Jean McGraw Receives Top John Muir Chapter Award

Jean McGraw, long time activist with the Southeast Gateway Group of the Sierra Club, was honored at the John Muir (Wisconsin) Chapter’s Autumn Assembly, October 8–10, with the highest award given by the Chapter to a volunteer, the J.J. and Pat Werner Award for outstanding service to the Chapter and the Group. Accompanying the award was a hand-tooled, leather-bound journal. Accepting the award for McGraw was John Berge, Conservation Chair for the Southeast Gateway Group.

Jean was a Charter member of the Southeast Gateway Group, and served on the Group’s Executive, Political and Conservation Committees. She wrote a hard hitting column in the Group’s newsletter which she entitled “From Your Legislative Watchdog” starting in March of 1992 and continuing regularly until she left Racine for a condominium in Hawaii this past summer.

Besides keeping the Group members aware of legislative issues in Madison and Washington through her column she was an inveterate letter writer to newspapers and legislators. She also was active in opposition to Mt. Pleasant’s initial plans to shrink the flood plain by straightening out and deepening the upper reaches of the Pike River. The revised plans were recently celebrated with the completion of the first phase with new meanders, retention and settling ponds, planting of native wetland and prairie species and a recreational trail. It takes time, but activists can see the results of their efforts.

Also receiving awards and journals at the Autumn Assembly held this year at Camp Ehawee in La Crosse county were Richard Smith of Chippewa County and Terri Felton of Madison.

Smith received the J.J. and Pat Werner for his long-term service to the Club in founding the Chippewa Valley Group back in 1982, editing the Group’s award-winning newsletter for ten years, and recently negotiating a settlement of the logging differences between the school district and the Ice Age Trail. He is currently the President of the Chippewa Moraine Chapter of the Ice Age Trail and Foundation.

Felton received the John Muir Chapter Merit Award for her leadership in initiating and guiding an Inner City Outings program for the Four Lakes Group in Madison. A relatively new member of the Sierra Club, she has established the Sierra Youth Outing program to introduce urban youth to the wonders of the natural world, working with Centro Hispano and the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County.

Annual Planning Retreat

Circle Saturday January 22, 2005 on your calendars because we will hold our annual planning retreat on that day. Join us at Messiah Lutheran Church at 8:30 a.m. for coffee and conversation. We will begin the meeting promptly at 9:00 a.m. A light lunch will be also be served and we will plan to adjourn by 2:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to the planning retreat to participate in discussions that will define what we hope to accomplish in the new year. Topics for discussion include programs, outings, fund raising, plans for the 2006 autumn assembly, political action and publicity. This is your opportunity to make a difference and to help determine what path the Southeast Gateway Group will follow.

December 16, Thursday: Christmas Potluck at Messiah Lutheran Church in Racine, 3015 Pritchard Drive. Please bring a dish to share and your own utensils. The festivities start at 5:30 for hors d’oeuvres and all members and guests are welcome. Jane Fahey, fourth grade teacher at Salem Elementary School and the winner of our Green Award, will present the program. Her class began a prairie development project last year. Call Donna, (262) 637-3141 or Roz (262) 694-3351 for information about the dinner.

December 31–January 1, Friday & Saturday (Optional: Sunday): New Year’s on the Mississippi. Hike or ski at Perrot and Merrick State Parks (admission sticker or fees required). Learn about the winter environment along the Mississippi River. Reservations are limited. Trempealeau Hotel room rates $32.50/double. For more information call Mary Ann Ortmayer at (262) 554-5058.

2005: Happy New Year!

January 1, Saturday: Deadline for the February-March issue of the Southeast Sierran. Contact information is on the last page of this newsletter.

January 6, Thursday: Conservation Committee Meeting at Berges’ House, 1529 Crabapple Drive, Racine, at 7:00 p.m. Contact John at (262) 633-8455 with questions, items for the agenda or additional information.

January 15–16, Saturday & Sunday: Bald Eagle Watching Days at Sauk City/Prairie du Sac. Learn about the winter activities of Wisconsin’s bald eagles. Free bus tour, exhibits, and rehabilitated bird release. Bring binoculars. For information and carpooling call Mary Ann Ortmayer (262) 554-5058.

January 20, Thursday: Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge Service Project. Barry Thomas will present this program on the Sierra Club Service Project that he participated in last February. The one week project was in New Mexico’s Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge. This regular meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. at the Kenosha Public Museum, 5500 First Avenue in Kenosha. Prior to the meeting we will meet at the Villa D’ Carlo restaurant at 5140 6th Avenue in Kenosha. The turnouts have been great. Please call on Thursday so that we have an idea about attendance at the diner. Call Dana at (262) 639-0465 or Roz at (262) 694-3351.

January 22, Saturday: Annual Planning Retreat. Join us at Messiah Lutheran Church at 8:30 a.m. for coffee and conversation. We will begin the meeting promptly at 9:00 a.m. A light lunch will be also be served and we will plan to adjourn by 2:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to the planning retreat to participate in discussions that will define what we hope to accomplish in the new year.

February 3, Thursday: Conservation Committee Meeting at Berges’ House, 1529 Crabapple Drive, Racine, at 7:00 p.m. Contact John at (262) 633-8455 with questions, items for the agenda or additional information.

March 4–6. 2005, Friday–Sunday: Cross-Country Ski or Hike in Door County. Explore the geology and winter environment in Newport State Park. We’ll stay at the Wagon Trail Resort, approximately $35.00 per person for the weekend. For additional information and carpooling call Mary Ann Ortmayer (262) 554-5058.

From the Chair…
by Barry Thomas

By the time you read this, the November election has come and gone. This is not the time to relax our vigilance. Many of us were disappointed that environmental issues did not play a significant role during the campaign. They just never seemed to have time to get to those questions. There certainly are many important issues that could have been discussed. A preview of the soon to be released Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Report has some dire facts and predictions. The report indicates that the Arctic’s winter temperature is up 3 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit in the past century. This has resulted in the loss of 15 per cent of Arctic tundra since the 1970's as well as the further loss of glaciers and sea ice. The report warns that species such as the caribou, walrus and, polar bear are endangered because they are unable to adapt to this rapid climatic change. The report’s executive director told U.S. News and World Report that the central Arctic could warm another 15 to 20 degrees by the end of the century leading to a nearly ice free summer polar ocean. “That would be good for shipping,” he says, “but without ice, how can polar bears, walruses, seals and so much else of the ecosystem survive”? The rapid warming is blamed on consumption of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases. Yet, how much discussion was there of global warming and alternative forms of energy during the campaign. At some point in the future we may discover that global warming is actually the elusive weapon of mass destruction we couldn’t locate.

Regardless of who our political leaders are, we need to keep environmental issues on the front burner. If we don’t, they will eventually move there by themselves through eco-catastrophes.

Ed Prins
by Eric Howe

Edward Prins past away unexpectedly Thursday, November 11 at his home in Racine. Ed was 85.

Ed was president of the Wisconsin Society of Ornithology (WSO) in 1977, WSO and in 1994 he received the Bronze Passenger Pigeon Award.

From comments published at the time of the award: “Edward Prins can be said to be the quintessential birder of southeastern Wisconsin, certainly in his Racine County home area. Starting observing and learning of our natural world at an early age, in high school he joined the Washington Park High Audubon Society. Later following a short tenure in the taxidermy department at the Milwaukee Museum under Owen Gromme, he worked to restore and rejuvenate the mounted bird collection of Dr. Philo Hoy. In 1964 he was one of the founding members of the Hoy Bird Club (now the Hoy Audubon Society) and has continued through the years as one of its strongest supporters. He was active in the club acquisition of the Nicholson Wildlife Area in Racine County and continues to keep a watchful eye on it. His special interest in cavity nesters, especially bluebird houses, is known throughout the state. He established several bluebird trails and continues to be involved in trail monitoring. From the early days he has been willing to spend the time with those less knowledgeable in the field and with his extensive slide collection for programs at the club and in schools. His nature photography is exceptional, and has appeared in publications such as James Zimmerman’s Wildflowers and Weeds and Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine. He is kind of a Renaissance birdman who has many interests in education, conservation and organizations that relate to ornithology. He knows where and when to find a particular species and is more than glad to share his knowledge. He can tell you where to find the Snow Buntings, when to watch for migrating hawks, and where to find the Woodcock’s peenting ground. He has earned this recognition and our thanks.”
…From WSO’s Passenger Pigeon
I remember the very first birding trips Ed invited me on including my first experience with Horicon Marsh. I still recall him pointing out and describing the call of my very first Sedge Wren. Or the trip we took to the Wind Lake Sod Farm to see the Buff-breasted Sandpipers, Golden Plovers and an unexpected Sharp-tailed Sparrow in the ditch. Each time Ed brought along his camera and telephoto lens in case an opportunity arose.

As many have noted he was a great teacher and has influenced many.

His informational slide shows on birds were a special treat at the conclusion of our Hoy meetings and always ended with a superb sunset shot. It’s been a week now since the last slideshow, and I miss them already.

The Costs of Gasohol
by Lila Berge

Because of corporate welfare for agribusinesses and the fact that we don’t meet clean-air standards, we in southeast Wisconsin are required to fuel our vehicles with gasoline that contains up to ten percent ethanol. We get poorer mileage in our cars, more air and water pollution, higher food costs and contribute to the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico.

Most ethanol is made from corn. According to Prof. David Pimentel of Cornell University, ethanol costs three and a half times as much to produce than gasoline and yields twenty percent less energy. Making the special gasoline to blend with ethanol is expensive. The gas and ethanol must be shipped separately and blended on site because moisture can make the blend separate.

Ten percent of the corn grown in the United States goes to the plants that produce ethanol. While the gasohol may burn cleaner, these plants are noisy, smelly and produce emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, particulates and other hazardous pollutants, as reported by Ted Williams in the August issue of Audubon Magazine. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), the agribusiness giant controls about 60% of the ethanol market. They recently settled with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), agreeing to pay a $4.6 million fine and to install $340 million worth of pollution controls at 52 plants in 16 states. They also pled guilty and paid almost a $100 million fine for ethanol price fixing!

So, if they clean up the ethanol plants, is everything fine? Not quite. Growing more and more corn is bad for the environment, too. Corn require lots of fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides. Atrazine, which has been the farmers’ favorite herbicide for decades, causes tadpoles to become hermaphrodite frogs, sometimes with two heads and extra limbs. It is a possible cause of prostate cancer. Corn creates more erosion than many other crops. While reformulated gas releases less carbon monoxide, it is more volatile and so releases more volatile organic compounds. According to the National Academy of Sciences, modern blends of gasoline without ethanol burn more cleanly. Oxygenates are no longer needed because modern cars have oxygen sensors that adjust the air to fuel ratio to burn cleaner.

Growing corn loses soil about twelve times faster than its being built up. When all this eroded soil, nitrogen fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides reach the Gulf of Mexico, they help create a poisoned, deoxygenated, algae-clogged, bacteria-infested “dead zone” the size of Massachusetts, lethal to fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and virtually all gill breeders.

So why are we still required to burn reformulated gasohol? Farmers, ADM and the other agribusinesses form a very powerful lobby in Washington and state capitols. For each gallon of ethanol produced, taxpayers pay about sixty cents in federal subsidies and twenty cents in state subsidies, not necessarily to the family farmer, but mostly to agribusinesses. According to the Cato Institute, every dollar in profits earned by ADM costs taxpayers $30. In 1978, the Federal Tax Act subsidized the cost of adding ethanol to gasoline. ADM has received at least $10 million in subsidies since 1980, a good return on the $3.1 million they, their officers and their subsidiaries have donated to both Republican and Democratic parties.

What can you do about this corporate welfare? Call or write your state and federal legislators. Tell them it is wrong to divert a basic food crop to making gasohol. It increases the cost of food and harms the environment. It is not necessary in our modern vehicles.

Topping off the tank…
by John Berge

Along with oxygenated gasolines came the more successful vapor trapping nozzle on the gasoline pump. Here are a couple of facts about those nozzles which are not well known.

If one tries to top off one’s gas tank after the automatic shut off, the gasoline doesn’t go into the vehicle’s tank but is recycled back into the vendor’s tank through the vapor recovery hose. Since the gasoline has gone through the meter on the pump, the customer pays for it but doesn’t get the gas. Not smart!

If one just get a clicking sound and no gasoline the first few times the lever is squeezed on the pump nozzle, that means the previous customer tried to top off his or her tank and thus left some liquid gasoline in the vapor return line. Until that gasoline is returned to the gas station’s tank, no gasoline will be pumped into the vehicle. Don’t blame the equipment, blame the previous customer.

I rewrote my first draft of this article to remove the word “you” and to replace it with the impersonal “one” because I am sure no Sierran would try to top off their tanks against the printed instruction. Would one?