The "Smart Growth" Enviro Show

We’re back on the trail of growth: is it dumb? Can it be smart? We’ll ask Erica Gees, Architect with Kuhn Riddle Architects in Amherst, MA and president of the American Institute of Architect's New England Chapter, if what grows around comes around! Also, we may get a call from our favorite rad troubadour, Tom Neilson who is scouting the Hawaiian islands for a suitable Enviro Show studio annex. As always we get into the latest disturbing news, but first it’s time for......Revenge of the Critters! This time a post-Valentine’s Day special. This one sounds like Staples worst nightmare, an anti-corporate love-in protest maybe? WARNING! It's another R-rated one.

There it is again! The Darth Cheney theme. Glen , how long do we have to put up with these guys? The Bush regime seems to be in constant damage control mode. The Resident’s spokesliar, Crony McSnowjob, tries to put a good face on years of White House effort to destroy the planet. ALSO, The desperation of King George. AND, whose funding global warming anyway?? Finally, closer to home (in a manner of speaking) the new Guv quietly signs off on that windmill project in the Berks that Elenor Tillinghast clued us in on last year at these very microphones.

The Talking Heads' "Big Country" takes us to our interview with Erica Gees, president of the New England chapter of The American Institute of Architects. Is endless growth really smart? Let's find out.

Last show we didn't have time for the Bus Stop Billboard, but it will always be here on the blog:

Wednesday, Feb 21, Noon in Boston, a Day of Action, Stop TXU - No New Coal
Join activists with Rainforest Action Network and allies to hold a day of
action across the country to stop TXU (a Texas utility company planning to
build 11 new coal-fired power plants in Texas). We'll be targeting the lead
financial arrangers of dirty coal development - telling the banks “Stop
Funding TXU’s Dirty Energy” and “No New Coal Plants”. We can stop Merrill
Lynch and others from funding TXU’s dirty coal plants and push them to
support clean, renewable energy.
At noon in Boston we'll meet at South Station (Summer St & Atlantic Ave) and
then head to Merrill Lynch at One Financial Center. We'll provide costumes
and props for a street-theater "die-in" with haz-mat suits, masks, and dirty
coal. Contact Josh@ran.org 203-246-3951


Thurs, Feb 22; Tri State CAN meeting
5:00- 6:30 pm. Meeting Rm, upstairs, Greenfields Market, Main St, Greenfield, MA call 413-339-5871 for more info

Sunday, FEB. 25. Walk for a New Spring @ Entergy HQ
They will be starting from Putney, Vermont. Park on Alice Holloway Rd. near the Putney Coop. Walk down Route 5 to vigil at Entergy headquarters on Old Ferry Road in N. Brattleboro, then continue through downtown Brattleboro. Contact CAN at CAN@nukebusters.org or 413-339-5781
The Leverett Peace Pagoda will be leading the month-long walk against nuclear weapons and nuclear power, (for other Walk info call 413-253-7609)

Sat, Mar 3; Noon, Vermont Yankee Die In; downtown Brattleboro, VT
Aside from giving us a false sense of security, sirens located throughout the Brattleboro area are primarily to warn people that a serious accident has occurred at Vt. Yankee. The sirens are always tested on the first Saturday of each month at 12 Noon. At random locations within earshot of the siren testing at noon in Brattleboro, each person agrees to participate in a die-in protest whenever possible by freezing in place, standing silent or falling down "dead". A group will be meeting at 11 am at the Harmony parking lot to walk through downtown and distribute literature and talk with people about what is going to be happening.
Contact Daniel Sicken 802-387-2798 or email dhsicken@yahoo.com.

Thursday February 22, Thursday March 29
RACHEL CARSON CENTENNIAL
Mt Holyoke College Center for the Environment series honors the centennial of the birth of Rachel Carson, author of "Silent Spring". Info: 538-3091, mailto:rmaddox@mtholyoke.edu..
February 22, 4:30pm, Cassani Lounge, Shattuck Hall: Mark Lytle,
author of "The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and the Rise
of the Environmental Movement".
March 29, 7pm, Gamble Auditorium: Sandra Steingraber, author of
"Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment".

Wednesdays February 21 & 28
SUSTAINABILITY & OUR COMMUNITY FREE FILM SERIES & DISCUSSION
7:30pm, The Old Creamery, 445 Berkshire Trail (Route 9), Cummington
(www.hidden-hills.com/oldcreamery).
February 21: "The Power of Community" - Cuba creatively survived the
effects of peak oil brought on by trade embargos in the '90s. This film
looks at their sustaining political, lifestyle, and social changes.
February 28: Community Discussion. Brief introduction of The Five
Rivers Council, local sustainability advocates, followed by community
discussion about topics brought up by any and all of these films. Please
come even if you missed the films.
Light refreshments will be served. Info: Alice or Amy, The Old
Creamery, 634-5560.

Wednesday, Feb 28, 7:30pm. Charles C. Mann , author of “1491” will be speaking at the Leverett Public Library, 75 Montague Rd., Phone: 413-548-9220. It's at 7:30. Free, open to the public.

OK, that's all, folks. Next time, The Ides of March Enviro Show. Good luck!

The Nature Deficit Disorder Enviro Show

This time we had a look at a crucial aspect of our rather sorry relationship with Mother Earth: the strange world of estrangement with that which sustains us, especially with regard to the kids. James McNaughton, the director of AIAO, "Adventure In - Adventure Out" joined us to talk about outdoor adventure programs, and we got a call-in from Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder". AND, for your listening enjoyment (we hope), an Enviro Show EXCLUSIVE! In keeping with tonight’s theme, a reading from D.O.'s very own failed novel, "The Dream of the One-horned Rhino". Who says he wasted a year of his life!! Also tonight: we had a special pre-Valentine Revenge of the Critters segment, but WARNING! WARNING! It was R-rated, hopefully folks gathered up those little ones and herded them yonder way. We got back to the family-friendly stuff soon enough. OK? Here we go, time for....Revenge of the Critters! OK, so it’s not really about revenge. It’s about….loooove! You know, as in Valentines Day? Ready? From the ever-exciting West Midland Safari Park in the UK, Rhino gets it on with a Renault!

There’s the Darth Cheney theme again! Glen, what’s the countdown? In the wake of the sorry State of the Union address (as expected, the climate crisis gets only a nod and using ethanol to replace gasoline just doesn’t cut it), checkout VFR’s own Jay Deacon, host of "Spirit", for an excellent podcast segment on that UN climate change report that we spoke about last time, as well as the Bush regime’s "smoke and mirrors" plan to save the world...really!. How about this: IPCC report too optimistic? ALSO, the White House took a drubbing over their war on science in congress last week, even by their own fellow Repugnicians! Speaking of Big Oil (what? you think the Bush regime & Big Oil are two separate subjects??), checkout RFK, Jr.’s latest shot across Exxon/Mobil’s bow. AND, here are 11 things YOU can do about the Climate Crisis from our friends at Grist.

On to the subject at hand: Wonder why the planet is in such a mess? Is it capitalism? Western culture? Human stupidity? Well, all of those are true, but how about estrangement? If we start out in awe of nature as children (rather than being plugged into electronic simulations or diversions) isn’t there a better chance we’ll respect the Earth? Before we talked with Richard Louv and Jim McNaughton, we had D.O. read a brief excerpt about this from his....umm...great americian novel?

There was no time for the Bus Stop Billboard during the show, sooooooo:

Wednesday, February 7th, 7:30 pm. The RACHEL CARSON CENTENNIAL.
Monique Harden on "Fixing the Broken System of Environmental Protection: Human Rights Remedies for Environmental Racism. Harden has been advocating for the human rights of displaced Gulf Coast residents, which include the right to return to healthy and safe neighborhoods. The event will take place at Mount Holyoke College, Gamble Auditorium, Art Building.

February 22, 4:30pm, Cassani Lounge, Shattuck Hall: Mark Lytle, author of “The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and the Rise of the EnvironmentalMovement”.

Wednesdays February 7, 14, & 21; SUSTAINABILITY & OUR COMMUNITY FREE FILM SERIES & DISCUSSION. 7:30pm, The Old Creamery, 445 Berkshire Trail (Route 9), Cummington
February 7: “An Inconvenient Truth” - Al Gore presents a compelling
look at global warming and the impending global environmental crises.
February 14: “End of Suburbia” – Engaging look at peak oil and the
effect on our society of the dwindling supply of cheap energy supplied by fossil fuels.
February 21: “The Power of Community” - Cuba creatively survived the
effects of peak oil brought on by trade embargos in the ’90s. This film
looks at their sustaining political, lifestyle, and social changes. A
fascinating look into our potential future. Info: Alice or Amy, The Old Creamery, 634-5560.

Thurs, Feb 22 5:00- 6:30 pm Tri State CAN meeting upstairs, Greenfields Market, Main St, Greenfield, MA Learn what CAN is up to and how you might get involved.
We have ongoing efforts to shutdown Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor
(just over the border in Vernon, VT). call 413-339-5871 for more info

OK, end of story. Next time it's our post-Presidents' Day Gala. We'll post all kinds of things about presidents, or at least one PARTICULAR "president"....we promise! Actually the next show is The "Smart Growth" Enviro Show; complete with differing views!