The Zero Hour Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. We know terms like "Zero Hour" can feel a bit chilling but have no fear, this Zero Hour has to do with everything heating up! It's Zero Hour - The Youth Climate March destined for the belly of the beast in Washington, DC on Saturday, July 21st.  [UPDATE: Here's their platform] These guys are fired up as their website notes: "Enough is enough.We, the youth, believe that #thisisZeroHour to act on climate change. We cannot afford to wait any longer for adults to protect our right to the clean and safe environment, the natural resources we need to not just survive, but flourish. We know that we are the leaders we have been waiting for!" Zero Hour Youth March Organizer, Sohayla Eldeeb calls in with the details. As always, we'll also take you to see this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to gawk at the latest outrage from The Mad King and his court of crazed climate criminals, as well as peek into The Enviro Show Echo Chamber but first it's time for..........Revenge of the Critters! Rattlesnake attacks from the afterlife! 

[UPDATE] In case you missed our award ceremony for The Enviro Show Big Green Clearcutters Award here it is! This years recipient was the Massachusetts Department of Cut & Run's Commissioner Leo Roy. Congrats to Leo for his massive underachievement.

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Texas Repugnican representative Pete Olson who introduced a House bill which "amends the Endangered Species Act so that federal wildlife managers will have to consider economic factors as one of the primary criteria when deciding whether to accept or deny listing a new species or designating critical habitat." Soooooo, how much is your endangered species worth to us anyway, huh?

On to The Mad King. This time we find His Malignancy is repealing an executive order drafted by  President Obama intended to protect the Great Lakes and oceans bordering the United States. Surprise! According to The Hill: "In his own executive order signed late Tuesday, Trump put a new emphasis on industries that use the oceans, particularly oil and natural gas drilling, while also mentioning environmental stewardship." Hey great, The Mad King mentioned Enviro stewardship! Wonder if he knows what that means? How about this recent headline: "Trump Vows to Open Minnesota's Superior National Forest to Mines"? His Malignancy "vowed to keep open large swaths of lands in Minnesota’s remote Superior National Forest to mining, a move that could benefit a copper-nickel project being pursued by Twin Metals Minnesota LLC, a subsidiary of Antofagasta Plc." Yes, of course, he was reversing another Obama effort "to make hundreds of thousands of acres in the national forest off-limits to industrial activity."  Exploitation through privatization, folks! Who needs all that pristine woodlands just sitting there anyway?? The Center for Biological Diversity tells us the Mad King's administration "this week launched the largest rollback in history to the vital protections for air, water and wildlife provided by the National Environmental Policy Act." NEPA is like the gold standard of environmental protections. "The Trump administration is taking a sledgehammer to the review process that allows scientists and the public to have a say on federal projects that harm clean air, water and wildlife,” said Paulo Lopes, public lands policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This is the beginning of the largest rollback in the history of the National Environmental Policy Act, and it will yield polluted air, dirty water and devastation for our beautiful public lands.” Meanwhile Lyin' Ryan Zinke over at Interior  "is considering whether to open up more than 30,000 acres of public lands at the northern gateway of America's oldest and most iconic national park, Yellowstone to aggressive gold, silver and other mineral extraction." How long do you think his "consideration" will take, before I finish typing this? The next day? You can try to talk him down by going here if you want. 

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we see The Boston Globe discovered "The oil billionaires Charles and David Koch, not content with pushing the United States out of the Paris climate accords or undermining the Affordable Care Act, have trained their sights on local transit projects, from Phoenix to Nashville. Through their front group Americans for Prosperity, they are bankrolling campaigns to kill proposals for light rail or new bus routes, in part because government-controlled transportation runs counter to their deregulatory 'freedom agenda'." Didn't David Koch recently announce he was getting out of the planet trashing business for health reasons? Will he turn down a ride in a government subsidized ambulance if he really starts to tank?  And this: we have word from down south "An estimated 50 to 80 percent of southern wetland forest is now gone. Logging is considered one of the biggest threats to the 35 million acres of remaining wetland forest in the southern U.S., and conservation organizations are saying this threat is coming largely from the wood pellet biomass industry." Guess which forests that rapacious industry would love to go next after clearcutting down south? OK climate activists who have been avoiding any talk of biomass or forest protection, we dare you to read this all the way through!

After our conversation with Sohaylak Eldeeb we head over to the Bus Stop billboard:

Saturday, July 14, 10 - 11am. Candidates Pledge for a Nuclear Free Future. Northampton City Hall, Northampton, MA. U.S. Representative Jim McGovern will be signing a pledge to support the abolition of nuclear weapons. He is the first voting member of Congress to take this pledge - a step that nearly 1,000 parliamentarians from 30 countries have taken - and he will be joined by a number of State Senate and House candidates! Contact The Resistance Center for Peace and Justice  http://theresistancecenter.org

Sunday, July 15, 4-5pm, System Change Not Climate Change. 20-minute video report from the 2017 World Climate Conference in Bonn, Germany, by Anna Gyorgy with Janet Masucci, for the Women & Life on Earth internet project/Traprock Center for Peace & Justice. Wendell Free Library, 
7 Wendell Depot Road, Wendell, MA

Wednesday, July 18, 6-8pm. Berkshires 350 Mass Node Meeting, Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church, 175 Wendell Ave, Pittsfield

Thursday, July 19 - 1:00pm. The Department of Energy Resources is hosting stakeholder meetings that will feature a presentation of the Comprehensive Enenergy Plan’s initial analysis, with topics including data on future demand across transportation, thermal conditioning, and power sectors and will highlight the trends and challenges through 2030. Westfield State University Loughman Living Room, Scanlon Hall, 77 Western Avenue Westfield, MA 01086  Go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/comprehensive-energy-plan-stakeholder-meeting-july-19-westfield-tickets-47671281085

Monday, July 23, 7 - 9pm. Climate Action Now MA Monthly Gathering. We come together once a month to meet each other, plan, and imagine how to contribute, in our corner of the world, to the urgent fight against climate change . We love to meet newcomers, whether you are brand new to activism or have been doing this a long time. We do not have a membership or dues. People give of their time and talent when they see fit. You are welcome to join us!  Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst (UUSA), 121 N. Pleasant Street, P.O. Box 502, Amherst, Massachusetts.  Go to: http://climateactionnowma.org/ 

Wednesday July 25. 6:00 to 7:00pm. Saving Massachusetts Forests for Climate, Nature and People, a presentation by Michael Kellett, Executive Director, RESTORE The North Woods. Bascom Lodge at the top of Mt Greylock. Free and Open to the Public. Presented on the porch. Optional : Sunset Beverage Hour starts at 4:00 PM      Dinner at 7:00 PM  Reservations requested   413-743-1591 or MAIL@BASCOMLODGE.NET

Monday, August 6, 7 PM.  "Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees" at the Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity Street, Amherst, MA.

https://amherstcinema.org/films-and-events/call-forest-forgotten-wisdom-trees

September 8, 3:00pm. Critical (and Kidical) Mass Bike Rally for Climate Action. New England Youth Theatre parking lot, 100 Flat Street. Brattleboro, VT. Contact Info: brattleboro@350vt.org

OK, that's all folks. Remember to.....what? Listen to your Mother, OK?

Summer Solstice 2018 Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Summer Solstice is nearly upon us, what shall we do to honor that which sustains us? The Good Green Witch returns to help us on that one and  Lisa Merton, co- creator of the film "Burned" calls-in to talk about "a film for anyone who cares about forests". Like always we will take you along to meet this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to mock His Malignancy The Mad King and his den of demons, as well as present to you our Quote of the Week, but first it's time for............Revenge of the Critters! Maybe doing baptisms in a Croc infested lake wasn't such a good idea?

Our Fool-on-the-Hill this week is up for reelection so let's remind everyone Repugnican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, yes, another member of the House "Science" Committee, is a vocal skeptic of the link between human emissions and climate change, and has called the campaign to rein in climate-altering emissions "a tangible threat to our freedom, and to our prosperity as a people." As if all those climate-altering emissions aren't THE greatest threat of all? 

On to His Malignancy The Mad King! Have you seen his new crown? No, neither have we but he certainly seems to think he's got one given all his delusions about divine rights of kings. We keep pushing the LOL button on Facebook like lab mice repeatedly hitting the treat bar every time The Mad King juts his jaw out and struts around like Benito Mussolini. Thanks Central Casting, you guys have really outdone yourselves this time! Of course, while all that farce is entertaining the reality (not the "reality show") is quite the opposite. His Malignancy and his court of climate criminals continue to tear down environmental protections daily, so much so that it's hard to keep track of all the damage. Last Monday The Mad King's National Marine Fisheries Service, a division within the Commerce Department run by cranky old billionaire Wilbur Ross, sent a rule on marine protection for whales and sea turtles caught in fishing nets off the West Coast down the memory hole. The rule change was made despite the fishing industry's having proposed the measures in the first place, according to the Associated Press. Recently we also learned His Malignancy has proposed a 103% cut to America’s most successful conservation program, the Land and Water Conservation Fund. For over 50 years, the program has protected more than two million acres of land and supported more than 40,000 state and local park projects. And, the Fund doesn't cost taxpayers a thing because it's funded entirely by royalties from the offshore oil and gas industry. O wait, what does THAT tell us! Speaking of corruption, our friends at Grist ask: "Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt already faces at least 12 federal inquiries from the EPA’s Inspector General, Government Accountability Office, and House Oversight committee. Could a criminal probe be next?" Excellent question, we've wanted to probe The Dark Prince of the EPA for months now. Finally, with the new 2018 hurricane season upon us we can't help but wonder if The Mad King will do as miserable job as he did last year with the devastation to Puerto Rico and the islands in the wake of Hurricane Maria. The island's power grid remains a horror show of it's own and the no bid repair contract went to that fishy Whitefish operation based in the tiny hometown of Interior Secretary  Lyin' Ryan Zinke, who knows the CEO. The Mad King and his creepy court are like a revolving always restocked gaudy smorgasbord of greed and corruption. Are you full yet? 

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week concerns The Mad King but you will have to jump into the Wayback Machine with us to get there:

"The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." 

                                                                                                      - Frederick Douglas


After our conversations and celebration with The Good Green Witch we head on over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Thursday June 28, 6:30-8:00pm. Public viewing of the film "The River Cried, 'Mni W'Coni!" at the 

Leverett Public Library, Leverett, Mass. About the water protectors at Standing Rock Reservation in 2016. 

Thursday, June 28,  6-9pm. Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel in the multipurpose room at Brattleboro Area Middle School.  The agenda will include a discussion with staff representing Vermont's congressional delegation, along with a presentation on spent fuel storage by a representative from the US Department of Energy. For more articles about Vermont Yankee's sale and decommissioning, go to:

http://www.safeandgreencampaign.org/resources/decomissioning-resources 

Thursday July 5, 7 PM.  "Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees" at the Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity Street, Amherst, MA.

https://amherstcinema.org/films-and-events/call-forest-forgotten-wisdom-trees

Saturday, July 7, 1 - 3pm. Giant Puppet Parade & Circle Up for the Earth. The third annual Interdependence Day Celebration! Giant Puppets! Music and Song! community "Circle Up" for the Earth, and direct action with Climate Action Now, will be held July 7th at 1PM at Pulaski Park in Northampton, Massachusetts. The community is encouraged to contribute to the parade and the Circle Up by arriving with flowers in hand at 12:30pm.  More details at: https://www.facebook.com/events/210011913126855/ 

Saturday & Sunday July 7-8th , 9-5pm. Street Medic Training @ Open Way farm in east Montpelier (10 Minute drive from downtown Montpelier, VT). This class will cover the fundamentals of how to provide emergency care, basic first aid and DIY healthcare at protest and actions. This is a class for activists, community organizers and ANYONE who wants to empower themselves to learn to provide medical support to those in need in times of need! Cost: Sliding Scale. For registration and/or questions contact Mo:phone/txt 802-279-3833  email-mstanwor@gmail.com 

OK, Happy Summer Solstice and remember: Listen to your Mother!

Another Protecting Public Lands Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. We are sorry to report (once again) that the Massachusetts Department of Cut and Run (DCR) have yet to figure out what that Climate Crisis thing has to do with our public forests.  DCR also seems rather clueless about preservation even though that term has been around forever! Wendell residents Jonathan von Ranson, Dan Leahy and Jim Thornley join us to scrutinize DCR's absurd plans to cut 110 year-old oaks from the Brook Road or Wickett Pond section of Wendell State Forest. Many residents from Wendell and surrounding towns want the "forest as a living, wild and natural asset, not to be "managed" and turned into dead logs for the biomass and wood pellet industry" as stated in a recent petition. Also we take you to see this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to check out His Malignancy The Mad King and his evil enablers, but first it's time for..........Revenge of the Critters! More selfie obsessed humans off to that great photoshoot in the sky by critters who just wanted to be left alone.

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill hails from Texas, where common sense goes to die home on the range. Repugnican Rep. John Abney Culberson, who according to the Pacific Standard is "a classic climate skeptic. He's questioned the integrity of climate research, voted almost exclusively against environmentally friendly legislation, and, in 2013, the congressman introduced a measure to block the EPA from using a social cost of carbon measure in its cost-benefit analyses of environmental regulations." And it seems as of last month Culberson "voted in line with...Trump's position in 98.6% of the votes" so now we really know he is......a fool!

If we're going to follow Rachel Maddow's advice "Watch what he does, not what he says" then it makes sense to bring up the image of Melania nudging His Malignancy to place his hand on his heart during the National Anthem rather than listen to The Mad King blather on about how Americans should be forced to perform those public rituals. Even for a pathological narcissistic liar, His Malignancy has been especially active this past month torturing reality but now even some of his enablers can no longer see the Emperor's new clothes? (sorry about that image). Of course, the Mad King's Dark Prince over at the EPA is still onboard and nearly as toxic to stuff like truthfulness or ethical behavior.  As an example, Truthout tells us: "Trump's EPA is moving to shake the foundations of protections for American drinking water supplies from contamination by oil and gas waste, opening the doors for the industry to sell its wastewater as a product instead of paying for its disposal." Great moments in rebranding! Not enough sleeze for you? Send for a corrupt Cardinal from Central Casting to assist The Dark Prince in trashing "God's Creation".

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber the Guardian informs us "The world’s 7.6 billion people represent just 0.01% of all living things, according to [a new] study. Yet since the dawn of civilization, humanity has caused the loss of 83% of all wild mammals and half of plants..." We've touched on this Sixth Mass Extinction during the show over the past few years but now researchers calculated global biomass estimates using data from hundreds of existing studies. But we have some good news! Earth Justice tells us Hawaii is the first state in the Union to ban the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos, which is better than nothing, right? It's not like they don't have their hands full in the midst of volcanic eruptions. 

After our conversation about DCR's proposed assault on Wendell State Forest we go to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Friday June 8, 9:30am. Walk the Talk on Climate. On Thursday June 7, Boston Mayor Walsh will hold an International Mayors Climate Summit. The following day, on June 8th, he will kick off the US Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting. Join the rally Friday morning to call on Mayor Walsh and all US mayors to turn their climate promises into climate action! They must 'walk the talk' on climate. Call 617-971-8568 with any questions.

Wednesday Jun 20, 6-8 pm. 350 Mass Node Meeting, Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church, 175 Wendell Ave, Pittsfield, MA.

Monday, June 25, 7:00 - 9:00pm. Climate Action Now Monthly Gathering. pin First Churches of Northampton, Massachusetts, 129 Main St, Northampton, MA. Go to: https://climateactionnowma.org/ 

OK, that's all for now. Remember to listen your Mother, OK?