Greetings Earthlings. Do you really believe we should all pay for the fouling of our nest by the fossil fools? We sure don't and neither does Make Polluters Pay, "a campaign to create a climate superfund, penalizing the worst polluters of greenhouse gasses and funding resilience and adaptation projects in communities most impacted by climate change. 350 Mass joins Better Future Project and other groups like CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather), Mass Youth Climate Coalition (MYCC), and more to drive a grassroots campaign to hold polluters accountable." Daniel Zackin, Legislative Manager at 350 Mass/Better Future Project joins us for the interview. As always, we will also introduce you to this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and "Those Whose Brains Were small", as well as bring you our "..Of The Week" selections and that ever present reminder that "It's the Climate. Crisis, Stupid!" and more but first it's time for......Revenge of the Critters! "Hungry tigers have been emerging from their shrinking and fragmented rainforests in search of livestock. Sometimes they encounter people instead."
As we've always expected, most far-right Repugs in the House of Reprehensibles qualify for "Their Brains Were small and They Died" reptilians. We guess their Law of the Jungle machinations are what propelled the Big Bullshit Bill through the House Budget Committee. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) wrote in a social media post...that "after a great deal of work and engagement over the weekend," the legislation "now will move Medicaid work requirements forward and reduces the availability of future subsidies under the green new scam.... Roy and other Republican hardliners are also reportedly pursuing changes that could force states to end their Medicaid expansions, which would strip coverage from millions and potentially kill tens of thousands of people per year." Dinos at work! Watch out for asteroids!
Our Doublespeak of the Week goes to the Cosplay Queen of DC, fascist Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem who, when asked "under sharp questioning from Democratic senators during a [recent] hearing, incorrectly described habeas corpus as a presidential authority to deport individuals." As most any high school history student will tell you "In reality, habeas corpus is a bedrock constitutional legal principle [going back to the 13th century] that safeguards individuals from unlawful imprisonment by enabling them to petition the court to review the legality of their detention." Perhaps a fool's cap would have been a better wardrobe choice for this one? O wait, did you hear Noem "is requesting a $50 million addition to her already overextended budget to get a new private Gulfstream jet for her personal national photo op immigrant terrorizing tour"?
A quick heads up in our Enviro Show Echo Chamber. The “zombie” biomass plant from Springfield, MA is stirring yet again. Please take this ACTION to send that monster back from where ever it came. And this: "Connecticut River Conservancy & American Rivers File Appeal of MassDEP Water Quality Certification for Hydropower Facilities." The Northfield Mtn., Shad-o-Matic fish blender is closing in the 50-year license renewal it does NOT deserve. CT River Defenders has an event coming up. Stay tuned.
This week's Fool-on-the-Hill has been a repeat contender and it turns out she took the gold at The New Republic's "Worst House Member" awhile back at: 37% Marjorie Taylor Greene, GA-14 Known for: blaming wildfires on secret Jewish space laser; crazy vaccine lies that forced Twitter suspension; and she released a bonkers campaign video in which she blows up a Prius (with “socialism” written on the side, natch) with a .50-caliber rifle—just like the one she wants to give away to a lucky raffle winner." Of course there's more because "fools rush in where wise men fear to tread."
We know Marge doesn't care but we can't stop saying "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" In essence that's exactly what the EU was recently told: "Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson is urging the European Union to step up and lead the way on combating the climate emergency in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to dismantle the U.S. response to the crisis. Her remarks [came] as congressional Republicans are moving ahead with a plan to scale back Democrats' signature climate law passed in 2022." Another listener suggested piece begins, "In 2024 disasters displaced a record number of people both globally and in the U.S. About 11 million U.S. residents had to relocate to another part of the country because of hurricanes, floods and wildfires." That's a whole lot of internal refugees not being addressed by the present occupants in the White House. Some good news from Reuters: "Power grid use in the far northeast United States registered an all-time low over the weekend as mild weather and rooftop solar panels slashed demand on the regional electrical system, grid operator ISO New England said [last week]." On the other hand, Inside Climate News reports: "PacifiCorp, the parent company of Rocky Mountain Power, is walking back plans to grow its renewable energy portfolio, instead forecasting that coal plants without an “enforceable environmental compliance requirement” will remain online through 2045." Finally this, what goes around comes around: Last week "a dark cloud swept across Indiana and Illinois with winds up to 70 mph, on the heels of devastating storms, making it impossible for drivers to see. In Chicago, visibility fell to zero in minutes. Dust storms haven’t menaced the city since the 1930s. You can thank overfarming and overgrazing, which made this year’s soil “some of the driest ever” according to a piece in The New York Times.
On to His Malignancy The Mad King who apparently knows nothing these days. The Atlantic gives some background: "One of the key predecessors of the modern Republican Party was the Know Nothing Party, so called because of its secrecy. When asked about the organization, members would reputedly reply, 'I know nothing.' [His Malignancy & MAGA] share some things with its 19th-century ancestor: populist politics, xenophobia, and crazed opposition to immigration. And like their forebears, many current Republican officials profess to know nothing." Given that many of them actually are dumb as a post we suppose there's some truth in this. Meanwhile, His Malignancy's "..EPA....bosses were claiming, [they were] succeeding in its mission of protecting human health and the environment. In practice, the agency has done the opposite, several EPA staffers told The Intercept." At the same time, "The Energy Department said [recently] that it was preparing to roll back energy and water conservation standards for a long list of electric and gas appliances, targeting 47 regulations that it said were “driving up costs and lowering quality of life for the American people.” Ah yes, the quality of life; who knew they were concerned. Surely you recall The Mad King's executive order titled “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production.”? As it turns out, "It ordered the secretary of the Interior and head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who oversee the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, to develop a plan to expand timber targets and streamline permitting to suspend, revise, or rescind all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, settlements, consent orders, and other agency actions that impose an undue burden on timber production. The responsible departments and agencies were instructed to find categorical exclusions to the National Environmental Policy Act and use “emergency regulations” to circumvent the Endangered Species Act. We have an ACTION link on this HERE.
Enough bad news, let's head over to Our Critter of the Week & Our Quote of the Week with this listener suggestion;
Source for Thoreau’s quotations: The Writings of Henry David Thoreau: Journal, edited by Bradford Torrey.As I come over the hill, I hear the wood thrush singing his evening lay. This is the only bird whose note affects me like music, affects the flow and tenor of my thoughts, my fancy and imagination. It lifts and exhilarates me… It is a medicative draught to my soul. It is an elixir to my eyes and a fountain of youth to all my senses. It changes all hours to an eternal morning. It banishes all trivialness. … I long for wildness, a nature where the wood thrush forever sings, where the hours are early morning ones, and there is dew on the grass, and the day is forever unproved. … All that is ripest and fairest in wildness is preserved and transmitted to us in the strain of the wood thrush. It is the mediator between barbarism and civilization.
After the interview we go over to the Bus Stop Billboard:
Tuesdays, 4-6pm Hold banners, signs and flags, on I-91 overpass to show people that they are not alone -
and help give them the courage to join us and take a stand against the Coup & DOGE. Please make signs with very few words and very big and bold letters. Come even if you don't have a sign, we'll have plenty! Here's the link for more info and to register:https://mobilize.us/s/4Gq1hs We've
added this coming Sunday and Thursday, from 4-6 pm, at the
same location: the I-91 overpass at Mountain Park Rd, Holyoke.You can
sign up for Sunday or Thursday on Mobilize: Sunday 3/23, 3:30pm. - https://www.mobilize.us/
ALSO: Tuesdays 4-5pm. No Kings Weekly Vigil, Park Square, Elm and Main Streets (Route 20) Westfield, MA 01085 AND Tuesdays 3:30 – 5pm. 12 Mountain Dr. Overpass, Hatfield, MA 01038 AND Every Tuesday in Amherst. Stand out for Peace and Racial Justice (and immigrant justice, climate justice, etc.) – in Amherst. 4:00-4:30 P.M. Main Street and South Pleasant Street in front of the bank. Bringing positive action in troubling times.
Weekly on Tuesdays & Thursdays. The MA State House Stand Out is back in a new incarnation! This historic climate action lasted for 14 months and engaged hundreds of volunteers from across the climate movement. Volunteers are needed!The new version, lovingly referred to as Stand Out Two, happens at the Massachusetts State House between 10 am and 2 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
This is a great way to participate in the climate movement with no risk
of arrest! Volunteers normally sign up for a 2 hour “shift." If you have questions about the Stand Out or would like to get a link to the sign-up sheet please contact organizers at fossilfuels.standout.ma@
Every Saturday. Geendfield Standout for a Ceasefire.. 11 a.m.-noon, On the green by Court Square.
An
orientation for the Franklin County, MA (FCCPR.us) Rapid Response
Network,
with a one hour intro to nonviolence will take place. A full (six hour) nonviolence training will take place in
Greenfield from 9:30 am to 4 pm on Saturday, May 31st. For more details,
and to register for any of these trainings, go to: https://forms.gle/
Wednesday May 28, 6pm. Free Public Education Webinar: Wireless Risks & Safer Technology Solutions! All are welcome to join us to learn about today’s wireless radiation health risks and how to remediate. You’ll also discover why we don’t know, and actions taking place in the courts and legislatures to transition to safe technology. Go HERE.
Thursday May 29, 6-7pm. Join Make LPolluters Pay grassroots campaign team team meeting (open to all). This is what this week's guest is talking about. AND you can always sign the petition!
Saturday May 31, 9:30 am to 4:00 pm, Another full-length Nonviolence Training will take place, location to be determined in the Greenfield area. If you would like to take a full Nonviolence Training and cannot make it on May 10th, you may register for the full training on the 31st, and we will inform you of the location well before that date. Register HERE.
Tuesday June 3, TBA. A Waste Reduction Consultant from the
RecyclingWorks program will be conducting on-site waste assessments for
Greenfield, MA businesses. Assessments
are offered at no cost, take about 30-45 min, and will include a
summary report and ongoing customized guidance to help you improve waste
reduction at your business. Fill out the registration form below to get on the schedule: https://recyclingworksma.com/g
Tuesday June 3, 1:30pm. Water, Waterways, Wetlands and Climate Change Hearing, Live & virtual. The public is invited to participate in this hybrid hearing, which will be livestreamed on the General Court website, https://malegislature.gov/. Hearings will be recorded and posted publicly on the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources’ page https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Detail/J21/Hearings. Go HERE.
Wednesday June 4, 1pm. Invite your Legislator to a Legislative Briefing on Climate Funding Solutions. Room 428, Massachusetts State House. Now more than ever Massachusetts needs sustainable, reliable funding to
help reduce the causes and protect us from climate impacts like flooding
and extreme heat. Invite your legislator to join community
organizations, legislative champions, and advocates to learn about and
support three revenue-raising bills that would help Massachusetts
prepare for a brighter future. Go HERE.
Saturday June 7, 10am. Join us for a walk along the beautiful Wachusett Reservoir on National Trails Day! We expect to walk around 4.1 miles with little elevation gain and loss (~450ft) on the Northern side of the forests surrounding Wachusett Reservoir with numerous coves and points. As we take breaks, we will be discussing the MA Chapter Forest Protection team’s campaign to end logging on the state lands of the Quabbin, Ware, and Wachusett watersheds. Read more about that here. Go HERE.
Sunday June 8, 3:30 - 5:00 pm. ANNETTE SPAULDING, MASTER DIVER will speak about her recent discoveries diving in the Connecticut River at the Great Falls Discovery Center on July 8. She will offer a slideshow presentation of recent underwater discoveries as well as a display of items she has found in the river. Annette will also address the deep concerns that she shares with the public about current threats to the health of the Connecticut River. Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Great Falls, Turners Falls, MA
Wednesday, June 11, 2025 from 1-4pm! This will be an opportunity for our organization to demonstrate our people power, and collectively advocate for much needed pro-democracy policies like Same Day Voter Registration, Guaranteed Hybrid Access for Public Meetings, Campaign Finance Reform, and other top issues. Click the link below to register for our June 11th Lobby Day!
Saturday June 14; NO KINGS! NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST. Organized by Indivisible. Watch this space for local actions or look HERE and HERE for more information on the mobilization.
Tuesday June 24, All Day.The TreesPG Steering Committee and the TPG Education/Media group have come up with a summary of tree and forest related legislation to bring before reps of various districts. We hope to have as many voters from those districts as possible to meet their legislators in an organized fashion. PLEASE, if at all possible, set aside Thursday June 24 for a coordinated trip to Beacon Hill for a TreesPG Lobby Day. Details TBA soon. Also, please let us know if you want to participate or. have any questions contact: TreesPublicGood@gmail.com
That's it folks except to remember to listen to your Mother.
