Message to Governor re: Factory Farms in Midwest

Dear Governor Nixon:

Here is an article that is written by Tom Philpott, examining the trend in agriculture in the Midwest. I doubt that Missouri's charts would look much different.
http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/11/industrial-scale-hog-farming-screws-small-towns

I remember you were celebrating exports of pork one recent year. Some of them may be landing in Asia I would think.

Because of environment, human rights, animal rights and wages to workers, we are indeed obligated, in my opinion, to revert to sustainable farming practices. This may not be as difficult to sell to the General Assembly as you think, if you show them some of these numbers. By the way I am living in a small town again in Missouri.

Thank you for your attention to these issues.

Public Service Commission Hearing in Mexico, MO

On Thursday one of my new GRO MO friends here called me in the morning to let me know that the place of the Public Service Commission (PSC) hearing had been changed to Presser Hall instead of the Courthouse basement. I found it online and saw that I could walk there easily.

Then I reviewed my notes and wrote my comments over again to take with me. Wow, it was hot when I left home-- must have been in the 90's and humid. But nary a real rain storm at all since I moved here.

When I found myself on the grounds of the local performance venue known as Presser Hall I could see people still arriving and walked across the grass to the front door. A young man from Fair Energy Rate Action Fund (FERAF) handed me a sticker to wear on my shirt. Then he pointed me to the sign-in sheet for speaking. The front hallway was busy with people, and as I entered the large theater I saw a  fair sized crowd scattered over the rows of seats, mostly toward the front. 

The person right ahead of me on the testimony list was Robin Acree, whom I had met before, so when I walked down to find a seat she waved at me, "Hi Pat!"  Fenny, who had called me that morning was right behind her with Robin's mom. We were glad to see that many people there. 

In a few minutes, about noon, the Public Service Commission staff, the Administrative Law Judge and the Ameren staff were introducing themselves. Also present was Public Counsel. the voice of the People, representing us. Robin asked him if he could explain how much his budget is now. It had been cut from $1,000,000 to $475,000, so she was admiring the work they do with a much smaller staff. The Ameren spokesman was presenting his case for the Corporation. One member of the staff of the PSC explained the process to us. 

Quite a few questions were asked to the Ameren representative, who seemed something like a sales person to me, but did his best to provide courteous guidance. And others in the room were able to respond as well. I kept wishing that many of those questions would be brought up in the actual sworn testimony, but I suppose some people were shy or hesitant for some reason to speak up in that way. 

When questions had been answered the audience members were all encouraged to testify as well, while one of the Commissioners and the Administrative Law Judge, Morris Woodruff, were then onstage to begin swearing in witnesses. 

So several people, mostly the elderly who are on limited incomes, came up to the microphone to be sworn in and to testify, the most important part of the proceedings.The witnesses showed a lot of courage describing their own circumstances or opinions.  

I knew that I would be following Robin, which helped me with confidence. And here is what I spoke out about, as close to accurate as I remember-- because I said I will read the note that I had written, but I interjected a couple of comments along the way.

My Comment to the Missouri Public Service Commission

RE: Ameren Rate Hike Request

August 23, 2012 Mexico, Missouri

As a longtime customer of Ameren who moved to Mexico about three months ago I oppose any rate increase at this time. Economic and environmental concerns are my main points. First of all the economy is still depressed and many of your customers are not yet working. Your most recent rate increase of 9% was granted in July 2011. With the heat of this summer your current income is certainly higher than average.

We actually pay more for electrical power than what is on our bills. Perhaps Ameren could review their business plans and consider how much they cost their customers and the government in health care expense and expense to the environment related to the burning of fossil fuels. Here in Mexico Ameren is using an oil turbine. Oil is also a fossil fuel. Most of the State of Missouri is running on coal. As a member of Sierra Club and friend of Beyond Coal and Labadie Environmental Organization I expect Ameren to publicly assert a plan to convert to sustainable energy. In Labadie, Missouri Ameren has ash pits on the Missouri River flood plain. It is really just plain ridiculous!

I think that a utility company should behave like a good citizen. Wind and solar are reliable businesses in this State and already up and running. Why would we want to continue to subsidize Ameren's income on our own backs while they cannot recognize that climate change is here right now?

Thank you for this opportunity to speak. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I seemed to be the last witness, but fortunately anyone else who wanted to testify was invited, and one woman who spoke out is someone working for a nonprofit agency with the many folks who are often unable to pay their bills, depending on Dollar Help and other resources through her. She just told the Commissioner and Judge, after they asked her some direct questions, "Just say no. Just say not to Ameren about this rate hike." Wow, I was helped by hearing her statements!

Good citizens of Missouri, you can still testify to the Public Service Commission in writing! 

Comments will be open until the whole case is closed, and the next step is the formal evidentiary hearings in Jefferson City which will begin September 25, so you have at least that long to get your comments in.

 Here is an online form for submitting testimony.

 https://www.efis.psc.mo.gov/mpsc/Comments.html

Here is more information if you prefer to write your comments on paper and mail them in, and it gives some guidance on comments too.
http://www.mo-opc.org/Local%20Public%20Hearings/Consumer%20Guide%20to%20LPH.html

NFB film imperative viewing for all activists

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-world-according-to-monsanto/

this film whacked me in the head bone by virtue of default astonishment even tho i thought i was informed: the Whole Earth is being affected by the gmo revolution that is led by the corporate "powers that be" as shown in the above excellent & imperative movie for everyone-- who eats anything-- to watch!

NFB source:
http://search.nfb.ca/search?q=The+World+According+to+Canada&btnG=Search&entqr=0&output=xml_no_dtd&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&client=beta_onfb&ud=1&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&proxystylesheet=beta_onfb&proxyreload=1&hl=en&lr=lang_en&site=beta_onfb

other related links to monsanto:
http://theyrule.net/drupal/map_633
http://www.percyschmeiser.com/
http://organicconsumers.org/monsanto/index.cfm

forwardstl posted this post 4 me:
 http://www.forwardstl.org/post/26291252915/nfb-film-imperative-viewing-for-all-activists-write

Upcycling for generations to come

When I was over at SLU for my check up lately I decided to also walk down Grand to visit a local business I had spotted on the web call Upcycle Exchange. It's a shop that participates in the Earth Day collections on the Forest Park Community College parking lot every year and it whetted my appetite for fun. So I walked down the street about a mile and a half to the small storefront at 3206 South Grand.

On the way I walked just a little ways into Tower Grove Park to sit for a minute and finish eating my post-fast snack, a Clif Bar. As a MetroBus and Metrolink rider I carry along extra cloth bags and the usual water bottle of course. The park was a verdant green that day with the early spring. Way back when I had a little daughter (now grown) I lived in the South Tower Grove neighborhood, so I get a little nostalgic over the place.

A woman runner passed me by on the way back over to the sidewalks. Past the bank and Bread Company, this lovely part of St. Louis City is busy with diverse people and restaurants, many Asian and Middle Eastern. Some of the windows have display items from some Old Country places on the earth. So I was enjoying every minute of it outside of some minor distractions.

Paying attention to the street numbers I crossed to the east side of the street just before arriving at the Upcycle Exchange. Walking in I found the propreiter, Autumn Wiggins, talking to another shopper, so I looked around awhile at the colorful offerings.

There are two long tables in the middle of the shop as though waiting for a group of folks to gather around, with some of the newest recycled donations being sorted through there now, towards the back. A stack of cubicle baskets is closer to the front for the customers to fill up with as many items they need, on a pay as you wish basis, and the whole space is filled with light from the front, where the tall window is simply decorated with the shop name in sparkling format.

To my left a wall is lined with drawer cubes which are filled with assorted crafting items, with a rolling step ladder in front of it all. Autumn came over to me now to introduce herself and her shop, chatting along about how she came to get interested in this business plan along with several others around the country who network together. The original store was on Meramec, and this space has given them more room to expand as well as to invite groups in who may want to have a crafting get together to work or teach skills. On Mother's Day they will be having a create your own terrarium event.

I told her that I had found her on the web so she reminded me to check out the Pinterest and Flicker posts for ideas. Then she showed me where to look for various items, and I got started exploring-- almost like at a garage sale but in much, much better order with tons of good stuff. I collected some yarn, fabric pieces, needle crafting items, molding clay and a used book about a baby panda. She checked me out with a space for me to name my own price.

It's the conscious way to shop, so check out this bright, creative store! Also bring your unused items from grandma's attic or your own stashes to the Earth Day recycling event at Forest Park C.C.

Revisiting Conservation Lobby Day: a month later

 After a dull interlude without a regular ISP I am back online again, & catching up on stuff. After getting around to signing a petition about monitoring water related to coal ash storage, i was looking over the photos on the local Sierra Club site & remembering what a good time I had on Feb. 29, Conservation Lobby Day in Jefferson City. We had a lovely group of conservationists who shared some goals about discussing issues with the Missouri General Assembly. Since some people were not able to come that day my friend Michael and I had the assignment of covering the St. Charles County legislators, all of whom are Republicans. After a couple of interactive sessions to begin the day, one with the whole Conservation Lobby alliance (/http://www.movotesconservation.org/our-legislative-work/environmental-lobbying-alliance)  and another with the Sierra Club members, plus some photo sessions (http://missouri.sierraclub.org/FrontPage2012/LobbyDay2012Report.aspx), we set to work.  

Michael, who works part time at the local Sierra Club office, and I climbed up several stories of stairs, after which I had to beg for an elevator next time, we set out to cover the issues with our list of legislators. In fact we landed on 2 floors after that & I continued with the stairs. We were dashing back & forth from then on, except for a short lunch break, carrying our heartfelt opinions on coal ash, energy efficiency, and CWIP, which we backed up with appropriate flyers. Most of the legislators were polite and receptive to the message, although several of them stated they do not oppose nuclear power per se.  We delivered a couple of cookies to each of them too, which were donated by Black Bear Bakery & included in our own lunch packs. YUM!  

With Michael a bit ahead of the game with experience and having knowledge aforethought in organizing the lobbying, I learned quite a bit. I also told a couple of the legislators to be sure to see the movie FRESH http://www.freshthemovie.com/, which presents the case for organic sustainable farming, and was made with the help of educators from the School of Agriculture at Mizzou.

I loved the whole day, including the ride up and back to Jeff City with my friends Ginger and Linda. It was truly energizing and hopeful to spend a day with such a lively group of intelligent activists for the conservation of resources in the State of Missouri. Happily also met up with some of my facebook friends there.

Wow I slept well that night, & part of the next day too! : )

They asked me to post this everywhere so here it is: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER !

SUBSCRIBE & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Donate Whole Fraud: Exposing the Myth of So-Called Natural Foods Whole Foods Market is attacking the Organic Consumers Association again. They say we're too "hard-line" for insisting that they stop selling, or at least start labeling, so-called "natural" foods in their stores that are laced with unlabeled, hazardous genetically engineered (GE) ingredients. What do you think? Should Whole Foods label their so-called "Natural" foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients? Learn More & Take Action Below Are a Few GMO Labeling Campaigns Whole Foods Should Support... Ask Congress to Tell FDA to Label GMOs The Organic Consumers Association was among 450 organizations and businesses who joined together under the "Just Label It" banner to file a legal petition urging the Food & Drug Administration to require clear labeling of genetically engineered foods. Now, we're joining an effort begun by our ally, the Truth In Labeling Coalition, to organize supporters in Congress to send a letter to the FDA. This week, Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Peter DeFazio began circulating a letter asking their fellow legislators to join them in writing the FDA in support of the Just Label It petition. This "Dear Colleague" letter reads, in part: "Opponents of providing consumers this basic right to information will argue that it would only confuse consumers, be costly, or imply that the products are unsafe. Yet, the FDA requires the labeling of over 3,000 ingredients, additives, and processes. Providing basic information doesn't confuse the public, it empowers them to make choices. Without labeling, consumers will continue to be deceived by current labeling practices. For example nearly 80% of processed foods on supermarket shelves contain GE ingredients, many marketed with labels such as 'all natural' or 'natural'." Please write your Senators and Member of Congress, asking them to join Boxer and DeFazio. Take Action The California Label GMOs 2012 Ballot Initiative Polling shows 80% of CA voters support labels on genetically engineered foods. They want the right to know what they're eating and they're going to have the chance to win it at the polls in November 2012. Signature gathering is set to begin February 18 and we'll have until April 18 to submit 504,760 valid signatures. To be safe, we need to collect 800,000. We need your help! Learn More and Volunteer Donate Attend a Label GMOs Event State Legislation to Label GMOs In the 2011-2012 legislative session, 17 states introduced legislation to label GMOs. In Washington, the Monsanto-funded chairs of the Agriculture Committees blocked votes on SB 6298 and HB 2637 despite hearings packed with supporters, but advocates feel the show of public support was a measurable "win" and are committed to another push next session, or an initiative if necessary.   The number of calls and emails on GMO labels in WA is second only to gay marriage - without a single comment in support of Monsanto's position! Learn More In Hawaii, SB 2279 still has a chance if we can get enough letters and calls to Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Nishihara urging him to hear the bill. If you're in Honolulu, visit Senator Nishihara in his capitol office, room 204. Otherwise, please contact him by phone at 808-586-6970 or email at sennishihara@capitol.hawaii.gov. A successful lobby day for this bill on Tuesday generated lots of local media. Hawaii Residents Lobby for Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods Molokai Group Fights for GMO Labeling Legislation Monsanto Responds as Maui Occupy Group Launches Demonstration Rally to Stop Monsanto From Poisoning Hawaii! In Vermont, the Right to Know GMOs coalition composed of the Vermont Northeast Organic Farming Association, Rural Vermont, Vermont Public Interest Research Group, and others has formed to pass H722, the Vermont Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act. The Act has been referred to the House Committee on Agriculture where testimony is anticipated to occur later this month. Get ready to come to Montpelier! Learn More & Take Action Learn More & Take Action on State Bills Nationwide Support the OCA and the OCF In 2012, whether we're talking about getting antibiotics out of animal feed or labeling GMOs, we're fighting harder than ever. With the 2012 California Ballot Initiative, and GMO labeling legislation gaining momentum in Vermont, Washington, Connecticut, Hawaii and other states, we have a real chance to hit Monsanto with the skull and crossbones they fear so much - mandatory labels on genetically engineered food. We also plan to step up our efforts to strengthen organic standards and significantly expand the market for organic food and products, especially those produced locally and regionally. Please be as generous as you can during our February fundraising drive. Donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible) Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our efforts in California) OCCUPY MONSANTO! Secret Video Shows CEO Hugh Grant's Response to GMO Labeling On January 24, Monsanto shareholders gathering for their annual meeting were greeted by 50 protesters calling for Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) to be labeled in the marketplace. While "Occupy-Monsanto" events are becoming more common worldwide, one activist working on behalf of socially responsible shareholders took the anti-GMO message deep inside the inner circle of Monsanto's highly paid executives and recorded the encounter. A newly released hidden video is available for unrestricted use by the members of media at a new website. Occupy Monsanto is calling for protests on September 17, 2012, at Monsanto facilities across the globe to demand GMO labeling and the elimination of cancer causing toxic chemicals in our food supply. Learn More & Watch Little Bytes: Top Stories of the Week A Suit Airs Debate on Organic vs. Modified Crops Occupy vs. Monsanto: Activists, Farmers Fight the Corporation They Fear Will Take Over All America's Crops The Seed Emergency: The Threat to Food and Democracy What's That Coating on Your Vegetables? 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TAKING ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION ON GMO SEEDS

Dear Governor Nixon:

Right now I am visiting a friend in Mexico, Missouri to help her out. One of our other friends is a longtime organic farmer who sold his produce in Columbia for years. So this subject is on my mind and dear to my heart.

Please watch the movie FRESH, which you will love, being from a rural area yourself. It is a delightful film which is backed up by experts at the School of Agriculture of Mizzou. http://www.freshthemovie.com/

Also please note this recent article posted by the Union of Concerned Scientists. As you probably know, most countries outside our borders do not even allow the import of anything that is GMO. This well researched article leaves me ashamed to be a citizen of St. Louis where Monsanto is base. They might be a "Job Site," but their GMO seed outcome is destructive to the natural world. http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/science_and_impacts/impacts_genetic_engineering/eight-ways-monsanto-fails.html

I will also email this to John Lamping and Stacy Newman, besides my Federal legislators.