Skeptics of climate change unremittingly contend that the science is inconclusive and the debate is still unsettled. Backed by the coal and oil industry, the skeptic lobby has cast doubt on the human role in global warming and the environmental risk of burning fossil fuels.
The U.S. military, on the other hand, has followed the climate science with a growing sense of alarm.
As far back as 2003 (during the first term of the pro-oil Bush/Cheney Administration), a specially commissioned Pentagon report warned that rapid climate change could “potentially destabilize the geo-political environment, leading to skirmishes, battles, and even war” over scarce food, water and energy supplies.
Read morePosted In: Environment
We need to keep turning up the heat on our elected officials. Attend these citizen events associated with the Special Legislative Session. This information is provided by our friends at Bold Nebraska.
The timeline is tight at the Capitol, and there are crucial days when we need citizens showing up and speaking out.
Citizen Special Session Read morePosted In: Environment
At last count, 595 people have been arrested at the White House over the Keystone XL pipeline. And yet, we have still not heard from President Obama. Governor Dave Heineman has just sent a letter to the President and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging them to deny the permit for the proposed pipeline route through the Sandhills. And still, there is no word from President Obama. The President doesn't need Congress in order to take action. The decision to grant a permit lies entirely within his control. If he wants to show that he still cares about stopping climate change, he needs to stop this project.
In Governor Heineman’s letter to the White House, he stated, “Of the current proposed route, 254 miles of the pipeline would come through Nebraska and be situated directly over the Ogallala Aquifer. The aquifer provides water to farmers and ranchers of Nebraska to raise livestock and grow crops. Nebraska has 92,685 registered, active irrigation wells supplying water to over 8.5 million acres of harvested cropland and pasture. Forty-six percent of the total cropland harvested during 2007 was irrigated. Maintaining and protecting Nebraska’s water supply is very important to me and the residents of Nebraska. This resource is the lifeblood of Nebraska’s agriculture industry. Cash receipts from farm markets contribute over $17 billion to Nebraska’s economy annually. I am concerned that the proposed pipeline will potentially have detrimental effects on this valuable natural resource and Nebraska’s economy.”
President Obama’s press secretary, Jay Carney, said Tuesday he hadn't talked to the president about the pipeline. This is a real slap in the face to President Obama’s supporters who are counting on him to live up to his pledge to reverse the growing threat of human-caused climate change. We need to make sure President Obama hears our voices. Take a minute to call the White House and tell the President to deny the permit to build this pipeline.
Read morePosted In: Environment
The following guest editorial by Nebraskans for Peace member Carol Smith appeared in the Monday, August 22 Lincoln Journal Star:
Here in Nebraska, the controversy over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline has largely focused on the danger of an oil spill contaminating our groundwater resources. Nationally though, growing numbers of people are warning of the irreparable damage that tar sands oil will wreak on the climate if we burn the filthy fossil fuel that the pipeline would haul.
While a vocal group of skeptics continue to argue that the science of human-caused global warming is unproved or even an outright hoax, the human role in climate change now is beyond doubt. The overwhelming majority of the world's climate scientists (98 percent, according to the Washington Post) clearly put the blame for global warming on the increased carbon emissions produced from burning coal and oil.
Read morePosted In: Environment
Ingrid Kirst
Community CROPS
Executive Director
Growing your own food is a political statement. It lets you be independent. It lets you grow food organically. It lets you buy less from major corporations and the industrial agricultural system. Yet, community gardens are one program that people from all across the political spectrum can agree on—they provide the resources so people can help themselves. Rather than a handout, a community garden plot allows a family to grow some of their own food. They can then choose to share this food with other friends and families, spreading the wealth and nutrition.
Read morePosted In: Environment
