EARTH DAY

EARTH DAY!

The first 2006 Earth Day organizational meeting is next Tuesday, December 6th at 8 p.m. in room 332 Cartwright Center. This year myself (Kristen) and Kaitlynn Radloff will be co-directing the Earth Day Celebration, but we will need mucho helpo from all of you. In fact, one of my major goals this year is to create more of an actual coalition with local businesses and organizations, which I will expand upon at the meeting.

The foci of this meeting are:
1) To create committees (see below for what committees will be forming)
2) To discuss likes/dislikes of last years event (what to change, what to keep)
3) To brainstorm new ideas, new events, new set-ups, new locations, new weather

Now, I understand that 8 p.m. on a Tuesday does not work for everyone, so if you've got ideas or thoughts you'd like to share, please let me know. We really want to make this year's celebration the best possible and it's best if we address new ideas now while we're just starting the planning. Also, like I said above, we'd like to make this coalition more of a coalition, so if you know anyone from organizations, businesses, or the gym who you think would be interested in this, please let them know.

Thanks a bunch and I hope to see all your lovely faces next Tuesday!
Kristen



Committees to be formed (can be revised):
Fundraising (we need you now!)
Education (this may be split into K-5, 6-12)
Entertainment (musician line-up and speaker system arrangements)
Food/Refreshments
Booths
Education Events during week
Public Relations & Media
Designers (brochure, posters, banners)

Prog bus and more

“Weekly Installment” of the Progressives Minutes
November 29, 2005

SOA- We had a great little discussion about the experiences that we had on the SOA trip. Seems that everyone had a “kick ass” time! Let’s keep the energy and motivation that we’ve obtained at SOA flowing strong and use this to educate others about what we’ve learned.

SOA Education- There will be an SOA educational event and discussion on Wednesday December 7th @ 7:00 in 332 CC. We would like individuals who have gone to SOA to join in to tell about their experiences as well as new faces who are eager to learn about SOA. Talk to your professors and make announcements in class about the event. We want to spread awareness about the SOA.
On Monday morning at 7:00 a.m. we are meeting at the clock tower to put up crosses and posters to raise awareness as well as promote the event on the 7th. It’s early, but if enough people come we should be able to get it done quickly. Jill promises to bring food!!!
Also…if anyone has pictures from SOA, please e-mail them to Jill Hayes or Heather Mullee. They are trying to put together a power point.
hayes.jill@students.uwlax.edu
mullee.heat@students.uwlax.edu

Iraqi War Petitions- GOOD WORK! We’ve reached our goal and collected 2,606 signatures. That’s 10% more than our goal. If for some reason there aren’t enough after all the illegible are thrown out we may need to hold an emergency petition signing event. Keep your eyes open. We’ve worked this hard, let’s make sure we get this thing on the ballot!

WalMart- The video was a huge success! Kevin and a few others are working on possibly showing the movie at the Riv. We might be doing a table in CC handing out lit and talking to people about WalMart while promoting fair trade. Kevin will be e-mailing more information about that at a later date.

Earth Day- Earth Day is not as far away as we think folks. It’s time to start planning!!! The first meeting will be on Tuesday December 6 @ 8:00 p.m. in 332 CC. Come and join us to talk about new ideas, how last year went, and what we plan to do this year!!! Got questions? email lacrosseearthdaycoalition@yahoo.com or pitts.kris@students.uwlax.edu

It’s Sexy To Be Green Calendar- The LAST photo shoot for the “It’s Sexy to be Green” calendar will be this Saturday. The time and meeting place have yet to be determined but Kristen will be e-mailing you that information this week. We still need 4 more pict ures to fill the calendar and our goal is to get these printed before Christmas. Come get naked and have a great time! Remember, you’re educating others on the importance of responsible living….and you’re naked! What could be more fun?

Fighting Bob Fest- Fighting Bob Fest is a great festival where liberals across the Midwest get together to talk about Progressive issues. In the past there has always been a shortage of food vendors. We were thinking that having a booth and selling food would be a great way to raise money for Progressives. However, we need to start the planning soon! Anyone who is interested in working in a committee on this please contact Ryan Schryver. schryver.ryan@students.uwlax.edu

The Bus- Every year we spend a great deal of money on transporting people to events…SOA, Fighting Bob, D.C. (just to name a few) It would be extremely beneficial if we would have our own bus to do this AND it would save us a lot of money in the long run. Getting a bus would take a great deal of planning though so we need to find a group of dedicated individuals who are willing to see this project through. We would need to research the bus, find out how to convert it into biodiesel, and figure out how to raise the necessary funds to buy the bus. If you are interested in helping out e-mail Ryan Schryver. (see e-mail address above)

Move On Converence- There will be a week long political organizing conference in February put on by Move On. Anyone interested??? E-mail Ryan Schryver.

Moustaches For Peace- Moustaches for Peace and Pigtails for Peace got off to a great start at the beginning of the year but it’s lost a little bit of momentum. If we are serious about starting an international peace movement, we need to really start growing out our facial hair and tying our hair into pigtails. Everyone who sees Andrew Gilbert, tell him he needs to start growing his moustache out again.

Stop Global Warming Day- This Saturday is stop global warming day. Since we can’t stop it in one day, what we’d like to do is educate people on the effects their daily activities have on the environment. We were thinking of possibly taking a walk through Riverside Park through the Rotary Lights and talking to a few people and handing out some lit about the energy that’s wasted during the holiday season on decorations. More to come. Keep your eyes open.

Salvation Army Bell Ringing- The Salvation Army would like to have an all UW-L Bell Ringing day on December 10th. Jill found a local grocery store that needs bell ringers and she still has times that need to be filled. If you are interested in having a great time and raising some money for a great cause, e-mail Jill Hayes @ hayes.jill@students.uwlax.edu

Is Anyone Missing a Blue Fleece Blanket??? Andrew found a blue fleece blanket on the bus after SOA. If you are missing yours, e-mail him @ gilbert.andr@students.uwlax.edu

P-A-R-T-Y!!!- Rumors have been circulating about a Progressives party i n two weekends. We want to make it a theme party so we’re accepting suggestions. If you happen to come up with the theme that is selected for the Progressives bash, you get to drink for free. Be creative and e-mail your ideas to schryver.ryan@students.uwlax.edu or gilbert.andr@students.uwlax.edu May the best theme win

MEETING

James Kinsman
James came to talk to us about his upcoming campaign.  He is running for the 94th assembly district position.  He is currently a labor union representative in the state of WI, and a lobbyist. James is pro-choice, does not support the ban on birth control, faught to raise the minimum wage across the state, he worked on the budget to help the students fight against cutting financial aid and raising tuition.  He came to us to ask if there was anyone interested in helping him with his campaign this summer, he is willing to open his house to students who want to work on this with him....look for more info on this and other events from Ryan...
 
SOA
WE NEED TO FILL THE BUS ASAP! There have been many cancellations in the last few days and the bus is no longer full...if you know ANYONE interested in going please contact Andrew ASAP.  Also, if you have no t yet paid Andrew, he needs your check or cash right away! The protest is this weekend and all of this needs to come together as soon as possible...
 
Sexy Calendar
The first photo shoots for our calendar happened last Sunday and they were able to get 5, maybe 4 scenes completed...one may be a little questionable...the next photo shoot will be sometime this Sunday afternoon, look for more info from Pitts on this to follow...also if you are interested in helping look for sponsors for this, that would be amazing! contact Pitts pitts.kris@students.uwlax.edu if you are interested
 
Acedemic Oversight Committee
TONIGHT at the senate meeting in 337CC at 600pm come to support the nomination of 2 progressives/environmental council representatives to an oversight committe to ensure energy efficient and environmentally friendly things happen with this new aced emic building that is going to be built...they need your support tonight so if you have nothing going on at 600 come to this meeting!
 
Environmental Council meeting Thursday at 4pm in CC - We will be talking about the new academic building and more. Please come and show your support for making this building as environmentally friendly as possible!
 
Wal-Mart
Movie premier TONIGHT at 7pm in PORT'O CALL come to watch this new documentary about Wal-Mart!
 
Fair Trade Coffee Month
Fair Trade Coffee is the same price as normal coffee this month at the Cyber Cafe...they are also selling our mugs for $5 so go down and support this! Good work Jill!
 
Troop Withdrawl Signatures
We are almost there! THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HELPED GATHER SIGNATURES AT THE CLOCKTOWER! We can make our goal if we keep working this week! The signatures are due by this FRIDAY so hand out petitions in your classes today and tomorrow! Need more petitions? See Ryan ASAP have completed petitions? Drop them off in Guy Wolf's office located in GMH
 
Joint Legislative Hearing
1-2pm Cleary Alumni Center, room TBA next Monday...there will be an opportunity to speak with Kapanke, Shilling, and others about the current legislature...thank Jen for opposing AB343!
 
AB343
If anyone missed the article in the Tribune last Sunday that talked about the work done by our very own Jackie, Erin and Jill...go to http://www.lacrossetribune.com and search birth control ban to read the article...Keep going on this issue, it's not over!
 
NEXT WEEKS MEETING TUESDAY NOVEMBER 22, 7PM 259 CC

Getting busy

There is a lot of stuff going on this week, so here is a quick break-down of what is happening.

Tuesday:

7:00pm 259 Cartwright Progressives Meeting: There is a lot coming up this week and next, so stop by to hear what's up or bring some new ideas to the meeting. We will be joined by State Assembly candidate James Kinsman for the beginning of the meeting.

Wednesday:

All day in the Ward Room (Cartwright) Fair Trade Fair:

10,000 villages has sent thousands of dollars worth of fair trade products to be sold at UW-L. This is a great opportunity to put our $ where our mouths are. We have promoted fair trade from the human rights, environmental, and economical perspectives over the last few years. This would be an easy chance to pick up holiday gifts that actually improved the world instead of lining the pockets mega-corporations

6:00 pm 339 Cartwright: Student Senate
The Environmental Council introduced a resolution that would place two members of the Environmental Council on the committee which will oversee the construction of UW-L's new academic building. If we want to have a chance at making this building environmentally sound, we need to be involved at every level. Please come and make your voice heard. Showing up at Senate meetings is extremely effective.

7:00 pm Port o' Call: Progressive Movie Night< /DIV>
Wall-Mart the High Cost of Low Prices will be shown. A discussion will follow about the application of pragmatic principals in our daily consumption. This movie is very well produced and is spreading like wildfire across the country. Check it out and find out why Wall-Mart is scared.

Thursday:

All day Ward Room (Cartwright) Fair Trade Fair Continues...

4:00 pm 257 Cartwright: Environmental Council meeting
The Campus Planner and the Chief Financial adviser for UW-L will be at the EC meeting to talk about the new Academic building. We need to show them that EC and the progressives are strong in order to put pressure on them to make the building as environmentally friendly as possible.

Friday:
Iraq War Referendum Petition:
Signatures must be turned in order to place this question on the April ballot "Should the United States begin an immediate withdrawal of its troops from Iraq starting with the National Guard and Reserves?" Make sure petitions are turned into Guy Wolf's office in the Multi-cultural Student Services lounge. We need to make sure we reach our goals... we're close but not there yet... keep collecting!

11:00 am SOA Protest / trip to Georgia
Students from UW-L and Viterbo will be heading down to Fort Benning Georgia to protest the School of Americas which trains Latin American militants in suppression tactics including torture, assassination, and other inhumane practices meant to suppress indigenous populist movements. THERE ARE STILL A FEW SEATS AVAILABLE FOR THE BUS. Contact Andrew Gilbert for details (1- 612 310-1340)

Nuclear Waste!!!!

Nuclear waste could be traveling through our backyard (1/2 mile from campus) within the next few years if we don't do something about it. Private Fuel Storage L.L.C. (includes Xcel Energy!) is proposing (and was recently granted a license) to build a nuclear waste facility on the Goshute Nation in Utah. IF this goes through, massive amounts of high-level nuclear waste will come from all corners of the states and be shipped on train. But what if the disaster is derailment of the nuclear waste train? Would anyone be safe...the routes (linked too below) clearly indicate that waste could travel through the City of La Crosse, through Rochester, Stoddard, and hundreds of cities from here to Utah. Are we prepared?

This conference may be one of the most important safety, environmental, and educational forums you have ever attended. Please consider coming!!

Saturday Nov 12 2005 1-5 PM
UW-L Cartwright Center

Radioactive Waste and Public Safety:
Municipalities, Counties, and Tribal Governments
free and open to the public


You can see some possible scenarios by visiting the state of Nevada's nuclear waste tranportation routes web site at:


http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/states/wiscon.htm

http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/states/minn.htm

Also Public Citizen has a nice factsheet on the PFS project and the concerns at: http://www.citizen.org/cmep/energy_enviro_nuclear/nuclear_power_plants/nukewaste/pfs/articles.cfm?ID=12740

It's Sexy to be Green!

Hey everyone,

So a few of us got together last night to hash out some 'Green is Sexy' Calendar decisions. We'd really like to get this calender up and in the hands of people by the first week of finals, which gives us appoximately one month. This is not a lot of time, so this Sunday is our first photoshoot! We will be meeting at 1104 State Street at 9:30 a.m. to drive out to Eric Earle's house (where the barn dance was). This is where we will be doing our outdoor shots. We will be taking pictures from 10 - 1 that day. If you can not make it at 9:30, but want to come anyway, here are the directions: Take Hwy 16 towards Onalaska, take a right at Hwy B (at the stoplights), take another right on Smith Valley Road and go down a few miles until you get to N2931 Smith Valley Road.

The scenes by month are as follows (* we will be taking on Sunday):
January: New Year's Celebration focusing on recycling
February: Save Water, shower together with organic, cruelty free shampoos and soaps
*March: Backpacking focusing on ecotourism, enjoying nature, etc.
*April: Tree-hugging for Earth Day focusing on sustainable logging
*May: Biking...alternative transportation, reduced dependence of fossil fuels
*June: Canoeing and invasive species
*July: Carpooling in a hybrid car
*August: Organic harvest
*September: Green building and energy efficiency
October: Mustaches/pigtails for peace
November: Thanksgiving dinner (eating low on food chain) and waste
December: Alternative Christmas; living Christmas tree and fair trade, eco-friendly presents

As you can see we have a lot of pictures for this Sunday, so the more people the better! Bring your friends, your friends friends, your roommates, whoever. For these pictures, we will need props and we will need a people to help with scene set-up, etc. So if you're not comfortable showing off your bod, we could still you your help. I guarantee this will be a good time.

We really need props for this Sunday, so if you have access to any of these items, please let me know!!
Backpacking backpacks
Chainsaw / saws
bikes / bike helmets
Canoe paddles
Canoe
Life Jackets / Boat seat cushions
hybrid car
vegetables..squash, tomatoes, potatoes, whatever you've got
hoes, rakes, garden equipment
tool belts and tools
construction hats

If you've got any questions, please contact me at pitts.kris@students.uwlax.edu
We will be having another photoshoot the following Sunday from 10 - 1 as well. If you know of any business or organization that you know would want to help sponsor this, please let me know!
I think that is everything, so I hope to see you all there!!
Thanks,
Pitts

A little message from RFK Jr.

Stop Global Warming...
join the march, it's easy, just sign on!

http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/campaigns/sgw/impact/535910ba26f0aadc1423c7f14473275e/