Utah Repugnican Rep. Rob Bishop, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee is baaaaack this week, perhaps we should refer to him as the Bishop From Hell given his rampant climate denial and Enemy of the Earth qualifications. This time we find him harassing Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) for trying to help China clean up its act. Inside Climate News notes: "The Committee is concerned about the NRDC's role in aiding China's perception management efforts with respect to pollution control and its international standing on environmental issues in ways that may be detrimental to the United States," the lawmakers said in the letter, dated June 5. "The NRDC's relationship with China has many of the criteria identified by U.S. intelligence agencies and law enforcement as putting an entity at risk of being influenced or coerced by foreign interests." Say what? Are we talking about a bunch of do-gooder latte sipping enviros or the present occupants in the White House??
Speaking of! Let's see what His Malignancy The Mad King is up to this week. How about this headline from The Guardian: "Trump administration lifts ban on pesticides linked to declining bee numbers"? Here we are planting weeds all over our yards trying to help the pollinators survive and that freak in the Oval Office and his slimy enablers are ruining everything. We reported on this earlier when it was just a proposal, now we are living with it. Elsewhere, a tweet His Malignancy spewed out late Sunday about California’s wildfires will surely qualify as another one of the thousands of lies issuing from Fake News Central. According to the LA Times, "Trump blamed the fires on “bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amount of readily available water to be properly utilized.” He complained that water needed for firefighting is being “diverted into the Pacific Ocean.”
Sorry, but fire fighters say they have plenty of water, it's the climate chaos that His Malignancy and fellow Repugnicans deny that's the problem. And this: The Mad King's choice to fill that stolen seat on the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh has a horrendous history on environmental cases. He wrote the unanimous opinion finding environmental groups did not have standing to challenge an EPA decision not to tighten carbon monoxide standards and also on cases where he found that industrial groups have standing to oppose environmental restrictions. It seems Kavanaugh is a Scalia kind of guy in many cases and no friend of the Earth. How about His Malignancy's plans to open more than a million acres of public lands in central California to oil drilling and fracking.? The move would end a five-year moratorium on leasing federal public land in the state to oil companies — won largely by the Center for Biological Diversity and allies. The NY Times tells us The Mad King "is expected to propose rolling back regulations on emissions from coal plants on Tuesday. We looked at the role of the top air pollution official at the Environmental Protection Agency, who once represented the industries that would stand to benefit from the change." Finally, in the wake of Scott Pruitt's escape, Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is busy making matters worse in any number of ways. One is trashing the Clean Water Rules. You can comment HERE. Also, you can "fight to protect clean air standards" HERE.
Time for an Enviro Show Quote of the Week (and soon apropos!):
"Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth." - William Faulkner
In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber the New York Times tells us: "Globally, 2018 is shaping up to be the fourth-hottest year on record. (The hotter years were the three previous ones.)" SURPRISE! How about some good news from Common Dreams? The headline reads: "'Guilty on All Counts!': In Historic Victory, Monsanto Ordered to Pay $289 Million in Roundup Cancer Lawsuit".
After our conversation with Kate Albright-Hanna we move on to the Bus Stop Billboard:
Saturday September 8, 11am-5pm. WMass Pagan Pride Day at the Florence Civic Center,
Northampton MA. There is no admission fee to the event, however we ask that you bring a non-perishable food item for our food drive. You can come expecting to experience open ritual, musical entertainment, workshops and many vendors for a fun, family friendly community driven event. There will be some food for purchase on site, and there are a number of restaurants and cafes in the area. Go to: http://www.wmppd.com/
Saturday September 8th, 1pm. RISE for Climate, Jobs and Justice in Worcester, Institute Park Worcester, MA 01605 Go to: https://actionnetwork.org/events/rise-up-for-climate-jobs-and-justice-rally
September 8, Noon12:00pm. Boston RISE for Climate, Jobs, Justice: Rally at East Boston Memorial Park, Boston 02128. Host Contact Info: vignesh@betterfutureproject.org.
Saturday 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
Saturday September 15, All Day+. Ambush Wall Street. Go to: https://www.micahmwhite.com/ambushwallstreet
Thursday September 20, 7pm. CAN (Citizens Awareness Network) is organizing a High-level Nuclear Waste (HLNW) Tour in New England to address the abdication by the federal government and the nuclear industry to deal with HLNW stranded at nuclear sites throughout the country. We have a ‘mock’ high-level nuclear waste cask and are taking it on the road to show people what an estimated 1,000 shipments through New England could look like. The tour will bring speakers from across the country to discuss the issues of nuclear waste, federal policy, environmental justice and direct action. Hawks and Reed, 289 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, NUCLEAR BLUES withThe Wildcat O’Halloran Band, “Downtown” Bob Stannard & Court Dorsey as “Will Nukem”, and other speakers. More info: http://nukebusters.org/
Thursday September 27, 7pm. - A fall speakers’ series “Massachusetts Forests: A 21st Century Vision” ‘presents Call Of The Forest – The Forgotten Wisdom Of Trees’ is a documentary featuring scientist and acclaimed author Diana Beresford-Kroeger. The film follows Diana as she investigates our profound biological and spiritual connection to forests. Her global journey explores the science, folklore, and restoration challenges of this essential eco-system. Mohawk Trail Regional High School auditorium, Route 112 Buckland, MA.
That is all for now. We won't be back 'til sometime in September, until then remember to listen to your Mother, OK?
