Tricounty DFA Report: Great Anniversary Meeting!
Hello Everyone!

In This Update:

1. Meeting Report
2. Step It Up Day For April 14th
3. Snap Veto Demo Planned
4. Letters To The Editor
5. Governor Dean Gives Democrat's Response
6. Friday Night Film Fest
7. Meeting Pics


1. Meeting Report

Last Wednesday night we celebrated Greater Glens Falls DFA's 4th anniversary at our long time stamping grounds, the Rockhill Bakehouse Cafe.

It was a busy night, with a green theme we shared with DFA groups across the country

First, a big thank you to Doug Auer for the large party tray of Rockhill pastries and treats-- they were terrific and went fast.

We started with a progress report from Jim McAndrew of Adirondack Windpower on the wind turbine project at Barton Mines site. The project is moving forward and Jim is optimistic, although everyone is waiting to hear from Governor Spitzer. As those who attended the meeting last May when we endorsed the project know, friends of former Governor Pataki were creating roadblocks to this signature green energy project.

We then reviewed and passed the final version of the Circular Letter On Climate Change. You can now view it on DFA-Link at: http://www.dfalink.com/uploads/files/896461aee6a85ff1/GlenFallsCircularLetterFinal.pdf

2. Step It Up Day For April 14th

At the meeting we discussed whether to do an environmental action for Step It Up Day for April 14th or Earth Day and we decided to do something on Step It Up Day.

Step It Up is an environmental day of action. It was founded by noted environmental author Bill McKibben, who many of us have seen speaking in our area (he is also one of the backers of Adirondack WInd turbine project). It's goal is to urge Congress to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by the year 2050, and stop Global Warming and Global Climate Change. For more on the Step it Up initiative go to: http://stepitup2007.org/

We agreed to stage a rally and community clean up of the Warren County Bike Path running north and south of Bay Road in Queensbury, which we did two years ago.

The bike path is an important symbol of transportation that doesn't produce large amounts of global warming gasses. Neglect of the path sends a bad message to our community.

If you want to help: a.) bring a sign about global warming, b.) a trash bag to put litter, etc. in, c.) gloves, maybe, and d.) a friend!

The event will last two hours, from 2:30-4:30pm next Saturday, April 14th. We will meet at the intersection of Bay Road and the bikeway, just north of the Glens Falls City limits, and first go up the path to Quaker Road for a short rally, then break up into teams and go north and south of Bay on the bikeway to do a little spring cleaning. For more info: go to:http://events.stepitup2007.org/events/show/1748
It is also a DFA Green Event: http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=19581

To reach the site, from the Adirondack Northway, take Exit 19 east on Quaker Road past Aviation Mall, cross Rt. 9, and continue on Quaker. You will pass under the bikeway bridge until you reach the Hannaford supermarket on the right. Turn right past the Hannaford onto Bay Road. The Warren County Bike Path crosses Bay Road about a quarter mile south of Quaker Road. The Bike Path can also be reached from the parking lots of the Aldi supermarket and the Hannaford supermarket (in back).

3. Snap Veto Demo Planned

Frank Grassia also proposed that we prepare a snap demonstration/vigil for the day Bush vetoes the Supplemental Appropriation Bill, which will limit US engagement in Iraq.

Bush has vowed to veto any bill that put any limits on the US occupation of Iraq, but we don't know when this will be. The Senate and House bills vary substantially: the Senate Bill wants US troops out in March next year, while the House bill would allow troops to remain until September. Also, the Senate bill does not have much in the way of earmarks-- or pork, depending on your point of view-- that the House bill contains. These differences will have to be worked out in conference committee and could take time. But we should be alert for when this happens.

4. Letters To The Editor

Dick Dudley also talked on how we need to get going again on letters to the editor. We did a great job on this before the election. But there now appears to be an effort to get pro-war letters into the paper. We need to send our letters, too, in order to restore some balance and show what area residents really think.
Send to: http://www.poststar.com/contact/?form=letter chronicl@loneoak.com
For others to to the AAUW at: http://capwiz.com/aauw/dbq/media/

5. Governor Dean Gives Democrat's Response

Governor Dean gave the Democrat's response to Bush's Saturday address, and it is terrific, as always. he began,

"As Americans, we are united in our support for our troops. And because we support our troops, Democrats have put forward a plan for success in Iraq. A plan to get us out of Iraq.
We have made it clear that we will work with the President to find a solution. In response, the President continues to say "my way or the highway," and Vice President Cheney uses divisive rhetoric to question the patriotism of members of Congress who disagree with him. That's not what the country needs right now."

"It is time for the President and Republicans in Congress to stop try to bully their way through this and work with Democrats to end the war. It's time for the President to show respect to the American people, who voted overwhelmingly to leave Iraq."

For a full transcript and audio: http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/04/dean_we_will_do.php

6. Friday Night Film Fest

Finally, the Rockhill Bakehouse Cafe's Friday Night Progressive Film Fest continues at 7:30 with:

April 13 WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? (2006) Chris Paine 93 min.
This documentary explores the birth, limited commercialization, and subsequent death of the battery electric vehicle in the United States, specifically the General Motors EV1 of the 1990s. The film explores the roles of automobile manufacturers, the oil industry, the US government, batteries, hydrogen vehicles, and consumers in limiting the development and adoption of this technology. The film features interviews with celebrities such as Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Alexandra Paul, Peter Horton, Phyllis Diller, a bi-partisan selection of prominent political figures including Ralph Nader, Frank Gaffney, Alan Lloyd, Jim Boyd, and ex-CIA head James Woolsey, as well as news footage from the development, launch and marketing of EV's. The film also features interviews with some of the engineers and technicians who led the development of modern electric vehicles and related technologies such as Wally Rippel, Chelsea Sexton, Alan Cocconi and Stan and Iris Ovshinsky and others.

7. Meeting Pics

If you haven't signed up for DFA-Link, now is the time to do it-- you'll need to to view the pictures Dick took of our anniversary meeting last week. Click this link and sign up by giving a name and a password. It's easy: http://dfalink.com/register.php?c=g&id=91042f3ae603ef90&

The photos are at: http://www.dfalink.com/group_photos.php?gid=113


Thanks Everyone! See you all Saturday at the Bike Trail to Step It Up and do a little community action by helping get the bikeway into shape.

Larry Dudley
- posted by Larry Dudley @ 11:31 PM