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In this October - November 2000 issue: |
Report
On the “One Club” Meeting
by John Berge
I
have just returned from the “largest working meeting in the 108-year history of the
Sierra Club”. That was Executive Director Carl Pope’s description of the “One
Sierra Club Gathering” in Albuquerque, NM, on August 18-20. Over 275 representatives
of groups, chapters, regional conservation committees, staff, the Board of Directors and
other entities of the Club met, debated and voted to find better ways for the various
levels of the Club to work together. Our current basic grassroots structure was considered
a given; process was up for change.
Under
the direction of the meeting facilitators from Interaction Associates, small group
sessions listed what we liked and disliked about three dilemmas, each of which had two
possible solutions proposed. A dilemma is defined in my Oxford Dictionary as “a
situation in which a choice has to be made between two equally undesirable alternatives”,
and that did fit the three situations we faced and those which various entities of the
Club are frequently facing in their efforts to carry out the aims of the Sierra Club. In
fact, I heard from several leaders from across the country that these dilemmas were thinly
disguised from problems in their group or chapter.
The
chapter? The group? “National”?
The
third dilemma concerned a chapter with three groups of extremely different sizes. One so
small that it is basically one very good forestry expert who can’t or won’t do
any of the required things a group should do…such as hold elections, send out a
newsletter, cover expenses and hold meetings. Another group is so large that it
essentially controls chapter elections, policy and money. Should different groups operate
under different rules? How should the money be divided? How can the Sierra Club best
utilize the assets of this one special individual?
Needless
to say, there were many things to like and dislike on each of the possible solutions, but
no unanimity. We voted, first by tables of eight or so individuals and then as a whole on
what had come out of the discussion groups, summarized in long overnight sessions by the
members of the One Club Task Force. The final tallies were to be the basis of
recommendations for improvement in process and practice that will go to the Council of
Club Leaders in September and then to the Board of Directors. I doubt that it will end
with these recommendations.
Among
the desired outcomes that the Task Force hoped to achieve were:
•
Ensure grassroots leaders have stronger connection to the Club’s conservation
campaigns,
•
Identify problems and dilemmas created by Club’s rules and current structure,
•
Receive feedback from a wide range of Club perspectives, and
•
Gain understanding for next stages of decision-making and implementation.
Calendar:
October
12: Southeast Gateway Group Executive Committee Meeting, 7:00
October
13, 14, 15: John Muir Chapter Annual Meeting at Camp Y-KODA near
October
19: Southeast Gateway Group General Meeting, 7:00 p.m. at Messiah Lutheran Church, corner
of Durand Avenue and Pritchard Drive in Racine. The Chapter’s legislative expert and
lobbyist, Caryl Terrell, will speak on current and upcoming state environmental issues.
(See article below.)
October
21: Highway 38 Clean-up starting at 9:00 a.m. Meet at Bob and Betty Gericke’s to pick
up trash bags, safety gear and be assigned your area and partner. 3927 North Lane (off
Highway 38, north of County trunk K in Racine County).
November
1: Deadline for the next issue of the Southeast Sierran.
November
4: Help the candidate or party of your choice by distributing literature or other tasks.
Volunteer through that candidate or party headquarters.
November
9: Southeast Gateway Group Executive Committee Meeting, 7:00 p.m. at Messiah Lutheran
Church, corner of Durand Avenue and Pritchard Drive in Racine.
November
16: Southeast Gateway Group General Meeting in room 105 (enter front door and turn left)
at Gateway Technical College in Kenosha (3520 30th Ave.) The Rev. Tony Larsen will speak
on Religion and the Environment. (See article)
November
16: Deadline for returning ballots for the election of Southeast Gateway Group ExCom
members and Bylaws approval.
December
9: John Muir Chapter Executive Committee Meeting at the First United Methodist Church in
Baraboo, starting at 10:00 a.m.
December
14: Southeast Gateway Group Executive Committee Meeting, 7:00 p.m. at Messiah Lutheran
Church, corner of Durand Avenue and Pritchard Drive in Racine.
December
21: Southeast Gateway Group Holiday Party beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Messiah Lutheran
Church, corner of Durand Avenue and Pritchard Drive in Racine. Also installation of the
2001 Group Executive Committee.
Caryl
Terrell to Speak October 19
Caryl
Terrell, Legislative Coordinator for the John Muir Chapter, will be the speaker at the
October 19 meeting of the Southeast Gateway Group, at Messiah Lutheran Church in Racine.
The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. and, as always, is open to both members and the general
public. Caryl will give a quick review of the
past legislative session, stressing our victories and losses, and then discuss issues that
we will propose or react to in the legislative session that starts in January. All the
bills that were introduced in the last session and were not enacted will have to be
reintroduced. The slate has been wiped clean.
She
will also bring copies of the voting records of our legislatures relating to bills that
affect the environment. Bring your legislative questions to the meeting! And bring a
friend!
Religion
and the Environment
The
Reverend Tony Larsen will be our speaker at the November 16 regular meeting of the
Southeast Gateway Group, speaking on the topic “Religion and the Environment”.
He
will bring his guitar and teach us “Fifty Ways to Love Your Mother (Earth)”
which he composed to express his strong environmental concerns. Larsen is the pastor at
Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church in Racine and a frequent participant and
leader in marches for AIDS and other social concerns. He is well known for his broad
interests which he expresses with humor and wisdom.
The
meeting will start at 7:00 p.m. in room 105 at Gateway Technical College in Kenosha, 3520
30th Avenue. Note that this is a different room and building than we have met in before
due to some remodeling taking place in the former meeting room. Come and bring a friend.
Sierra Club meetings are open to all who are interested in protecting and enjoying our
natural environment.
From
the Rockin’ Chair
by Lila Berge
Whose
water is it? At the risk of upsetting those of you who purchase Perrier and other bottled
drinking water, do you know whose water you are buying? Was it taken away from fish and
wildlife or neighboring family wells?
How
is it legal for a company like Perrier(TM) to come into a community, tap into their ground
water, and sell millions of gallons of that water for the company’s profit? Isn’t
the water public property?
Well,
no, not exactly. If you own land next to a stream you cannot withdraw so much water that
people and wildlife downstream are adversely affected. Under common law, that water must
be shared with the public. However, ground water is different from surface water under the
law…or lack of it.
A
landowner may drill a water well and extract as much ground water as desired, even if the
pumping adversely affects the ground water table under other people’s land. Under an
outdated Wisconsin law, only persons pumping more than 100,000 gallons per day need a
permit from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR). But the WDNR may only
deny that permit if the pumping will adversely affect the water supply for a public
utility. Wildlife and neighboring landowners can go thirsty. This isn’t right! After
all, it is ground water sources that recharge valuable streams, lakes and wetlands. So,
whose water is it?
In
response to the Perrier proposal to mine the Mecan River springs, a bill was introduced in
the Wisconsin Senate (S.B. 414) that would add environmental criteria for WDNR to consider
before issuing a permit for a high capacity well. I thank John Vandlik, the Vice-President
of Milwaukee Audubon Society for calling this to my attention.
There
will soon be a clamor from parched regions of this and other countries to ship them
millions of gallons of Great Lakes water. Such massive withdrawals could lower water
levels, dry up wetlands, and destroy ecosystem balances. Industries, agriculture and
community drinking water around the Great Lakes would suffer since less than one percent
of the water in the Great Lakes is renewed annually by precipitation, surface runoff or
ground water sources.
Two
bills are now working their way through Congress which may determine if such water is for
sale to the highest bidders. Bill H.R. 2595 would ban all exports of U.S. fresh water
until the federal government can establish permanent regulations. H.R. 2973 would ban
export of Great Lakes water for two years or until the governors of the eight states on
these lakes reach agreement on allowing sales. Whom do you trust to decide this one?
Since
this column started out on bottled water, did you realize that Evian(TM) is naive spelled
backwards?
Army
Corps of Engineers Reform Act of 2000
Representative
Ron Kind (D-WI 3rd Dist.) has introduced the Army Corps of Engineers Reform Act of 2000
which would require independent review for all large ($25 million or more) or
controversial projects. Current operating procedures have no civilian or congressional
oversight. The Corps has bent and/or ignored many environmental rules on dam and river “improvement” projects.
It is a self-promoting agency whose methods for predicting benefits and costs are skewed
to promote the projects and thus the Corps budget. In many cases, habitat and species are
lost by the project impacts with inadequate or nonexistent mitigation efforts. Some flood
control and navigation projects are constructed even when there is ample evidence that
they are not cost-effective or in the national interest.. Now they propose major “improvements”
on the upper Mississippi River to benefit barge operators that will have serious impacts
on the river environment, despite their own economists’ calculations of unfavorable
cost-benefits.
Summer
Fund Raisers
by Lila Berge
I
want to thank everyone who donated items for the Group’s garage sale on August 19th.
I especially want to thank Donna Peterson, Jean McGraw, Nita Larson, Dian Sorenson and
Susan Michetti who helped me on the day of the sale. We earned $222 and have several nice
items left to sell: either the Macintosh Classic or Mac SE computer ($30); ImageWriter II
($20, needs a cord); set of three new cast iron skillets ($6, $8, $10); like new Coleman
lantern ($15); Mr. Coffee(TM) 10-cup coffeemaker with automatic timer ($5); new garden
hose on plastic reel ($15); woman’s large yellow waterproof pants and hooded jacket
from L. L. Bean ($50); and a never used Cosco(TM) card table with four padded chairs,
brown tweed color, still in the box ($50). Please call Lila at (262) 633-8455 to buy any
of these items.
Our
plea for donations in the August/September newsletter brought in $125 from three generous
members. We thank them, too. We can pay for printing and mailing this issue of the
newsletter with money from the sale and these donations.
Sierra
Club calendar sales begin with the September meeting. This year the Club made available
only the Wilderness wall calendars and the Engagement desk calendars. Please plan to buy
them early for yourself and for gifts, and sell some to friends, neighbors and co-workers.
Dian Sorenson is in charge of calendar sales. Her phone number is (262) 633-6974.
We
also have a limited number of green Sierra Club backpacks and dufflebags for $15 apiece.
They are sturdy and useful for school or travel. Call Lila at (262) 633-8455 or Barb
Meyocks at (262) 654-2208.
Welcome
New Members
Bristol:
Frank Zavislak
Burlington:
Gary Bronson, Wanda Dohse, John Hawkins, Katherine T. Heller, Mary Koldeway
Caledonia:
Dorothy Howard
Delavan:
Leona I. Kruizenga, Keith Kuper
Fontana:
J. Kowakski
Kansasville:
Maureen Lavin, Larry Stevens
Kenosha:
Mr. Ethel Parise, Catherine Vervisch, Bernard Cohen, Ms. Darcy Drije, Diane Horneij,
George Manesis, David Norton, Christine Steinmetz, Patricia Benson, Judith Berres, Michael
Foster, Robert J. Holm, Laura Larson, Valerie Maynard, Susan Michetti, Mrs. Frank Summers
Lake
Geneva: Nicole Mathews, Sallie McNeil, Margaret Reader, Richard Ring, Pederson Victorian,
Marisa Viola
Racine:
Barbara Salmon, Charles Clausen, Leah Dobkin, Pamela Hammes, Robert Buhler, Alvin Cheever,
Howard Dahnert, Patricia Dargin, Morris W. Firebaugh, Karla Quinn, Molly Hartman, Cheryl
Keopanya, Shirley M. Kizewic, Audrey Maillet, Kay Mcclelland, James Putzer, Ray Rodriguez,
Connie Sulwaski
Salem:
Bruce Barr
Somers:
Teresa A. Frazer
Sturtevant:
Dennis Gowey
Trevor:
Sally A. Walsh
Union
Grove: Todd Neuhaus, Sandy Prah
Waterford:
Deane M. Anderson, Laurie Jolly
Legislative
Watchdog
George
W. Bush…
Bush
selected Terry L. Anderson to advise him on environmental issues. Anderson is the author
of a 1999 Cato Institute report entitled “How and Why to Privatize Federal Lands”.
(The report supports auctioning off all public lands to the private sector, including
national parks, forests, BLM lands.) Need we say more?
Also,
if Big Oil wins the Congress and The White House, we can say goodbye to the Arctic
National Refuge and many of the species which have thrived there for many thousands of
years. The Refuge will supply at most six months’ supply of oil for the Nation.
In
all probability a Republican administration will not support Clinton’s roadless
initiative which declared all federal lands which remain roadless, wilderness and off
limits to more roadbuilding, lumbering, and mining. (The Sierra Club has campaigned
vigorously to declare all national forests off limits to lumbering and other removal
industries.)
Cheney?
He has no voting record. However, he and the Republicans support the national missile
defense system (Star Wars) which has failed all its tests so far. But Star Wars does make
huge profits for the manufacturers who make the hardware and contribute generously to
Republican campaigns. President Clinton
signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, but Congress has refused to confirm it largely
because of Star Wars. This is a major obstacle toward creating a nuclear-free world.
Al
Gore…
Gore
is the clear choice for those who care about environmental issues. He has been endorsed
for the presidency by the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters (a coalition
of the major environmental organizations.)
The
Clinton administration has a mixed record on the environment, and it is not clear how much
Gore was involved in making decisions. While his record is not perfect, he still is far
ahead of Bush and the Republican Congress.
He
has vowed to keep the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge off limits to oil drilling and while
in Congress filibustered to protect it. He is given credit for persuading Clinton to
designate the 1.7 million acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. And he
opposes the planned Yucca Mountain high level radioactive waste dump in Nevada which
knowledgeable scientists consider too dangerous to the environment and to people.
Unfortunately,
both the Democratic Administration and the Republican Congress have supported World Trade,
which overrides national environmental laws. For example, the law forbidding unrestricted
killing of dolphins in the tuna industry, and the law requiring nets to free endangered
turtles in shrimp harvesting were declared barriers to free trade. Gore made a
half-hearted promise to try to restrict World Trade abuses of environmental and labor
laws, but so far neither the Administration nor the Congress has taken any steps to do so.
Lieberman?
According to the scorecard of the League of Conservation Voters, he has a 100%
pro-environment voting record.
Ice
Age Trail...
Notes:
All work activities will begin at 9:00 a.m. unless otherwise noted. The highway 12 parking
lot is approximately 5 miles east of Whitewater, or 2.5 miles west of LaGrange. Trail
maintenance work may include grubbing to remove stumps, trimming back growth, painting
blazes, installing erosion control, clearing new trail, litter control, etc. For trail
work bring water, lunch, work gloves and work tools such as loppers or bow saws. Wear long
pants and long sleeve shirt to protect from poison ivy, prickly bushes, etc., suitable
footwear and a hat. Depending on the location and conditions, insect repellent, sunscreen
or rain gear may also be useful. Contact Kangaroo to volunteer for community service or
special projects at times other than those listed below.
Contact
Persons: Bill (Kangaroo) Knickrehm,
(608)883-2825; Barb or Jerry Converse, (262)
473-7304; Sue Clymer, (262) 632-6968; Gary Klatt, (262) 473-4973; Gerry Emmerich, (262)
642-5641; Dolly McNulty, (262) 728-8351; Ingrid Larson, (262) 728-6661; Sally Ward, (262)
495-8362; Vince Lazzaroni, (262) 248-824; June Wheeler, (262) 889-4240.
October
1, Sunday; (Gary) Whitewater Biathlon Meet at UW-Whitewater Stadium Parking Lot between 8
& 9 a.m.
October
14, Saturday, 9:00 a.m.; Fall “Parade of Colors” Fundraising Hike. Registration
is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Highway 12. From 2.5 to 18 easy to moderately difficult miles.
Registration gifts, door prizes, and shuttle service.
October
19, Thursday, 7:00 p.m.; Regular Meeting, FirStar Bank in
October
21, Saturday; (Gary) Other Chapter, call for details.
October
22, Sunday; (Kangaroo) Other Chapter, call for details.
November
5, Sunday, Noon; Hike at Sally Ward’s home to get us thinking about planning the 2001
calendar. Planning meeting is at 4:00 p.m.
November
16, Thursday, 7:00 p.m.; Regular Meeting, FirStar Bank in Elkhorn.
November
18, Saturday (Gary) Maintenance; Meet at Highway 12.
November
19, Sunday; (Kangaroo) New Trail Work. Meet at Highway 12.
December
9, Saturday, 9:00 a.m.; Hike on the Emma Carlin Trails. On Cty Z, 1 /4 mile south of Hwy
59. State park sticker required.
December
21, Thursday, 7:00 p.m.; Regular Meeting, FirStar Bank in Elkhorn.
Clean
Water: More precious than gold or cheap pork chops…
Three
citizen action organizations (Wisconsin Environmental Decade, River Alliance of Wisconsin,
Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group) and the John Muir Chapter of Sierra Club have
filed a petition asking the federal Environmental Protection Agency to object to and
modify all of the water discharge permits that the Wisconsin DNR has proposed issuing to
livestock factories, also known as confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). A CAFO is
defined as an operation that includes more than 500 beef feeder animals, 1,250 hogs or
15,000 laying hens.
A
properly designed CAFO prevents any discharge of manure waste to the watershed from its
barns, cow yards, manure storage facilities or fields where animal waste is spread.
Currently the WDNR has issued permits to seven CAFOs that do not ensure that the facility
is properly designed, installed and maintained. Instead, words like “control runoff”
and “minimize leakage” have been used. Also, the permits allow manure to be
spread in 10-year floodplains, within 200 feet of streams, rivers or lakes, and within 200
feet of wells.
A
typical hog factory would have 10,000 animals, produce as much daily waste as a town of
25,000 people. An increasing number of these factory farm operations are run by farmers
under contract to large agribusiness corporations. The contract places responsibility for
waste disposal on the farmer. Animal waste is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus and is a
useful fertilizer when spread in small amounts prior to the growing season. The problem
is, so much manure is produced year around. It is stored in huge lagoons which can leak
and emit ammonia and noxious odors into the air. When nitrogen escapes to lakes and
streams it causes algae growth, depletes oxygen and kills the fish. If it leaks into
neighboring wells as nitrate it can cause miscarriage and “blue baby” sickness.
Odors from CAFOs can be strong enough to affect neighbors health and property values.
CAFOs
with their powerful corporate sponsors are strong competition for traditional family
farmers. They are multiplying while family farms are disappearing. State representative Al
Ott, a former agribusiness salesman and chair of the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on
Agriculture and Rural Development told me “the family farmers better get on the band
wagon if they want to stay in business”. He is urging the legislature to promote
CAFOs.
In
March 110 Wisconsin dairy farms went out of business.
There are dozens more waiting for permits to convert to CAFO.
Bylaws
To Be Updated
On
the ballot in this issue are two questions concerning the Bylaws under which the Southeast
Gateway Group operates. The Sierra Club’s Bylaws and Standing Rules Committee (BSRC),
following the directions of the Board of Directors, has asked all chapters, groups and
other entities of the Club to revise their Bylaws according to the guidelines prepared by
the BSRC.
The
Southeast Gateway Group’s Executive Committee has reviewed the Guidelines and made
the necessary changes to include all of the required and verbatim sections and chosen the
options that best fit our current Bylaws and the practices of the Group. Some of the
changes are to make the election and petition practices more uniform throughout the Club
and to be in conformity with California law where the Club is incorporated. The BSRC has
given tentative approval to the changes we have made.
Since
most of the changes for us are not substantial or apt to affect the day-to-day operation
of the Group, the BSRC has told us that we need not bear the very large expense of
distributing a copy of the proposed Bylaws to each and every member of the group. Instead,
we will have copies available at each of the general and Executive Committee meetings
between now and the end of the balloting period, November 16, and we will send a copy to
anyone requesting it of the Chair or any of the current ExCom members. (See the back page
of the newsletter for names and telephone numbers.) “Those who are interested should
read the proposed Bylaws; those who are not should not be burdened with them,” said
Group Chair Lila Berge.
A
second question on the ballot is whether the number of persons on the Group Executive
Committee should be reduced from nine to seven. Even with the addition of much of Walworth
County to the Southeast Gateway Group, we are still one of the smaller groups in the John
Muir Chapter and the Club. The Nominating Committee has long complained that it is
difficult to find enough members willing to stand for election and we frequently have only
a slate to be approved rather than a true elective choice. It is hoped that this change
will help to alleviate this problem while continuing to have more members become active on
the various other committees. Please vote on both questions. If the second question is
adopted by the membership, the reduction will be made as vacancies occur.