March 2002
Dear Sierran,
Welcome to the first monthly issue of e-Sierra, the email magazine of the
Sierra Club North Star Chapter. Our intent is to keep this e-zine timely,
brief, and to the point with updates on key environmental battles and
opportunities in Minnesota and the nation.
In 2003, we hope to reduce the regularity of the North Star Journal to
quarterly from 6 times per year to save trees and money that can be directed
into winning victories on conservation issues here in Minnesota.
For even more up to date information visit
our website.
Sincerely,
Sam Garst
Chapter Secretary
SamGarst@aol.com
Welcome to e-Sierra
March 2002
SierranACT ACTIVIST ALERT SYSTEM LAUNCHED
The North Star Chapter has initiated a new Activist Alert system, called
SierranACT. This system allows you to take timely action and to make your
views known to decision makers with a couple of mouse clicks. Sign-up today:
northstar.sierraclubaction.org
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TRANSIT FUNDING MAY BE DERAILED
If you want to see greater transit opportunities, then help convince members
of the Minnesota House Transportation Finance Committee and the House
Capital Investment Committee that Minnesotans support expanded transit
service - it is cheaper, faster, and environmentally the right thing to do.
http://www.northstar.sierraclub.org/action_alert_68.htm
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US SENATE NEEDS YOUR VOICE FOR A CLEANER ENERGY FUTURE
The US Senate is debating our energy future this week. Senator
Daschle's
energy bill creates a framework for a safer, cleaner and more secure energy
future and does not sacrifice special places like the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge. Please act TODAY! http://northstar.sierraclubaction.org/.
For more information on the energy debate visit
http://www.sierraclub.org/energy
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AIR TOXICS COMMITTEE CONTINUES EFFORTS TO CLEAN UP MINNESOTA'S DIRTY COAL
PLANTS
Active citizens put Xcel Energy on the defensive by demanding Xcel clean up
dirty coal fired power plants. Led by the Sierra Club Minnesota Air Toxics
Campaign, the campaign organized citizens to participate in public meetings
around the Twin Cities Metro. More information contact: pmaccabee@visi.com
or smithb@macalester.edu or
http://www.northstar.sierraclub.org/AIR_TOXICS_clean_up_coal_plants.htm
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HOW CLEAN ARE MINNESOTA WATERS???
The Minnesota Environmental Partnership, a coalition of 70 environmental
organizations including the Sierra Club North Star Chapter, launched a
Protect Our Water effort to make a down payment on cleaning up Minnesota's
rivers, streams, and lakes. Recently, the Star Tribune ran a series on the
problem facing Minnesota waters. If you missed it, take a look:
www.startribune.com/stories/417/894358.html
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NUCLEAR WASTE ISSUE GETS HOTTER
President Bush endorsed the storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in
Nevada earlier this month. The proposed dumpsite means nuclear waste will
travel through 45 states to a place that even Engineers at the Department of
Energy have declared leaks and will hold storage canisters that are
predicted to fail. For more information on this intensifying debate:
http://www.northstar.sierraclub.org/NUKE_Yucca_mountain_Statement.htm
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FOREST PLAN REVISION TOPIC AT NATIONAL FOREST OPEN HOUSES
The Chippewa and Superior National Forests have scheduled Open Houses in
March to provide an update on the Forest Plan revision process. Both Forests
are revising their individual 1986 Forest Plans, and the Open Houses are
scheduled to provide information and answer questions about the Planning
process:
http://www.northstar.sierraclub.org/Forestry_Forest_Plan_Revision_Open_House
.htm
SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING EVENTS
March 6: New Member Orientation
March 6: Twin Cities Group and Red River Group
March 6: Forestry, Land Use, and Conservation Committee
Meetings
March 11: St. Croix Valley Group
March 14: Political Committee
March 15: Fishing/Camping BWCAW
March 19: International Issues Committee
March 20: Air Toxics Committee
March 27: Book Group
March 27: North Star Chapter Executive Committee
For More Calendar Information Contact: vicki.munson@sierraclub.org
For Interesting Submissions: heather.cusick@sierraclub.org
To no longer receive the e-Sierra, send a message to:
scott.elkins@sierraclub.org
with remove from e-Sierra in the subject line.
For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to
listserv@lists.sierraclub.org
-------------------
Dear Issue Leader,
This is a very important memo!!! The Executive Committee has created a new
communications committee to review the effectiveness of how we communicate
with members and the public.
You are getting this message because you have been identified as an issue
leader within the North Star Chapter. (Complete list attached.)
Specifically, we hope to help build a volunteer base, help volunteer issue
leaders communicate with and recruit members, build new volunteer
leaders/experts for new issu areas, and help the club use the tools we have,
particularly the free tools like our website, to better effect and to win
for the environment.
Thus, in February we are launching the new e-Sierra. E-Sierra will be a
monthly email magazine/newsletter to all Sierra Club members for whom we have
email addresses.
Again, the purpose is to ...
o Communicate Monthly with Members Timely Information,
o Communicate Issue Areas for Members to become Engaged,
o Encourage Fresh Content for Website,
o Stimulate the collection of e-mail addresses from members, and
o Ultimately, reduce the number of NSJ each year to 4 from 6, by mid 2003.
Heather Cusick will compile the e-Sierra every month and send it around the
15th of each month. We hope to have a broad range of news items from
interesting sources of information in the popular press, to specific local
campaigns. Each e-Sierra will have no more than 10 features plus a calendar
at the bottom.
Thus, this is to ask for your input for the e-Sierra. To have an item listed
we need 25-35 word on the issue and a link to a web page.
The format is 1) What's new, 2) where is additional information ... hyperlink
to our webiste, national Sierra Club's site, local newspapers, and 3) who to
contact to get involved.
In other words, this issue background might be the national Sierra Club on
subjects like international human rights, global warming etc... It might be a
news article of interest to members such as the recent series in the Star
Tribune on Water Quality, or it might be something on our website such as the
Clean Car Campaign in Minnesota.
BOTTOM LINE ... YOU NEED TO HAVE A LINK !!!! We will not include items like
attend a meeting at XYZ, unless there is a link for the reader to find more
information on the "WHY" of the meeting.
For Minnesota issues, this means you must have background on the North Star
Chapter's Website. I am the webmaster, I can take text in an email, an
attached MS word file, hard copy, digital and printed pictures, etc...You
name it!!! Call if you have a question.
We can and should post nearly everything imaginable. Testimony to the
legislature or city council, letter to the governor or a public official on
an issue, etc... But, to be clear, it is important that we have an overall
background position paper for the Chapter. This can be no more than half a
page, so long as it hits the reason for our Sierra Club member to be
interest.
For your information nearly 4,000 unique visitors look at our website each
and every month. This is double the number who looked at the site in May
2001. The average visit is around 15 minutes. The Website is an increasingly
important tool for you to tell the story of your issue.
If your issue area is not using the website and keeping information current
and timely, you are not using the tools to win.
Let's Win!!!
25-35 word abstract to ...
Heather Cusick
heather.cusick@sierraclub.org
Sierra Club Office 612-379-3853
Web Posting of Articles and Information.
Sam Garst
5500 Yorktown Lane N
Plymouth, MN 55442-1942
763-557-7174 : Tel
612-237-5261 : Cell
SamGarst@aol.com
The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking
we used when we created them. -- Albert Einstein
The despotism of custom is everywhere a
hindrance to human advancement. -- John Stuart Mills