On Tuesday, February 9th the Urban Affairs committee will hold a hearing on one of our top priorities, LB 1098, introduced by Senator Heath Mello of Omaha. LB 1098 would set up a novel method of funding energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements for homeowners and business people. One of the biggest problems with getting people to invest in energy improvements is the upfront cost. LB 1098 would allow cities to set up energy financing districts with bonding authority to provide funding for home energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Read the rest of this entry »

This year, the Nebraska Chapter’s annual fundraising appeal is coming with an added bonus. A local supporter has stepped forward and pledged to personally match up to $10,000 in donations during our annual ‘March Appeal.’ Under national Club rules, March is the only month when local chapters and groups can directly solicit funds from Sierra Club members in the state. Read the rest of this entry »

The Executive Committee (ExCom) of the Nebraska Chapter of the Sierra Club elected officers for 2010 at its first regular meeting of the year, January 30, 2010 in Lincoln.
Dick Boyd of Lincoln, the current ExCom Chair, was re-elected to another term.
Candy Bless of Omaha, the current vice chair of the MoValley Group, was elected as the new Chapter vice chair.
Clyde Anderson of Omaha, the incumbent Treasurer, was reelected to his position. Clyde also serves as the secretary of the Missouri Valley (MoValley) Group.
Brittany Crawford of Lincoln, who coordinates the chapter’s ‘grassroots legislative network,’ was elected the new Ex Com secretary.

This week the Chapter Executive Committee met and set legislative priorities. Four bills were given top priority status for support and I will describe them briefly here.

LB 1048 was introduced by the Natural Resources Committee for the purpose of encouraging expansion of wind development in Nebraska. Senator Chris Langemeier, the chairman of the committee, has demonstrated leadership by bringing together a wide range of interested parties to work on developing a consensus on this issue. I have been part of the group working on details of this legislation. My primary goal has been establishing criteria for the purpose of protecting birds, animals and habitat in the process of siting wind generation facilities and transmission lines. I believe that we are making some progress in this area, although there is substantial pushback from utility representatives and some developer representatives on this issue. Read the rest of this entry »

This week is the third week of the 2010 legislative session. January 21^st is the last day that legislation can be introduced so I am working with senators to finalize bill drafts and reviewing introduced bills to determine if they are of interest to us.

I am continuing to work with the ad hoc group drafting legislation to promote wind development in Nebraska. As I stated in last week’s blog, we need to make sure that wind development is done correctly, so that birds, animals and habitat are protected and Nebraskans receive the benefits of this development. Although I am getting some pushback on the issue of establishing criteria to protect our environmental resources in the siting process, I have been insistent that standards are necessary and have received commitments from senators supporting their inclusion in this legislation.  Read the rest of this entry »