Buehler Park Logo

 
Buehler Park Quarterly

Spring Equinox, 2014


Dear Friends of Buehler Park:

          In this newsletter is:

1. NOTE FROM EDITOR (Please consider voting YES on PROPOSITION A)
2. CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY
3. TREES
4. PHOTOS
5. BUEHLER PARK USED BY MANY
6. WEBSITE
7. SUIT TO UPHOLD MISSOURI'S RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD
8. GREAT RIVERS ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER

          ==================

1. NOTE FROM THE EDITOR (Please consider voting YES on PROPOSITION A)

Tuesday, April 8 is municipal election day and there is a very important proposition on the ballot. Proposition A levies a 1/4 cent sales tax within the city of Rolla dedicated to parks and recreation. Some of this money could be used to replace the damaged playground equipment and facilities that have been removed from Buehler Park over the years. Please consider voting YES on Prop. A on Tuesday, April 8. Please read my statement why I am voting YES on Prop. A.

2. CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY

Citizens Climate Lobby is looking to have a presence in all 435 congressional districts. So far they lack a presence in Missouri's 8th District. Anyone interested in organizing a branch of CCL should contact Carol Braford in St. Louis.

3. TREES

We have been blessed this year with a relatively cool wet winter. But Spring is finally here and the trees in Buehler Park are about to burst out in a riot of green. It looks like all of our 35 young trees have survived the winter. The new dogwoods planted last Spring around the pavilion will be too young to bloom for several years.

A new study shows that old growth trees are far more important in sequestering carbon than previously thought. Says co-author Adrian Das: “It is as if the star players on your favorite sports team were a bunch of 90-year-olds.” All of you who helped to save the 150-year-old trees in Buehler Park give yourself a hearty pat on the back.

4. PHOTOS

For those of you who can't get to Buehler Park, I'm attaching several photos that I took following a mid-March snow storm.

5. BUEHLER PARK USED BY MANY

Almost every time I visit Buehler Park, even in the dead of winter, there are people enjoying the park. One of the attached photos of Buehler Park shows the cars lined up with people sitting inside enjoying the view on a snowy day.

6. WEBSITE

I haven't done much work on the website since last newsletter; but hope to work on it before the next newsletter goes to press. We are still looking for a webmaster. Let me know if you are interested. Check out our website regularly.

7. SUIT TO UPHOLD MISSOURI'S RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD

I promised to continue reporting on my suit against the Missouri General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to uphold Missouri's Renewable Energy Standard. Unfortunately, there is nothing new to report. These kind of causes move through the courts very slowly. That is why it is important to elect officials who care about conservation, trees and renewable energy and are willing to stand up to the vested interests that profit from degrading our environment. Meanwhile, Missouri's privately-owned utilities: Ameren, Empire and KCPL that should by law be switching to renewable sources continue to rely on coal, the dirtiest form of energy, and continue to export Missouri's jobs in the renewable energy sector to far-away places like California. For details, see story on page 3 of Great Rivers Environmental Law Center Spring 2014 newsletter.

8. GREAT RIVERS ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER

I am being represented in this suit by Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, the same public interest environmental law center that represented us in preserving Buehler Park.

If you have not done so recently, please consider making a donation to Great Rivers Environmental Law Center. Checks can be mailed to Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, 705 Olive Street, Suite 614, St. Louis, MO 63101. Great Rivers is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Donations can also be made online from Great Rivers' website. Please help Great Rivers so they can help others as they helped us.

          ==================

If you don't wish to receive occasional notices about Buehler Park and related topics, let me know and I'll take you off this list.

If you want to be added to this list, let me know.

Have a great day and thanks for your support for Buehler Park.

Tom Sager, Secretary/Treasurer/Webmaster
Citizens for the Preservation of Buehler Park
yushasager (at) yahoo.com
http://buehlerpark.org

###