Bold and partner groups including Lincoln 350.org, Guardians of the Good Life, Farmers Union, Sierra Club and Nebraska InterFaith Power and Light hold “Stop the Pipeline” events and actions often. Below is a list of upcoming events and links to some action ideas. If you have any questions you can always email info@boldnebraska.org.
Tarsands Mining, Before and After
one image, one reason why we need to stop the TransCanada Pipeline
EVENTS
As events get closer, we put details for the individual events on this page of the Bold website: https://boldnebraska.org/category/events.
Aug. 25: Fischer and Kerrey Debate
We do not know if a pipeline question will be asked. You can give feedback to the reporters who will choose the questions, click here. The debate starts at 4pm in Grand Island. For more details about location, tickets and more, click here.
Sept. 8: Media Tour of Proposed Pipeline Route
Members of the media can attend a tour of where the pipeline could potentially cross fragile land in the Sandhills. Water crossings, wildlife and property rights will be discussed by group leaders, citizens and landowners. Press can email jane@boldnebraska.org to reserve a spot.
Oct. 5: Stop the Pipeline Parade
We will march from downtown Lincoln to Gov. Heineman’s mansion with floats, signs and demand he lives up to his word to protect the Sandhills and the Ogallala Aquifer. More details will be posted soon, but start making your signs (or floats) and spread the word. The event will run from 6-8pm in Lincoln.
Various Dates: Landowner and Citizen Meetups
Ben goes to at least one town per week in the pipeline route to answer questions, sign folks up to NEAT and hand out yard signs. The locations and details here: https://boldnebraska.org/meetups. Upcoming dates are Aug. 14 in O’Neill and Aug. 16 in Central City.
Various Dates: Landowner and Citizen NEAT Meetings
NEAT is a new group organizing landowners in the pipeline route to join together on contract terms. Citizens can also be part of this effort that are not in the route. NEAT posts dates on their website of meetings. More meetings will happen in September.
Other dates to watch for in the next few months (we will post more info as we get dates secured):
Citizen Lawsuit: Gov. Heineman’s legal team should be responding to the lawsuit challenging LB 1161 soon, this might happen in late August. We will organize rallies at the various court hearings to show support for the three citizens who brought the lawsuit forward.
NE DEQ Report and Public Hearing: we might see a draft in late August or early September. We will need folks showing up at the public hearing and submitting written comments.
Gov. Heineman Decision: we want to ensure Gov. Heineman honors his word of protecting the Sandhills and Ogallala Aquifer from the risky pipeline when he decides on approving or denying the pipeline route. At the same time, unless the lawsuit is successful, Gov. Heineman will grant TransCanada eminent domain authority. This means, TransCanada could take Nebraskans’ land even though their pipeline might never get a Presidential Permit and might never get built!
US State Department Report and Public Hearing: we will not see a final decision by the State Department on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline until early 2013. However, once there is a draft report, we must get comments in as well as attend the public hearing they will hold in our state. The hearing could happen in late 2012 or early 2013.
New Energy Voter: a new website that lists candidates’ positions on the pipeline, environment, home-grown energy, local food and more issues we will be live in September. But for now you can make sure your friends are registered to vote and have them sign up to get an email when the New Energy Voter Guide is ready.
ACTION
We list various actions you can take on this page: https://boldnebraska.org/summer_action.
Currently, we think it’s critical for folks to continue writing letters to elected officials and to write letters to your local paper (often called letters to the editor or LTEs).
Tips on writing LTEs: https://boldnebraska.org/lte
Tips on writing letters to elected officials and their contact info: https://boldnebraska.org/letters
We would also love to see some big handmade signs along the pipeline route and busy streets in the city to show your opposition to the pipeline. We can help purchase supplies, email info@boldnebraska.org.
READ
If you need more background info on the pipeline and tarsands, check out these links.
Landowner Rights: folks do not have to allow TransCanada on their land, the terms in the contracts are misleading at best
Map: the proposed route still crosses sandy soil and still crosses the Ogallala Aquifer.
Pipeline Overview: basic info on TransCanada and tarsands
Tarsands (Dilbit) 101: tarsands is more toxic, uses more energy to produce and is more difficult to cleanup than traditional crude oil
Keystone XL Primer: overview of pipeline and tarsands mining
Studies and Reports: safety risks, worst-case scenario spill report, pipeline built for export market and more
Fact Sheets: one pagers you can print and email to your friends
Letters: state senators ask for more studies and letters from elected officials
Videos: watch Nebraskans stand up to TransCanada and watch a 3-minute video on tarsands
Pictures: folks from across Nebraska stand up and fight for our state
