Another Bee Here Now Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Surely by now you know we can't get along very well without our friends the pollinators, yes? Peggy MacLeod of Western Mass Pollinators Networks joins us in the studio to talk about their work and later in the show Jonathan Mirin of the Piti Thearter Company calls in about their kids play "To Bee or Not to Bee"  [UPDATE: HERE'S THE LINK FOR "SMALL CELL" EMF EXPOSURE JON SPOKE ABOUT]  We'll also bee directing you toward The Mad King and this week's Fool-on-the-Hill where we can unload some venom, as well as trip to The Enviro Show Echo Camber but first it's time for........Revenge of the Critters! Bees take action against militarism?

Speaking of militarism it's time to take on His Malignancy The Mad King but let's start with his Dark Prince of the Environment, Repugnican Scott Pruitt, climate criminal from Oklahoma, "The Sooner State" and we hope they take him back sooner rather than later.  Actually, that may happen given Pruitt's issues with misusing EPA funds and abusing the public trust. By the time you read this the Dark Prince may have announced plans to gut Obama-era fuel efficiency standards which were intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Can we expect anything less from someone in bed with Big Oil?   And CREDO informs us "Donald Trump's contempt for the environment is on full display with his recent nomination at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Peter Wright, a lawyer for Dow Chemical and a former Monsanto employee, is Trump's pick to head up the EPA office that oversees chemical spills at Superfund sites".  Surprise! Over at His Malignancy's U.S. Fish and Wildlife "Service" the Center for Biological Diversity and allies took legal action against the Trump administration over its shady new policy of approving elephant and lion trophy imports. The Center challenges U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to shut down input from scientists and the public on the process for evaluating the threats of trophy hunting to elephants, lions and other African animals. And, this past January, USFWS initiated proceedings to take the Canadian lynx off the threatened list altogether and downgrade a number of other species from endangered to threatened. Maybe that's because creepy Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke thinks species extinction is a hoax made up by China? O wait, sorry, wrong creep. According to Earth Talk: "the legislative branch isn’t helping wildlife or its advocates much either. Congress’ 2018 budget bill is chock full of “riders” aimed to cut endangered species protections for wolves in Wyoming and the Midwest, the greater sage grouse of the Southwest and other iconic American wildlife species, not to mention cuts to funding to bolster states’ endangered species protection programs."

Our Fool-on-the-Hill is Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) whose bill, the "Electricity Reliability and Fuel Security Act", seeks to stem the tide of hundreds of recent coal plant closures -- an issue driven by economic concerns and environmental regulations. Maybe they've hit a big vein of "clean coal" in Indiana? Sorry, there's the buzzer! There is no "clean coal". And yet, the industry claims "Based on current production rates, Indiana's 17 billion tons of available coal could last more than 500 years." Sadly, we won't.

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber anti-fracked gas pipeline protesters in West Roxbury scored a get-out-of-jail card on the fabled necessity defense recently. You may have read this on Facebook or some local news but we doubt the corporate media wants to give much ink or air time to that defense! In case the present chaos in DC isn't enough to freak you out how about that Coronial Mass Ejection scenario d.o. wrote about on our old blog?  Breakout the popcorn Enviro Show fans 'cuz now there's a video!  Speaking of d.o.'s writing it looks like the warning in his old poem "Dream of the One-horned Rhino" has been realized with the passing of the last White Rhino. And this from The Guardian on Walden Pond: Scientists warn "Pee and pesticides"are a problem. Like Thoreau said: "Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth."...O wait....um....er...(sorry).

After our conversation with Peggy and Jon we go over to the Bus Stop Billboard

Friday, April 20 9-11am. The Roundtable Panel Live: Climate Science Discussion at Page Hall Auditorium on the University at Albany downtown campus. It will be broadcast live on WAMC (90.3 FM) and available later that day via podcast. The panel discussion will include former EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck, Rolling Stone Contributing Editor and best-selling author Jeff Goodell, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Kolbert, and acclaimed naturalist and writer Terry Tempest Williams.

 The Berkshire Earth Expo on SATURDAY, APRIL 21 :: 10AM – 5pm. Come to learn from experts, talk to your neighbors about what they’re doing, enjoy performances, shop, and get inspired. Click here for all the info.  d.o. will be reading from his book.

Sunday, April 22, 10AM -2PM. Earth Day Open House. All ages are welcome to join us for activities and games to help you make a difference in the Connecticut River Watershed. Great Falls Discovery Center, Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA. Go to: http://greatfallsdiscoverycenter.org/ 

Sunday April 22, 1 - 3pm. All About Gardening for Pollinators. This talk will inspire your to transform your garden to better serve the food and habitat needs of pollinators. What are host plants? which plants are the best for butterflies? What are native bees and why are they so important? Also, hear about the growing movement in western MA to expand habitat for pollinators. Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, 127 Combs Rd, Easthampton, Massachusetts 01027Go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/413511002409584/

Tuesday April 24, 6:00 p.m. Drama Club members at Greenfield High School will present Earth Day Dreams: Close Encounters with Climate Change at GHS. The students have been exploring climate change issues and solutions with the help of their director Robert Moore and Enchanted Circle Theater’s teaching artist-in-residence Ezzell Floraniña. Go to: https://www.greeninggreenfieldma.org/events/706-earth-day-dreams-theater-prod

Tuesday April 24, 7pm. Screening of "Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees" at Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity Street, Amherst, MA. Call(413) 253-2547

Wednesday, April 25, 6:30pm. “Landfill Harmonics”.The evening will include a film about a youth orchestra that was born out of a landfill. The hope and promise found in this story prove that children who are given an opportunity for growth can exceed all expectations, even their own. This promises to be a dynamic evening. First Congregational Church, 43 Silver Street, Greenfield. It is handicap accessible. Please park behind the church and come in the back door. Call 773-5165 

Monday April 29, 7 to 9pm. Climate Action Now! monthly gathering at the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence, 220 Main Street, Northampton, MA. Go to: http://climateactionnowma.org 

Enough! We'll see you next time. For now, remember: Listen to your Mother!