Southeast Gateway Group Executive Committee Elections: See the printed version of this newsletter for full information.

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Southeast Gateway Group Cranberry Sale

Fresh Wisconsin Cranberries for the Holidays! Order Now!

We are again offering fresh cranberries direct from the growers, Wetherby Cranberry Co. in Warrens, WI. This family-owned grower offers plump delicious cranberries packaged the day that we pick them up. You won't find cranberries this fresh and high quality in the grocery store at this price! Our cranberries freeze well for use all winter, so stock up now. Delivery will be in November sometime before Thanksgiving but is dependent on when they ripen and are able to be harvested.

* $3.50 for each one pound bag *
Encourage your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to place orders! Aside from getting great cranberries, this is a fund raiser for our group so that we may continue to do our important work.

Place your order by calling Jeff Sytsma at (262) 637-6845 or by e-mail at Jeff12759 AT aol DOT com

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Another Household Hazardous Waste
by John Berge

One type of household hazardous waste (HHW) that citizens of Racine and Sturtevant have not been able to take into the HHW site on their regular collections dates (third Saturday) has been unwanted medications, especially prescription drugs. This year's Make-A-Difference Day, October 27, may very well change that -- making a difference. A committee of local Sierrans and other concerned citizens working with the Public Health Departments, personnel from Racine's Water and Waste Water Utility, law enforcement and others are in the process of setting up two collection sites on Make-A-Difference Day in Racine County that will accept unwanted medications for proper disposal.

If no problems arise, and although none are anticipated one can never be sure of that, there will be two sites in Racine County that will be open to all citizens of Racine County. The western site will be at the Waterford Village Hall; the location of the eastern site was still up in the air at this newsletter deadline, but may be at the HHW site on 21st Street. Such a collection is complicated and subject to strict FDA regulations. A registered pharmacist and law enforcement officer must be at each site. Volunteers must log in every medication by name of the drug. Hence the need for a pharmacist. People bringing in medicines or drugs are not required to be identified except to prove they are residents of the county. Other collections such as this have accepted illegal drugs, "no questions asked".

The medications must be kept under tight, recorded control right up to their incineration. Final details of this program, including hours to be open and finances, were still being worked out at the deadline. The Conservation Committee has received several calls and e-mails about disposal of these items in the past. They should be kept out of ground and surface waters, but no other means of disposal were available except flushing them down the toilet or placing them out with the trash. Studies have shown that virtually all surface waters contain trace amounts of several drugs, in part due to improper disposal and in part because many of these compounds pass right through the human body unchanged.

You may have other plans for Make-A-Difference Day on October 24, but check your medicine cabinets for old, unwanted medications and make sure they get to this once-a-year chance to properly dispose of them.

Watch the newspaper for final details. Get rid of these drugs before a child, an experimenting adolescent or confused older adult misuses them. Many drugs past their expiration date will have lost either their efficacy, their safety, or both.

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Calendar:

October 4: Conservation Committee meeting at Berges' house, 1529 Crabapple Drive, Racine, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Contact John at (262) 633-8455 with any questions, items for the agenda, etc.

October 6: Highway 38 Cleanup starting at 9:00 a.m. Meet at Bob and Betty Gericke's house, 3927 North Lane, Franksville (east of State Highway 38 and north of County Highway K). There may be restrictions on what roads are open to get there, but check with Betty Gericke (262) 886-9057 or John Berge (262) 633-8455 for directions.

October 11: ExCom Meeting. The meeting will be at the Olympia Brown Church Annex, 419 6th St. in Racine at 7:00 p.m.

October 20: Hike the Racine Lakefront Pathway. Meet at the North Beach parking lot at the end of Barker St. at 10:00. We'll walk the length of the new pathway and along the shore of the lake. We'll learn about what has been done to reduce polluted run-off and how that has contributed to North Beach being designated a Blue Wave beach. After our hike we'll head to the Chancery for lunch. Call Nancy at (262) 639-5639 if you can join us.

October 25: Regular meeting will be at the Pringle Nature Center and feature Professor Ray Wiggers from Lake Forest College speaking on, "Wisconsin's Living Landscapes: Dramatic Change through Time". We will meet a 5:00 p.m. for a hike and enjoy a hot dog and chili supper at 6:00 p.m. followed by Professor Wiggers talk at 7:00 p.m. A $5.00 donation for the meal is suggested. Please RSVP to Barry Thomas (859-2960).

October 27: Work Day at Colonial Park (8:30 a.m. to noon) and Pringle Nature Center (10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) We will continue to remove alien, invasive plant species. Instruction is available at both sites to newcomers as well as regulars. Everyone is always welcome. Wear appropriate clothing and work gloves. Pruning shears, loppers and spades will be useful. This is Make-A-Difference Day in Racine so many activities will be taking place.

November 1: Conservation Committee meeting at Berges' house, 1529 Crabapple Drive, Racine, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Contact John at (262) 633-8455 with any questions, items for the agenda, etc.

November 1: Southeast Sierran Deadline. Send articles, etc., electronically by using the information on the back page, or send by mail to: Gary Zumach, 2548 Pinehurst Ave., Racine, WI 53403.

November 8: ExCom Meeting. The meeting will be at the Olympia Brown Church Annex, 419 6th St. in Racine at 7:00 p.m.

November 15: Comments on a Changing Great Lakes System. Jim Lubner from Wisconsin Sea Grant will give his perspective on recent issues and developments in Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes system. The program is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Northside Kenosha Public Library, 1500 27th Ave., Kenosha in the large meeting room. Join us to "eat before we meet" at the Gateway Cafe at 3619 30th Ave., Kenosha, at 5:00 p.m. .

November 17: Hike the Root River Pathway. Meet at 10:00 at the West High Street parking lot and hike the path. We'll learn about recent developments on the path. We'll then head off to the Red Onion on Main Street in downtown Racine where soup and sandwiches await. After lunch we'll carpool back to West High St. If you care to join us call Nancy (262) 639-5639.

November 24: Work Day at Colonial Park (8:30 a.m. to noon) and Pringle Nature Center (10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) weather permitting. We will continue to remove alien, invasive plant species. Instruction is available at both sites to newcomers as well as regulars. Everyone is always welcome. Wear appropriate clothing and work gloves. Pruning shears, loppers and spades will be useful.

November 29: Book Club at Dunn Bros., 245 Main St. in Racine at 7:00 p.m. Discuss "The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed" by John Vaillant

December 6: Conservation Committee meeting at Berges' house, 1529 Crabapple Drive, Racine, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Contact John at (262) 633-8455 with any questions, items for the agenda, etc.

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Consider a Run for Public Office
by Betsy Georg

Pro-environment candidates are needed to run for local office here in southeastern Wisconsin. Elections for nonpartisan local offices will be held on April 1, 2008. Potential candidates who wish to have their names appear on the ballot must file a declaration of candidacy before collecting the required signatures. These must be turned in to the appropriate local election official on or before January 2, 2008. In addition, a campaign finance form must be filed before a candidate may spend money on his/her campaign. In some cases, a candidate must also file a statement of economic interest in order to appear on the ballot.

Though all of this may appear to be an enormous task, it's not necessarily that difficult. In some cases the number of signatures needed on nomination papers is relatively small. Friends and supporters can help candidates collected the required signatures. The other forms are not difficult. For those candidates who spend only a small amount of money on their campaigns, the campaign finance forms are straightforward.

The current lack of leadership at the federal level has made environmental initiatives at the state and local levels increasingly important. One such initiative is the Sierra Club's Cool Cities Program, which encourages communities to take action to reduce global global warming. Kenosha’s Mayor John Antaramian and Racine’s Mayor Gary Becker have signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Some local governments are building green buildings, banning the use of lawn fertilizers containing phosphorous unless they are actually needed, using wind and solar energy to reduce their use of fossil fuel, providing opportunities for residents to safely dispose of hazardous waste, purchasing development rights to preserve farmland, planting trees and expanding recycling programs. Other local governments are selling off parkland for development, expanding roads, encouraging urban sprawl and cutting funding for mass transit. The category into which your local government falls depends to a large extent upon the mindsets of those who hold elected office and of the staff they employ. You (or another environmentalist you know) can make a difference.

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From the Chair: Paying for the Privilege
by Nancy Hennessy

In October I'll be heading for Guadalupe Mountain National Park in west Texas with two other SEGG members for a Sierra Club service trip. It's kind of a poor man's vacation that combines the work of restoring and maintaining trails with an opportunity to stay in a unique and beautiful place. In addition to working on trail maintenance we may be devoting some of our time to the removal of invasive Russian Thistle. Yup, I'm going all the way to Texas and paying for the privilege of removing invasive alien species -- that's something that I can do for free every fourth Saturday at Colonial Park in Racine or Pringle Nature Center in Kenosha.

We'll be staying in a historic lodge near McKittrick Canyon, described as the jewel of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The Guadalupe Mountains are actually not a mountain range at all, but a coral reef formed in the Permian Age. Today this mountain range is described as a verdant island in the midst of the Chihuahuan Dessert. We are looking forward to exploring this fascinating area.

This Texas trip reminds me that I need to take more time to appreciate our group's "adopted" Racine and Kenosha parks. Colonial Park, with its wild landscape and native plants and Pringle Nature Center nestled in Bristol Woods are our own local jewels. Members of our group have devoted many hours of volunteer time removing alien species and planting native plants at these parks. And the work is never done. That's OK. It's worth the effort. But I need to remember to find time to explore and enjoy right here I my own back yard.

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Expand Our Freight Rail Capacity
by Nancy Duersten

Expanding our freight rail capacity makes sense. A freight train can carry the equivalent cargo of 500 trucks: it can move a ton of freight more than 400 miles on just one gallon of diesel fuel. A single flat-bed train can haul nearly 300 truck trailers (the equivalent of almost 2000 automobiles in traffic). Note that one semi emits 44 pollutants equal to 150 cars. It can reduce highway congestion which costs us $63 billion per year in wasted fuel and travel time according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

In this way we can also reduce air pollution, road congestion, and save millions of gallons of fossil fuel every year. Congress is now considering the non-partisan Freight Rail Capacity Expansion Act of 2007 (S.1125 and H.R.2116). This Act will give tax credits to help freight rail companies build the infrastructure needed to meet the projected demand in freight traffic -- a whopping 70% increase by 2020. Because of the global economy, goods are coming into our ports at unprecedented levels and need to be transported over the entire country. If this bill doesn't pass, much of that volume will wind up on our already congested highways.

Some are pushing the idea of separate lanes for truck traffic or double decking highways with one deck for trucks. Not only would we get more pollution, gridlock and wasted fuel but it would be an unwarranted burden on the taxpayers who pay 100% of highway construction and maintenance costs. It can cost over $10 million to add a lane to a mile of urban highway compared to a $1 to $3 million to add a mile of track.

An added incentive to promote this bill is the aggressive hiring by the industry of returning veterans. Our four largest railroads made the list of "Top Military-Friendly Employers" as determined by GI Jobs Magazine. These are jobs that can't go overseas.

Advocates in 20 states are championing this bill and includes state legislators, mayors, business and civic leaders. Why is it that Wisconsin is the only state in the mid-west that has not one advocate?

For more info go to www.gorail.org

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Third Saturday Hikes are Back!

These are perfect little hikes. Well, they're not really hikes. They're more like saunters. What's so great about them? You get out in the great outdoors. You explore and learn about the special places that are right in your own backyard. You get better acquainted with other Sierra Club members...and you finish your hike at an eating place. Now, that's perfect!

The October and November hikes are both in Racine. The Lakefront hike takes us on the recently completed Lake Michigan Pathway. This was an optional hike at last year's Autumn Assembly. Folks from around the state who did the hike were dazzled. The Root River Pathway hike starts in Colonial Park where our group has done so much work fighting invasive species and planting native plants. Get an up-close look and learn about what we've been doing there. So, join us for some fun. Get to know other Sierra Club members and learn about the special places that are right in our area.

Complete information about these hikes will be found in the calendar listing .

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Our Next Book Club Discussion...
"The Golden Spruce"
by John Vaillant

November 29 at 7:00 p.m. at Dunn Bros. on Main Street in Racine.

Five people came to our first SEGG Book Club meeting at Caleo's Cafe to discuss "A Botany of Desire". Coffee and conversation about the book made for an interesting evening. So interesting that we decided that we should pick another book to discuss and schedule another meeting. We chose "The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed" by John Vaillant. It tells the story of a sacred tree, a logger-turned environmentalist and a shocking act of environmental protest in the woods of British Columbia. Wow! It should be a lively discussion.

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Sierra Club Launches National Coal Campaign
by John Berge

On August 23, the Sierra Club announced a new National Coal Campaign in opposition to the serious threats posed by new generations of coal-fired power plants and expanded coal mining. Although this campaign seems to be rather late for those who fought the mega-expansion of WE Energies Oak Creek coal-fired and water-guzzling power plants, the campaign claims to be built on the "momentum we have already ignited through our organizing and legal advocacy across the country," as stated in Conservation Director Greg Haegele's announcement. "A coordinated national campaign will allow us to expand our organizing, technical and legal services to more locations and states, and provide us all with the overarching framework we need to convey the innumerable problems with relying on coal."

"The primary goals of the National Coal Campaign are to prevent the construction of a new fleet of coal-fired power plants in the United States and to divert investments currently slated for new coal plants into clean energy alternatives. Our primary strategy for achieving our goals is to make coal plants so controversial and undesirable that proposed coal developers, including their investors, abandon their coal plans and pursue clean energy alternatives."

I have attended both of the Midwest Energy Future Conferences held the last two years and have participated in the Midwest Coal and Air Quality Listserve and some of their monthly phone calls. This group has been working in the Midwest, from West Virginia to Minnesota to do what the National Campaign proposes in their objectives. There have been some successes as courts have responded to Sierra Club's advocacy along with other environmental and health groups. A court ruling against the permit for a 1,500 megawatt plant in Kentucky is one of the more recent success.

As recently as last May, power companies had announced intentions to build as many as 150 new coal-fired power plants in the U.S. These plans have been cut back in a number of locations, such as in Texas, where the buyers of TXU have withdrawn eight of the eleven previously proposed plants. Duke, Peabody and other companies are feeling increasing pressure from the general public and environmental organizations. Florida recently enacted a law, signed by the governor, that authorized the Public Service Commission to give priority to renewable energy and conservation programs before approving construction of conventional coal-fired power plants. An 800-megawatt coal-fired power plant proposal near Tallahassee was suspended at that time "for environmental issues". In Minnesota, a hearing judge at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is urging commissioners to reject a plan for Northern States Power to buy electricity from a coal-gasification plant. The judge concluded that the 600-megawatt plant wouldn't be a good deal for consumers.

The Sierra Club's National Coal Campaign is a new structure for campaign work and was "conceived as a leadership driven concept, in contrast to a standard reactionary model... We want to create a national campaign that is bigger than the sum of all of our current work on coal."

Bruce Nilles, who previously directed the Sierra Club's Midwest Clean Energy Campaign out of Madison, will be the Team Whip on the team of six staff members and two volunteer advisors. The Team includes two lawyers, media experts, people close to the top of the Sierra Club and a fund raiser. The team has been charged to drive and coordinate our coal work, and to implement but not set policy.

The Team's specific objectives as outlined in the announcement are to: Stop proposed coal plants from moving forward by intervening in coal plant permitting processes and diverting investments toward clean energy alternatives; Begin the orderly retirement of the existing coal plant fleet through public and administrative advocacy and litigation; Educate the public about coal's significant contribution to global warming and the dangers of "clean coal", as well as renewable energy solutions; Educate investors and conduct shareholder advocacy to drive investment away from coal and into clean energy alternatives; Combat mountaintop removal mining by educating the public and decision makers, enforcing environmental laws and litigating strategically; Work with nontraditional allies and coalitions, including labor and faith partnerships, to increase the campaign’s effectiveness; and Create and refine tools to improve communications among national and chapter staff, volunteers and activists, organizers, litigators, and experts working on coal plants.

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Cranberry Recipies:

Cranberry Apple Pie
Pastry for two crust-pie
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
4 cups pared, sliced tart apples
1 tsp. apple pie spices
2 cups fresh whole SEGG cranberries
2 tbsp. butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 425° F. Prepare pastry. In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour and spices. Add apples and cranberries, mix to coat well. Turn into pastry-lined pie pan. Dot with butter or margarine. Cover with top crust. Cut slits into top crust and flute edges. Bake 40 to 50 minutes and then cool.

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Cranberry Banana Bread
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup mashed banana
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup coarsely chopped SEGG cranberries

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inch loaf pan. Mix sugar and butter together in a medium mixing bowl until completely blended. Add banana, milk and eggs, mixing well. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until moist. Stir in nuts and cranberries. Spread batter evenly in the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool before slicing.

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Molded Cranberry Apple Salad

1 small pkg. strawberry Jell-O
1 cup boiling water
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup chopped SEGG cranberries
1 cup chopped apples
1 cup chopped walnuts

In a bowl, thoroughly dissolve gelatin in boiling water, add cold water. Chill until it begins to thicken. Prepare and stir in cranberries, apples and nuts. Spoon into a 1 qt. mold. Chill until set. Make 6 to 8 servings.

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Pinecranapple Sauce

1 bag fresh SEGG cranberries, washed
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, in its own juice
2 large apples, washed, cored, and chopped
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar, or to taste

If you use golden delicious apples, which are sweet, you may be able to reduce the sugar. Do not use red delicious as they don’t cook up. Any other kind of cooking apple will work fine. Combine everything together in a pot (best not to use aluminum, because it reacts too much with the acid in the fruit), and cook until soft. Refrigerate. Serve warm or cold. This can be used as a side dish, or as a topping for pancakes, waffles, pound cake, short cake or ice cream.

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Cranberry Cake with Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar
2 cups sifted flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
3 tbsp. melted butter or margarine
2 cups raw whole SEGG cranberries

Mix dry ingredients. Add milk, margarine and cranberries. Bake 40–45 minutes at 350° F in greased 9 x 12 inch or 10 x 10 inch cake pan. Test center for doneness with toothpick.

Caramel Sauce: Blend 2 cups brown sugar and 5 tbsp. flour in saucepan. Add 2–1/2 cups water and cook until thick. Add 1 tbsp. butter or margarine and 1 tsp. vanilla. Serve hot over each serving of cake.

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Brandied Cranberry Sauce

Place 4 cups fresh or frozen SEGG cranberries in 13 x 9 baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with 2 cups of sugar. Cover and bake at 300° F for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Stir carefully and then stir in 1/3 cup brandy (or orange juice). Pour into jars or serving dishes. Store in refrigerator. Makes about 3 cups.

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Cranberry Almond Muffins

2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1–1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 tsp. almond extract
1 cup frozen or fresh SEGG cranberries, rinsed and chopped
1/3 cup slivered almonds
Small amount of sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 12 cup muffin pan or line with paper cups. Combine flour, both sugars, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Combine milk, oil, egg and almond extract in separate mixing bowl. Add liquid ingredients to dry, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in cranberries. They need not be completely thawed. Fill muffin cups to 3/4 full. Sprinkle tops with sugar and almonds. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes in pan. Makes 12 muffins.