Welcome to the Website of the Nebraska Chapter of the Sierra Club and Its Missouri Valley (MoValley) Group.
P.O. Box 4664, Omaha, NE 68104, Contact David Corbin for further information.
You’re here because 2 million nationally and approximately 3000 in Nebraska want:
- a safe and healthy community in which to live
- an enduring legacy for America’s wild places
- smart energy solutions to combat global warming
The Nebraska Chapter Sierra Club also takes an active part in social and environmental justice movements
Since 1892, the Sierra Club has been working to protect communities, wild places, and the planet itself. We are the largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. In 1973 the Bluestem Group was formed in Lincoln. Shortly thereafter the Missouri Valley Group was formed in Omaha. The Nebraska Chapter was formed in 1974. Currently, the state chapter and the Missouri Valley Group are active. The Bluestem Group is in the process of reorganizing.
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The 2019 Legislative Session has begun. Each week we will post the "Week in Review"
Two of the Nebraska Chapter's greatest commitments are lobbying the Nebraska Unicameral and pursuing Green the Stream before the Omaha City Council.
Two bills of special interest to the Sierra Club are: LB 678 by Senator Vargas on the VW settlement to fund EV chargers across the state; and LB 691 by Senator Cavanaugh for a specialty plate for the Ornate Box Turtle. LB 678 just had its hearing with broad support, lead by the Sierra Club. LB 691 has been merged (as is an ordinary legislative process) with multiple other specialty plate bills into LB 356 by Speaker Scheer. LB 356 now is on General File.
Every week Cavanaugh & Associates produces a "Week in Review" detailing relevant legislative actions for the Sierra Club. Please see the most recent and past WiRs at this <LINK> for our most recent successes and challenges.
The Green the Stream activities have had two primary thrusts: [i] separate collection of yard waste and composting it; and [ii] banning plastic bags. Especially waste collection has been the subject of extensive study by the City. Pressure from the Sierra Club prompted the City to structure its request for sealed bids to include separate collection of yard waste. Soon, the City Council will take up accepting one of the four responsive bids for the ten-year contract, likely costing $30+ million per year. Based on efforts of the Sierra Club, the City Council simultaneously will take up banning retail point-of-sale single use plastic bags.
Executive Committee going over legislative bills at the barn at Glacier Creek Preserve
Click on the link of the date that you are interested in to see that week's "Week in Review" summary
January 21, 2019 - January 25, 201- February 1, 2019 - February 8, 2019 - February 15, 2019 - February 22, 2019 - March 1, 2019 - March 8, 2019 - March 15, 2019 - March 22, 2019
March 29, 2019
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Congratulations to the new or re-elected members of the Executive Committees
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Thanks to all of you who attended our 2018 Harvest Moon Banquet. It was a great success. Click on the photo below to see a photo album from the banquet.
Click this link to see a 3 and one-half minute video of the 2018 Harvest Moon Banquet.
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Nebraska hosted the Sierra Club National Chapter Assembly in Nebraska City from May 31-June 4. It was attended by over 100 delegates from all over the USA.
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Earth Day Omaha video, 2018
Sierra Club Earth Day Omaha from Mierendorf Films on Vimeo.*****
Ban the Bag: Let Omaha Mayor Stothert and Omaha City Council members know that you
support a ban on single-use plastic bags (also known as t-shirt bags).
Click here to see a one-minute music video about the Ban the Bag campaign.
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Keystone XL Pipeline
Thanks to all of the Nebraska Sierra Club members who have attended rallies, marches, public hearings and who have served as council and as expert witnesses in opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline. TransCanada does not have a legal route for the pipeline through Nebraska at this time and we will continue to work to make sure the KXL does not cross the state of Nebraska. We are winning and we won't give up. In fact, the U.S. a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration violated bedrock U.S. environmental laws when approving a federal permit for TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline project. The judge blocked any construction on the pipeline and ordered the government to revise its environmental review. Sierra Club Senior Attorney Doug Hayes said that the "ruling makes it clear once and for all that it’s time for TransCanada to give up on their Keystone XL pipe dream. The Trump administration tried to force this dirty pipeline project on the American people, but they can’t ignore the threats it would pose to our clean water, our climate, and our communities.”
Photo on the left: David Corbin, Vice-Chair of the Nebraska Sierra Club with Susana Reyes,Vice President of the national Sierra Club Board of Directors and Lena Moffitt Senior Director, the Sierra Club's Our Wild America Campaign at the Give the KXL Pipeline the Boot march in Lincoln. Middle and right photo: drone camera views of the Give the Keystone XL the Boot march in Lincoln, NE on August 6, 2017. Click here to see a larger image.
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Click here to see the full solid waste report commissioned by the Nebraska Sierra Club
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Click here to see the Final Report of the LR455 Special Committe (2016) to Create the Framework for a State Climate Action Plan
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Volkswagen Settlement
You can view the Nebraska Sierra Club's recommendations for the VW Settlement by clicking on this link.
This Settlement can help to jump-start the future of electric vehicles.
To see the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality's plan for the VW settlement, click here.
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