http://www.earthweshare.org/n/pr_waterkeeper.htm FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 26, 2001 FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Jim Braun, Friends of Rural America, 641/579-6057, or Nicolette Hahn, Waterkeeper Alliance, 914/422-4410, or the local contact listed below for the meeting in your area. ---------- Waterkeeper Alliance Holds Meetings in Midwest to Discuss Hog Factory Pollution Des Moines -- Waterkeeper Alliance is holding a series of meetings in Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota the first week of December to discuss their legal campaign to stop hog factory pollution. Waterkeeper Alliance, founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has assembled a coalition of environmentalists, family farm activists, and animal welfare advocates to fight the pollution of corporate hog operations. Last December, Waterkeeper and its partners announced an all-star team of private bar attorneys and law firms to launch a broad legal assault against the corporate hog industry. The coalition is working to reform the industry, restore damaged ecosystems, and reinvigorate America's family farms. Waterkeeper Alliance President, Robert F. Kennedy says, "By saving money through illegal waste disposal practices, hog factories have artificially lowered their cost of production, driving family farmers from the land." At the meetings, Nicolette Hahn, senior attorney for Waterkeeper Alliance, will talk about federal environmental laws and regulations and the rights of citizens to enforce them. She will also report on the progress of several lawsuits Waterkeeper Alliance is prosecuting against Smithfield Foods in North Carolina. Also speaking will be Rick Dove, a representative for Waterkeeper Alliance, who will share his experience fighting against hog spills and disasters in the Neuse River Basin of North Carolina. Also present at each meeting will be local experts to speak on the impact of large livestock facilities on the environment and communities in the midwest. "Today's rapid industrialization and concentration of agriculture is harmful to farmers, rural communities, and the environment," says Jim Braun, a former hog farmer and concerned citizen from Latimer Iowa. "Fortunately, the industrialization of agriculture is not inevitable. By working together, we can return animal production to responsible family farmers." The tri-state tour will begin in Normal, Illinois on Saturday, December 1 and will continue at five locations in Iowa: Iowa City on Sunday, December 2; Creston on Monday, December 3; Des Moines on Tuesday, December 4; Mason City on Wednesday, December 5; and Calmar on Thursday, December 6. The tour will end in Northfield, Minnesota on Friday, December 7 where Waterkeeper Alliance President Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will address the meeting at St. Olaf College. Waterkeeper Alliance is the umbrella organization for the 74 Keeper programs located throughout North and Central America and Europe. The Waterkeeper movement is among the fastest growing grass-roots environmental movements and is quickly becoming a unique force for environmental change. It is an environmental "neighborhood watch" program, a citizen's patrol to protect communities and the waters on which they depend. It is based on the philosophy that protection and enjoyment of a community's natural resources require the daily vigilance of its citizens. For more information about livestock issues in Iowa, visit the Iowa Environmental Council's website at http://www.earthweshare.org Meeting locations and times: Bloomington/Normal, Illinois Sat. Dec. 1, 2001 3:00 p.m. Illinois State University, Normal BBC Activity Room East of Bone Student Center Contact: Kendra Kimbrauskas, Illinois Stewardship Alliance (217)498-9707 Iowa City, Iowa Sun. Dec. 2, 2001, 1:30 p.m. Johnson County Fairgrounds Montgomery Hall 4265 Oak Crest Hall Rd. SE Contact: Clint Campbell (319)627-7208 or Jim Baker (319)688-9853, Sierra Club Creston, Iowa Mon. Dec. 3, 2001, 7:00 p.m. Instructional Center, Rm. 220 SW Community College 1501 West Townline Drive Contact: Karen Finn (641)782-5200 Des Moines, Iowa Tues. Dec. 4, 2001, 7:00 p.m. Bulldog Theater Olmsted Center Drake University 29th St. and University Ave. Contact: Susan Heathcote, Iowa Environmental Council (515)244-1194 Mason City, Iowa Wed. Dec. 5, 2001, 7:00 p.m. Music Man Square 308 South Pennsylvania Ave. Contact: Chris Peterson (641)357-4090 Calmar, Iowa Thurs. Dec. 6, 2001, 7:00 p.m. NE Iowa Community College Wilder Auditorium west side of Hwy 150 Contact: Wilber Kehrli (563)927-2739 Northfield, Minnesota Friday, Dec. 7, 2001. 10:45 a.m. Buntrock Commons, the Black and Gold Room St. Olaf College Highway 19, west edge of town Contact: Diane Halverson (507)645-2735 Speaker Biographies: Rick Dove is Southeast Representative for Water Keeper Alliance. He served as Neuse Riverkeeper for seven years after retiring as Colonel with more than 25 years with the U.S. Marine Corps. He has testified before the U.S. Congress about the harmful impacts to humans and wildlife from hog pollution. He has participated in more than four thousand news stories on the issue of pollution and its impact on the rivers of North Carolina, including 60 Minutes, Dateline, Earth Matters (CNN), and other national and international programs. Mr. Dove received his law degree from the University of Baltimore. He was recognized by Time Magazine/Time for Kids in 1998 as one of its Heroes of the Planet and was named by the Raleigh News and Observer as one of the 100 people who shaped North Carolina over the past century. Rick Dove will speak at all seven meetings. Nicolette G. Hahn is Senior Attorney for Water Keeper Alliance. Previously, she worked as an attorney for National Wildlife Federation, the law firm of Early, Lennon, Peters & Crocker, PC, and the Durham County District Attorney¸s Office. She served two terms as City Commissioner for the City of Kalamazoo, Michigan. She received her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the University of Michigan and her BA from Kalamazoo College. Nicolette Hahn will speak at all seven meetings. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.* is President of Water Keeper Alliance. He serves as Senior Counsel for the Natural Resources Defense Council, as Chief Prosecuting Attorney for Hudson Riverkeeper, and as Clinical Professor and Supervising Attorney at the Pace University School of Law Environmental Litigation Clinic. Among Mr. Kennedy's published works are The Riverkeepers (1997), and articles in the New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, Village Voice, Boston Globe, Washington Post, and Pace Environmental Law Review. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Virginia Law School and was awarded a Masters Degree in Environmental Law from Pace University School of Law. Robert F. Kennedy will speak at the Northfield, Minnesota meeting. *Mr. Kennedy will be speaking in Northfield, Minnesota only. ---------- Iowa Environmental Council 711 East Locust Street · Des Moines, Iowa · 50309 Phone: 515/244-1194 · Fax: 515/244-7856 · e-mail: [log in to unmask] http://www.earthweshare.org ### - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]