Congressman Fortenberry may be attending Earth Day!!!!

Here is Congressman Fortenberry's statement following President Obama's address to Congress:

Fortenberry Hopes President Obama Focuses on Small Businesses, a Sustainable Energy Future, and Nuclear Security

Washington, DC - Congressman Jeff Fortenberry today released the following statement prior to President Obama's address before Congress this evening.

“Tonight is clearly an important moment for the President. This is his first address to a joint session of Congress. He has the opportunity to present his economic vision for America. Families are hurting and unemployment is on the rise. The President also has a responsibility to explain how Washington spending translates to new jobs and financial stability.

“I am hopeful the President will recognize the vital role of small businesses in our economy. Small businesses are where most hardworking Americans get ahead in life, and it will be the strength and innovation of small business entrepreneurs that lead us to an economic turnaround.

“I commend President Obama for his focus thus far on alternative energy. America needs a bold, new energy vision and Nebraska can help lead the way. Now is the time to build a sustainable energy future, powered by domestic sources including wind, solar, biomass, and biofuels, that will strengthen our economic and national security.

“Regarding international stability, the spread of nuclear weapons technology is a grave threat to humanity and demands the full focused attention of the Administration and Congress.”

Fortenberry is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Agriculture Committee, and Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

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We have some money

Yesterday, Julie got a call from the Aspegren Charitable Trust and they are going to give us a grant to organize Earth Day!

Help with Earth Day 2009!!

Here are the committees

To get involved:
Contact Eva Sohl 326-1375 or Julie Diegel 613-8519
or email lincolnearthday@gmail.com

Steering Committee- Carries out the administration and fundraising for the event. Creates and maintains partnerships with the Nebraska League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the city of Lincoln, Lincoln Green by Design, Sierra Club and other community organizations and individuals. Maintains and updates contact and volunteer lists. Investigates legal and logistical concerns. Works closely with all work groups to keep project on track and communicate progress. Train event staff. Creates a contingency plan for bad weather.

Art Project- Organize a community art project using electronic waste. Build an armature of a dinosaur on which to attach electronic waste. Arrange for an electronic waste company to pick up waste (small pieces only- find out what items would be acceptable. Organize volunteers to build armature and help community participants on Earth Day.

Entertainment- Prepare an event schedule of simultaneous activities, a “carnival” atmosphere, book entertainment, staging. Street musicians, bands, DJs, LAFTA, Jugglers, Clowns, mimes, acrobats, singers, street artists. Screening of The 11th Hour, other films. Leonardo DiCaprio?

Family and Children's Activities- Organize opportunities for families and children to build their relationship with each other and the natural environment, i.e., Exploring nature, Frisbee, croquet, kickball, jump-roping, hula hoops, yoga, badmitten, kickball, three-legged races, etc. Nature activities and activities that teach kids about energy and water conservation, recycling, etc.

Food and Beverage- Organize a "Know Your Farmer" area where people can meet local farmers, buy goods, sign up for CSAs. Find out which restaurants buy locally produced foods, offer samples? A place for people to drink city water. Sell reusable water bottles and sacks. Can the reusable bottles be washed first?

Marketing and Publicity- Develop and implement a marketing plan, logo and branding campaign for Lincoln Earth Day 2009. Refine general "pitch". Create a web site, write news releases, make a volunteer appeal. Look for free advertising- Lamar Outdoor Advertising, KZUM and other radio and TV stations, handbills, posters, t-shirts, etc.

Political Outreach- Organize opportunities for engagement with elected officials and candidates. Provide opportunity for political parties to communicate their vision for making Lincoln a green community. Organize a candidate forum for city council candidates. Invite Senator Ben Nelson and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, state senators for Lincoln, county commissioners. Arrange with Mayor to announce sustainable position.

Product and Non-profit Fair- Organize booth registrations for local (primarily) and other businesses and non-profits to share information. Research innovative products in a wide range of sectors. (Certain presenters can hold teach-ins at scheduled times during the event.) Renewable energy, household goods, cars, bicycles, recycling, recycled goods, used clothing stores, compostable goods, etc.

Presenters/Speakers- Identify and arrange for speakers during the event. Criteria: dynamic, compelling message relevant to the overall themes of “personal/political action” and “renewable energy/ transportation”. Teach-ins about energy efficiency, bike repair, fuel efficiency, solar panel installation, creating natural play areas, political engagement, etc.

Transportation Activities- Organize a bicycling event on Earth Day and organize a “Ride your Bike or Take the Bus to Work Week for office teams and others. Hold an informal teach-in for minor bike repairs using several volunteers on Earth Day. Organize sign-up opportunities for people interested in car share and bike share program in Lincoln. Coordinate with Star-tran to have busses available, sell bus passes, hand out schedules on Earth Day. Shred Day.

Service Project- Organize and implement a service projects and volunteers to carry them out. Provide opportunities at Earth Day for people to sign up for specific volunteer work that needs to be done i.e. weatherizing homes, cleaning up parks, etc.

Waste Recycling- Coordinate recycling at the event. Make this a zero-waste event. Compostable food containers only if food is sold. Arrange with city, other recyclers. Have appropriate barrels around, sell reusable drink containers and sacks here?Water Issues- Organize activities and learning opportunities about water conservation, wastewater. Groundwater Foundation, Lincoln Water System, others? Provide city water for drinking.

Earth Day's - 40th Anniversary - Make it happen Lincoln!

How the First Earth Day Came About

By Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day What was the purpose of Earth Day? How did it start? These are the questions I am most frequently asked. Actually, the idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political "limelight" once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. I flew to Washington to discuss the proposal with Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who liked the idea. So did the President. The President began his five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. For many reasons the tour did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political agenda. However, it was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day. I continued to speak on environmental issues to a variety of audiences in some twenty-five states. All across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue simply was not to be found on the nation's political agenda. The people were concerned, but the politicians were not. After President Kennedy's tour, I still hoped for some idea that would thrust the environment into the political mainstream. Six years would pass before the idea that became Earth Day occurred to me while on a conservation speaking tour out West in the summer of 1969. At the time, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, called "teach-ins," had spread to college campuses all across the nation. Suddenly, the idea occurred to me - why not organize a huge grassroots protest over what was happening to our environment? I was satisfied that if we could tap into the environmental concerns of the general public and infuse the student anti-war energy into the environmental cause, we could generate a demonstration that would force this issue onto the political agenda. It was a big gamble, but worth a try. At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air - and they did so with spectacular exuberance. For the next four months, two members of my Senate staff, Linda Billings and John Heritage, managed Earth Day affairs out of my Senate office. Five months before Earth Day, on Sunday, November 30, 1969, The New York Times carried a lengthy article by Gladwin Hill reporting on the astonishing proliferation of environmental events: "Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam...a national day of observance of environmental problems...is being planned for next spring...when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned...." It was obvious that we were headed for a spectacular success on Earth Day. It was also obvious that grassroots activities had ballooned beyond the capacity of my U.S. Senate office staff to keep up with the telephone calls, paper work, inquiries, etc. In mid-January, three months before Earth Day, John Gardner, Founder of Common Cause, provided temporary space for a Washington, D.C. headquarters. I staffed the office with college students and selected Denis Hayes as coordinator of activities. Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.

Draft of our Mission and Vision

Please leave comments with suggestions for revision and of course... praise.

Mission and Vision

The Lincoln Coalition for the Environment & Earth Day (CEED) is made up of community stakeholders interested in cultivating Lincoln’s transition into an environmentally sustainable community. Our theme for Earth Day 2009, “A Time for Action”, envisions a Lincoln that devotes time and resources to:

• Providing opportunities for individuals and businesses to utilize conservation
• and renewable energy affordably;
• Promoting energy research and innovation;
• Creating transportation systems that are more sustainable;
• Recognizing the value of, and implementing environmental education;
• Exercising democracy through political engagement; and
• Fostering a culture of personal responsibility for a sustainable community.

The vision for this year's Earth Day celebration focuses on energy and action. As we near the close of the first decade of the 21st century, our energy future presents several challenges. The demand for energy is rising, the cost of energy is rising, and the carbon emitted from our most utilized energy resources (coal and oil) is extremely harmful to the environment.

These challenges present an opportunity to mobilize community-based solutions. We as citizens of Lincoln can come together and through education, political engagement and service find ways to reduce the amount of energy we consume in our daily lives, help people save money on their energy bills, and reduce our carbon footprint dramatically.

The Earth Day planning committee poses the question to the community: What can we do to transform these challenges into opportunities? We seek individuals, businesses and organizations in the community willing to contribute their time and resources to this mission. We are looking for people to volunteer for Lincoln Earth Day 2009 on the following committees.

Meeting Highlights #1 - Notes & Reflections

The First Meeting, Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
Welcome & Intros
Purpose

1. Unite Community: Inclusive to families, seniors, businesses, government, non-profits, people of color, everyone is welcome.
2. Share conservation methods and technological innovations: green business & non-profit fair
3. Educate through active presentations & creative opportunities: forums, speakers, workshops, visual and musical art
4. Call to Action: Political forum (e.g. city council), Personal / Community based service projects (e.g. green backpacks, solar panel installation at Malone,

Theme - A Time for Action - Conservation & Innovation

Discussion of time, place and general logistics

Need to establish subcommittees

• Steering committee
• Political Outreach committee
• Business/Green Living Fair
• Non-profit/Education
• Service Project
• Presenters/Speakers
• Transportation/Activities
• Entertainment/Families/Children/Food & Bev
• Waste management
• Water
• Marketing & Publicity

Need to create timeline, budget, needs list

CEED continues to grow

Planning for Lincoln's 2009 Earth Day is well under way. The effort is being coordinated by a coalition of Lincoln citizens including community activists, UNL students, and local business leaders. Two meetings have taken place with a focused effort in discussing purpose, theme, possible dates and other logistics. Eva Sohl and Julie Diegel have agreed to champion this much needed work.

The Coalition has decided on Sunday, April 19, 2009, as the working date. Much of this decision was based on the potential to partner with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The next planning meeting is Tuesday, February 10 at 5:30pm at the Lincoln Community Foundation Building (S. 15 & N). The meeting will be held in the the 5th floor conference room.

Please consider joining us or giving us your input here. Thanks, CEED