Admission will be by donation to the Lincoln Parks Foundation, specifically earmarked for the collapsed bridge. The city estimates the cost to replace the bridge at about $350,000.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

OMAHA PUBLIC FORUMS . . . The Omaha Citizens Coalition will host three more public forums to provide dialog on the city budget, in response to an effort to recall the mayor. The forums will feature an open mike. Everyone is invited to share specific ideas on how to manage city finances. All comments will be forwarded to the city council and mayor. Forums start at 7:00, and adjourn before 8:30pm. The schedule is: Tuesday, October 5, 2010, at First United Methodist Church, 7020 Cass Street; Wednesday, October 6, 2010, at the Steamfitters Hall, 13508 B Street; and Monday, October 11, 2010, at North High School, 36th and Ames, Omaha.

BLACK-WHITE DIALOGUES . . . The fall Black-White Dialogues public series, where people of the different races meet, watch and listen to a short presentation, and then discuss the topic and other concerns, building connections in order to address and eliminate racism, continues Tuesday, October 5, 2010, with Leo Louis II, Community Organizer and crew of “Grown in North Omaha” garden project speaking on “Understanding Gangs and Former Gang Members,” from 7:00 to 9:00pm at First Central Congregational Church, 421 South 36th Street, in Omaha. Gather at 6:45pm. To get involved, phone Elaine Wells, 573-1720, or click here for information and registration.

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 “Race: The Power of an Illusion – Episode 1.” The 58 minute film looks at several scientific discoveries that illustrate why humans cannot be subdivided into races and how there isn’t a single characteristic, trait, or even one gene, that can be used to distinguish all members of one race from all members of another. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Guardians of the Good Life will rally to protest the XL tar sands pipeline on Thursday, October 7, 2010, 5:00 to 7:00pm, at 72nd & Pacific, in Omaha. Walk, bike, or carpool to the rally if possible. Help educate and raise awareness of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline threat to the fragile ecosystem of the entire region. For more information, e-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net

SOLAR COLLECTOR LECTURE AND WORKSHOP . . . “How To Make Your Own Warm Air Solar Collector” – a lecture, workshop and installation, begins Friday, October 8, 2010 with a free public lecture by Michael Shonka, solar instructor at Metropolitan Community College, at the Pizza Shoppe, 6056 Maple Street, Omaha, from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Click here for details including cost, and a schedule of the Saturday and Sunday workshop events, concluding with installation on the roof at the Pizza Shoppe Sunday, 12:30pm. For more information, phone Brice Miller, 402.650.6782, or e-mail Wendy Townley, wtownley [at] unomaha [dot] edu

PROGRESSIVE OMAHA MEETING . . . All are welcome at the October Progressive Omaha meeting on Saturday, October 9, 2010, from 6:00 to 9:00pm, at 4924 Chicago in Dundee. R. Zack Burgin, Regional Organizer for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, will speak from 7:00 to 8:00pm. Ways to counter the Nebraska legislature’s current laws, and new laws expected in the 2011 session, will be discussed. A potluck supper will be from 6:00 to 7:00pm, and social time will follow the speaker from 8:00 to 9:00pm. E-mail kabrams123 [at] cox [dot] net for more information.

10/10/10 GLOBAL WORK PARTY . . . Sunday, October 10, 2010, 3:00 to 3:50pm, Omaha will take part in the “most widespread day of environmental action in the planet’s history,” at Memorial Park, 58th & Dodge Street. Organized by 350.org, the international citizen’s movement working to rapidly transition from the use of dirty and limited fossil fuels to clean and abundant renewable energy, the event will form participants in the shape of a huge “350” to be photographed and included with 10/10/10 photos from around the world.

OMAHA FARMERS MARKETS . . .Global research confirms food choices contribute the highest percentage to our carbon footprint; even more than transportation. The advantages of shopping locally go far beyond environmental impact. Farmers markets are the best way to choose local. Click here for a list of Omaha area Farmers Markets including Benson, Bellevue, Papillion, Auburn, Beemer, Bennington, Falls City, Plattsmouth, and Wayne, Nebraska; Glenwood, Council Bluffs, and Griswold, Iowa.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

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 in expanded space at 1618 South Street. Buying local grows family farming, grows the local economy, and is thousands of miles fresher.

We are no longer the alternative; we are the imperative. –Rosa Clemente

Green Notes Week of September 26, 2010

September 26, 2010Green Notesgreenone

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. NewDimensions 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, on Friday, October 1, 2010, with the intention of deep healing for the Planet and all its beings. Click here for more information about Earth Circle.

UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE . . . On Saturday, October 2, 2010, a coalition of local and national Peace organizations in the U.S. will march in Washington D.C. as One Nation Working Together to end war, cut military spending, and fund jobs and human needs. The U.S. military consumes over 50% of our national budget – tax dollars that are desperately needed here at home to save jobs and support families. The U.S. war machine is a huge contributor to climate change. With over 700 bases around the globe, the U.S. foreign policy of endless war has wreaked havoc on people around the world. To maintain a nuclear umbrella of intimidation, war makers continue to build new generations of expensive weapons. It is time to stand up with our friends and allies in the labor, civil rights, immigrant rights and environmental movements. Click here to learn more, get involved, and join the Peace Table.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . Nebraska rancher Teri J. Taylor’s Local View, “With pipeline plan comes an end ot complacency,” was published in Lincoln Journal Star September 22, 2010. Click here and scroll down the Green Notes Index to follow the TransCanada tar sands pipeline issue since May 30, 2010, if you are new to this website.
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. See CD 2 Green Notes below for this week’s Omaha demonstration against the XL project.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL sand tars pipeline. Nebraska’s Congressional delegation and the governor need to receive letters, e-mails and phone calls from constituents demanding regulation on the existing pipeline, expressing concern about more TransCanada construction in our state. Contact information for Nebraska 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. Senator Mike Johanns is at 202.224.4224, 402.476.1400 in Lincoln; and Senator Ben Nelson is at 202.224.6551, 402.441.4600 in Lincoln. Please tell them all 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, tell Gov. Heineman to put forth laws that protect our resources and economic activity and tell President Obama to live up to his promise of clean energy and energy independence. 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, or stop by Bold Nebraska at 1141 H Street, 3rd Floor, Lincoln, 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday.
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.”

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

BANNED BOOKS WEEK . . . Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P Street, Lincoln, will host a week-long series of events celebrating the freedom to read. Monday, September 27, 2010, 7:00 to 9:00pm, local poets will perform selections from classic and contemporary banned and challenged books. Tuesday, 6:00 to 9:00pm, the film “To Kill a Mockingbird” will be shown, followed by a discussion and snacks. Wednesday, there will be a panel discussion of censorship from 7:00 to 9:00pm. Panelists include Christy Hargesheimer, board member of Amnesty International Nebraska; Pat Leach, director of Lincoln City Libraries; and Amy Miller, legal director of ACLU Nebraska. Thursday, September 30th, is game night, 6:00 to 9:00pm, with banned books bingo and banned books trivia. Friday, 7:00 to 9:00pm, is Art Night, featuring locally created pieces with the theme of banned books. All events are free and open to the public.

SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOP . . . Local sustainability issues and how they relate to the Comprehensive Plan will be the focus of a Workshop on Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 11:45am to 1:15pm, in Council Chambers at the County/City Building, 555 South 10th Street, Lincoln. The purpose of the workshop is to engage the public on local sustainability issues and how those issues relate to the Comprehensive Plan. There will be a presentation by keynote speaker Gayle Prest, Sustainability Director for the City of Minneapolis, and a question/answer period with a panel of five local experts. For more information about the workshop, click here.

SAVE THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS BUILDING . . . Thursday, September 30, 2010, 5:30 to 9:00pm, there will be a “No Wrecking Ball” event at the Welfare Hall, 1430 North 10th Street, Lincoln, to educate about the University’s plans to demolish one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, the 97 year old Industrial Arts Building. There will be food and classic rock n’ roll with The Rockerfellers at the free event, but donations to help fund a publicity campaign to preserve the former Grand Exposition Center of the Nebraska State Fair are encouraged. Click here to sign a Save the IAB online petition. CLick here for other suggested actions on behalf of the building.

E.N. THOMPSON FORUM ON WORLD ISSUES . . . “Globalization’s Promise” is the theme of this year’s E.N. Thompson Forum Series. All lectures will be presented in the Lied Center for Performing Arts, 301 North 12th Street, Lincoln. All are open to the public without charge, but require a free ticket. To reserve tickets, call the Lied Center at 402.472.4747 or 800.432.3231, pick them up in person, or download an order form at enthompson.unl.edu. Speaking Friday, September 30, 2010, 7:00pm, will be Benjamin Skinner, author of “A Crime So Monstrous: Face to Face with Modern Day Slavery,” exposing the criminal industry of human trafficking.

“OH LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM” . . . There will be a free showing of “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem,” Friday, October 1, 2010, 7:00pm, at the Lincoln Unitarian Church, 6300 A Street. The film follows the story of three men of three different faiths and their lives in Israel and Palestine. It explores each man’s choice of nonviolent action amidst a culture of overwhelming violence. The film examines the struggle to promote equality through nonviolent engagement in the midst of incredible violence that has dehumanized all sides. The public is invited.

WILDERNESS WALKABOUT . . . Friends of Wilderness Park are hosting weekly hikes through different parts of the Park, every Saturday at 3:00pm. The casual strolls will highlight the diversity of life in the Park. Meet at the Pioneers Blvd. Entrance on October 2, 2010. All ages are welcome.

GROW AND SHARE . . . Local gardeners can take excess fruits and vegetables to Campbell’s Nurseries, 2342 South 40th and 7000 South 56th Street, Lincoln, every Monday and Tuesday during summer. Food will be collected for the Food Bank of Lincoln, and distributed to 65 Southeast Nebraska agencies serving low-income people and families. Gardeners can also drop off produce at the Food Bank, 4840 Doris Bair Circle–about three blocks north of 48th and Superior, Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm. Click here for tips on how to process produce for sharing. For more information, contact Cory Priefert at Campbell’s, 402.423.4556, ext. 233; or Cheri Lawrence at the Food Bank, 402.466.8170, ext. 106.

LINCOLN FARMERS MARKETS . . . Locally grown produce and baked goods are still available at Lincoln Farmers Markets. Saturdays through October 9th, the Haymarket Farmers Market is open from 8:00am to noon. The Old Cheney Road Garden Market at 55th Street and Old Cheney Road (behind the Lincoln Racquet Club) is open from 10:00am to 2:00pm every Sunday through November 7th. Other Lincoln Markets include Havelock Farmers Market, behind the businesses at 62nd and 63rd Streets and Havelock Avenue, Wednesdays 3:00 to 6:30pm, through October 27th; Community Crops Farmers Market, Pentzer Park, 27th and Potter (2 blocks north of 27th and Holdrege), Thursdays, 4:30-7:30pm, through September 30th; and the Backyard Farmer’s Market and Exchange, Tuesdays, 4:30 to 7:30pm, in the St. Paul United Church of Christ parking lot at 1302 “F” Street, through September 28, 2010.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

LITTLE STEPS, BIG IMPACT . . . The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the City of Omaha and other local agencies are collaborating to launch a pilot program to maintain air quality in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area for ozone. Learn about ozone, how it affects health, and ways to be part of the solution at a presentation about the community based planning process to develop voluntary actions that will result in reductions of ozone levels on Monday, September 27, 2010, 2:00 to 4:00pm, at the Douglas County Extension Office, 8015 West Center Road, Omaha. For more information about this vital community process click here or contact Tara Ryan, MAPA Assistant Planner, 402.444.6866, or tryan [at] mapacog [dot] org.

“OH LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM” . . . Monday, September 27, 2010, 6:00 to 8:00pm, there will be a free showing of “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” at Eppley Auditorium, Eppley Administration Building, 6001 Dodge, UN-O, hosted by the Muslim Student Association. The documentary follows the struggles of three men in Israel and Palestine working to end violence and find a lasting peace. Open to the public.

“TURNING GREEN — ALEX’S ADVENTURES IN ECO-LAND” . . . Omaha playwright and activist Steve Thyberg will present a new one-act musical “Turning Green–Alex’s Adventures in Eco-land” on Tuesday, September 28 at 7:00pm; Wednesday, September 29 at 3:45pm; and Thursday, September 30, 2010, 7:00pm, at Bellevue West High School Auditorium, 1501 Thurston Avenue, Omaha. All performances are open to the public. Admission is by donation of your choice. All proceeds will benefit the West After School Theatre Program. For a map and directions, click here. “The play follows typical teenager, Alex, who doesn’t really get the “green” thing. His friends try to help him understand why being green is so important but it is his surprising trip to Eco-land that opens Alex’s eyes to the natural world around him and the effects that humans have upon it.” For more information, phone Thyberg at 402.593.1810, or e-mail incompassion [at] yahoo [dot] com

9500 LIBERTY IN OMAHA . . . The documentary 9500 Liberty. will show for the first time in a series of showings on Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 8:00pm at Midlands College, 2nd Level of the Student Center. Other showings are scheduled at Creighton University, McFoster’s, and more. From the website: “Prince William County, Virginia becomes ground zero in America’s explosive battle over immigration policy when elected officials adopt a law requiring police officers to question anyone they have ‘probable cause’ to suspect is an undocumented immigrant.” A 4:23 minute trailer is here. Contact Howard Dotson, 402.889.5410, or e-mail hr_dotson [at] yahoo [dot] com for more information about the schedule of future showings.

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Guardians of the Good Life will rally to protest the XL tar sands pipeline on Thursday, September 30, 2010, 5:00 to 7:00pm, in the Old Market at the 11th & Howard intersection, Omaha. Meet at the northwest corner of the intersection by the big circular planters. Walk, bike, or carpool if possible. There are a limited number of evenings left before it will be too dark after work for a visible protest. Signs will be provided, or bring your own. Help educate and raise awareness of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline threat to the fragile ecosystem of the entire region. For more information, e-mail Jane Wilson, japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net

NORTH OMAHA COMMUNITY FORUM . . . Redevelopment plans for North Omaha will be discussed at a North Omaha Village Zone Community Forum, Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 6:00 to 8:00pm, at North High Viking Center, 4010 North 36th Street (36th & Ames). A light supper will be available at 5:30pm. There will be an opportunity for feedback, ideas, and input from the community.

BLACK-WHITE DIALOGUES . . . The fall Black-White Dialogues public series, where people of the different races meet, listen to a short presentation, and then discuss the topic and other concerns, building connections in order to address and eliminate racism, continues Tuesday, September 28, 2010, with Chris Humphrey, Title 1 Facilitator at Northwest High School, Ollie Perryman, President of PFrontline, Inc.: Youth Decision Making Program, and students from North High Magnet School and Northwest High School,” from 7:00 to 9:00pm, at First Central Congregational Church, 421 South 36th Street, in Omaha. Gather at 6:45pm. To get involved, phone Elaine Wells, 573-1720, or click here for information and registration.

SUSAN JACOBY AT THE HOLLAND CENTER . . . The Holland Lecture Series will present Susan Jacoby, author of “The Age of American Unreason,” on Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 7:30pm, at The Holland Center’s Kiewit Concert Hall, speaking on “The Dumbed-Down Politics of Unreason: Anger or Sheer Ignorance?” Jacoby will speak about what she calls “a mutant strain of public ignorance, anti-rationalism, and anti-intellectualism that has developed over the past four decades and threatens the future of American democracy.” The lecture is free, but tickets must be reserved by calling Ticket Omaha 402.345.0202, or by visiting the box office, 13th & Douglas Streets downtown. All ticket holders are invited to attend a post-lecture reception.

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 “This Emotional Life – Episode 3: Happiness.” For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

SYMPOSIUM ON MATERNAL HEALTH IN NEBRASKA . . . There will be a critical discussion on improving maternal and child health at a Symposium on Maternal Health in Nebraska, Thursday, September 30, 2010, 11:00am to 4:30pm, at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center, 3321 South 72nd Street, Omaha. The Keynote Address by Dr. Jean Amoura, Medical Director of Family Planning at UNMC, will be followed by a panel discussion with representatives of Nebraska Appleseed, Voices for Children in Nebraska, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Building Bright Futures, the Nebraska Chapter of the United Nations Association, and others. Click here for more information, the day’s agenda, and to register online.

TABLE TALK DINNER . . . The registration deadline is Friday, October 1, 2010 for Omaha Table Talk, where EveryOne has a seat at the table. Strangers will meet in homes around Omaha, to share food and discuss the ways race and ethnicity affect their lives and their community. After the meal, they will leave as friends. Click here for more information, or phone A’Jamal Byndon, office, 561.7594 or cell, 980.9095. Online registration is here.

OMAHA FARMERS MARKETS . . . Global research confirms food choices contribute the highest percentage to our carbon footprint; even more than transportation. The advantages of shopping locally go far beyond environmental impact. Farmers markets are the best way to choose local. Click here for a list of Omaha area Farmers Markets including Benson, Bellevue, Papillion, Auburn, Beemer, Bennington, Falls City, Plattsmouth, and Wayne, Nebraska; Glenwood, Council Bluffs, and Griswold, Iowa.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

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 in expanded space at 1618 South Street. Buying local grows family farming, grows the local economy, and is thousands of miles fresher.

We are no longer the alternative; we are the imperative. –Rosa Clemente

Green Notes Week of September 19, 2010

September 19, 2010Green Notesgreenone

PEACEWEEK . . . PeaceWeek, a Global Telesummit for Building a Culture of Peace, continues through Tuesday, September 21, 2010. From the website: The broad trend of human evolution is to move beyond violence. Given the scale of global crises, we must accelerate that evolution and learn to live, collaborate, and create in a more harmonious way. PeaceWeek will unite pioneers from around the world together for the largest virtual peace summit ever created, culminating with the International Day of Peace on Sept. 21st. Engage in creating a shift to a world at peace by registering for this free virtual event here.

A MILLION MINUTES FOR PEACE . . . Odyssey Networks, the nation’s largest coalition of Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith groups dedicated to achieving interfaith understanding, invites global participation in A Million Minutes for Peace, on Tuesday, September 21, 2010, the U.N. International Day of Peace. People of different faiths from all over the world will stop at noon and pray for peace for one minute — each in their own way. Click here to watch a 60-second video, and pledge your prayer for peace. It’s simple. It’s global. May Peace Prevail on Earth.

POLLUTION PREVENTION WEEK . . . It’s been 20 years since the passage of the P2 Act which establishes as national policy that waste shall be prevented whenever feasible. September 19 through the 25th is Pollution Prevention Week. Register for the following webinars emphasizing prevention before the end of the day Monday, September 20, 2010.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 11:00am to 12:30pm CDT: Water Efficiency for Hotels — Greening Your Bottom Line through Water Conservation. Read more and register here. Wednesday, September 22, 2010, noon to 1:30pm CDT: Understanding the Environmental and Health Impacts of Personal Care Products. Read more and register here.
Thursday, September 23, 2010, noon to 1:30pm CDT: Greening Your Business. Read more and register here.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . When “voluntary” agreements to allow pipeline to cross private property fail, TransCanada goes to court, by Elizabeth McGowan, was published at SolveClimate on September 15, 2010. Pressure is mounting against dirty pipelines. Western Canada’s First Nations have been demonstrating against an Enbridge Northern Gateway project, protesting in the streets, “Keep oil sands off our lands and waters.” First Nations Escalating Opposition to Strategic Oil Pipeline Through Their Land, by Stacy Feldman, was also published at SolveClimate, on September 14th. Sunday, September 19th, the Lincoln Journal Star published a fourth editorial warning on the issue, “Follow the pipeline project closely.”
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. See CD 2 Green Notes below for this week’s Omaha events in demonstration against the XL project.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL sand tars pipeline. Nebraska’s Congressional delegation and the governor need to receive letters, e-mails and phone calls from constituents demanding regulation on the existing pipeline, expressing concern about more TransCanada construction in our state. Contact information for Nebraska 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. Senator Mike Johanns is at 202.224.4224, 402.476.1400 in Lincoln; and Senator Ben Nelson is at 202.224.6551, 402.441.4600 in Lincoln. Please tell them all 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, tell Gov. Heineman to put forth laws that protect our resources and economic activity and tell President Obama to live up to his promise of clean energy and energy independence. 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, or stop by Bold Nebraska at 1141 H Street, 3rd Floor, Lincoln, 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday.
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.”

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

LISTENING SESSION ON SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE . . . Thursday, September 23, 2010, UN-L Extension will host a USDA Listening Session on Sustainable Agriculture, 5:30 to 8:30pm, at the Lancaster Extension Education Center, 444 Cherrycreek Road, Lincoln. The listening session is open to the public, at no cost. EveryOne is invited to attend, especially anti-hunger and food justice advocates, educators, non-profit organizations, concerned citizens, government officials, farmers, ranchers, grocers, chefs, workers, food processors and distributors. For more information, and to pre-register, contact Gary Bergman at 402.441.7180.

LINCOLN FARMERS MARKETS . . . Locally grown produce and baked goods are available at Lincoln Farmers Markets five of the seven week days. Saturdays through October 9th, the Haymarket Farmers Market is open from 8:00am to noon. The Old Cheney Road Garden Market at 55th Street and Old Cheney Road (behind the Lincoln Racquet Club) is open from 10:00am to 2:00pm every Sunday through November 7th. Other Lincoln Markets include;
— Havelock Farmers Market, behind the businesses at 62nd and 63rd Streets and Havelock Avenue, Wednesdays 3:00 to 6:30pm, May 5 to October 27th.
— Community Crops Farmers Market, Pentzer Park, 27th and Potter (2 blocks north of 27th and Holdrege), Thursdays, 4:30-7:30pm, June 3 through September 30, 2010.
— Backyard Farmer’s Market and Exchange, Tuesdays, 4:30 to 7:30pm, in the St. Paul United Church of Christ parking lot at 1302 “F” Street, June 1st through September 28, 2010.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

EXPANDING NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY . . . Citizens for Equal Protection is working with the Omaha City Council to expand the City’s existing non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation, gender expression, and gender identity. Public comments will be heard at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 2:00pm, at the Council office, 1819 Farnam Street, Suite LC-1. For more information contact Buster Brown, City Clerk, 402.444.5557. Click here for the CFEP facebook page.

RALLY TO INFORM AND DEMONSTRATE OPPOSITION TO THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Help cover the entire intersection at 90th & Maple Street with a protest presence on Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 5:00 to 7:00pm. Bike, walk, or carpool if possible. Park in the southwest corner of the bank parking space in you must drive. There are a limited number of evenings left before it will be too dark after work for a visible protest. Signs will be provided, or bring your own. E-mail Jane Wilson, japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net, for more information.

BLACK-WHITE DIALOGUES . . . The fall Black-White Dialogues public series, where people of the different races meet, watch and listen to a short presentation, and then discuss the topic and other concerns, building connections in order to address and eliminate racism, continues Tuesday, September 21, 2010, with Wadie Thomas & Doug Johnson, Juvenile Court Judges presenting “How Kids Get Into and Out of Trouble,” from 7:00 to 9:00pm at First Central Congregational Church, 421 South 36th Street, in Omaha. Gather at 6:45pm. To get involved, phone Elaine Wells, 573-1720, or click here for information and registration.

OMAHA GREEN DRINKS . . . Green Drinks, Omaha’s informal, self-organizing network of environmental activists and friends, will meet in the loft on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 5:30pm to close, at Loft 610, Midtown Crossing, 220 South 31st Avenue #3107. Green Drinks are currently active in 728 cities worldwide. Walk, cycle, bus, or carpool if possible. Three hours of free parking, if you need it, is available under the Prairie Life Fitness Center access off the roundabout.

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 “Plunder: The Crime of Our Time.” The film by Danny Schechter explores how the financial crisis was built on a foundation of criminal activity, uncovering the connection between the collapse of the housing market and the economic catastrophe that followed. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

“CLIMATE CHANGE, KEYSTONE XL AND YOU” . . . Graham Christensen, of Nebraska Farmers Union, will speak on how climate change and the tar sands pipeline are impacting EveryOne’s lives on Friday, September 24, 2010, noon to 2:00pm, in the Nebraska Room of UN-O Milo Bail Student Center, 6001 Dodge Street. This is the first event of the year for the UN-O Women’s Resource Center. The free presentation, followed by discussion, is open to the public. Complimentary food will be provided. Click here for information on FaceBook.

LISTENING SESSION ON SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE . . . Friday, September 24, 2010, 2:30 to 5:30pm, the Douglas County USDA Listening Session will be at Metropolitan Community College Institute for Culinary Arts, Swanson Conference Center, Room 201A, 5730 North 30th Street, in Omaha. Everyone is invited, especially anti-hunger and food justice advocates, educators, non-profit organizations, concerned citizens, government officials, farmers, ranchers, grocers, chefs, workers, food processors and distributors. For more information and to pre-register, phone Jennifer Valandra, 402.457.2555, or e-mail jvalandra [at] mccneb [dot] edu

BENSON FARMERS MARKET . . . The Benson Farmers Market will be on Military Avenue from Maple to Binney Streets, Saturday, September 25, 2010, 8:00am to noon.

HUMANE SOCIETY WALK FOR THE ANIMALS . . . This year’s Margre Durham Walk for the Animals will be Sunday, September 26, 2010, 8:30am to noon on the Nebraska Humane Society Campus, 8929 Fort Street, Omaha. There will be a three-quarter-mile walk, vendors, food. Click here to register for the event. For more information, phone Mark Langan, 402.444.7800.

BENSON GARDEN WALK . . . The Benson Garden Walk at various Benson locations will be Sunday, September 26, 2010, 11:00am to 4:00pm.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

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 in expanded space at 1618 South Street. Buying local grows family farming, grows the local economy, and is thousands of miles fresher.

We are no longer the alternative; we are the imperative. –Rosa Clemente

Green Notes Week of September 12, 2010

September 12, 2010Green Notesgreenone

PEACEWEEK . . . PeaceWeek, a Global Telesummit for Building a Culture of Peace, will be Tuesday, September 14 through Tuesday, September 21, 2010. From the website: The broad trend of human evolution is to move beyond violence. Given the scale of global crises, we must accelerate that evolution and learn to live, collaborate, and create in a more harmonious way. PeaceWeek will unite pioneers from around the world together for the largest virtual peace summit ever created, culminating with the International Day of Peace on Sept. 21st. Engage in creating a shift to a world at peace by registering for this free virtual event here.

WE THE PEOPLE . . . The U.S. Constitution says “We the People,” not “We the Corporations.” Nowhere are corporations mentioned, let alone protected. Constitution Day, Friday, September 17, 2010, is an opportunity to take this message to your school, neighborhood, city, town, or your elected officials. Educate, advocate or organize on that date to proclaim that constitutional rights belong to human beings, not corporations. Publicly funded schools and colleges must set aside time on September 17 for lessons or programs on the Constitution and its history. This is a prime opportunity for students or teachers to educate on behalf of ending corporate personhood. Everyone should know how our rights have been handed over by the courts to the corporate elite, and that we all need to be part of the movement to get those rights back for people alone. The recent Citizens United v FEC Supreme Court decision granting corporations greater First Amendment free speech rights is an example of the decline of real democracy and self-governance. Move to Amend has many suggestions for raising the issue of corporate personhood—from model letters to the editor, to street theater, to fliers and other resources for tabling events or house parties. Take a look at the list here and get involved.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . On Monday of this week, TransCanada Corp. and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer plan an official announcement to kick off a so-called “open season” to solicit interest in the pipeline’s capacity from companies in Montana and North Dakota. On Thursday of last week, the EPA announced a new pipeline leak near Chicago.
Green Notes have been updating the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline proposal since May 30, 2010. Click here and scroll down the Index to learn about tar sands and TransCanada if you are new to this website. The Natural Resources Defense Council calls tar sands “the dirtiest, most destructive oil on the face of the Earth.” To see photos of what tar sands have done to the Alberta, Canada environment, click here. 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. See CD 2 Green Notes below for details of Thursday’s Omaha demonstration against the pipeline.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL sand tars pipeline. Nebraska’s Congressional delegation and the governor need to receive letters, e-mails and phone calls from constituents demanding regulation on the existing pipeline, expressing concern about more TransCanada construction in our state. Contact information for Nebraska 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. Senator Mike Johanns is at 202.224.4224, 402.476.1400 in Lincoln; and Senator Ben Nelson is at 202.224.6551, 402.441.4600 in Lincoln. Please tell them all 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, tell Gov. Heineman to put forth laws that protect our resources and economic activity and tell President Obama to live up to his promise of clean energy and energy independence. 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 “Windmills Not Oil Spills” t-shirts, or stop by the Bold Nebraska office at 1141 H Street, 3rd Floor, Lincoln, 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday.
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.”

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

MARY RIEPMA ROSS 100TH BIRTHDAY . . . In 1993, Mary Riepma Ross gave the University of Nebraska Foundation $3,600,000 to support the construction of a new Media Arts Center. Mrs. Ross, an alumna of UN-L, was on hand for the 2002 dedication of The Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, and continues to support the activities of The Ross, even today. On October 1, 2010, she will turn 100 years old. To help celebrate this milestone in her life, The Ross would like to surprise her with birthday wishes on behalf of the many friends and supporters who enjoy the films shown at the Ross. The goal is to present her with 100 birthday greetings. To participate in the birthday surprise, write a note to Mrs. Ross expressing the impact the film theater has had on you personally, on the University of Nebraska, and on the community. The birthday greeting parameters are one page only, 8 ½ X 11, written legibly. Phone The Ross office, 472.9100, if you have questions. Deadline is September 15, 2010. Return your letter to Danny Ladely, MRRMAC, PO Box 880253, Lincoln, NE 68588-0253, or e-mail the letter as an attachment to dladely1 [at] unl [dot] edu

PLANNING FOR 10/10/10 . . . Tuesday, August 31, 2010, Bill McKibben was on Late Night with David Letterman talking about 350.org’s Global Work Party on 10/10/10, and his plan to put solar panels back on the roof of the White House, among other things of interest to sustainability activists and environmentalists. Click here for a short list of Lincoln actions. Others include a neighborhood CFL distribution, prairie plantings in the new Union Plaza, and a 10/10/10 Celebration with food and music at 5:00pm. The LincolnBioneers will host Bike Power for Community at 10:10am at Peter Pan Park, 32nd and W Street, one block north of Vine and one block west of 33rd Street. The next planning meeting for 10/10/10 activities in Lincoln will be Wednesday, September 15th, 5:00pm, at the 5th floor meeting room, Lincoln Community Foundation Building, 15th & N Street. Click here to e-mail an organizer with questions about how to get involved. Click here for a message from Bill, “Disappointment at the White House, Pride in the Movement,” written after his meeting at the White House: they refused to accept the Carter solar panel he and Unity College students delivered saying they would continue their “deliberative process” to discuss putting solar panels back on the White House roof. He continues, “Well, we’re done deliberating. When Pakistan is under water, Russia is on fire, and millions of people are ready for clean energy jobs, it’s not time to deliberate: it’s time to get to work.”

WORLD DAY ON THE MALL . . . This year’s “A World of Difference,” Day on the Mall will be Thursday, September 16, 2010, 10:00am to 2:30pm, on Centennial Mall, 15th and M Street, east of the State Office Building. The emphasis will be on “going green.” There will be educational and informative presentations on multicultural topics, live entertainment, art activities, ethnic food and information vendors. For more details, phone Roxanne at 471.6042.

ANOTHER NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN NEBRASKA? . . . Senator Kent Rogert wants third nuke power plant in Nebraska. Construction would take five to six years and cost between $6 billion and $10 billion. The possibility will be discussed at a public hearing Friday, September 17, 2010, 1:30pm, in the City Council Chambers, 218 South 16th Street, Blair, Nebraska.

NEBRASKA STUDENT ORGANIZING CONFERENCE . . . The third annual Nebraska Student Organizing Conference will take place Saturday and Sunday, September 18 and 19, 2010, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The conference will bring together progressive-minded students from a variety of backgrounds to learn the skills and expertise necessary for making positive, lasting change in their communities. The purpose of this free annual event is to make stronger leaders through networking, interactive skill-building workshops, and strategic planning. Register here.

PRAIRIE FESTIVAL . . . This year’s Twilight on the Tallgrass Prairie Festival, “A Trail in Time,” is from 5:00 to 10:00pm, Saturday, Steptember 18, 2010, at Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, 11700 SW 100th Street, three miles south of Denton, Nebraska. Click here for a schedule of the evening’s activities. Bring a picnic and enjoy the music, hiking, an 8:00pm program, “The Great Unknown,” and late-night stargazing. There is a small suggested donation, and children under 12 are admitted free. For more information, phone 402.797.2301.

HIKE WILDERNESS PARK . . . Friends of Wilderness Park are hosting weekly hikes through different parts of the Park, every Saturday at 3:00pm. The casual strolls will highlight the diversity of life in the Park. All ages are welcome.

LINCOLN FARMERS MARKETS . . . Locally grown produce and baked goods are available at Lincoln Farmers Markets five of the seven week days. Saturdays through October 9th, the Haymarket Farmers Market is open from 8:00am to noon. The Old Cheney Road Garden Market at 55th Street and Old Cheney Road (behind the Lincoln Racquet Club) is open from 10:00am to 2:00pm every Sunday through November 7th. Other Lincoln Markets include:
— Havelock Farmers Market, behind the businesses at 62nd and 63rd Streets and Havelock Avenue, Wednesdays 3:00 to 6:30pm, May 5 to October 27th.
— Piedmont Farmers Market, 1265 South Cotner Blvd. Saturdays 8:00am to noon, May 15 to September 18. Vendor spots available. Call Randy Nelsen at 467-2777.
— Community Crops Farmers Market, Pentzer Park, 27th and Potter (2 blocks north of 27th and Holdrege), Thursdays, 4:30-7:30pm, June 3 through September 30, 2010.
— Backyard Farmer’s Market and Exchange, Tuesdays, 4:30 to 7:30pm, in the St. Paul United Church of Christ parking lot at 1302 “F” Street, June 1st through September 28, 2010.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

OMAHA PEACE & JUSTICE EXPO . . . The 5th Omaha Peace & Justice Expo will be Tuesday, September 14, 2010, 5:00 to 8:30pm, at the UN-O Ballroom, Milo Bail Student Center. MIT Linguistics professor and author Noam Chomsky will present the Keynote Address via live exclusive videoconferencing followed by Q & A with the audience. Admission is Free. Click here for photos on Facebook. E-mail PeaceExpo [at] gmail [dot] com for more information. “In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than just ideals to be valued – they may be essential to survival.” –Noam Chomsky

BLACK-WHITE DIALOGUES . . . The fall Black-White Dialogues public series, where people of the different races meet, watch and listen to a short presentation, and then discuss the topic and other concerns, building connections in order to address and eliminate racism, continues Tuesday, September 14, 2010 with Dee Kinder, Master Trainer, speaking on “8 to Great: 8 High-ways to Success,” from 7:00 to 9:00pm at First Central Congregational Church, 421 South 36th Street, in Omaha. Gather at 6:45pm. To get involved, phone Elaine Wells, 573-1720, or click here for information and registration.

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 an Anti-War and Peace Vigil at 72nd and Dodge Streets. Contact Steve Horn at 402.426.9068.

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 “Sin Nombre,” an epic dramatic thriller in the tradition of film noir, set on the Mexican border. Watch the trailer here. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Guardians of the Good Life will rally to protest the XL tar sands pipeline on Thursday, September 16, 2010, 5:00 to 7:00pm, at 90th & Maple, in Omaha. Walk, bike, or carpool to the rally if possible. If you drive, try parking in the southwest corner lot of Westlake Hardware. Help educate and raise awareness of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline threat to the fragile ecosystem of the entire region. For more information, e-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net

COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOL SEMINAR . . . Communities In School of Nebraska has developed a series of topical-based seminars, designed to supply local service providers and other interested stakeholders with information on the latest research-based practices and their implementation. “Race Equity Issues” will be presented Friday, September 17, 2010, 11:00am to 12:30pm, at Turning Point Training Building, 2nd Floor, 3223 North 45th Street (off of 45th and Bedford), in Omaha. The cost is free. Bring your own lunch. Dessert and drinks will be provided. Click here to register.

BENSON UNITY PARADE . . . There will be a Benson Unity Parade starting at 11:00am on Maple Street in Downtown Benson on Saturday, September 18, 2010.

BENSON FARMERS MARKET . . . The Benson Farmers Market will be on Military Avenue from Maple to Binney Streets, Saturday, September 18, 2010, 8:00am to noon.

FORT OMAHA INTERTRIBAL POWWOW . . . Saturday, September 18, 2010, there will be Native American music, dance, food and arts at the 19th Annual Fort Omaha Intertribal Powwow, Fort Omaha Campus Parade Ground, North 30th and Fort Streets, 1:00 to 7:30pm. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, e-mail bvelazquez [at] mccneb [dot] edu or phone 402.457.2253.

WORLD O! WATER FESTIVAL . . . Sunday, September 19, 2010, rain or shine, Omaha’s World O! Water Festival will take place from noon to 4:00pm at the Papio-Missouri NRD Wehrspann Lake, 8901 South 154th Street, Omaha. World O! Water is a free annual event, aimed at educating the public about water conservation, quality and recreation. Click here for a list of some of the day’s activities, a map link, and more information.

CONCERT FOR WHITECLAY . . . Sunday, September 19, 2010, doors open at 5:00, music starts at 6:00pm, Countryside Community Church, 8989 Pacific, Omaha, for a Concert for Whiteclay featuring singer/songwriter Michael Bucher, Michael Murphy, and special guest Cante Tenza. Admission is two letters to close Whiteclay, or $20. Paper, pens and addresses for government officials will be provided. The concert is sponsored by The Whiteclay Awareness Committee. For more information, e-mail murphy_music [at] yahoo [dot] com

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

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 in expanded space at 1618 South Street. Buying local grows family farming, grows the local economy, and is thousands of miles fresher.

We are no longer the alternative; we are the imperative. –Rosa Clemente

Green Notes Week of September 5, 2010

September 5, 2010Green Notesgreenone

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . .
Green Notes have been updating the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline proposal since May 30, 2010. Click here and scroll down the Index to learn about tar sands and TransCanada if you are new to this website. The Natural Resources Defense Council calls tar sands “the dirtiest, most destructive oil on the face of the Earth.” To see photos of what tar sands have done to the Alberta, Canada environment, click here. 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. See CD 2 Green Notes below for details of Tuesday’s Omaha demonstration against the pipeline.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL sand tars pipeline. Nebraska’s Congressional delegation and the governor need to receive letters, e-mails and phone calls from constituents demanding regulation on the existing pipeline, expressing concern about more TransCanada construction in our state. Contact information for Nebraska 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. Senator Mike Johanns is at 202.224.4224, 402.476.1400 in Lincoln; and Senator Ben Nelson is at 202.224.6551, 402.441.4600 in Lincoln. Please tell them all 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, tell Gov. Heineman to put forth laws that protect our resources and economic activity and tell President Obama to live up to his promise of clean energy and energy independence. 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 “Windmills Not Oil Spills” t-shirts, or stop by the Bold Nebraska office at 1141 H Street, 3rd Floor, Lincoln, 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday.
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.”

NEBRASKA AIDS WALK . . . Sunday, September 12, 2010, the Nebraska AIDS Walk will take place in six cities: Omaha, Lincoln, Norfolk, Kearney, Hastings and Scottsbluff. Find locations and contact information by Congressional District below. Click here for further details and facebook sites.

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

MARY RIEPMA ROSS 100TH BIRTHDAY . . . In 1993, Mary Riepma Ross gave the University of Nebraska Foundation $3,600,000 to support the construction of a new Media Arts Center. Mrs. Ross, an alumna of UN-L, was on hand for the 2002 dedication of The Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, and continues to support the activities of The Ross, even today. On October 1, 2010, she will turn 100 years old. To help celebrate this milestone in her life, The Ross would like to surprise her with birthday wishes on behalf of the many friends and supporters who enjoy the films shown at The Ross. The goal is to present her with 100 birthday greetings. To participate in the birthday surprise, write a note to Mrs. Ross expressing the impact the film theater has had on you personally, on the University of Nebraska, and on the community. The birthday greeting parameters are one page only, 8 ½ X 11, written legibly. Phone The Ross office, 472.9100, if you have questions. Deadline is September 15, 2010. Return your letter to Danny Ladely, MRRMAC, PO Box 880253, Lincoln, NE 68588-0253, or e-mail the letter as an attachment to dladely1 [at] unl [dot] edu

DINE OUT TO HELP OUT . . . September is Hunger Action Month. The Food Bank of Lincoln and 48 restaurants in 99 locations will stage the 21st Annual Dine Out to Help Out on Wednesday, September 8, 2010. Each restaurant listed here will donate 10% of the day’s proceeds to Food Bank programs. Help support the Food Bank’s work to feed Lincoln’s hungry people by dining out to help out on Wednesday.

PUBLIC MEETING ON ANTELOPE CREEK DESIGN . . . There will be a public meeting focused on the proposed flood-control design to Antelope Creek from South 27th Street to South Street, Thursday, September 9, 2010, 5:00 to 6:30pm, at the Auld Recreation Center, 3140 Sumner, in Antelope Park. A brief presentation will start at 5:15 and be repeated at 6:00pm. Q & A will follow both presentations.

COMMUNITY CROPS & SUNSET COMMUNITY FARM WALK . . . The annual Community Farm Walk and Soup Supper at Sunset Farm, Southwest 40th and West F Street, Lincoln, will be Friday, September 10, 2010, 5:00 to 7:30pm. There will be a farm tour, free raffle drawing, kids activities, music with Jim King, free food samples, and farm grown vegetables for sale. All the food you can eat is included in the meal ticket. Kids under five eat free. There will be special raffle prizes for those who meet at Open Harvest, 1618 South Street, and bicycle to the farm. Find details, directions, and a PayPal link here.

FALL COMPOSTING DEMONSTRATION . . . The Pioneers Park Nature Center will present a backyard composting demonstration on Saturday, September 11, 2010, 9:30 to 11:30am. The free sessions will show how to use three types of composting bins.

SEPTEMBER 11 REMEMBRANCE . . . Lincoln pastors will remember September 11, 2001, with a worship service of prayer and song on Saturday, September 11, 2010, 7:00pm, on the east lawn of Northeast United Church of Christ, 6200 Adams Street. The hour will include scripture reading, prayers for healing and grace, and an offering of peace cranes as an act of faith in remembering. Bring your own lawn chairs and/or blankets. All are welcome. Contact David Orr, david [at] fmclincoln [dot] org for more information.

NEBRASKA AIDS WALK . . . Sunday, September 12, 2010. Registration begins at Noon. Walk begins at 1:00pm. Lincoln location: behnd the UN-L Student Union. Contact Stephanie Hummer, 402.476.7000, or e-mail stephanieh [at] nap [dot] org. For more information about The Nebraska AIDS Project, click here.

BENEFIT CONCERT FOR MATT TALBOT KITCHEN . . . The horn-based rock bank Loose Rooster will perform a benefit concert for Matt Talbot Kitchen on Sunday, September 12, 2010, 6:00pm, at red9, 322 South 9th Street, Lincoln. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Matt Talbot, 2121 North 27th Street, or by calling 402.477.4116. They will also be available at the door. All proceeds will go to hunger relief and homeless prevention programs.

GROW AND SHARE . . . Local gardeners can take excess fruits and vegetables to Campbell’s Nurseries, 2342 South 40th and 7000 South 56th Street, Lincoln, every Monday and Tuesday during summer. Food will be collected for the Food Bank of Lincoln and distributed to 65 Southeast Nebraska agencies serving low-income people and families. Gardeners can also drop off produce at the Food Bank, 4840 Doris Bair Circle–about three blocks north of 48th and Superior, Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm. Click here for tips on how to process produce for sharing. For more information, contact Cory Priefert at Campbell’s, 402.423.4556, ext. 233; or Cheri Lawrence at the Food Bank, 402.466.8170, ext. 106.

LINCOLN FARMERS MARKETS . . . Locally grown produce and baked goods are available at Lincoln Farmers Markets five of the seven week days. Saturdays through October 9th, the Haymarket Farmers Market is open from 8:00am to noon. The Old Cheney Road Garden Market at 55th Street and Old Cheney Road (behind the Lincoln Racquet Club) is open from 10:00am to 2:00pm every Sunday through November 7th. Other Lincoln Markets include
— Havelock Farmers Market, behind the businesses at 62nd and 63rd Streets and Havelock Avenue, Wednesdays 3:00 to 6:30pm, May 5 to October 27th.
— Piedmont Farmers Market, 1265 South Cotner Blvd. Saturdays 8:00am to noon, May 15 to September 18. Vendor spots available. Call Randy Nelsen at 467-2777.
— Community Crops Farmers Market, Pentzer Park, 27th and Potter (2 blocks north of 27th and Holdrege), Thursdays, 4:30-7:30pm, June 3 through September 30, 2010.
— Backyard Farmer’s Market and Exchange, Tuesdays, 4:30 to 7:30pm, in the St. Paul United Church of Christ parking lot at 1302 “F” Street, June 1st through September 28, 2010.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Guardians of the Good Life will rally to protest the XL tar sands pipeline on Thursday, September 9, 2010, 5:00 to 7:00pm, at 90th & Maple, in Omaha. Walk, bike, or carpool to the rally if possible. If you drive, try parking in the southwest corner lot of Westlake Hardware. Help educate and raise awareness of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline threat to the fragile ecosystem of the entire region. For more information, e-mail japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net

BLACK-WHITE DIALOGUES . . . The fall Black-White Dialogues public series, where people of the different races meet, watch and listen to a short presentation, and then discuss the topic and other concerns, building connections in order to address and eliminate racism, will begin Tuesday, September 7, 2010. This Series Theme is “Helping Youth Create & Achieve Their Vision of Success.” Sharif Liwaru, President of Malcolm X Memorial Foundation, will present “The Transformation of Malcolm X” at First Central Congregational Church, 421 South 36th Street, September 7th. Gather at 6:45pm. The program is from 7:00 to 9:00pm. To get involved contact Elaine Wells, 573-1720, or click here for information and registration.

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 “RiP! A Remix Manifesto.” Copyright issues in the information age are explored in this documentary focusing on the controversy surrounding Girl Talk, a popular mash-up artist who takes existing songs and transforms them into something fresh and original. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

EMPOWERMENT NETWORK COMMUNITY MEETING . . . There will be an interactive community meeting at Omaha North High Magnet School Viking Center, 4410 North 36th Street in Omaha, Saturday, September 11, 2010, at 9:30am. A networking breakfast will begin at 8:45am. Click here for a list of planned interactive presentations and discussions.
For more information phone 402.502.5153.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH BLOCK PARTY . . . “Taking it to the Streets,” Saturday, September 11, 2010, 1:30 to 7:30pm at 24th & Blondo in Omaha (2021 North 24th Street), will be a “Stop The Violence” event featuring free activities including live music, entertainment, sports events, free food, fun and educational information designed to strengthen community relations. For more informaiton, phone 402.341.4297.

BENSON FARMERS MARKET . . . The Benson Farmers Market will be on Military Avenue from Maple to Binney Streets, Saturday, September 11, 2010, 8:00am to noon.

PROGRESSIVE OMAHA MEETING . . . Progressive Omaha will meet Saturday, September 11, 2010, 6:00 to 9:00pm, at 4924 Chicago in Dundee. The Reverend Howard Dotson, Pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church, will speak on the issue of discrimination against Latino immigrants in Fremont and Omaha. There will be a potluck supper from 6:00 to 7:00 and business/social time from 8:00 to 9:00pm. EveryOne is welcome. Learn about Progressive Omaha here.

NEBRASKA AIDS WALK . . . Sunday, September 12, 2010. Registration begins at Noon. Walk begins at 1:00pm. Omaha location: Nebraska AIDS Project office, 250 South 77th Street. Contact Kyle Baun, 402.552.9260, or e-mail kyleb [at] nap [dot] org

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

NEBRASKA AIDS WALK . . . Sunday, September 12, 2010. Registration begins at Noon. Walk begins at 1:00pm. HASTINGS location: Hazelrigg Student Union, Hastings College. Contact Judy Sandeen, 402.462.2961, or e-mail jsandeen [at] hastings [dot] edu KEARNEY location: Fine Arts Building, UN-K Campus. Don Messer, Chair of the United Methodist Global AIDS fund, will speak at 1:00pm before, the walk. Contact Andrew Brackett, 308.338.0527, or e-mail andrewb [at] nap [dot] org NORFOLK contact: Christin Woockman, 402.649.3584 or christinw [at] nap [dot] org SCOTTSBLUFF location: Trails West Camp/Monument Pathway. Contact Jill Young, 308.635.3807, or e-mail jilly [at] nap [dot] org For more information about The Nebraska AIDS Project, click here.

BUY FRESH. BUY LOCAL . . . . Farmers, gardeners, and craftspeople meet through The Nebraska Food Cooperative, an on-line, year-round farmers’ market and local food distribution service offering the best in local freshness. For ordering and pickup schedules, refer to the calendar here. Click here for products and prices from North Star Neighbors, a Cooperative member that doesn’t therapeutically medicate or unduly confine animals. Click here for Tomato Tomäto, Omaha’s year-round indoor Farmer’s Market at 156th & West Center. Shop for fresh foods grown in or very near your own community at Open Harvest, Lincoln’s member-owned natural foods retail cooperative in expanded space at 1618 South Street. Buying local grows family farming, grows the local economy, and is thousands of miles fresher.

We are no longer the alternative; we are the imperative. –Rosa Clemente

Green Notes Week of August 29, 2010

August 29, 2010Green Notesgreenone

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. NewDimensions 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, on Wednesday, September 1, 2010, with the intention of deep healing for the Planet and all its beings. Click here for more information about Earth Circle.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . This week, CNN reported on the Keystone XL pipeline, repeating the Natural Resources Defense Council description of tar sands as “the dirtiest, most destructive oil on the face of the Earth.” Processing the fuel involves strip mining valuable forests, and burning it yields more pollution than other kinds of oil. Thom Patterson repeated the NRDC warning that the pipeline would threaten one of America’s largest underground sources 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 and scroll down the Green Notes Index to learn about the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline if you are new to this website. Green Notes Updates started the week of May 30, 2010. To see photos of what tar sands have done to the Alberta, Canada environment, click here. See CD 2 Green Notes below for details of Tuesday’s Omaha demonstration against the pipeline.
Nebraska has no legislation on the books for regulating the current Keystone I pipeline, nor the proposed XL sand tars pipeline. The Lincoln Journal Star editorialized on the issue for the third time last week. TransCanada should back off was published Monday, August 23, 2010. Why it matters that spilled Michigan oil came from tar sands, was posted by Jonathan Hiskes at grist on August 16, 2010. Sunday’s August 22, 2010 Lincoln Journal Star updated TransCanada’s written intent to condemn property if landowners do not sign an easement for pipeline construction. This, before the project is even approved by the Federal Department of State and President Obama. Read “Push coming to shove on pipeline easements” here.
Nebraska’s Congressional delegation and the governor still need to receive letters, e-mails and phone calls from constituents demanding regulation on the existing tar sands pipeline, expressing concern about more TransCanada construction in our state. Contact information for Nebraska 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. Senator Mike Johanns is at 202.224.4224, 402.476.1400 in Lincoln; and Senator Ben Nelson is at 202.224.6551, 402.441.4600 in Lincoln. Please tell them all 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, tell Gov. Heineman to put forth laws that protect our resources and economic activity and tell President Obama to live up to his promise of clean energy and energy independence. 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 “Windmills Not Oil Spills” t-shirts, or stop by the Bold Nebraska office at 1141 H Street, 3rd Floor, Lincoln, 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday.
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.”

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

LINCOLN FARMERS MARKETS . . . Locally grown produce and baked goods are available at Lincoln Farmers Markets five of the seven week days. Saturdays through October 9th, the Haymarket Farmers Market is open from 8:00am to noon. The Old Cheney Road Garden Market at 55th Street and Old Cheney Road (behind the Lincoln Racquet Club) is open from 10:00am to 2:00pm every Sunday through November 7th. Other Lincoln Markets include
— Havelock Farmers Market, behind the businesses at 62nd and 63rd Streets and Havelock Avenue, Wednesdays 3:00 to 6:30pm, May 5 to October 27th.
— Piedmont Farmers Market, 1265 South Cotner Blvd. Saturdays 8:00am to noon, May 15 to September 18. Vendor spots available. Call Randy Nelsen at 467-2777.
— Community Crops Farmers Market, Pentzer Park, 27th and Potter (2 blocks north of 27th and Holdrege), Thursdays, 4:30-7:30pm, June 3 through September 30, 2010.
— Backyard Farmer’s Market and Exchange, Tuesdays, 4:30 to 7:30pm, in the St. Paul United Church of Christ parking lot at 1302 “F” Street, June 1st through September 28, 2010.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

PROTEST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE . . . Guardians of the Good Life will rally to protest the XL tar sands pipeline on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 5:00 to 7:00pm, at 90th & Maple, in Omaha. Walk, bike, or carpool to the rally if possible. If you drive, try parking in the southwest corner lot of Westlake Hardware. Help educate and raise awareness of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline threat to the fragile ecosystem of the entire region. For more information, e-mail Jane, japlapoo [at] netzero [dot] net

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 “American Casino,” a documentary by Leslie and Andrew Cockburn chronicling the collapse of the US financial system and the sub-prime lending scandal. Watch the trailer here. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

JEFFREY HAAS AT CREIGHTON . . . Author of “The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther,” Jeffrey Haas, will speak on behalf of Nebraska’s political prisoners Ed Poindexter and Mondo We Langa, on Thursday, September 2, 2010, 7:00pm, at the Hixson-Lied Auditorium in the Mike and Josie Harper Center, 602 North 20th Street, between Burt & Cass, in Omaha. The free, open event is hosted by Nebraskans for Justice in observance of Ed and Mondo’s 40 years of wrongful conviction and incarceration. Parking is available in the visitor lot at 20th & Cass Street. For more information, e-mail mdickin [at] lps [dot] org or phone Mary at 435.3073.

Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3

PEACE WORKERS DEMONSTRATION . . . Central Nebraska Peace Workers will vigil on Wednesday, September 1, 2010, 5:00 to 6:00pm, at State Street and Webb Road, in Grand Island. All Peacemakers are welcome. Stop by for a few minutes, or the hour. Peace signs will be available, or bring you own. For more information, phone Mena at 308.754.4901.

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 in expanded space at 1618 South Street. Buying local grows family farming, grows the local economy, and is thousands of miles fresher.

We are no longer the alternative; we are the imperative. –Rosa Clemente