Blog Archive

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Our 5th B-Day Enviro Show!


Greetings Earthlings. Believe it or not we've reached age 5 here on The Enviro Show. Yes, we have behavioral problems, but no, bed wetting is not one of them. The show turned 5 on August 26. We guess that makes us a Virgo and therefore: "fussy and a worrier; overcritical and harsh; perfectionist and (get this) CONSERVATIVE"! (OK, maybe not, but we do conserve!). Tom Neilson joins us in the studio for our Birthday bash. There will be cake....(well, it's really corn bread)...for eveyone! Sorry, no burning candles allowed in the studio. Of course, there's another more somber 5 year year anniversary taking place in New Orleans, isn't there. Just because we'll be partying doesn't mean we're asleep at the switch. We continue to update you on the ongoing BP Cover-up as well as hip you to other issues in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and in our E-Valley-uation segment, but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! We jump into the Wayback Machine to visit tiny jellyfish who kill you!




In our brand new Fool on the Hill segment we find that HuffPo has noted that Every New Hampshire Republican candidate for the Senate is a global warming denier. Well, like they say: live free or die! We're not sure if our Repugnican Senator, Scott Brown is a climate crisis denier but he sure is pals with folks who are. Looks like folks in Boston have been shadowing Brown with the message that "climate change deniers belong in jail!".


In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber, back in the Gulf it's more science under siege. A BP sponsored study finds happy hungry microbes gobbling up oil plumes (like magic!), BUT that's not what our own Woods Hole oceanographers found, and it's not what U of Georgia oceanographers found, nor is it what U of South Florida researchers found! Speaking of finds: dead fish anyone? And this Enviro Show Blog Bonus: Help protect Sperm Whales in the Gulf! Finally, how about a 60 mile, weeks-long traffic jam? Better bring crayons for the kids. O, and guess what? It's brought to you by King Coal!



In our E-Valley-uation segment we have a two-fer from the noertheast corner of the Valley. First, the news we didn't get to last time: We noticed back on August 15 that the Sawmill River in Leverett had almost everything in it but....water! It's Lake Wyola headwaters in Shutesbury, on the other hand, is topped off! What's THAT about?? Then we head northward up the hill in Leverett to threatened wetlands by the Montague border.



In the Meet the New Boss segment our native son, Rep. Ed Markey takes the Administration's minions to task for giving a pass to toxic seafood from the Gulf. Go Ed!



Of course, we'll get into all sorts of B-Day hi jinks with Tom. Maybe Glen will bring his banjo and torture us with that for a spell. There's also the chance we'll have games like Pin the Tail on the Toady.




Then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Saturday, Sept. 4th: Lafayette Park: 2 - 5pm. and Sunday, Sept. 5th: Washington Mall near Capitol Hill: 11am-4pm. Spill into Washington DC - Labor Day Weekend. A rally in the nation's capital is crucial to gaining the lasting attention of law makers around the BP oil disaster. Email:lydiaajohnson@gmail.com or Phone: 402/708-2224. Website: http://spillintowashington.org

Tuesday, September 7, 7:00 in the Community Room of the Media Education Foundation in Northampton on Gothic Street, the Solentiname Friendship Group of Western MA welcomes Alan Wright, President of SOSTENICA and Rachel Lindsay, Coordinator of Sustainable Development for SOSTENICA, who will be discussing current efforts to develop a national Sustainable Rural Development program in northern Nicaragua. This gathering is free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible. For more information contact: Sandy Mandel @413-585-8240

Thursday, Sept 9, 4pm. Franklin County Fair Parade. No Nukes contingent or the CCFC Biomess contingent. Marchers need a wrist band for a dollar. CCFC has ordered 200 and it must be 1st come 1st served, but people can reserve by contacting janet, 625-2886 or at jasinclair@verizon.net. New Fair policy is you need a wrist band to be in the street. We line up at 4:00 behind the Middle School and Blessed Sacrament Church on Federal St. The parade begins at 5:30 and we get to the fair grounds at about 7:30. You can march in any or all of the parade. The theme this year is "We Grow, We Sow, We Celebrate". Use your imagination! Please make or bring signs (many lawn signs welcome) related to our effort and our success, bring visual aids, wear your favorite "no biomass" tee-shirt, or just come as you are. If you have muscial instruments--bring them and we can all play and march together.

Saturday, September 11,11:00 am - 1:00 pm. Explore the Montague Sand Plain. Come learn about the story of fire on the Montague Sand plain! Why is the landscape like Cape Cod, but the ocean is miles away? Now’s your chance to explore a unique habitat designed by fire and sand. Join the Great Falls Discovery Center for an introduction to the fauna, flora, and geology of this amazing and threatened habitat. Free but registration required. For more information call 413-863-3221

September 25-27. Appalachia Rising in Washington DC. A national response to the poisoning of America’s water supply, the destruction of Appalachia's mountains, head water source streams, and communities through mountaintop removal coal mining. Email: Massachusetts Contact: Rana Xavier at shoot.rana.x@gmail.com or appalachiarising092710@gmail.com. Go to: http://appalachiarising.org/



That's it. You can send our B-Day presents to 140 Pine Street in beautiful downtown Florence, MA. Thanks! O, and remember: listen to your Mother.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

BP Cover-up continues


News from the Gulf (rather than corporate media propaganda and White House spin) continues to surface about BP and government cover-ups of the continued use of toxic dispersants and the alleged safety of Gulf seafood, as well as the secret disposal of dead wildlife. It looks for all the world like some surreal Hollywood disaster film complete with corporado villains and colluding government officials....except....it's REAL!



Repugnicans & Dems alike, are up to their necks in a conspiracy to whitewash the devastation that BP has unleashed in the Gulf of Mexico. If you ever had any doubts that Big Oil owns Washington, this disaster should dispel them. Since government is part of the problem, what can YOU do about this disaster? Get into the streets!! People in San Franciso are doing it. People will be demonstrating in Washington on Labor Day weekend. How about in YOUR town??



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Update here. More here and here from our last show.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

The Rights of Nature Enviro Show


Greetings Earthlings. So, we supposedly have "The Rights of Man", "Women's Rights", and "Civil Rights" (ok, ok, it's a work in progress), how about The Rights of Nature? Ecuador wrote them into their constitution; in the U.S.? Not so much. Jeff Conant, Media Coordinator for Global Justice Ecology and author of "A Poetics of Resistance: The Revolutionary Public Relations of the Zapatista Insurgency" published by AK Press joins us to talk about it. We return once again to Meet the New Boss and scope out the Enviro Show Echo Chamber, as well as get to that George Carlin quote we dumped last time around, but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! Toilet snake terrorizes Brits! (these things wouldn't happen if they used composting toilets).



In our Meet the New Boss segment we find the Obama Administration playing fast & loose with the facts on the BP disaster. Also we checkout White House spokes, Robert Gibbs and the view from behind his rose colored glasses! O, don't forget EPA's Carol Browner (that's not Greener is it?) doing the talk show rounds with news of "Mother Nature doing her part" to clean the Gulf! Thanks, Mom. Sorry about that f'ing mess. Then we have the Obama Dept. of Justice fake left/go right for BP. There's more: guess who abstained on a vote for the Right to Water? That's Ambassador Susan E. Rice voting as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and a member of President Obama's Cabinet. Back in the Bush era, you may recall, the UN voted on the Right to Food, 177 in favor to 1 against; guess who! Now, about that "change you can believe in"......



In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber, Spike Lee weighs-in on BP. But hey, forget the "stars", checkout the common folk at a town hall meeting and on the docks near the Gulf. Sooo, where's the oil that magically disappeared from the Gulf? All one has to do to find it is dig a little deeper! And this eye-opener from Mother Jones: BP Ocean Cover-up. O, btw, how's that climate chaos denial workin' for ya'?



About that Enviro Show Quote of the Week: this time George Carlin REALLY returns from the grave to remind us:

"I look at it this way... For centuries now, man has done everything he can to destroy, defile, and interfere with nature: clear-cutting forests, strip-mining mountains, poisoning the atmosphere, over-fishing the oceans, polluting the rivers and lakes, destroying wetlands and aquifers... so when nature strikes back, and smacks him on the head and kicks him in the nuts, I enjoy that. I have absolutely no sympathy for human beings whatsoever. None. And no matter what kind of problem humans are facing, whether it's natural or man-made, I always hope it gets worse."



In our E-Valley-uation segment we find Eight local women being arrested at Vermont Yankee....again! And this: Biodiesel plant breaks ground in Greenfield (we'll have excerpts from the Montague Reporter version of the story). Also, Massachusetts chapter of Clean Water Action gives the "John O'Connor Grassroots Leadership Award" to the "Stop Spewing Carbon Campaign! We noticed the other day that the Sawmill River in Leverett has almost everything in it but....water! It's Lake Wyola headwaters on the other hand, is topped off! What's THAT about??




Following our interview with Jeff Conant we wander off to the Bus Stop Billboard:


Friday, August 20, 8:00 - 9:30 am. Early Morning Nature Walk. Participants will meet outside the main entrance to the Great Falls Discovery Center in Turners Falls at 8 a.m. Learn about plants, animals, and mill town history along the Bike Path of Turners Falls. Please wear appropriate footwear, bring water, bug repellant, and sun screen. For more information, call 413.863.3221.

Sunday, August 22, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm. Great Falls Birding Trip. 1st Local Birding Trip with Mark Fairbrother! Depending on weather will cover Gill-Montague area. Meet at the GFDC. Call 413.863.3221


Wednesday, August 25, 6:30pm. IN MORTAL HANDS: A CAUTIONARY HISTORY OF THE NUCLEAR AGE. Talk and Book signing with author Stephanie Cooke. Centre Congregational Church, Main Street, Brattleboro, VT Call: Nancy Braus 802-254-8160 (work) or 802-380-3363 (cell).


Saturday, Sept. 4th: Lafayette Park: 2 - 5pm. and Sunday, Sept. 5th: Washington Mall near Capitol Hill: 11am-4pm. Spill into Washington DC - Labor Day Weekend. A rally in the nation's capital is crucial to gaining the lasting attention of law makers around the BP oil disaster. Email:lydiaajohnson@gmail.com or Phone: 402/708-2224. Website: http://spillintowashington.org

Thursday, Sept 9, 4pm. Franklin County Fair Parade. No Nukes contingent or the CCFC Biomess contingent. Marchers need a wrist band for a dollar. CCFC has ordered 200 and it must be 1st come 1st served, but people can reserve by contacting janet, 625-2886 or at jasinclair@verizon.net. New Fair policy is you need a wrist band to be in the street. We line up at 4:00 behind the Middle School and Blessed Sacrament Church on Federal St. The parade begins at 5:30 and we get to the fair grounds at about 7:30. You can march in any or all of the parade. The theme this year is "We Grow, We Sow, We Celebrate". Use your imagination! Please make or bring signs (many lawn signs welcome) related to our effort and our success, bring visual aids, wear your favorite "no biomass" tee-shirt, or just come as you are. If you have muscial instruments--bring them and we can all play and march together.


September 25-27. Appalachia Rising in Washington DC. A national response to the poisoning of America’s water supply, the destruction of Appalachia's mountains, head water source streams, and communities through mountaintop removal coal mining. Email: Massachusetts Contact: Rana Xavier at shoot.rana.x@gmail.com or appalachiarising092710@gmail.com. Go to: http://appalachiarising.org/



That should keep you busy, but remember to take time to listen to your Mother. Next time it's our Birthday Party and YOU are invited. Cake & ice cream for everyone!