The Northeast Wilderness Trust Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. The Atumnal Equinox is upon us. First an important update from our last show HERE. Most of us are probably aware of Land Trusts and the good work they are supposed to do, yes?  Sadly, in the past year some land trusts here in the Commonwealth have engaged in some less than stellar behavior regarding forest protection especially when they came out publicly against H 897 An Act Relative to Forest Protection a good bill that went to Beacon Hill, the place where good bills go to die. Those land trusts must take partial responsibility for that loss to our public forests because the bill did not apply to their lands, only to protecting public forests. We are however happy to report that, speaking of good, there are still some good land trusts out there. Sophie Ehrhardt, Wildlands Partnership Coordinator for the Northeast Wilderness Trust joins us to talk about the good work they are doing to protect and preserve our forests. Of course, we will also be taking you along to see this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to witness that loser, His Malignancy The Mad King make a fool of himself and his enablers as they together plot to destroy the world. That, and another reminder "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" but first it's time for............Revenge of the Critters!  Pod of killer whales accused of 'orchestrated' attacks on boats! 

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Sen. Ron Johnson, Repugnican senator from Wisconsin who apparently endorsed violence against protesters while appearing on CNN, saying that “citizen soldiers” are needed to quash anti-racist protests across the country. His statement came just days after 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people in Kenosha. Johnson chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is investigating alleged corruption allegations against the intelligence community and Joe Biden's diplomatic efforts in Ukraine. In other words, he's chasing ghosts for political points. That should work what with Halloween coming up.

His Malignancy The Mad King and his creepy enablers have had a busy week making fools of themselves while actually making the nation unsafe for humans and other living things. When you hear His Malignancy say “Every day of my presidency, we will fight for a cleaner environment and a better quality of life for every one of our great citizens” do you want to stick your head out the window and scream "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"? What? You haven't adjusted to the post-truth post-reality post-decency Era of The Mad King?? Maybe you or your loved ones in the military haven't adjusted to having those lost in battle being called "suckers" and "losers"? Sorry, that's just His Malignancy! He who calls for logging precious old-growth forests in the Tongass , for totally ignoring the gigantic forest fires out west and then continuing to deny the Climate Crisis in the midst of those historic massive fires like some kind of "Climate Arsonist"; for the erosion of workers rights; for censorship of internet platforms; and even for hints he may not concede the election if he loses? You know what His Malignancy says: "It is what it is"! 

Enough. Let's move on and remind everyone yet again that "It's the Climate crisis, Stupid!"  Remember our friend Tom Neilson's song "Where Greenland Used to Be"? Well, recently "In northeast Greenland, an occurrence has raised alarm bells of climate change as a large chunk of ice in the Arctic has broken away. The chunk that is separated from Arctic's largest remaining ice shelf has a length of 11 sq kms and satellite images have shown that it is broken away into several small pieces."  That's about the size of Manhattan by the way and, while predicted all along, truly bad news for any oif you living near the shore. Had enough? The best way we can even begin to confront this and all the other threats to our climate and life on Earth is to rid the world of The Mad King. Vote him out as early as possible using the most secure method as possible, then prepare to defend your vote because His Malignancy will not go willingly. 

After our conversation with Sophie we take you to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, September 30, 6 – 7:30 PM. What Does the Earth Ask of Us? We are showered every day with the gifts of the Earth and yet we are tied to institutions which relentlessly ask, what more can we take? Drawing upon both scientific and Indigenous knowledges, this talk explores the covenant of reciprocity. How might we use the gifts and the responsibilities of human people in support of mutual thriving in a time of ecological crisis?  Go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/1059236051176025  

Thursday October 1, 7pm.  The Feds War on Wildlife Webinar. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's misleadingly named Wildlife Services program kills more than a million wild animals every year, typically at the request of Big Ag. Scattering public lands with cruel traps and indiscriminate poisons, the program targets carnivores like coyotes, bears, beavers, otters and foxes. Even rare species like grizzlies and wolves are caught in the crosshairs.  The hour-long webinar starts at 4 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. ET. Register here and check your email for the link to join. 

Friday October 2, 2 to 3:30pm.  An online rally in solidarity with frontline tar sands fighters across Turtle Island. During the rally, we’ll live stream from actions happening outside the headquarters of the corporations bankrolling the pipelines.In between the actions, you’ll hear from Indigenous frontline leaders, including Tara Houska of the Giniw Collective, Kanahus Manuel of the Tiny House Warriors and Jasilyn Charger with Earth Guardians. Go to: https://stopthemoneypipeline.com/tar-sands/ 

Tuesday October 6,  5pm. The Perfect Storm Webinar. US forests play a critical role by storing massive amounts of carbon and protecting communities from storms, droughts, and climate havoc. The climate movement often misunderstands the role of forest protection in climate policy, though, driven by misleading industry narratives that promote more logging and fail to keep our forests standing. Go here: https://www.dogwoodalliance.org/perfect-storm-10062020/  

Tuesday October 6, 7pm. The Magic and the Mysteries of Climate, Soil, Plants and Trees, with Kate O'Connor . This event is the second in a new series of presentations entitled "Beyond Stopping Emissions: How Healthy Soil & Plants Can Restore Climate Balance".  Go HERE.   More info:  http://climateactionnowma.org/forest-protection/

Wednesday October 7, 7pm.   The second Zoom talk in the Farms, Forests & Food Systems Soil Speaker Series: The Magic & the Mysteries of Climate, Soil, Plants & Trees. How soil and plants help create our amazing climate and how we can help them restore it.  Register in advance for this meeting
here: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../tZwtfuqrqz8tH9Qkc89l25Q You will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. 

Saturday October 17, 1pm.  "The World Burns as "The Globe" Turns".  The Boston Globe has been dangerously negligent in its failure to adequately cover the climate and ecological crisis. On October 17, from 1-3 PM we will rally to demand the Globe provide thorough and accurate coverage of the Climate Crisis. We will assemble at Faneuil Hall at 1:00 PM, then march to the Globe office at 53 State St. This is a follow-up to our rally of April 2019 at the Globe; sadly, The Globe's coverage remains weak. Go to: https://xrmass.org/action/GlobeAction/

That's all folks BUT remember: listen to your Mother!

 

The Critical Role of Forests Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Surely by now, if you are a long time listener of this show, you are aware of the critical role of forests in protecting the climate and public health, yes?  We've been going on about it seemingly forever and now we are pleased to report that some in our state government may be listening. MA Energy and Environment Bureau Chief for the AG's office Melissa Hoffer joins us to talk about a virtual forum on the critical role of forests in protecting climate and public health coming up on September 15th.   We'll also bring you along to see this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and His Malignancy and the enablers who, as you know, are busy trashing what's left of government, the environment and the health and safety of your fellow citizens (even the ones who still support him!). All that and the Climate Crisis too but first it's time for..........Revenge of the Critters! Wild Boar snags laptop from nudist? 

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill goes totally plural given that all the Repugs on The Hill who had a hand in their recent low-ratings National Repugnicans Show (not their real mini convention) failed to mention........wait for it........THE CLIMATE CRISIS!  Grist points out: The event "dominated by veneration of [His Malignancy] and bleak warnings of the dangers of socialism, completely ignored the climate crisis, an omission that has disturbed some conservatives who warn the party risks being left behind by voters."

Speaking of His Malignancy and Green Day's chant, look who is using the "F" word for the present occupant of the White House, enviro super hero, Ralph Nader. Besides being a fascist His Malignancy is, of course, also a bullshit artist and now his lies about the present pandemic are documented. And this: The Mad King, in a speech at the American Farm Bureau convention stated: “I terminated one of the most ridiculous regulations of all.” His Malignancy was talking about the 2015 Clean Water Rule, which the Obama administration wrote to better enforce the Clean Water Act, one of our most essential and effective environmental laws. Remember when The Mad King's Council on Environmental Quality announced its final revision of the National Environmental Policy Act. (NEPA)?  Environmental groups soon promised legal challenges to the new rule and one lawsuit brought by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra suing the Trump administration was the 100th time in less than four years that AG had gone after His Malignancy. It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "see you in court" and that's just one state AG.

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we'd like to echo a recent New Yorker feature titled "The Sobbing Pangola - How a threatened animal may be linked to the pandemic's beginning"  Yes, we've been bringing this up show after show for months now but it never seems to....well, go viral?  Maybe people are just too busy tweeting or watching reruns on Netflix to sit down and read multiple paragraphs about exotic critters in far off lands? If that's the case for you, watch this short video!

As we noted at the outset, His Malignancy and all the enablers failed to utter the words Climate Crisis or even global warming during their failed Hate Show in August. We, however, are here to remind them......"It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" and if they don't believe us how about researchers at Columbia University in New York, Edinburgh University in Scotland, and Utrecht University in the Netherlands who found "massive [Antarctic] southern ice shelves split by climate-induced hydofracturing can collapse in hours—or even minutes—fueling dangerous sea level rise and coastal flooding.......More than 60% of the massive floating ice shelves extending from Antarctica could fracture and collapse with astonishing rapidity, a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature has found." Of course, all this was predicted for the future.....which seems to be now.

On to the bus stop billboard:

Wednesday September 16, join the Indigenous Legislative Agenda coalition for a virtual lobby day at 10am.  We will call for action on bills to change the state flag and seal, to ban Native mascots statewide, and to protect Native American heritage. The Flag and Seal bill passed the Senate unanimously in July -- now it's the House's turn!   

Saturday September 19, 2 to 4pm. Red Skies = Climate Emergency.  The West is on fire. The skies are ablaze in red. US cities are ranking worst in the world for air quality ratings. People are evacuating or confined indoors for safety. And as the forests go up in flames, destroying critical ecosystems, they also release carbon - creating a feedback loop of even more warming and fires.  Join Extinction Rebellion for a march from the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade up to the State House. We are calling on the state of Massachusetts to declare a formal climate emergency. We will be wearing masks and maintaining social distance. We encourage people to wear red and bring their own signs - though we will have some flags and signs for people to carry. Go to: https://xrmass.org/action/Red_Skies 

Thursday September 24, 7PM EDT.  A virtual Cary Science Conversation featuring disease ecologists  Rick Ostfeld & Felicia Keesing. In conversation with Cary President Joshua Ginsberg, they will explore the role of biodiversity in infectious disease spillovers. The pathogens that cause diseases like COVID-19, SARS, and Ebola originated in wildlife before making the jump to people. What causes zoonotic diseases to spill over? Are natural areas, and the biodiversity they hold, good or bad for our health? Can we manage animals to make the diseases they carry less likely to jump to people? These are among the questions that will be discussed.  Virtual, via Zoom, register at EventBrite 

Tuesday September 29, 7 to 8:30pm.  Climate Action Now Monthly Zoom 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 working for change for 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!  Meeting content, details and a link to register will be posted soon at : https://www.facebook.com/events/2681132252139472 

That's all folks BUT remember: listen to your Mother!