The Antibiotic Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. So, you think the FDA is there to protect you from the abuse of antibiotics? Maybe not. Kyla Bennett, Director of New England Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility returns to these microphones to take the cure....no wait! to TALK about the cure. That covers the antibiotics (which is more than the FDA seems concerned about). We get into some probodiotics with a report-back from the healthy direct action on the body politic at VT Yankee's corporate Entergy office in our E-Valley-uation segment, as well as some positive news in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber. As usual we double down on the bad news (of course!) with The Fool on the Hill and when we Meet the New Boss, but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! This week it's teeny, tiny critters who are seeking revenge against......are you ready? Antibiotics!

In The Enviro Show E-Valley-uation segment it's reportbacks from last Thursday's direct action at Entergy headquarters in Brattleboro. Everyone was there.....except for Entergy! Without a corporado in sight, it looked like we scared them off leaving only us, the media and the friendly cops, the 99%, to act out our parts in the theater of protest. Maybe next time we should just show up unannounced, like the Shut it Down Affinity Group does all the time. Now we're coming up on the 33 anniversary of the nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island. Here's D.O.'s thoughts on that fiasco. And this: Rivers & streams getting low? Remember two summers ago when we found the Sawmill River in Leverett with barely any water? Fish and other aquatic life cannot survive in rivers and streams that are chronically desiccated in summer and fall. Please go here to help protect them and our rivers & streams.

The Enviro Show Echo Chamber leads off with an important Blog Bonus Action link. We need to convince the Gov that logging in the Quabbin Watershed is ...well, not such a good idea. Go here and let your voice be heard. Here's that positive news we mentioned earlier, it's from Grist: former corporado seeks to save the planet! On to the bad news: No deaths from Fukushima? Stay tuned on that one. O, and speaking of disasters, Science Daily tells us that not only did oil affect the ecosystem in the Gulf during the BP blowout, but it was still entering the food web after the well was capped. Yum! Toxic sludge is good for you. No? OK, how about ending corporate welfare for Big Oil? By the by, it's not just Big Oil who is picking your pocket at the pumps, it's their friends on Wall Street too. Finally, this from Treehugger: corporados wrote the law requiring climate denial being taught in Tennessee schools. Not so smart ALECS we'd say.

Our Fool-on-the-Hill is freakin' Florida Repugnican Rep. Cliff Stearns who wants to sell off our National Parks! Hey, if he waits a few months we can have actual fire sales out West!

This time we Meet the New Boss as he "stood in a red-dirt field before acres of stacked pipeline pieces on Thursday to illustrate his support for expedited construction of the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline" (You know, the one that's intended to spew dirty tar-sands oil off to China? The one he opposed before he supported it?). Obama said "We’ve added enough new oil and gas pipeline to encircle the Earth and then some". Aren't you impressed? Also, The Washington Post revealed this weekend that the White House has a current offer "still on the table" to make billions of dollars of cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Democratic Leaders in Congress, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, grudgingly agreed to the deal, according to the Post. All such cave-ins to the corporados and far-right extremists means more scrambling for survival by the rest of us which, in turn means less consideration for a failing biosphere and a deeply troubled planet.

"The End of the World" by Marie Mason, Danny Dollinger & Darryl Chemey & friends takes us to our interview with Kyla Bennett, then we checkout the Bus Stop:

Wednesday, March 28, Noon to 1:30pm. GreenWorks Roundtable. 640 Page Blvd., Springfield, MA. Contact: maryvogel@builtbest.org

Wednesday, March 28th 6:30 pm, "Permaculture:TheGrowing Edge" a film about sustainable care for the earth, its people and the future [What, only people??] by Donna Read and Starhawk that offers an antidote to environmental despair, a hopeful and practical look at a path to a viable, flourishing future. Greenfield Public Library (back door), Main St. in Greenfield.Discussion will follow. Offered by Greening Greenfield Energy Committee and Transition Town Greenfield. For more info call 773-7004

Friday, March 30, Noon. Occupy the EPA to rally and launch the American Spring with a demonstration at the headquarters of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC. The demonstration will start at 12:00 noon at Franklin Square Park (13thand I Sts, NW, Washington, DC) and the march will head down 12th Street to the EPA Headquarters. Call: 410-591-0892

Friday & Saturday, March 30-31, The 30th National Pesticide Forum Healthy Communities: Green solutions for safe environments Yale University -- New Haven, CT. Go to: www.beyondpesticides.orgor call (202)543-5450

Saturday, March 31,1:00 PM. What’s So Cool About a Vernal Pool? Come to the Leverett Library to find out all about what a vernal pool is and some of its special features. Dawn Marvin Ward will present a hands-on program designed for families and beginner naturalists. This program will begin inside and then venture outside to visit the library’s own vernal pool (weather permitting). All ages are welcome BUT this program is designed for children ages 8+ and accompanied by an adult. If extremely inclement weather; indoor activities will be available. For more information contact Dawn 367-9562 or Leverett Library 548-9220.

Sunday, April 1, 12:30 to 3:30pm. Pioneer Valley Green-Rainbow Regional Convention. Umass Amherst Campus Center, Room 101, Campus Center Way. Presidential candidate Jill Stein will be speaking around 1 pm! Stein was recently endorsed by Noam Chomsky and has been traveling around the country, meeting activists and discussing her proposal for a "Green... New Deal" for the USA. Email: crustacean99@gmail.com

Sunday, April 1, 2-3 PM, Leverett Library. "Moths: Better than Butterflies" with Ted Sargent. Join Ted as he discusses his 50 years of observation and research (as a naturalist and Professor of Biology, UMass) on moths and their interactions with birds and the effects of those interactions on the evolution of the moths.

Tuesday, April 3, 6pm public hearing on Springfield's Combined Sewer Overflow long term control plan at Springfield City Hall (36 Court Street). Twelve years after they put together a draft document, Springfield will unveil its 20+ year plan for significantly reducing CSO discharges into the Connecticut River. Find out why they don't think they can achieve full elimination. This is your chance to let them
know you care about water quality in the river.

Tuesday, April 3, 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Public meeting on the reconstruction of the Norwottuck Rail Trail. Hadley Elementary School, 21 RiverDrive, Hadley (Rt. 47). The Department of Conservation and Recreation will hold an informal meeting and information session about the long awaited reconstruction of the Norwottuck RailTrail. Plans for the new trail will be on displayand trail users are encouraged to come and voice their opinions. Email: Morrisfri@aol.com

Saturday, April 14,Starting at Noon- 2:00. Rally to Support Vermont & Shutdown Vt Yankee! Keynote speaker: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders with Special Musical Guests (including the 12-piece Afro-beat ensemble, Fenebo). Gov Shumlin has also been invited to speak in addition to a number of other people!! More details to follow. Contact Deb for more info 413-339-5781

So much for that show. Stay tuned for our April 10 Enviro Show on "A Darker Shade of Green: REDD Alert and the Future of Forests". Until then remember: listen to your Mother!

Another Ides of March Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Time once again to beware the Ideas of March. This time we send the warning out to Entergy, owners of that ticking nuclear time bomb just to our north on the shore of the Connecticut River in Vernon, Vermont. Warning, warning corporados! The people are coming! We talk with Randy Kehler of the Safe & Green campaign about the issues and area residents rising up to defend their homes from nuclear meltdown and corporate criminal behavior in the wake of the first anniversary of the ongoing multiple meltdown in Fukushima, Japan. Also, we hear from The Fool-on-the-Hill, our Enviro Show Quote of the Week, echos from the Echo Chamber and who knows what all, but first it's time for.....Revenge of the Critters! Think climate disruption when camels attack!

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is leading the charge against the President's clean energy proposals........you know, the ones he was for before he was against? McConnell and the Repugnican crazy choir are trying to make fun of algae biofuel advances, labeling them pipe dreams or worse. Did someone say crazed ideologue? No? Maybe pathetic hypocrite? Meanwhile it's still that tired old call for "drill, baby drill" on the far-right even though Big Oil is......are you ready? exporting dirty U.S. petro instead of keeping it here at home! And speaking of Repugnicans difficulty relating to the planet, checkout this.

Our Quote of the Week is on message from Ronny Raygun: “All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.” The question is: whose desk!

In our E-Valley-uation segment we do a run-down on all the area actions around the scary Vermont Yankee nuke.....you know, that old crusty boiling water reactor just like the ones melting down in Fukushima? Checkout coverage on The Commons site here and here as well as an excellent letter to the editor from the CT Watershed Council here. And here's a link to the latest news on the VT Yankee struggle in the courts. There were Fukushima anniversary events at Vt Yankee and everywhere. Here's Beyond Nuclear's coverage. Also this: Tell MA House Speaker DeLeo to advance the Updated Bottle Bill. Go here. Finally, if you're on Facebook here is an excellent & creative way to remind Gov. Patrick that logging in the Quabbin watershed is a truly bad idea.

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we find Repugnicans in the U.S. Senate failed in trying to ram an amendment into the Transportation Bill to move ahead on the Keystone XL dirty oil pipeline. While we're on the topic of Big Oil checkout Greg Palast's in-depth analysis of the new BP oil disaster settlement down in the Gulf region. Looks like BP gets off easy.....once again. Let's not forget King Coal! Here's an Enviro Show Blog Bonus action link telling the EPA to limit carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants. Do it for the Polar Bears! Now, how about doing one for the Manta Rays?

Our favorite no nukes anthem, "Shut 'em Down" by the late great Gil Scott Heron takes us to our interview with Randy, then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Now thru March 23: Remember Fukushima - 19 day walk for a new spring 2012. A nineteen-day walk from Seabrook Nuclear Power day Plant in NH to Plymouth Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, MA on the anniversary of the catastrophe at Fukushima, Japan and ending the walk in Vernon, VT at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. For more information or to support the walk when it comes to your community contact: Tim Bullock at 413 413-485-8469 or email: walk4newspring@gmail.com

Thursday, MARCH 15, 3:00PM. Save Our Homes Front of Bank of America, 1 South Pleasant Street, Amherst. Go to: http://pol.moveon.org/event/saveourhomes/127683

Saturday, March 17, 1 to 2:15pm. The Puzzle of New England's Predators. Predators such as bobcat, coyote, and fishers live locally, but do we really know that much about them? Join naturalist John Foster of the New England Naturalist Training Center for a slide show of New England's predators. Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A., Turners Falls. Call: 413-863-3221

Wednesday, March 21,7:00 to 9:00pm. Creating Democracy and Challenging Corporate Rule. Join David Cobb from Move to Amend for an action meeting to determine our community’s response to the court's ruling and what we can do to join the national movement to Abolish Corporate Personhood. Fracis Crowe Community Room, 60 Masonic St., Northampton.

Thursday, March 22,11am. Entergy your time is up! Town Common, Brattleboro, VT. Non Violent Affinity Groups from around the Evacuation Zone and beyond are telling Entergy Their time is UP!! Meet on the town common and walk up to Entergy Headquarters on Old Ferry Rd. You need to join an affinity group and attend non-violent training. To join an affinity group contact David at: reporter@montaguema.net

Friday, March 23, 7pm. Forks over Knives .Two nutrition researchers argue that a vegan, whole-food diet reduces one's risk of heart disease, cancer, and other health problems. Northampton Committee Friday Night Films. Frances Crowe Community Room, 60 Masonic Street in Northampton.

Saturday, March 24. "Day of Solidarity with Vermont. Actions by our sister reactor communities around the United States. Go to: www.BeyondNuclear.org/FreezeOurFukushimas

Wednesday, March 28th 6:30 pm, "Permaculture:TheGrowing Edge" a film about sustainable care for the earth, its people and the future [What, only people??] by Donna Read and Starhawk that offers an antidote to environmental despair, a hopeful and practical look at a path to a viable, flourishing future. Greenfield Public Library (back door), Main St. in Greenfield.Discussion will follow. Offered by Greening Greenfield Energy Committee and Transition Town Greenfield. For more info call 773-7004

That's it 'til next time BUT remember: listen to your Mother!