Everglades Uprising! Action Camp

MESSAGE FROM EVERGLADES EARTH FIRST!

Hey!

Thanks for getting in touch regarding the 2009 Everglades Uprising...Please read the information below for details about the camp and please fill out the questionnaire.

The organizing collective of the 2009 Everglades Uprising look forward to helping facilitate workshops, outings, actions, coalition building, and an empowered camping space in which to further grassroots struggle against Empire in Florida and beyond. It is important that we carry our values with us into camp and that they manifest in very concrete ways. Mutual Aid, Participation, Opposition to All Forms of Oppression, and heaping doses of Respect and Love underlie our goals towards effective resistance. First the dishes then the revolution!

You will need to bring your own camping gear, be prepared for cold fronts that do slip through this far south on occasion. The first three days will include some basic facilities, such as running water, toilets and indoor kitchen space. The following two weeks, which we are calling 'base camp', will be primitive tent camping, requiring a more intense level of involvement from all participants. You are welcome to participate in some or all activities, but please note that this is a building process; the later you arrive the less time you will have for your input to be incorporated into the overall direction and strategy of camp.


If you would prefer to pay for indoor lodging, please consider the Seminole Inn in Indiantown: www.SeminoleInn.com


Upon receipt of the questionnaire below, we will be sending out location directions, tentative workshop schedule, kitchen menu and other updates. The event is free and open to all, but will be held on private land. We are requesting responses to the below questions so that we will have an idea about the numbers and experience-levels of expected participants.


Kids are most welcome and childcare assistance will be available. Pets are also welcome, but their human-friends must assume complete responsibility at all times. There will be swimming and wading opportunities onsite, but please be aware that we will be co-habitating with some gators.


QUESTIONS


How did you hear about the gathering?


How long will you be staying? (Please specify dates)


What are you intending to contribute to the gathering? (Please be specific: talents, resources, etc.)


What are you hoping to learn or gain from the gathering? (Again, please be specific)


Are you willing to participate in camp chores? (Such as: cooking, cleaning, and gathering supplies)


Will you be bringing transportation? (Car, bus, truck, bike, etc)


Do you have any particular needs that we can assist with?


KITCHEN

Food donations towards community kitchen are appreciated, especially staple items. We will be reliant on this food for the duration of the base camp. Let us know if you have serious food allergies.

EVERGLADES UPRISING ASSAULT POLICY

* No abuse or assault will be tolerated. If you or someone you know has a history of violence or violation, or a current conflict that puts the gathering's safety at risk please bring it to the mediation team ASAP.

Furthermore, in an effort to have an event Free of Assault*, the organizing collective support the following policy:

1. We will have a mediation group at the event to address issues that arise at camp including concerns around assault.

2. At the opening circle we will encourage individuals with a history of assault to voluntarily come forward and share with the camp what they are doing to be accountable for their actions. This is not a time to "out" people for their behaviors; it is a space for perpetrators of assault to be actively transparent and accountable.

3. Anyone who feels unsafe at the event due to a past experience with another attendee is encouraged to talk with the mediation team and determine if the perpetrator should be requested to leave the event.

4. We have ZERO tolerance for assault at the Everglades Uprising Camp. If you are identified as having assaulted someone at camp you will be immediately told to leave the gathering. We will not spend time debating the degree or intention of the assault. Our first concern is for the welfare and health of survivors of assault.

* Definition of assault: a violent physical (including sexual) or verbal attack: a threat or attempt to inflict offensive physical or bodily harm or unwanted sexual contact on a person that puts the person in immediate danger of or in apprehension of such harm or contact


See you in the swamps,

Everglades Earth First! Collective
send responses to: EvergladesEarthFirst@gmail.com

Please look at our website: http://evergladesearthfirst.org

On Oct 27 2008, DEP proves their allegience to FPL, yet again...

The bureaucrats with DEP ignored science, wildlife and public input in canceling the scheduled hearing on WCEC unit 3. We will never forget, nor forgive, their collaboration with the energy empire and their complacency in the face of climate crisis.

PBCEC November Meeting Reminder THIS MONDAY 7pm (plus: events, updates & news)

Next PBCEC meeting Nov 3rd 7pm at the Friends Quaker Meeting, 823 North A Street. This is a chance to get some last minute election information before going to the polls, and also coordinate with people on working for environmental candidates at polling stations. I know it's a busy time with elections and all, but remember that elected officials are only as good as the grassroots movements that guide them..

And there is also some important, time-sensative PBCEC business to deal with, so if you can make it out, please do... -panagioti tsolkas



UPCOMING EVENTS

**Nov 8 Lake Worth Resource Center grand opening 10am-1pm, at Shuffleboard Courts on Lake Ave (2 blocks west of Dixie) this is a great step in the direction of quality of life improvements for local immigrant communities. For details on volunteering to make the center a success: Lwilson@thementoringcenter.org or call 670-1147


**Nov 12 Airport Expansion hearing on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Palm Beach County Convention center, 4-7pm open house, public comment will begin at 6pm, 650 Okeechobee Blvd… Our primary concerns:
-Air traffic is a known leading contributor to climate change; this has not been addressed sufficiently
-The adjacent neighborhoods who will be impacted have not had their concerns addressed

For an overview of the EIS process, check out:
http://www.pbia-eis.com/images/Final-Focus-Group-Meeting-2-Alts.pdf

To read the PBCEC letter to the FAA, including several links to studies and articles on air-transport, pollution and climate change:
http://pbcec.blogspot.com/2008/11/stop-airport-expansion-in-palm-beach.html


**November 18 County Meeting for the reclaimed water pipe to FPL WCEC the meeting starts 9:30am. This it a fraud. The taxpayers are now being told to pay 90 MILLION (and counting)… On May 20 2008 the price was 70 Million. Please come and expose the county for once again bowing down and giving our money to FPL.


**Nov 21, 7:30pm, "A Roadmap for US Energy Policy", with Dr. Arjun Makijani, discussing his recent book 'Carbon Free, Nuclear Free" on responsible and viable energy options for our future. At St. Thomas University, Miami, on 37th Ave, in the Carroll Hall building. This will be a great chance to connect and network with community activists fighting nuclear expansion in Florida.

NEWS:

**Vote YES for Amendment # 4: Property Tax Exemption of Perpetually Preserved Land; Classification and Assessment of Land Used for Conservation. This amendment provides a tax exemption for property with conservation easements or conservation protection. Property that is used for conservation in perpetuity would not be taxed. For property that is not encumbered perpetually, this amendment requires the Legislature to classify and assess land used for conservation purposes solely on the basis of character or use - agriculture is an example. This amendment encourages the preservation of Florida's ecosystems.


**Check out this week's New Times for story: 'Coconut Creek suburbanites team with neo-hippies to fight Lowe's' … PBCEC has been joining our neighbors to the south in fighting this issue. The property slated for the 'Cocomar' strip mall contains a unique specimen of Rockland Hardwood hammock.
http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/content/printVersion/639839

**check out Green Party perspectives on the election, and the disappointing similarities between the ruling class political parties and their candidates: http://www.therealdifference.org/issues2.html


**Join PBCEC in supporting an Off-Shore Drilling Moratorium!! http://www.flcoastalandocean.org/flocs.php?current=five



**DEP=Don't Expect Protection: For those who didn't make it to the DEP office, we succeeded in initiating a meeting on the cancellation of the WCEC unit 3 Hearing. While they stayed resolute on ignoring our concerns and 'following the letter of the law', we made it clear that the responsibility is in their hands; that they are choosing to collaborate with FPL instead of the public; and that we feel they are engaging in a criminal negligence by disregarding the concerns we have consistently presented. If you want to further express with your disappointment or disgust with DEP's subservience to FPL:

Mike Halpin is the head of the power plant siting office: mike.halpin@dep.state.fl.us

Mike Sole and Mimi Drew are heads of the Department: mike.sole@dep.state.fl.us, mimi.drew@dep.state.fl.us

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Stop the Airport Expansion in Palm Beach

BELOW IS THE LETTER PBCEC SENT 9/28/08 TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA)

------------------------------
Ms. McDowell,

Individuals and communities to the east and west of the airport are opposing this expansion and its impact on their lives. The Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition (PBCEC) stands with these residents against this unneeded runway expansion and we add our own concerns of further dependence on fossil fuel-heavy air transportation. There is a whole field of study looking at the impacts air traffic on the global climate. We believe air traffic patterns must be reduced immediately, climate science has backed up this mandate. A proposed expansion of facilities at PBI moves us in the opposite direction.

Below are several links on such studies, reports and articles. These only skim the surface:

www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/What_You_Can_Do/air_travel.asp

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Impact_of_ozone_on_climate_change

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2233851.htm

www.grida.no/climate/ipcc/aviation/064.htm

www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/20021129120015.html

www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2007/2007-12-06-094.asp


for general background
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_and_the_environment


For the atmosphere,
Panagioti Tsolkas
Co-Chair, PBCEC

s/Panagioti Tsolkas

Support the Offshore Drilling Moratorium

Dear Members of the Florida Congressional Delegation:

For over 20 years the delegation has worked on a bipartisan basis to ensure the integrity of Florida's environment and economy by annually renewing the offshore drilling moratorium. When you return to Washington D.C. in September, the annual vote for renewing the moratorium will be before you again. We urge each of you to support continuation of it, to protect Florida's valuable and environmentally sensitive coastal and ocean resources and the tourism economy that depends on these resources.

Our great State, home to Everglades, Biscayne and Dry Tortugas National Parks, as well as Gulf Islands and Canaveral National Seashores and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, is blessed with a wealth of unique yet environmentally sensitive resources along its coastline. Recent proponents for lifting the moratorium have touted offshore drillings' safety record to sensitive environmental areas. However, offshore drilling continues to have significant environmental impacts. For example, the U.S. Minerals Management Services documented Hurricanes Katrina and Rita causing over 743,000 gallons of petroleum products to spill offshore and 457 pipelines to break. Simply, the complex infrastructure needed to explore, produce and bring petroleum ashore is highly vulnerable, and threatens coastal resources our Nation has invested billions to protect.

Protecting Florida's unique resources is vital to our residents and visitors alike. In 2007, VISIT FLORIDA documented 84.5 million visitors, over 77 million from other States. Those visitors spent $65 billion and supported almost 1 million tourism related jobs. Pennies may possibly be saved on gas prices a decade from now, as proponents of lifting the drilling moratorium contend, yet the logic is pound foolish due to the risks drilling poses to jobs, revenue and a way of life central to Florida's prosperity.

The drilling moratorium has endured for more than 20 years because it does more than protect Florida's environment and economy; it integrates them with our State's contribution to national security. Military training missions off Florida's coasts benefit from the vast areas of open water, free of drilling platforms, by providing an increased level of safety to personnel in-training. This also keeps drilling operations which create waste muds and cuttings known to have toxic metals including mercury, lead and cadium far from the treasured natural resources that drive Florida's economy.

We need your leadership at this critical time to guide not only our State but our Nation to a cleaner, safer and more sustainable energy future. We urge you to renew the offshore drilling moratorium and implement a renewable energy policy that will provide a viable future for all Floridians.

To sign on to this letter, click: http://www.flcoastalandocean.org/flocs.php?current=five