Tag Archives: Ecological Wisdom

Join the Tar Sands Resistance March on June 6: Bus picking up from Lincoln and Omaha

Events,

A charter bus from Nebraska, picking up in Lincoln and Omaha, has been arranged for the Tar Sands Resistance March, Saturday, June 6, 2015, in St. Paul, MN. There are 50 seats available. The cost is only $25/seat.

Stand with thousands of people coming together to say NO at the Tar Sands Resistance March, the largest ever anti-tar sands event in the Midwest. Our public pressure has stopped President Obama from approving Keystone XL — so far. But the Tar Sands industry and Koch brother’s aren’t waiting: They are pursuing a major expansion of a network of pipelines to bring even more toxic tar sands into the Midwest — and the Obama Administration has already approved some of these plans. We need to send a powerful, public message that any tar sands expansion allowed by President Obama and other leaders is a failure of their moral obligation to protect our families.

Tar Sands Resistance March:

  • When: Saturday, June 6th, noon to 4 p.m.
  • Where: March to the State Capitol Lawn, St Paul, MN. Starting at Lambert Landing, Corner of Shepard Road and N. Sibley Street. Ending at the State Capitol Lawn, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
  • Getting there: Charter bus from Nebraska, picking up in Lincoln and Omaha, only $25/seat!

Read more about the event and buy tickets here.

First Keystone pipeline showing dangerous level of corrosion

News

From DeSmogBlog:

Documents obtained by DeSmogBlog reveal an alarming rate of corrosion to parts of TransCanada’s Keystone 1 pipeline. A mandatory inspection test revealed a section of the pipeline’s wall had corroded 95%, leaving it paper-thin in one area (one-third the thickness of a dime) and dangerously thin in three other places, leading TransCanada to immediately shut it down. The cause of the corrosion is being kept from the public by federal regulators and TransCanada.

“It is highly unusual for a pipeline not yet two years old to experience such deep corrosion issues,” Evan Vokes, a former TransCanada pipeline engineer-turned-whistleblower, told DeSmogBlog. “Something very severe happened that the public needs to know about.”

Read the full story.

Happy Earth Day!

Events, , ,

From the Green Party of the United States:

Today is Earth Day! Every day this month we have posted an ecological issue we care about to our followers on social media. We want you to spread the word to your social media connections that the Green Party is working year-round to elect candidates and promote a party that will take action on issues like the climate crisis, fracking, oil and gas mining, and more!

We brought you 22 different ecological issues as we counted down to Earth Day, including some that we may not think about every day (like the ecological impact of landmines, the importance of our underfunded national parks, and bees), but we know the list doesn’t end there. No matter what issues are affecting your community, your place is in the Green Party, working to build city councils, state legislatures, and a Congress that understands the connections between our human communities and natural communities.

Thank you for your work in your community, and for your support of the Green Party on Earth Day. Use the hashtag #GPEarthDay to spread the word! Search #GPEarthDay on Facebook and Twitter to follow our outreach. Share our tweets, Facebook messages and graphics! Happy Earth Day!

Lower Platte South NRD seeks applicants to succeed Larrick

Action Alerts,

From the Lincoln Journal Star:

The Lower Platte South Natural Resources District is seeking qualified applicants to fill a vacancy on its 21-member board.

The opening was created when the board vacated the seat held by Steve Larrick, who represented Subdistrict 5 in west Lincoln. Larrick is no longer serving on the board as he is teaching in China. The Lincoln-based NRD will accept letters of application from interested residents of Subdistrict 5 until April 17 at P.O. Box 83581, Lincoln, NE 68501. All applicants must be registered voters.

With board approval, the person selected would serve the balance of the first half of Larrick’s four-year term, through December 2016, then be eligible to run for the seat in the 2016 primary and general elections.

Subdistrict 5 includes downtown Lincoln, the North Bottoms neighborhood, Capitol Beach and West O Street, and an area between A and O streets from 33rd Street west to about the Homestead Expressway. A map of the subdistrict is available lpsnrd.org.

Update on Steve Larrick and his NRD Board Seat

News,

Thank you to everyone who responded with offers of support during the controversy over Steve’s NRD Subdistrict 5 Director’s seat. Tim Johnson wrote the following LJS letter:

“I have known Steve Larrick and consider him a friend. I know he cares deeply about our environment and has done great work on behalf of the NRD board. Some of his ideas are ahead of their time. Is it too late to suggest Skype participation for board meetings while Steve is in China?”

Thanks to Paul Olson, Cecil Steward, and others who volunteered to be witnesses at Steve’s March 18, 2015, hearing. The public was not invited to speak. The proceedings were set up just like a trial. Only called witnesses could speak, and they had to be present to do so in person. Steve would be allowed his own attorney, and could speak via Skype at the “hearing,” but we were advised it is “against the law” to attend meetings via video conferencing.

Meanwhile, Steve received the following news outlining a new million dollar plan to study and take action on reducing the threat of flooding along Salt Creek. This new initiative has long been a top priority for Steve. The project was launched on Wednesday, the same day as Steve’s hearing. Steve is very pleased with news that NRD will move forward with Salt Creek protection. As a result, he advised the board he would not distract from the March 18 project launch. He has resigned his seat and hopes the board will make wise decisions in the future. Meanwhile, Steve can move on to being fully present in China for the duration of his commitment teaching English there.

–MJ Berry

Online petition: Don’t frack our water!

Action Alerts,

From BOLD Nebraska and the Sierra Club’s Nebraska Chapter:

The Nebraska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission is attempting to silence the voices of concerned citizens, farmers and ranchers by strictly limiting who can testify at Tuesday’s public hearing on a proposed toxic fracking wastewater disposal well in Sioux County, Nebraska — exported pollution that would forever endanger the Ogallala aquifer we all depend on.

One of the three members of the Commission, Tom Oliver, recently told the Scottsbluff Star-Herald: “It’s not just a public meeting where people can get up and give comments,” adding that only those who “own property within a half mile” of the proposed well will be able to testify.

This is unacceptable. Local citizens whose primary roads would be overwhelmed by 80 tanker truckloads of toxic wastewater delivered every day deserve to be heard. Nebraskans who don’t want to see our state and the Ogallala aquifer become a dumping ground for out-of-state toxic pollution deserve to be heard.  Whether we’re allowed to testify or not, we’ll be at the hearing on Tuesday, March 24, in Sidney. Stand with us!

Read more and sign the petition.

Crane Caravan Field Trip in Kearney, March 19-22

News

From the Wachiska Audubon Society in southeast Nebraska:

Nebraska has become internationally known for sandhill cranes; in March, tourists come  from many states and countries to view the largest sandhill crane party in the world. Don’t miss these iconic migrants as they pause at their ancestral Platte River during a sort of annual spring break for cranes. A full weekend of fun is available during Audubon’s Nebraska Crane Festival in Kearney March 19 – 22, or if you prefer an afternoon expedition, join Wachiska Audubon’s crane caravan to the Grand Island area. We’ll use our cars as blinds as we view flocks of cranes feeding, stick-tossing, and dancing in the fields. A late afternoon stop at the visitor center will give us an opportunity for a little break. We’ll then head to the Platte River at sunset to watch their epic arrival as throngs of cranes stream through the sky and amass on the river to roost for the night.

Read more in the Society’s March 2015 newsletter, The Babbling Brook.

Landowners in KXL Path Win Injunction

News,

From BOLD Nebraska:

On Feb. 12, landowners won a huge victory when a Holt County, Nebraska, District Court judge halted TransCanada’s attempt to use eminent domain to take their land for the Keystone XL export pipeline. Many thanks go out to landowners’ attorneys Dave Domina and Brian Jorde for their excellent work fighting against eminent domain for private gain.

What the ruling means: All of the eminent domain claims that TransCanada has filed against landowners over the past month are now put on hold, until this case is eventually heard by the Nebraska Supreme Court — in a timeline that could take another 12 months, or longer.

Read the full story.

Climate change documentary showing in Lincoln

Events,

Three episodes of Showtime’s Years of Living Dangerously will be shown in Lincoln at Meadowlark Coffee and Espresso, 1624 South Street.  The showings are sponsored by the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Interfaith Power and Light, and the Nebraska Wildlife Federation. Come down and watch this engaging documentary about climate change with your fellow citizens:

  • Winds of Change: 7 to 8:30 p.m., Friday, January 30, 2015
  • Dangerous Future: 7 to 8:30 p.m., Friday, February 6, 2015
  • Moving a Mountain: 7 to 8:30 p.m., Friday, February 13

About the series, from Showtime:

“This groundbreaking documentary event series explores the human impact of climate change. From the damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy to the upheaval caused by drought in the Middle East, Years of Living Dangerously combines the blockbuster storytelling styles of top Hollywood movie makers with the reporting expertise of Hollywood’s brightest stars and today’s most respected journalists.”

Read more.