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
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?
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