Blog Archive

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The Roadkill Enviro Show


Greetings Earthlings. In the wake of Earth Day we take a deep breath and checkout the damage from the wake of all those motor vehicles out there. Derek Yorks of the Linking Landscapes turtle mortality study joins us in the studio to talk roadkill mitigation. Of course, we revisit the multiple meltdowns in Fukushima, on this the 25th anniversary of the Chernoybl nuke disaster, that in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber as well as a look at some direct action down in DC. Back here at home we get a local response to Entergy's lawsuit against the state of Vermont in our E-Valley-uation segment and find out who this week's Fool-on-the-Hill might be, and who knows, maybe we'll even get to The Quote of the Week, but first it's time for...Revenge of the Critters! THE best squirrel attack ever! Tooooooo long for The Enviro Show, but we'll give you the Cliff Notes version. No roadkill for this squirrel. Instead, this squirrel kills.....well, actually, just wounds.



At the top of the Enviro Show Echo Chamber an E-Day must see: Democracy Now's Earth Day Special. Then, Bill McKibben rallies the troops at Powershift '11 in the belly of the beast but quite frankly we were more impressed with Rising Tide DC taking it to the Dept. of Interior. That's the same agency that's sucking up to Big Oil on the anniversary of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf! Speaking of government agencies that don't function so well, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) certainly qualifies! And this: BP's 10 BILLION dollar tax break? Give us an f'ing break! Finally, you can stil take action to keep Big Wind out of our public waters.



This weeks Fool-on-the-Hill is our own Repugnican, Sen. Scott Brown. The League of Conservation Voters notes: "The good news is that all four reckless anti-clean air amendments failed to get a majority of the vote in the U.S. Senate. The bad news is that Senator Brown chose to stand with big polluters -voting to protect polluter profits and weaken public health protections." Perhaps Scotty isn't aware of Western Mass' infamous air pollution? Does he really care? Run Elizabeth Warren, run!



The Enviro Show Quote of the Week is from Alice Walker: "The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men."



In our E-Valley-uation segment: Earth Day action at VT. Yankee. Jean was there! Also, we checkout both Citizen Action Network's Deb Katz's response and the Vermont Gov's response to Entergy's lawsuit against Vermont regarding the proposed re-licensing of the Vermont Yankee nuke. Also this: the NRC sucks! Who knew! Beyond Nuclear knows, but they're petitioning the NRC anyway! Meanwhile Ed Markey (D-MA) comes up with some sane legislation. Will it pass in a world gone mad?? Finally, a Blog Bonus: tell the Gov to Stop the Biomess!



"We've got ourselves (a roadkill)" by Colleen Kattau takes us to our interview with Derek Yorks of the Linking Landscapes turtle mortality study. Then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday April 27,12:30-2pm, GREENWORK: THE WESTERN MASS GREEN ECONOMY WORKING GROUP. Brown Bag Lunch at Noon, Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO Hall, 640 Page Boulevard, Springfield. Call: (413)732-7970

Thursday, April 28, 6:30, YMCA Community Room, Main Street, Greenfield. Follow-up panel discussion with co-sponsoring groups to share ideas on how we can all be involved in moving Greenfield and our region toward more sustainable energy use and food security. Part of Spring Film Series of Greening Greenfield and Friends.

April 28 - 30, 6 to 9pm. Public sessions for proposed Gateway development in Amherst. Large Activity Room, Bangs Community Center, Boltwood Walk, Amherst. More here and here.

Friday, April 29. Deadline for comments on the State's draft air permit for the proposed biomass incinerator in Springfield. Hampden County is already home to the dirtiest, unhealthiest air in the state. Springfield children have blood lead levels and respiratory disease rates twice that of the children of the state. You can make a difference! Please visit and make your comments.

Friday April 29, Noon-1:30. Takaaki Morikawa, a survivor of the Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima, will share his personal history of the event using a power point presentation and a film dramatically illustrating the devastating effects of the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the Sloan Theater Greenfield Community College.

Saturday, April 30, 7 - 9pm. "Bhopal....BP......Fukushima.....Should Corporations Get Away with Murder and Ecocide?" A conversation with Ward Moorehouse. Cohousing Common House is located at 24 Mountain Laurel Path in Florence.

Monday, May 2, 7-9:30pm. "Earth Day '11: Facing our Present and Future through Eco-poetry, Prose, and Song". Second Congregational Church, Court Square, Greenfield. Donation requested to cover costs. Contact: 413-625-6374 or johnpberk@gmail.com

Monday, May 2, 7:30pm Vandana Shiva: The Rights on Mother Earth. Paino Lecture Hall, Earth Sciences Building, Free and Open to the Public. Wheelchair Accessible.

Wednesday, May 4, 7:30pm at Amherst Cinema, come see the powerful new documentary "Queen of the Sun: What Are The Bees Telling Us?", followed by me reading my poem "Honeybees: This Century's Canary in the Coal Mine?" and discussion of film.

Saturday May 7, 10:00am -1:00pm. The City of Holyoke is hosting a City Wide Clean Up Day. SEIU Local 888 rep Scott Burns says: This is an excellent
and fun opportunity for us to give back to the community. The city will provide pizza and refreshments afterward at Heritage State Park. Contact: sburns9960@aim.com

Sunday, May 13. 5 - 8pm. Art Bike Show & Auction Fundraiser to benefit the Holyoke Community Bike Shop. Holyoke Health Center Art Gallery: 230 Maple Street, Holyoke. Call: 413-534-5631 x114

Tuesday, May 17, 4:30 pm. Springfield City Council will hold a hearing at Springfield City Hall to consider amending or revoking Palmer Renewable Energy's permit to construct a biomass incinerator in Springfield. ALL OUT TO STOP IT! The Chicopee City Council, meanwhile, passed a resolution last Tuesday by unanimous vote, opposing the proposed biomass plant in Springfield. Go to: www.springfieldincinerator.info/actions.html

Saturday, May 21, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. From the Grassroots Up: Stop Incentives for Incinerators. A strategy meeting for activists working to stop biomass and waste burners. Doyle Center, Leominster MA. RSVP: Biomass Accountability Project at 800-729-1363 or stopbiomassburning@gmail.com

Sunday, Sunday, May 22, 10am. Manhan Rail Trail Grand Opening Ceremony and Rolling Party. Bike riders and walkers are invited to explore the new rail trail and art spots along the way. Riders can meet at 10am at Millside Park in Easthampton for bagels and musical performances, and then at 11 ride to the Route 10 Bridge. At 12, Mayor Higgins and Mayor Tautznik will cut the ribbon on the Bridge, and afterwards the procession will make its way to a concluding lunch at Veteran's Field in Northampton.




Next time it's Barking Up The Enviro Show with Michael Wojtech. Until then remember: LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER! (sorry, didn't mean to yell).

1 comment:

D.O. said...

As fate would have it, even as we spoke about roadkill during the show Tuesday, a friend (who didn't even know the subject of the show) was trying to reach D.O. to ask what she could do for a turtle rundown in the road in Amherst! Synchronicity at its ....what? worst?

For future reference, the closest place to take turtles that might survive is way east in N. Grafton, MA here:
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/wildlife/service.html

If you encounter small mammals who might survive you can take them to the Springfield area here: http://urbanwildliferehab.netfirms.com/

Always wear heavy gloves and protective clothing (cages if possible) when moving wounded critters.