e - P R A I R I E   F L Y E R     Nov/Dec 1999
Newsletter of the Sierra Club Prairie Group

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Contents:

Wed Nov 10 - Annual Fund-Raising Auction!

Buy Sierra Club Calendars from the Prairie Group

Wed Dec 8 - How Our Food is Produced, and Why it Matters

Watch for Medical Waste Incinerator Permit Hearing

1999 Sierra Club Sprawl Report
Watch for City of Champaign Growth Recommendations
Pave the Champaign-Mahomet Route 150 corridor?!

Industrial Livestock Update
   Public comments to EPA are due Nov. 24
   Sierra Club national hog-lot report released Sept. 15
   Watch for IL Supreme Court hog-lot ruling

Letters Needed by Nov. 30 to Protect So. Illinois' Shawnee Forest

Executive Committee (ExComm) Election

Green Radio
Stay in Touch With the Prairie Group Listserv
 

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Prairie Group Annual Fund-Raising Auction
7:30 PM, Wednesday, November 10

Illinois Disciples Foundation, corner of Wright and
Springfield, Champaign

Auctioneer Don Denny will lead the bidding on lots of great
deals...donations from area businesses and individuals...you get
something
at a discount, and the auction proceeds help support the Prairie Group.

Please help make this event a big success by:
(1) telling others about the auction (and/or forwarding this e-mail),
(2) making a donation to the auction (baked goods welcomed),
(3) attending the auction,
(4) buying a calendar (see below), and
(5) please thank the many auction donors listed here the next time you
visit
these businesses or see these people around town.

Below are some of the items and services that will be auctioned -- many
would make  great holiday gifts.

Champaign Surplus - (2) Mountain Smith Lumbar Packs!
http://www.webxfm.com/surplus/surplus.html

Saxophone Lesson with Debra Richtmeyer
http://www.music.uiuc.edu/Music/Faculty/html/Richtmeyer_De.html
(Please spread word of this to every saxophone player you know!)

Combine Ride! with Allen Williams

Sinfonia da Camera! http://www.sinfonia.uiuc.edu/sinfonia/
(3) lots of 2 tickets for one of their Spring concerts
(You choose from 3 dates - for more info: 217-356-5052 x13)

Antique Clock Repair by Bruce Hannon
(a clock that one person can carry - no Big Ben's)

Prairieland Community Supported Agriculture
http://www.prairienet.org/pcsa/pcsa.htm
a bag of fresh locally-grown organic produce once-a-week during growing
season next year

(2) Tickets for any 1999-2000 season performance
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts http://www.kcpa.uiuc.edu/kcpa/
(events already sold-out not included)

Book: Bounded People, Boundless Lands
http://www.islandpress.org/books/bookdata/boundedpbl.html
signed by author Eric Freyfogle

Book: For the Health of the Land
Previously unpublished essays and other writings by Aldo Leopold
http://www.islandpress.org/books/bookdata/healtholand.html
signed by co-editor Eric Freyfogle

Tour of Allerton Park with Allerton Director Jerry Soesbe
http://www.conted.ceps.uiuc.edu/rapcc/

Fruited Plain Cooperative Society - $30 Membership
http://co-op.champaign.il.us/fp/

Champaign Cycle - Gift certificate

Heel to Toe - Gift certificate

A Night With The Stars
Observatory and night sky tour with astronomer John Dickel

C-U Mass Transit District - (10) $5 packets of bus tokens
http://www.cumtd.com/

Guided hike of Middle Fork area with Gary and Dixie Jackson
http://www.nps.gov/rivers/vermilion.html
http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/kickapoo.htm

Custom cheesecake! by Sandy Volk

Prairie Plants from Dave Monk & Heartland Pathways
http://www.prairienet.org/rec/prairie/heartlnd.htm

Illinois landscape print and calendars by Jason Lindsey
http://www.wildperceptions.com/

San Diego Bed & Breakfast at Jack & Sally Paxton's
(transportation not included)

Canoe Trip on the Middle Fork led by Clark Bullard
http://www.nps.gov/rivers/vermilion.html
http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/kickapoo.htm

Common Ground Food Coop - Gift Certificates
http://www.prairienet.org/community/co-op/homepage.html

Courier Cafe - (2) Breakfast Certificates

Silvercreek - (2) Brunch Certificates

Wild Country - Jansport Backpack

CDs from Record Service (Toshi Reagon, 2 Skinnee J's, Macha)

Priceless Books - Gift certificates

The Great Impasta - Gift Certificate

Pomatto Carpentry & Landscape Lighting 217-359-8628
Bird feeders

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Sierra Club Calendars

The Prairie Group is selling a variety of Sierra Club calendars, which
include spectacular photos of wildlife and wild habitats.
http://www.sierraclub.org/books/calendars/calendar.html

But don't buy these calendars online!

To purchase a calendar, contact Trent Shepard
<tshepard@prairienet.org>,
217-344-2822, or Kate Higgs <katehiggs@yahoo.com>, 217-359-9207.

These make great gifts, a big part of the proceeds support the Prairie
Group, and as Jeff Mikulina noted last year, they're Y2K compliant.

(Calendars will also be available for purchase at the Nov. 10 auction.)

(If you'd like to sell candars for the Prairie Group, contact Kate
Higgs
before Nov. 15.)

=====================

Prairie Group December Meeting:

How Our Food is Produced, and Why it Matters
7:30 PM, Wednesday, December 8

Illinois Disciples Foundation, corner of Wright and
Springfield, Champaign

DeAnna Belz, Prairie Group alternate delegate to Illinois Conservation
Congress

More than any  other single industry, farming and food production has
the
potential for  tremendous positive or negative impacts on our
environment,
our economy, and  public health.  The loss of independent farmers and
the
increasing  control by a handful of multinational corporations leaves
consumers with few choices beyond purchasing food off grocery store
shelves
-- regardless  of how it was produced or who profited from its
production.

On September 18, DeAnna Belz attended the conference "From  Farm to
Fork:  Reclaiming Our Food System from Corporate Giants," organized by
the
Clean Water Action Alliance in conjunction with the Institute of
Agriculture
and Trade  Policy, the Izaak Walton League, and the MN Farmers Union.
She
will discuss the ramifications of our food choices and explain how
consumers
can purchase  sustainable meat and produce.

Also see:

WILL Radio AM 580 - Urbana, IL - webcasting archive

Univ. of Missouri agricultural economist John Ikerd feels a revolution
is
needed to halt the trend toward larger, more corporate-owned
agriculture.
He believes the issue is not only one of farmers' economic survival -
but,
one of environmental sustainability and social responsibility.  Even
so,
American consumers do not appear to be too upset about this trend..
(Originally aired October 28-29, 1999)
http://www.will.uiuc.edu/WILL/ag/ag-features.html#ikerd

Recent Papers by John Ikerd
http://ssu.agri.missouri.edu/Faculty/JIkerd/papers/default.htm
 

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Watch for Medical Waste Incinerator Permit Hearing

A developer has submitted a permit application to the Vermilion County
Board
for a new medical waste incinerator northwest of Danville (2 miles west
of
the town Rankin, on the Ford County line).

In December or January, the Vermilion County Board will hold a permit
hearing in Danville.

Incineration is the worst option for management of medical waste.
"...Even
state-of-the-art incinerators which produce cleaner air, in turn
generate
ash that is more toxic, with higher concentrations of dioxin and
mercury.
The ash must still be disposed of, typically in landfills."*

The best option is waste stream reduction, and the American Hospital
Association has set an overall goal of achieving a fifty percent (50%)
reduction by 2010. For the remaining infectious waste, alternatives to
incineration such as autoclaving and other technologies are currently
available and cost-competitive.

For more information, contact Citizens for the Protection of Butler
Township, 217-397-2369 or 397-2512.

Related links:

*Physician consensus statement on medical waste incineration
Physicians for Social Responsibility
http://www.psr.org/statementtext2.htm

The Sustainable Hospitals Project
http://www.uml.edu/centers/lcsp/hospitals/index.html

Pollution Prevention Memorandum of Understanding, U.S. EPA and American
Hospital Association
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/toxteam/ahamou.htm

Healthcare Without Harm
http://www.noharm.org

EPA Region 5 Medical Waste Incineration homepage
http://www.epa.gov/ARD-R5/mwi/mwi.htm
 

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1999 Sierra Club Sprawl Report
http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/report99/

This report is designed to recognize and rank the programs adopted by
state
governments to manage growth, and to showcase and promote effective
smart-growth solutions. All 50 states are rated in four categories:
open
space protection, land use planning, transportation planning and
community
revitalization.

Sierra Club Sprawl homepage
http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/

Sierra Club Info Center 415-977-5653

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Watch for City of Champaign Growth Recommendations

Last December the city of Champaign formed a Growth Areas Task Force,
and
they may finalize their recommendations to the city council in early
November.

Don Fournier is the Sierra Club Prairie Group representative on the
task
force (see his article in the March Prairie Flyer
http://kentucky.psych.uiuc.edu/sierra/pf199903.html#0323_sprawl_mtg).

For the task force recommendations, and for dates of public meetings,
please
contact:

Christine Newbold, City of Champaign Planning Department, 217-351-4486
<christine.newbold@city.champaign.il.us>

Don Fournier <d-fournier@cecer.army.mil>, 217-373-7282.

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Pave farmland throughout the Champaign-Mahomet Route 150 corridor?!

Planning for the Route 150 Corridor is in the final phase.  The Route
150
Committee met October 28 to schedule and outline completion of their
report,
which will then be sent to the Champaign County Board, Champaign City
Council and Mahomet Village Board.

The remaining two meetings of the Route 150 Committee -- and then the
following meetings and votes by each of the three governing bodies --
are
important opportunities for public participation in deciding land use
priorities in the corridor area for the next 50 years!

7:00 PM, Thursday, 9 December
Champaign City Bldg., 102 N. Neil Street, Champaign

7:00 PM, Thursday, 27 January
FINAL MTG - RT. 150 PLAN IS SCHEDULED TO BE ADOPTED
Mahomet Administrative Building, 503 E. Main Street, Mahomet

The current Route 150 Committee plan will turn farmland along Route 150
into
paved lots for light industry and office buildings, and includes the
possibility of adding a new interchange on I-74 to facilitate more
truck
access to the corridor.

For more info: Norman Stenzel <nstenzel@prairienet.org>, 217-863-4030.

For a copy of the Route 150 Plan: Gale Price, City of Champaign
Planning
Dept., 217-351-4486.

=====================

Industrial Livestock Update

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Public comments to EPA for concentrated animal feeding operations are
due
Nov. 24

The patchwork of current state laws lag far behind the dramatic shift
to
concentrated livestock operations with thousands of animals at one
location,
and federal standards are urgently needed.

Address all comments to: Gregory Beatty, US EPA, 401 M Street, SW, Mail
Code
4203,  Washington, DC 20460. Submit electronic comments to:
beatty.gregory@epa.gov

For more info:
Clean Water Network 202-289-2392
http://www.epa.gov/owm/afo.htm
http://www.epa.gov/owm/afoguide.htm
http://www.netins.net/showcase/megahoglaws

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Sierra Club national hog-lot report released Sept. 15

"Corporate hogs at the public trough: How your tax dollars help bring
polluters into your neighborhood" reveals the enormous taxpayer
giveaways
benefiting concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), and the
costs
citizens pay in return - polluted air and water, a major public health
hazard, and the loss of family farms.

For a copy of the report:
Sierra Club Info Center 415-977-5653
http://www.sierraclub.org/cafos/report99/

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Watch for IL Supreme Court hog-lot ruling

Sept. 28 the Illinois Supreme Court heard the Knox County appeal
challenging
the agricultural exemption from local zoning claimed by industrial
livestock
operations. An opinion may be issued sometime in the next few months.
 

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Letters Needed by Nov. 30 to Protect Southern Illinois' Shawnee Forest

By Barbara McKasson, Shawnee Group Conservation Chair

The Forest Service is just starting the process for the required
revision of
the Shawnee National Forest's Land and Resource Management Plan. The
1992
Amended Forest Plan is the starting point for revision.

At the Oct. 19 initial hearing, all the recreation groups were there
wanting
a piece of the Forest, including ATVers, horse riders, mountain bikers,
motorcyclists, jeep drivers, and hunters.

Address your letters to: USDA Forest Service, Shawnee National Forest,
50
Highway 145 South, Harrisburg, IL 62946. Also, if you want to get
updates on
the forest plan sent directly to you, request that they put you on the
"forest plan revision mailing list."

Below are some suggestions for points to make in your letter:
- Protect high quality streams, especially those such as Lusk Creek,
Bay
Creek, Big Creek and Grand Pierre Creek.
- End all timber sales and do not allow any further leasing of mineral
rights for oil and gas drilling or mining.
- The USFS should put more law enforcement officers in Shawnee Forest.
The
rules and regulations must be enforced.  A few years ago there were
five
officers, now there are only two.
-  Prohibit all motorized vehicle usage.  There is already ample
evidence
that usage of 4-wheelers, jeeps, motorcycles, etc. cause extensive
damage.
- Provide for seasonal closure of erosion prone trails - do not allow
horseback riding during those times when the ground is soft and wet.

For more info: Barbara McKasson <Babitaji@aol.com>, (618) 529-4824, or
Ed
Cook at (618) 529-4824.
 

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Executive Committee (ExComm) Election

The Prairie Group ExComm plans local Sierra Club meetings, this
newsletter,
outings, and organizing for environmental issues in east-central
Illinois.
There are five openings; please vote for up to five candidates and
e-mail
this ballot to the Prairie Group, c/o Jim Beauchamp
<jwb@timbre.music.uiuc.edu>. Ballots must be received by December 4,
1999.

[  ] Chad Carpenter (veteran of Prairie Group outings)
[  ] Kate Higgs (current Treasurer)
[  ] Matt Nowlan (another outings veteran)
[  ] Mark Pomatto (veteran of rails-to-trails work)
[  ] Ted Tourlentes (current Chair)
 

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Green Radio

NPR's Living On Earth can be heard at 5 PM each Saturday on WILL-AM
580.

The Prairie Monk can be heard at 11:00 AM each Sunday on WEFT-FM 90.1.

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Stay in Touch With the Prairie Group Listserv

To receive legislative and local notices/alerts, subscribe
to the new listserv by sending a message to:
LISTSERV@LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG

Include this one-line command in the message body:
SUBSCRIBE  IL-PRAIRIE-ALERTS  Yourfirstname  Yourlastname

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