By Clyde Anderson
The University of Nebraska - Lincoln Extension Stormwater Work Group sponsored its second annual Omaha Stormwater Management Green Infrastructure Tour on Friday, August 6th. The bus tour included a variety of stops to show participants a variety of low-impact stormwater management projects in the metro area.
Sierra Club has been part of the local campaign to encourage the use of rain gardens, stormwater retention basins, rain barrels, green roofs and other low-impact stormwater management techniques instead of the large dams and flood-control reservoirs.
Click here for full article and photos!

By Albert Lierz
Yard signs go up, weekly demonstrations with Burma Shave type signs, letter to editor, etc.
TransCanada, one of North America’s largest providers of gas storage and pipeline services, is currently constructing a 30-inch Keystone Pipeline that will extend 2,151 miles to transport crude oil from the tar sand mines near Hardisty, Alberta to Cushing, OK and southern Illinois. It crosses through Eastern Nebraska.
It now proposes to construct a second pipeline, the 36-inch Keystone XL, on a route that will cover 1,661 miles from Alberta through Nebraska and other Great Plains states to the U.S. Gulf Coast. It’s route cuts across a far more sensitive part of Nebraska – the Sandhills and Niobrara River Valley. The Keystone XL Pipeline passes through 14 counties, listed north to south, Keya Paha, Rock, Holt, Garfield, Wheeler, Greeley, Boone, Nance, Merrick, Hamilton, York, Fillmore, Saline, Jefferson.
The Sierra Club opposes this XL Pipeline for the following reasons: Read the rest of this entry »

Environment Omaha launches www.passthepotatoes.com, a virtual town hall event that invites anyone interested in Omaha to submit ideas for improving the sustainability of the city. It’s powered by MindMixer, a new web platform that allows the public to generate ideas, help others evolve their ideas and ultimately vote and prioritize the best ideas. Ideas will be sought in each of the five Environment Omaha content areas. Read the rest of this entry »

August 7th, 2010.
Leaves at 10 AM, Forest Nature Center/Returns about 5PM.
Teacher Naturalist Bob Goetschkes will lead this 6 to8 mile Exploratory
Hike around the edge of the Forest. Binoculars for birding are recommended.
Bring a sack lunch, two liters of water, and wear sturdy boots that cover your ankles. Also, dress for current weather conditions by wearing layers of clothes with a rain shell to don if needed.
Please RSVP or contact bobbygoetschkes@hotmail.com or 402-614-4788 with questions.
http://www.fontenelleforest.org/events.html link will provide additional information. FFNC has an admission charge if you are not already a member.

By Mary Green
Sierra Club August Program:Thursday August 26
6 p.m. Potluck Picnic (optional) - 7 p.m. Farm Tour
Rhizosphere Farm, 3650 N. 252nd St., Waterloo, NE

Join Sierra Club members and friends for a tour of a small sustainable organic farm. Rhizosphere Farm in Waterloo is a “certified naturally grown” farm, owned by Terra Sorenson and Matt Hall.

(“Certified naturally grown” is the grass-roots alternative to “certified organic”: it has the same standards as “certified organic” but without all the red tape and expense, and certification is done peer-to-peer). Read the rest of this entry »