Yet Another Ides of March Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. We're coming up on the Ides of March once again and you know that doesn't bode well for certain autocrats, right? We hope His Malignancy The Mad King's luck is running out on him and do not wish him well. That said, our collective luck doesn't look so good either; Guy Macpherson returns to the show through the magic of recording technology to tell us why. If you hear reference to Halloween during the interview do not be concerned, think of it as another show back from the grave. Also, as with the past few shows, if you want to access your favorite segments you'll have to do it on The Enviro Show blog starring you in the face as we speak. When Glen returns from his Electrified Two Dog Road Trip we will resume the show as usual. All that and more, but first it's time for.........Revenge of the Critters! Do Not pet the wild critters, OK? 

Given our focus here, how about we go directly to His Malignancy....but where to start? Yes, he's the anti-gift that keeps on giving and now the title we chose for him has never been more apt. But, Corona Virus and his cluelessness aside, there are numerous other plagues The Mad King has brought us. One vector is Mandy Gunasekara. His Malignancy's Environmental "Protection" Agency  is poised to bring back this former official whose take on climate change includes advocating U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords, supporting the fossil fools industry and trashing renewable energy initiatives.What could possibly go wrong! Also His Malignancy has tapped Nancy B. Beck, a former chemical industry executive, to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission? What's wrong in THAT picture! And this from the NY Times: "An official at the Interior Department embarked on a campaign that has inserted misleading language about climate change — including debunked claims that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is beneficial — into the agency’s scientific reports." The boss is no doubt pleased. On the upside the Center for Biological Diversity sued the administration recently for failing to decide whether 241 plants and animals across the country should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. The suit is one of the largest of its kind ever filed under the Act and hopes to reverse years of blatant disregard for wildlife laws by TheMad King and his enablers.

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Rep. Thomas Massie (Repugnican -KY) Massie reportedly said in 2018 that "Climate change may not be due to humans… What is the cause and effect?" We guess he missed the memo? 

Time to remind those of us who haven't been paying attention that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" The erratic weather we've been having this winter begs the question: Will future East Coast Winters be freezing or balmy? to which we can only say...yes!  Moving on, we have a lot of farmers in this Valley and we want to let them know about Agriculture Resilience Act  being promoted in DC as well as  MA State Senator Jo Comerford's S.438 An Act to promote healthy soils and agricultural innovation within the Commonwealth .We know we talk a lot about protecting and preserving forests and forest soils on this show but it's also critically important farming practices are climate friendly as well.  Remember The Enviro Show Blog Action link? It's baaaack!

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week: 
"A quarter of the entire amount of carbon that goes into the atmosphere globally is absorbed by Earth's vegetation, so protecting and possibly increasing the amount of carbon stored in forests could have significant benefits, such as mitigating climate change and preserving biodiversity and water quality." - NASA

Think of that the next time someone tells you it's OK for commercial logging in our public forests. And now........this.

Here's the Bus Stop Billboard for the next few weeks:

Monday, March 23, 7 – 8:30pm.  Climate Action Now! Monthly Gathering. 

--> You are warmly invited to join Climate Action Now for a Virtual Gathering. We will use Zoom to create a space designed to uplift our spirits & keep us connected through small group conversation & a surprise guest speaker. Instructions for using zoom & pre-meeting tech help will be available. More info coming soon...Go to: http://climateactionnowma.org/  

Saturday, March 28, 9am to 2pm. Traprock will mark the 40th anniversary of Women and Life on Earth: a conference on eco-feminism in the 1980's with a meeting in the Greenfield Community College Dining Commons. The Women and Life on Earth conference in March 1980 brought together 600 women from the northeastern U.S.  for a weekend on connections around women, peace and ecology. Now, at a critical time for life on earth, we gather to honor and encourage multigenerational action. This event will bring together activists and groups from Springfield, MA to Brattleboro, VT, to share goals and plans for 2020 and beyond. Please join us!  Contact:  info@wloe.org

 

Sunday April 5,  4-6 pm. Extinction Rebellion WMass general meeting will continue to work together via email, Zoom, and calls. At this time, we are planning to have our April General Meeting via Zoom (a free video conference platform). If you need assistance figuring out how to use Zoom, please reply to this email and we will assist you. This next period will give us a chance to build the community partnerships we have begun to forge, to form collaborations and alliances across our region, to delve more deeply into the work we are developing together, and to mobilize around the reality that this pandemic is woven into the fabric of the climate crisis and of XR.   Click to join, or call in at 646-876-9923, meeting ID 556 388 985.


April 22 at 3 p.m. there will be a climate march from the Brattleboro town common to the corner of Elliot and Main streets. One of the groups that's organizing the march has a web site at www.350Vermont.org   

Saturday, May 9, 1 – 3pm. Endangered Species Parade! Pulaski Park Northampton, MA.  

Join Extinction Rebellion WMass May 9 from 1:00-3:00 (rain date May 10) in Northampton, MA as we gather in honor of all species affected by our climate crisis.  Parade with lovingly created animal puppets, masks, costumes, headdresses, etc. Dance, march, in roars or in silence, melody and dissonance: A non speech, non violent Animal Uprising. We are offering animal puppet and mask workshops. Look for workshop dates throughout March and April. Go to: https://www.facebook.com/pg/XRwmass 

That's all for now. PLEASE remember to listen to your Mother, OK?