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November 2007 E-Newsletter
News/Events/Resources/Festivity
http://alabamariversalliance.blogspot.com/
Activism- 2 letters to write or email!
Dear Alabama Rivers Alliance friends,
There are no policies governing how much water Alabama rivers need to support the many uses of our important water resources: industry, drinking water, recreation, and the important fish, wildlife and plant species that keep our river ecosystems healthy.
We need you to tell Governor Riley to make comprehensive water policy for Alabama his top priority. Alabama cannot wait a moment longer to start developing a statewide water policy!
Please write letters to Governor Riley and letters to the editors of your local papers letting them know that the long term solution to the water wars lies in the state’s ability to create sound, sustainable water policy.
Governor’s Riley’s Address:
Office of the Governor
State Capitol
600 Dexter Avenue
Montgomery, Alabama 36130
*Or click here to email the Governor (this is SO easy to do, it takes 2 minutes)
Our rivers cannot afford to be destroyed by the lack of water policies in Alabama any more than they can afford to be damaged by misguided Army Corps and Georgia policies. We need policy that encourages conservation and balances all the uses of our water resources to the best extent possible, and Governor Riley can lead that charge.
Please take action now on behalf of Alabama’s rivers and help give our rivers a fighting chance in the water wars!
The Alabama Rivers Alliance, along with the Southern Environmental Law Center and our many watershed partner organizations have been advocating for healthy instream flows as part of the Alabama Water Agenda. For more information visit: www.alabamawateragenda.com.
We have all heard a lot about the current drought and the “water wars” with Georgia and Florida. Governor Riley is trying to do his best to keep water flowing into Alabama from Georgia. He has met with top officials in Washington, D.C. to keep fighting for our water rights. The problem is that we don’t have a comprehensive water policy in Alabama that guides our state agencies in managing our water resources. In order to prevail in the struggle for water, we need a plan to fairly allocate and manage our waters and protect all uses.
Georgia has been working on a comprehensive water policy and plans to introduce final state legislation in 2008. Alabama has not even started a draft policy. We have been in legal battles with Georgia and Florida over water resources since 1990. It’s time for Alabama to get down to business and draft a policy that will ensure ample water supplies for current and future Alabama needs.
Please send a letter to the Alabama Water Resources Commission, the oversight board of the Office of Water Resources, asking them to develop state policy to protect our water resources. Click here for a form letter for your use (Please add the date at the top and your contact information at the bottom) Feel free to edit the letter and add your own experiences from the drought and the water wars. You can mail the letter, email it to water@adeca.state.al or fax it to 334-242-0776. You can also download the letter from the Alabama Water Agenda website, www.AlabamaWaterAgenda.com. A fact sheet is also available on the website. We encourage you to also send a copy of the letter to the Governor and your state legislators. (Office of the Governor, 600 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36130)
Please let us know if you send a letter so you can start to earn River Rewards points, which can be redeemed for ARA merchandise, discounts to the Watershed Leadership Conference, and other exciting rewards.
More Info: http://alabamariversalliance.blogspot.com/2007/11/action-alert.html
Deadline to Comment: Thursday, November 15th
The Army Corps is permitting a 3000 ft section of the Little Cahaba to be moved in Moody.
From Friends of the Little Cahaba in Moody:
“It's kind of a long story as you can see from the number of times Moody has been through this process....They have buildings that flood...several stores have moved completely out of Moody because of their careless attitude with regard to what causes flooding. They constantly allow filling of wetlands to make it attractive to developers and are either unaware or just plain reckless.... I just wonder what the implications are for those of us who live downstream. And I question their ability to follow through with their promises of continual care.”
More Info: http://alabamariversalliance.blogspot.com/2007/11/action-alert-comment-on-little-cahaba.html
Send your Grassroots Action Alerts to: lsalter@alabamarivers.org
Resources:
Deadline for Registration: Today or until November 12th!
"Big Money for Small Organizations" Fundraising Workshop with exciting Andy Robinson, by the Institute for Conservation Leadership in partnership with Alabama Rivers Alliance and Flint River Conservation Association in Huntsville on November 17th. Register Now, email quentin@icl.org! http://alabamariversalliance.blogspot.com/2007/09/big-money-for-small-organizations.html
Deadline for Registration: Approaching
4th Annual GIS Symposium and Workshops
This year's event is being held at Troy University November 15 and 16, 2007. The deadline for early registration is November 2nd. The two-days are packed with workshops and speakers that offer something for everyone from the novice to practicing GIS professionals. Details on all the events are found at the symposium web page:
Registration forms and information on hotel accommodations are also available on the web page. Thank you for your interest, we look forward to seeing you in Troy.
Deadline for Registration: November 9th
The Constitution Convention Coalition
invites you to the
2007 Annual Summit
On Saturday, November 17th, the Constitution Convention Coalition will hold its annual summit at Birmingham Southern College (900 Arkadelphia Road · Birmingham, AL 35254) from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. The Coalition is made up of over 30 non-profit organizations from across Alabama who are dedicated to rewriting the Alabama Constitution. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend and learn about new initiatives underway to move the effort forward, including information and new resources available for informing citizens, and draft Legislation and Legislative issues in the 2008 Legislative Session.
More Info: http://alabamariversalliance.blogspot.com/2007/11/constitution-convention-coalition.html
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Tip from Sam Robertson: For my birthday I asked for recycle bins. As a Cub Scout project with my grandson we then started to recycle at our house; plastic 1 & 2, aluminum, tin, glass, paper and cardboard that we haul to the city trailer every 10 days or so. I noticed that we were now only hauling 1 of 2 large rolling cans to the street each week. What was going on? My grandson noted that we had about 2 garbage bags of plastic bottles each week, and only a bag each of the other stuff. The plastic was some milk, some detergent, but mostly water bottles. But they’re convenient! Right? Recently I took the pledge online to stop using plastic water bottles. http://c3.newdream.org/ Other carbon conscious suggestions are posted each month. |
TIP from Alabama Rivers Alliance: ARA Event Calendar RSS Feed Available!
The event calendar on ARAs website has a lot of great events posted! Let Katie Shaddix know of events you’d like to post. Also, let your friends know that we’ll post their events if they’re a non-profit working in conservation or social change fields.
Group Events:
Fundraiser Concert @ Bottletree
Thursday, November 8th, 8pm-2am
Featuring 3 Excellent Bands:
HoneyBaked
Jasper Coal
The Harmless Free Radicals
Raindrop Festival for the Hulsey Little River Landtrust
Saturday, November 10th
http://friendsofshane.blogspot.com/2006/11/land-trust-meeting.html
Feedback from You:
Interested in Biofuels?
If so, our in-house engineer, April Hall, is starting an email list about biofuels to share information. Just email April to add your name to the list.
Please send in your Grassroots Highlights and Events! We’re producing a quarterly newsletter and we need your highlights. A role of ours is to keep you connected and informed, so if you have something going on, let’s celebrate…
http://alabamariversalliance.blogspot.com/2007/08/grassroots-highlights.html
11-07-07
No justice, no place: Alabama Arise develops environmental justice initiatives