{"id":580,"date":"2012-01-01T07:15:38","date_gmt":"2012-01-01T07:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nebraskagreens.org\/?p=580"},"modified":"2013-05-29T07:17:13","modified_gmt":"2013-05-29T07:17:13","slug":"green-notes-week-of-january-1-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nebraskagreens.org\/wordpress\/2012\/01\/01\/green-notes-week-of-january-1-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Notes Week of January 1, 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

HELP GREENS GATHER SIGNATURES . . . The Green Party is now qualified for ballot status this election cycle in all of the four biggest states: New York, California, Florida, and Texas. Nebraska Green Party is now gathering signatures so that voters here will also have the choice of voting for the Green Party presidential slate.
\nIn Lincoln, petitions are available at Meadowlark Coffee and Espresso<\/a>, 1624 South Street. Registered Nebraska voters are invited to stop by for coffee, visit with Adam Hintz from 6:00am to 2:00pm daily, sign a petition, or pick up one to circulate with friends and family during the holidays. In Omaha, look for Charles Ostdiek at McFoster’s<\/a>, 38th and Harney, to sign and pick up petitions. If you’re not a registered voter, fill out the voter registration application online here<\/a>.[pdf] \u00a0If you can help us identify a public place in CD 3 where petitions could be available, if you would like us to mail you petitions to circulate via postal, or to participate in the ballot access process in any way, please let us know by e-mailing mjberry [at] inebraska [dot] com. Let’s take Our democracy back from Wall Street!<\/a><\/p>\n

SAVING AMERICAN DEMOCRACY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT . . . “There’s no question that the political tide is turning thanks to Occupy Wall Street–because there’s actually a political push to ensure that corporations are NOT people, to overturn the “free speech rights” given to corporations by the Supreme Court’s troubling Citizens United decision.<\/a>”\u00a0 Add your voice. <\/b>Sign the petition.<\/b><\/a>
\nIn the House, Representative Ted Deutch’s H.J. Res 90, The OCCUPIED Amendment, also says that corporations are not people and they do not belong in our elections. \u00a0Sign the OCCUPIED petition<\/b><\/a>. \u00a0Spread the word.<\/b><\/p>\n

XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . Page down for this week’s Pipeline Opposition Update, and then PLEASE CONTACT PRESIDENT OBAMA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Lincoln area: Congressional District 1<\/p>\n

VIGIL AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY . . . Every Monday, from noon to 1:00pm, Nebraskans for abolition of the death penalty meet in front of the governor’s mansion when weather is good, 1425 H Street, Lincoln. In winter, the vigil is inside the capitol, near the Information Desk. The lunch-hour presence reminds the governor of a constituency that does not want state killings. Weekly vigils have taken place year-round since July, 1991. All abolitionists are welcome to participate for a few minutes, or the hour. For information about Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

NEW YEAR WINTER WALKABOUT . . . Saturday, January 7, 2012, Spring Creek Prairie Audubon will host two explorations of remote parts of the prairie. A morning session is from 10:00am to noon, and a second walkabout will be from 1:00 to 3:00pm. Reservations are being taken at 402.797.2301, or scp [at] audubon [dot] org. There is a small fee, and children must be accompanied by an adult. Spring Creek Prairie is an 808-acre tall grass prairie sanctuary about 20 miles southwest of Lincoln near Denton, Nebraska.<\/p>\n

NO MORE PLASTIC BAGS AT OPEN HARVEST . . . Open Harvest Co-Op Grocery<\/a>, 1618 South Steet in Lincoln, has eliminated plastic bags at the check out registers beginning January 1, 2012.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0From the LJS article, “It is a positive change for the Co-op and hopefully other businesses in Lincoln will consider keeping plastic bags out of their store and out of our landfills.”<\/p>\n

“BAG IT” AT MEADOWLARK . . . Open Harvest is sponsoring a free showing of Bag It<\/a>, Saturday, January 7, 2012, 7:00pm, next door at Meadowlark Coffee and Espresso<\/a>, 1624 South Street. From the Bag It website, “What started as a documentary about plastic bags evolved into a wholesale investigation into plastics and their effect on our waterways, oceans, and even our bodies.”<\/p>\n

OCCUPY LINCOLN . . . The Occupy Lincoln<\/a> camp site is located on Centennial Mall north of the state capitol. There is now a General Assembly three times per week: Sunday, 1:30pm; Wednesday, 6:00pm; and Friday, 6:00 to 9:00pm. The Facebook page is here<\/a>. \u00a0The Twitter feed is @OccupyLincoln. For more information, e-mail occupylincoln [at] gmail [dot] com or phone 402.585.5865. Corporate Greed is Revolution’s Seed!<\/p>\n

RECYCLE CHRISTMAS TREES . . . The City of Lincoln will accept trees to recycle through Sunday, January 8, 2011, at any of the seven sites listed here<\/a>.\u00a0 For more information, call 402-441-8215 or see recycle.lincoln.ne.gov.<\/p>\n

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Omaha area: Congressional District 2<\/p>\n

OMAHA PEACE VIGILS . . . Omaha peacemakers vigil every Wednesday, 4:30-5:30pm, at StratCom\/UN-O, 6801 Pine Street, east of the Scott Technology Center on the UN-O campus. Free parking is available at the NE Corner of 67th Street and Pine in a student lot. For more information, phone Jerry Ebner, 402.502.5887. Every Saturday, 1:00-2:00pm, there is a Peace Vigil at 72nd and Dodge Streets. Park next to 72nd Street, in the pet store parking lot. Contact Steve Horn at 402.426.9068 for more information about Saturday vigils.<\/p>\n

OMAHA PEOPLE’S FILM FESTIVAL . . . There is a People’s Film Festival every Wednesday evening, 7:00pm, at McFoster’s Natural Kind Cafe<\/a>, 38th and Harney in Omaha. Wednesday, January 4, 2012, the film will be “Supermarket Secrets,” a documentary Using a combination of undercover filming and scientific analysis to investigate whether the food on supermarket shelves is really as good as it looks, whether prices are as good as they seem, and what happens behind the scenes in the production of supermarket food. The weekly event is always free and open to the public. A discussion will follow the film. For more information, click here<\/a>. \u00a0The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.<\/p>\n

OCCUPY OMAHA . . . The current Occupy Omaha location is in transition. All charges against Katy Heil, Nathan Davis and Ben Walden, who were arrested at 24th and Farnam on November 3rd, have been dismissed. The official Occupy Omaha website is here<\/a>. \u00a0The FaceBook page is here<\/a>.\u00a0 The Twitter feed is #occupyomaha<\/p>\n

ENGAGE OMAHA . . . One of the nation’s first city-wide, virtual town hall websites, EngageOmaha<\/a>, is now online. Omaha residents may weigh in on issues for the city to consider. Pick a topic, and join the mix here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3<\/p>\n

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . We now have “60 Days to Stop the Keystone Pipeline.<\/a><\/b>”\u00a0 This is the moment — a 60 day window — to inspire President Obama to be the President he told us he would be and make sure he does not approve the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline through Nebraska’s fragile Sand Hills<\/a> and the Ogallala Aquifer<\/a>. \u00a0Sign a Credo petition to the president <\/b>here<\/b><\/a>. Send the White House a message <\/b>here<\/b><\/a>, and spread the word on Facebook and Twitter. CALL THE WHITE HOUSE at the Switchboard number: 202.456.1414.<\/b>
\n“Preventing the Keystone XL Pipeline: Occupy the Oil Companies<\/a>,”\u00a0 by Paul Rogat Loeb, BuzzFlash@Truthout, was published December 28, 2011: “… the two-month clock is now ticking on whether Obama will approve the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada’s environmentally disastrous tar sands. If we want him to make the right decision and deny the permit, maybe it’s time to Occupy Exxon, with creative protests at local Exxon\/Mobil stations. Of course we need to keep pressuring Obama. The bill’s deadline precludes anything close to the kind of comprehensive environmental review that he called for after rallies and civil disobedience at the White House led him to delay approval for a year.
\n…In a week heralding news of melting Arctic methane beds, and a year of record global temperatures and billion-dollar weather-related disasters, demanding Keystone’s approval is a stunning exercise in denial. But that’s the deal that passed. So our challenge is not only to get Obama to reject the pipeline. We also want to make this raw power grab backfire on those who insisted on it by turning at least part of the national conversation back onto oil company greed.”
\nFrom The Hill, December 28th, “Greens say President Obama has no choice but to kill Keystone XL pipeline<\/a>,” by Andrew Restuccia begins “Republicans who lobbied aggressively for a measure to force President Obama to make a speedy decision on the Keystone XL pipeline have ensured the project\u2019s demise, environmental groups say. The activists said Obama will be forced to reject the pipeline \u2014 which would carry oil sands crude from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf Coast \u2014 under a measure in the two-month payroll tax cut extension that requires the administration to make a decision on the project within 60 days.
\n\u201cThe president is going to have no choice but to reject the pipeline,\u201d said Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, director of international programs at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). \u201cI don\u2019t see any wiggle room.
\n“The Fight Over Keystone XL Now Has a 60-Day Deadline<\/a>,” by Brad Johnson, ThinkProgress, was published in Truthout December 25th: “Attached to the payroll tax deal was a provision forcing President Obama to decide within 60 days whether or not to approve the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, before its route is even finalized. The deadline runs out on February 21, 2012. The State Department has made it clear it can’t do a proper review of the pipeline, especially considering that TransCanada has agreed to change the pipeline’s pathway in Nebraska but hasn’t even finalized the new route.”
\nLincoln Journal Star published “Keystone XL pipeline not safe<\/a>” by Mike Klink on January 1, 2012. Klink, a civil engineer and an inspector for TransCanada during the construction of the first Keystone pipeline, is currently seeking whistleblower protection from the U.S. Department of Labor. From the editorial, “I’ve had an uncomfortable front-row seat to the disaster that Keystone XL could bring about all along its pathway.”
\nLJS covered the release of a map that officially delineates the part of Nebraska’s Sand Hills Keystone XL must avoid<\/a> if it crosses Nebraska on December 30th. A Deena Winter article<\/a> for Nebraska WatchDog, includes the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality map.
\nFrom “The politics of pipe: Keystone’s troubled route,” by Nathan Vanderklippe, The Globe and Mail, December 24th: “…For TransCanada, Nebraska would come to form the heart of a fierce opposition to a $7-billion pipeline project that has now been put on hold, after a groundswell that started in Cornhusker country swept through activist environmental groups to Washington, D.C.” Page 1 of 3 is here<\/a>.
\nEnvironmental champion Robert Redford wrote his third recent commentary on XL, “Congress and Keystone XL: A National Disgrace<\/a>,” for Reader Supported News, December 20th: “The Congress is ending the year much as it began – playing politics with our nation’s future and putting American families at risk to score partisan points. In the closing act to a shameful year of paralysis and indecision on the issues that matter most, House Republicans held common-sense tax relief for American families hostage to a holiday gift to Big Oil. After the GOP-led House welded the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline rider onto the tax-relief bill, the Democratic-led Senate went along for the ride, passing a bad piece of legislation rather than being accused of blocking a needed tax cut. When the United State Congress intentionally ties these two things together, though, it’s not a joke: it’s a national disgrace.”
\nRedford’s “Keystone XL and Jobs: Just More Pipe Dreams<\/a>” and “Stand Together Against the Tar Sands Scourge<\/a>,” were both also published in Reader Supported News<\/a>.
\nAn excellent Rolling Stone commentary about the tyranny of Big Oil, “The zombie pipeline lives!<\/a>” addresses the two great myths of the Keystone XL pipeline. Brasscheck TV also addressed the “Tyranny of Big Oil<\/a>” in a 2:16 minute video featuring Nebraska’s Randy Thompson<\/a> and pipeline protesters. “Big Oil has cut a back-room deal with the dirtiest members of Congress to attach a provision that would force the Keystone XL pipeline approval to a MUST-PASS tax cut bill. These kinds of deals exemplify the tyranny Big Oil exercises over our government. President Obama came into office promising to “end the tyranny of oil.” This WAS his chance to prove he was serious.”
\nUrge President Obama to do the right thing and reject the pipeline by filling out a 350.org petition <\/b>here<\/b><\/a>.\u00a0 Send a “Thanks in Advance” message to the President <\/b>here<\/b><\/a>.\u00a0 Add your voice to the “Protect Our Water, Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline!” petition urging the president to deny a construction permit <\/b>here<\/b><\/a>. \u00a0Call the White House Switchboard directly at 202.456.1111. And sign The Other 98% petition to Obama, “End Lobbyist Influence, STOP THE PIPELINE,” <\/b>here<\/b><\/a>.<\/b>
\nOn January 14, 2012, 7:00 to 10:00pm, BOLD Nebraska will host an Art Auction Fundraiser in Omaha at 1213 Jones Street. To help STOP THE PIPELINE by contributing art or other items to the Omaha event, fill out the form here<\/a>. \u00a0View some of the items already donated for auction here<\/a>.
\nComprehensive coverage of international, national and local opposition to the XL pipeline since May 30, 2010 is archived in the Green Notes tab above. At the Index, scroll from the bottom up for links to each week’s Update.<\/p>\n

STOP FRACKING NOW . . .\u00a0 The Environmental Protection Agency has implicated fracking in groundwater pollution<\/a>.\u00a0 Quoting “EPA Links Tainted Water in Wyoming to Hydraulic Fracturing for Natural Gas<\/a>,” by Kirk Johnson, The New York Times News Service, “The draft report, after a three-year study by the Environmental Protection Agency, represents a new scientific and political skirmish line over whether fracking, as it is more commonly known, poses a threat in the dozens of places around the nation where it is now being used to extract previously unreachable energy resources locked within rock. The E.P.A. has also begun a national study on the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources.”
\n“Shale Gas Drilling’s Dirty Secret Is Out<\/a>,” by Josh Fox, sourced to Reader Supported News, begins “Having investigated fracking myself for three years, I have heard the same story hundreds of times, from residents in gas-drilling areas from Wyoming to Arkansas, from Pennsylvania to Texas. It goes like this: the frackers move in – and all of a sudden your water turns color, or can be lit on fire, or smells like turpentine or leaves burn marks on you after you take a shower. It doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots.”
\nPetition Congress: “We, the undersigned, call on Congress to pass the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act this year. It’s time to hold the oil and gas production industry to the same standards as any other industry to ensure the safe protection of America’s drinking water.<\/a>”<\/p>\n

PETITION THE EPA . . . Tell the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately prohibit the use of clothianidin and conduct a full scientific review to determine its impact on honey bee populations<\/a>. \u00a0Learn more about clothianidin and sign the petition here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

TELL PRESIDENT OBAMA NOT TO CAVE TO MONSANTO AND THE BIOTECH INDUSTRY . . . The Obama administration has unbelievably chosen to approve three biotech crops, Roundup Ready genetically modified alfalfa, Roundup Ready genetically modified sugar beets and a new industrial biotech corn for ethanol production. These decisions are a devastating blow to our democracy and the basic rights of farmers to choose how they want to grow food on their land and the rights of consumers who increasingly choose organic and sustainably grown food for its positive health and environmental impacts. Please tell the President it’s time to stand up to Monsanto and reject GMO crops<\/a>.<\/p>\n

BUY FRESH. BUY LOCAL . . . . Farmers, gardeners, and craftspeople meet through The Nebraska Food Cooperative<\/a>, 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<\/a>.\u00a0 Click here<\/a> for products and prices from North Star Neighbors, a Cooperative member that doesn’t therapeutically medicate or unduly confine animals. Click here<\/a> for Tomato Tom\u00e4to, 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<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

HELP NEBRASKA GREENS WITH GOODSEARCH . . . Each time you search the Internet (or shop online at a participating store), a donation can be made to Nebraska Green Party at no cost to you! To help NGP in this way, enter Nebraska Green Party where it asks you to name your cause here<\/a>. \u00a0Bookmark 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!<\/p>\n

Remember, every man-made by-product of the petroleum industry could be replaced by hemp. “<\/b>Help Save the Earth, Time to Substitute Hemp for oil.<\/b><\/a>“<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HELP GREENS GATHER SIGNATURES . . . The Green Party is now qualified for ballot status this election cycle in all of the four biggest states: New York, California, Florida, and Texas. Nebraska Green Party is now gathering signatures so that voters here will also have the choice of voting for the Green Party presidential … Continue reading Green Notes Week of January 1, 2012<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nebraskagreens.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nebraskagreens.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nebraskagreens.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebraskagreens.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebraskagreens.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nebraskagreens.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nebraskagreens.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebraskagreens.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebraskagreens.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}