From Outside magazine:
The crude that would feed the XL pipeline comes from a once pristine part of Alberta that now resembles mining operations on a sci-fi planet. At places like Fort McKay, home to First Nations people who’ve lived there for centuries, the money is great but the environmental and health impacts are exceedingly grim. The world has to have fuel. Is this simply the price that must be paid?
From Reader Supported News:
American voters proved this week that when Congress fails to get something done, the people have the means to do it themselves. Direct democracy through statewide ballot initiatives has proven to be much more effective and more satisfying than waiting for a deadlocked Congress to catch up to the will of the people.
When Americans overwhelmingly supported increased background checks on gun purchases in the wake of almost two dozen children getting massacred in school, Congressional Republicans wouldn’t agree to anything. When 70 percent of Americans polled supported an increase in the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, Congressional Republicans refused to take action. When most Americans supported a “Buffett Rule” stating that billionaires should never pay a lower tax rate than working people by a 2 to 1 margin, Congressional Republicans dug in their heels and filibustered. Neither Democrats nor Republicans in Congress would dare to rein in the prison-industrial complex, much less even utter the phrase in the first place. And legalizing marijuana at the federal level? Forget about it.
However, ballot initiatives passed Nov. 4 accomplished all of those things in multiple states.
From BOLD Nebraska:
Omaha, NE — Nebraskans stood up to TransCanada by voting out Rep. Lee Terry, the top cheerleader in Congress for the foreign company’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline. While a national wave gave wins to the GOP across the country, Nebraskans who have fought the Keystone XL pipeline from day one marched in a different direction, sending Lee Terry back home to his “nice house” (“Dang straight!”).
From the Lincoln Journal Star:
The viewpoint of small business owners deserves respect. But the positive impact of raising the minimum wage in Nebraska must also be weighed by voters.
The working poor in Nebraska need some help. The economic system currently is imbalanced in favor of those at the top end of the income and wealth scale. The top 1 percent of Americans hold about 40 percent of the nation’s wealth and haul in about a quarter of the country’s income.
From JournalStar.com:
An international company has applied for permits to build a wind farm with 54 turbines in southern Lancaster and northern Gage counties.
Volkswind USA Inc., through its Nebraska subsidiaries Hallam Wind LLC and Hallam Wind Two LLC, wants to build the wind farm on 7,000 acres of land in Lancaster County and 4,000 acres in Gage County, near Hallam and Cortland. More than 50 landowners already have signed leases, according to documents filed with the Lincoln/Lancaster County Planning Department.
From UNL’s School of Natural Resources:
Globally, we face significant economic, social, and environmental risks as we confront the challenges associated with climate change. The magnitude and rapidity of the projected changes in climate are unprecedented, and their implications for the health of our planet and the legacy we will leave to our children, our grandchildren, and future generations are of vital concern. We need to develop strategies now to adapt to the changes, and this process must begin at the local level.
Understanding and Assessing Climate Change: Implications for Nebraska documents many of the key challenges that Nebraska will face as a result of climate change. Commentaries from experts on Nebraska’s water resources, energy supply and use, agriculture, forests, health, ecosystems, urban systems and rural communities, and infrastructure and vulnerabilities raise serious concerns about the impacts of projected changes in climate, but they also provide a starting point for discussions about the actions that we can take to overcome these challenges.
Read the Executive Summary, key talking points, and the full report.
From the Green Party of the United States:
The Green Party has endorsed the NYC Climate Convergence being hosted this weekend in conjunction with the People’s Climate March in New York City. Join us in New York City and show the world that the Green Party is part of this historic event!
The NYC Climate Convergence schedule is available here. Jill Stein, Cheri Honkala, Howie Hawkins, Brian Jones, Margaret Flowers, and others will be speaking on global climate justice.
If you are participating in the People’s Climate March on Sunday, please join the Green Party contingent. The Howie Hawkins/Brian Jones for New York campaign and New York Green Party will be gathering at 79th Street and Central Park West, inside the gathering area for the march.
You must enter the area from the west at either 77th or 81st Streets, then walk to 79th Street to meet hundreds of other Greens. It is strongly advised to be within the march area by 10:30am to avoid being shut out if the march reaches capacity. Be safe, represent the Green Party peacefully, and let’s fight for climate justice!
From Nebraskans for Peace:
Water is so essential for life that wars have been fought over it. And with the accelerating pace of climate change, conflicts over water resources will become more frequent, widespread and intense. Even an agricultural powerhouse like Nebraska, sitting atop one of the largest fresh-water aquifers in the world, is projected to face water shortages in the decades to come. Potable water, it turns out, is not only essential for life. It’s essential to creating the conditions for peace.
Read the full article and more in the September/October edition of Nebraska Report.
From JournalStar.com:
Electric car owners in Lincoln will soon have places other than their homes where they can charge up. Lincoln Electric System is putting two electric vehicle charging stations in a city parking garage that’s under construction at 530 P St.
Marc Shkolnick, manager of energy services at LES, said the two stations will be on the first level of the Green Deck No. 2 garage. Each station will have two charging ports, and one port will be dedicated for LES use for charging its three electric vehicles. The other three ports will be open to the public, the first in Lincoln.
From the Columbus Telegram and the Schuyler Sun:
BRADSHAW — Corn grew to the left, soybeans to the right and gravel crunched under their feet on Road 22 Saturday afternoon as about 70 Nebraskans met 35 marchers who are on a cross-country trek to inspire action in combating climate change.
The Great March for Climate Action, which started in Los Angeles, reached Nebraska soil on June 30 and participants have been slowly winding their way through the state. By Saturday, their shoes’ soles had covered about 1,800 miles — about 20 miles a day — with about 1,200 miles to go to reach Washington, D.C.
In the Cornhusker State, those marching have sung in the People’s Church in tiny Max, walked in the July 4 parade in Culbertson, slept in a farmer’s field between Arapahoe and Holdrege — and spoke with thousands of Nebraskans along the way.