Greetings Earthlings. We guess in the era of His Malignancy The Mad King it's hard to scare many people these days, all the horrors on the daily news have so desensitized us. The Good Green Witch doesn't do scary anyway and she'll join us to tell you why. Also, Guy McPherson returns with a call in that might actually scare you. As always, we'll take you to witness His Malignancy and his enablers at work in their chamber of horrors, as well as our Fool-on-the-Hill where other scary things are lurking. Meanwhile, over at The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we've decorated the walls with some of the most frightening things we could find, but first it's time for..........Revenge of the Critters! You'll have to climb into the Wayback Machine and take a long trip for this disturbing story but given the season and all, why not go for it!
Our Halloween Fool-on-the-Hill is the Bad Witch from the North, Senator Susan Collins who fell body and soul into the Dark Side when she voted to seat what for all intents and purposes appears to be a drunken predator fratboy on the Supreme Court of the United States. She threw a virtual bucket of ice water on all women and a lot of men in this nation BUT she's the one who will cry out, "I'm melting! What a world, what a world!" when she's up for reelection in Maine.
On to His Malignancy The Mad King who just stated: "I have a natural instinct for science" [insert laugh track]. The Inteligencer went on to point out he "asserted that, contrary to the scientific conclusion that pumping heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere has caused an upward ratcheting of temperatures, he sees it as random unexplainable variation.." We guess it's no longer a scam from China? Wait! Last week The Mad King "suggested that the world's climate might actually be 'fabulous' " Huh? And this: His Malignancy and his "emergency management" types have dropped the ball once again, this time with Mega-Hurricane Michael's devastation on the Florida panhandle. Also, given how much His Malignancy's choice for the Supreme Court has lied before Congress we guess you won't be too surprised to learn he lied about his environmental rulings as well? And speaking of the SCOTUS theft there's some court intrigue concerning what ever went down to get Justice Kennedy to bail so the fratboy could be foisted upon us. Finally, the Mad King's State Department just published another hastily-produced draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement that concludes the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would produce only "minor" impacts to land, water, endangered species and Native American sacred sites in Nebraska. Make your voices heard HERE. Finally, His Malignancy's fellow climate criminal, Lyin' Ryan Zinke over at Interior is entertaining the idea of using our military bases to.....are you ready? EXPORT COAL and FRACKED GAS!
We have Breaking News! The14-year old (yes, 14 years!) Taylor Energy oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is about to become one of the worst oil disasters in U.S. history. The Washington Post notes: "Between 300 and 700 barrels of oil per day have been spewing from a site 12 miles off the Louisiana coast since 2004, when an oil-production platform owned by Taylor Energy sank in a mudslide triggered by Hurricane Ivan. Many of the wells have not been capped, and federal officials estimate that the spill could continue through this century. With no fix in sight..."
In our Enviro Show Echo Chamber of Horrors we find unsettling news from WAMC that forest soils are absorbing less methane than usual. If that's not disturbing enough for you how about bubbling pools in the Arctic? This gives new meaning to Shakespeare's witches chanting "Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble", yes? Remember those tacky old Japanese horror films with radioactive monsters? The monsters were always the result of dumped atomic waste. They're still working on that! In past shows we've discussed the shocking decline in insect populations. We guess it follows that there's also a corresponding decline in insect eating bird populations like Tree Swallows. And, since we're talking air bourn critters and we're coming up on Bat Week, how about our friends the bats? It seems the dreaded White Nose syndrome is working its way west but so are bat scientists studying it. Stay tuned: same bat channel! And another scare for everyone, this time from the Cape Downwinders: "the Oct. 9 NRC inspection report with highlights concluding corrective actions STILL have not been resolved. Entergy's operation of Pilgrim [nuke] remains in the "Multiple/Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone", the lowest NRC assessment matrix. Pilgrim is STILL the worst reactor in the U.S. and STILL one step from federally mandated shutdown." A real chiller for eastern MA.
After our visit with the Good Green Witch and Guy we move on to the Bus stop Billboard:
Saturday, November 3, 2pm.
to Sunday, November 4, 6pm. "Body is a Guest". Art from the Natural World by Denise Beaudet. Cottage Street Studios
1 Cottage Street Studio #436, Easthampton, MA. Call 413-570-5027
Wednesday November 7, 7pm. Northampton Community Preservation Committee to consider a proposal to employ glyphosate (the active ingredient in Monsanto's RoundUp) in an effort to eradicate a small stand of Japanese Knotweed a few feet away from the Community Garden plots. so please attend if you can! City Council Chambers, 212 Main St. in Northampton. Also, please send a comment to the Community Preservation Committee to oppose the use of glyphosate and to demand a more transparent process! Go HERE!
Wednesday, November 7, 7 – 8:30 pm. Acting Together in the Face of the Climate Crisis. Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 845 West St, Amherst, Massachusetts. Come join us and this panel of local grassroots organizers -- Jacqueline Velez, Susan Theberge, and Marty Nathan -- to hear about local environmental justice issues and the great work these three community leaders are doing. Registration appreciated: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/acting-together-in-the-face-of-the-climate-crisis-registration-51810186663
OK, remember now, if your out Trick or Treating be sure to wear black.....No, wait! That's wrong. Remember to......LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!
Greetings Earthlings. We're closing in on Election Day so it's time once again to see who are the best candidates to help keep this planet livable for future generations. Naturally, The Mad King's enablers are the worst possible choice but thankfully here in the Mid-Connecticut River Valley there aren't many of them. Jo Comerford, candidate for State Senator in our neck of the woods joins us in the first half hour to discuss the issues. After that we're off to meet that Mad King and his hangers-on, as well as this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and a trip over to our long lost E-Valley-uation segment, but first it's time for..........Revenge of the Critters! Down Under Eagles at war with gold diggers drones.....and they're winning!
Get ready with your hot air sickness bags listeners 'cuz The Mad King has been gassing off big time as he prepares for a "Major Weakening of Mercury Emissions Rules". According to the far from failing New York Times, "The proposal would not eliminate the mercury regulation entirely, but it is designed to put in place the legal justification for the...administration to weaken it and several other pollution rules, while setting the stage for a possible full repeal of the rule." But it's OK, remember His Malignancy says "...they’re taking out coal. They’re going to clean it". Who knew! On top of that outrage The Mad King's Bureau of Land Management issued a final rule trashing regulations mandating oil and gas companies drilling on public and tribal lands reduce methane pollution. This follows a recent proposal from His Malignancy's Environmental Protection Agency pushing back on similar rules for private lands." More methane in the atmosphere, what a concept! Pushback HERE! On another front The Mad King's Department of Transportation, run off the rails by evil Mitch McConnell's wife Elaine Chao, has repealed an Obama-era rule (of course!) that mandated upgrades for bomb trains to reduce the chances of derailments, spills or explosions of that unstable crude oil being shipped all over our rail lines. Those trains are running through much of the Northeast. Just sayin'! O, and speaking of speaking, that new deal with the old NAFTA? The word "climate" seems to have been omitted during the "art of the deal" and, surprise! it's a corporate giveaway for Big Oil & Gas. Remember "Toxic sludge is good for you"? How about radiation? Common Dreams informs us," The [Mad King's] EPA sent toxicologist Edward Calabrese, who has argued that loosening radiation regulations could have positive health effects on humans, as well as saving money for businesses that currently work to limit exposure, as its lead witness to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee." If you're thinking of heading down to The Belly of the Beast to protest any of this you should be aware His Malignancy and Lyin' Ryan Zinke are thinking of taxing you for all that "free speech". Finally, His Malignancy's drunken predatory fratboy Supreme Court Justice is off to a bad start as the Climate Crisis induced typhoon grinds into the southern U.S.
Our latest Fool-on-the-Hill seems to be every Repugnican on The House Natural Resources Committee. The Hill news guys tell us they advanced five Endangered Species Act bills that "aim to strip all protections for Gray Wolves in the contiguous United States; give priority to the science submitted by state and local governments over the federal government’s when determining whether a species needs protection; and let the administration more easily de-prioritize certain petitions for protection." Of course Utah's own Rob Bishop heads that committee but why should we let him take all the discredit!
Did someone say endangered species? In our E-Valley-uation segment Karl Meyer continues to raise the alarm about all the extermination of critters in the Connecticut River. Go to his blog for some in-depth views into the troubled river that runs through this Valley. And on the subject of Vote for the Planet, Inside Climate News notes "Some of the most consequential elections for climate policy this fall could be the 36 governor's races, where a blue wave could position clean energy advocates as a significant counterforce against the Trump administration's fossil fuel agenda." That includes right here in the Commonwealth where Repugnican Gov. Baker leaves much to be desired. We're still waiting to hear from his challenger, Jay Gonzalez regarding dirty biomass and our state forests, especially the Wendell State Forest presently threatened by the MA Dept. of Cut & Run! Have you signed this petition yet? Please do! O wait! Did someone say dirty biomass? Palmer "Renewable" Energy just announced they going for that dirty biomass incinerator in Springfield.
We have Breaking News! NPR (National Public Relations?) informs us that the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change "says pledges from the world's governments to reduce greenhouse gases, made in Paris in 2015, aren't enough to keep global warming from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees F) above pre-industrial temperatures." Of course, His Malignancy has pulled us out of that pledge in the spirit of "American exceptionalism" we gather. The announcement goes on to say, "Some of the world's top climate scientists have concluded that global warming is likely to reach dangerous levels unless new technologies are developed to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere." Wait, don't trees and soil do that?
After all of that we head over to the Bus Stop Billboard:
Saturdays, 11am to Noon. Stand Out Against Logging the Wendell State Forest! This logging project cannot be justified for ecological or forest health purposes, and has minimal if any financial benefits for the public. Freight House Antiques, 11 East Main St./Route 2, Erving, MA. Go to: savemassforests.com
Thursday, October 18, 6 to 8pm. "Saving Massachusetts Forests for Climate, Nature, and People"
Mohawk Trail Regional High School, Rt. 112, Buckland, MA. Massachusetts forests are vital in storing carbon to fight climate change, providing critical habitat for native plants and wildlife, preserving historic and sacred sites, and offering opportunities for nature-based recreation. Yet, almost all of our forests are currently open to resource extraction, which is undermining these values. We need to take action now to protect our forests, before it is too late. Speaker Michael Kellett is cofounder and executive director of RESTORE: The North Woods, a Massachusetts-based conservation organization. Free and open to the public. Email: restore@restore.org
Monday October 22, 7 to 9pm. Keep it in the Ground. Climate Action Now MA hosts Jo Comerford and Dan Carey to discuss the Movement Voter Project and the Columbia Gas resistance Campaign at First Churches, of Northampton, 129 Main Street, Northampton, MA. Email: climateactionnowmass@gmail.com
Monday, October 27, 7 to 9pm. Climate Action Now Monthly Gathering. Please join us. Everyone is warmly welcomed! Feel the warmth of community and the strength of collective action as we move forward together at this critical moment in history. Accessible/on bus line, First Churches,Main St, Northampton, MA. Go to: http://climateactionnowma.org
Monday October 27 to November 4. Walking into the Future - Listening the Call of the Great Spirit. "We walk towards the year 2020 - a major marker in time. It marks 400 years since the landing of the Mayflower in Plymouth in 1620. We can begin to understand the reality of the foundation of this country. For information call Tim at 413-485-8469
Sunday, October 28, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Pollinator Symposium. Susan N. McLane Audubon Center, Concord, NH. Fee: $75 (Member) / $90 (Nonmember). This is a great opportunity for a full day of pollinator-related knowledge, with a range of topics that includes selecting native plant seeds, designing pollinator habitats, overwintering pollinators, and capturing and recording pollinator data
Cosponsor: New Hampshire Audubon and New England Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife. TOO FAR? Email wmassbees@gmail.com to arrange carpooling. Register HERE.
Monday October 29—#TheTrialOfTheCentury begins. Solidarity in Greenfield 4:00 p.m.—Theater Action on the Commons, 4:45 p.m. —Panel—Hawks & Reed—21 youth sue Uncle Sam for violating their right to life, liberty, and property and for failing to protect the public trust in this time of Climate Crisis. Featuring Bill Newman of the ACLU plus local youth & climate activists. Sponsored by Greening Greenfield
That's it for this time. Please remember to listen to your Mother when you're out there, OK?
