A Riverkeepers Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. You may recall past shows where we dove deep into matters of the Connecticut River, often with enviro journalist, Karl Meyer? This time we'll be hosting John Lipscomb of Riverkeeper Patrol and George Jackman, Senior Habitat Restoration Manager at Riverkeeper. As usual, we'll also bring you along to witness this week's Fool-on-the-Hill do his or her worst down in DC and try some Abiden' with Biden, asa well as a reminder "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" but first it's time for..........Revenge of the Critters! Not sure how this one has escaped us but Tawney Crazy Ants down south are attacking smart phones and other electronics!

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) who actually goes way, way beyond foolish all the way to seditious and aiding and abetting domestic terrorism but we don't want this gun-totin' cowgirl to go by unnoticed on the show on a mere technicality. Some of Boebert's own colleagues back on the Front Range don't take kindly to her, having sent an open letter to Boebert....demanding [she] resign. "The events of January 6th 2021, which you incited and directly encouraged, were a blatant assault on our country," the letter reads. "Your role in [the] violent failed coup makes you unworthy, and undeserving of the honor of representing Colorado in Congress." Of course, foolishly Boebert doubled down protesting not being allowed to enter the House chamber packing, that in the wake of targeting Speaker Pelosi during the siege and encouraging the domestic terrorists outside. Does anyone know why she's still even there??

We are Abiden' with Biden now and pretty much OK with his administration's efforts at confronting the pandemic, unlike the total lack of effort on the part of the Repugs. In fact, some of those guys act like ambassadors for the virus.  The COVID Relief bill itself, which the Prez supported and promoted, was historic according to economist Paul Krugman.  And......SURPRISE! Not a single Repug voted for it because, remember, they are working for the virus and against the planet and most of those who live on it. On the other hand, President Biden wants to "move fast" on the Climate Crisis.  Remember, President Biden issued an executive order, calling for conservation of 30 percent of US lands and waters by 2030? He just had his EPA restore the climate change page the Mad King had deleted. More to come.....we trust.

In the midst of COVIDaze, crazed Repugs trying to destroy the Constitution, government and the planet, and keeping up with the latest in Washington we would do well to remember......."It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!"  In case you know someone[s] who doesn't think so maybe you should show them this: "The Amazon rainforest is most likely now a net contributor to warming of the planet, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis from more than 30 scientists." Meanwhile, up North we find headlines like this: "Boreal forest being driven to tipping point by climate change, study finds."  Soooo, here we are stuck in the middle with you. What to do!  Redouble our efforts at saving more land would help. We bet you can think of other things! 

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week is spot on for this show:

"I always saw pollution as theft, and I always thought, 'Why should somebody be able to pollute the air, which belongs to all of us, or destroy a river or a waterway, which is supposed to belong to the whole community?'     - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

On to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Thursday, April 1, 1:30pm. Join League of Conservation Voters Board Member and former Representative Donna Edwards for a conversation with newly confirmed Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and LCV Vice President of Government Affairs Sara Chieffo. They'll discuss strategy for a bold economic recovery legislation, supporting clean energy, building a more just society by creating a new sector of clean energy jobs, good paying union jobs, and advancing environmental justice.  Go HERE.  

Monday April 5 & Tuesday April 6, 7pm.  Transforming Crisis. A semester-long series partnership between University of Massachusetts School of Earth & Sustainability (SES) , the Fine Arts Center (FAC), and the Master of Fine Arts for Poets and Writers (MFA) is devoted to illuminating ecological crises and addressing climate injustice .  Go to:  https://www.umass.edu/ses/event/transforming-crisis-art-science-activism   

Tuesday April 6, 6:30 to 7:30pm.  While trout live in streams, you will learn how much they rely on the forested land around them to sustain healthy populations. Vermont Coverts hosts Jacob Fetterman (Project Coordinator, Trout Unlimited) and Katy Crumley (District Manager, Bennington County Conservation District) who will share about the importance of forests for fish, specifically streamside forests for trout, and their landowner outreach efforts to improve habitat. Katy will concentrate on the role of native vegetation on streambanks and her work with landowners to make plantings possible. Jacob will focus on the in-stream benefits of streamside vegetation, which ultimately contributes to the quality of the habitat in the stream. After we will have time for you to ask the experts your forest/fish related questions!  Register here.  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. 

Wednesday, April 7, 5:30pm.  Coyotes of the Northeast.  As one of the few predators still present and successful in the Northeastern landscape, coyotes are an important feature of local and native ecosystems. Chris Schadler, a researcher and advocate for coyotes, will present on the population dynamics of coyotes, their past and present range, and their behavior, habits, and group dynamics. Interspersed with personal stories and a good dose of humor, this is a presentation every wildlife lover will enjoy! Co-hosted with NH Wildlife Coalition. This event will occur online through Zoom Webinar. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../reg.../WN_CwC63W_8Sk6C3KkdeUomYw

Thursday, April 8, 5pm.  The Climate Emergency: Identifying Leverages of Power. This workshop will describe the overall scope of the climate crisis and why it is so crucial to recognize where things stand right now. From there, we will go into the varied and numerous ways where people can influence decisions on the kinds of projects and campaigns that will get us closer to zero emissions before it is too late. Participants will leave this class understanding how to communicate the urgency of the climate crisis to their communities and will have a framework for knowing how to identify where they can make a practical impact from whatever level of awareness and influence they possess. FREE! Register here: https://truthschool.org/.../the-climate-emergency.../ 

Thursday April 8, 7 to 8:30pm.  WMass Extinction Rebellion general meeting. Here's a registration link:https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAvc-qsqDIsEtWVHoKeEbVTGgEuww8sQnaA

  

Saturday April 10, 9 to 11am. The Wonder of Vernal Pools. Join us outdoors for this Learning with the Land event as we visit a vernal pool to look for signs of breeding by amphibians and invertebrates that are specially adapted to the unique conditions of these seasonal wetlands.  Distinguished biology professor Steve Tilley will help you explore the fascinating life cycles that take place in these unique spring features of  our forests at MacLeish Field Station in Whately.  Go to: https://www.kestreltrust.org/calendar/the-wonders-of-vernal-pools/ 

That's all folks! But do remember to........LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER! 

The Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. As you may recall, we've covered the inland pine barrens in the Commonwealth on this show several times in the past. This time we head out to the gateway of Cape Cod, the Town of Wareham in Plymouth County, Massachusetts which is home to the rare habitat of the Atlantic Coast Pine Barrens. We guess, given the challenges faced by our inland pine barrens, that the coastal barrens are threatened as well? Yes, but while government and the academy is mostly the cause of problems here in the hinterlands, commercial development seems to be the big problem out by the coast.  Meg Sheehan returns once again to the show on her work at Community Land and Water Coalition  and this time is accompanied by Frank Mand, Vice President of Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance; Kathy Pappalardo of the Wareham Land Trust; and Geoffrey Day, Executive Director of the Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition all of whom are defending the Barrens and its critters from The Machine. [UPDATE: checkout our Facebook page for video on this] As always, we will also bring you along to see this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to do some Decidin' with Biden (wait, how about Abidin' with Biden?) and to remind those who need reminding that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" but first it's time for.........Revenge of the Critters!  Another listener suggestion: "Man killed by his own rooster during cock fight" ? 

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman, Senator Joe Manchin who, it is said: "..is strongly committed to developing a balanced national energy plan that utilizes all of our resources. He believes that a balanced, commonsense approach that considers the needs of our environment and the demands of our economy can and must be developed if we are to achieve energy independence and address the challenges of our changing climate." We guess by "all of our resources" the hack who wrote that is talking about coal, given Joe is the Ol' King Coal of the U.S. Senate? We sure fracked gas, oil & nukes fit in there as well though. "Changing climate" is an interesting term too. Manchin also was one of the few Dems who voted against the $15 minimum wage. 

It seems President Biden did some decidin' about Michael S. Regan, the President's choice for Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Regan is African-American so naturally his Senate confirmation isn't coming up any time soon while the party of white supremacy looks for reasons to reject him. The good news is Regan said in the past, "“I don’t see a future in wood pellets,” in 2019 while he was serving as head of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality. “The big thing Michael Regan did here [in North Carolina] was to specifically reject wood pellets and biomass as a pathway for the state’s clean energy future,” Danna Smith, executive director of the North Carolina-based Dogwood Alliance, notes. “He questioned the carbon neutrality, found it to be suspect and said that it should be challenged at the international level. That was a pretty strong statement coming out of a state where the wood pellet industry is ground zero and expanding rapidly." [UPDATE: Reagan is confirmed!] Our friends at Grist are keeping tabs on the Prez and climate issues with this ongoing effort, The First 100.

It's time now to remind those who haven't been paying attention that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!"  Longtime listeners may recall past shows when we talked about climate chaos effects on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or the more folksy term the "Atlantic conveyor belt" that pushes warmer water from the south up our way and folds under colder Arctic water back toward the south. Sad to say, the conveyor belt's in trouble, it's "now moving more slowly than it has in at least 1,600 years. That's the conclusion of a new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience from some of the world's leading experts in this field." And this: Bill McKibben and Elizabeth Kolbert have both been taking another look at atmospheric hacking, classic treat the symptom not the illness geoengineering of our climate. Rather than create more problems by playing at Sky God pumping chemicals skyward, McKibben points out "...if we want to, as a civilization, we can devote the next decade to an all-out effort to transform our energy system. And the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said that, if we do—if we cut our emissions forty-five per cent from 2010 levels by 2030—then we have a shot at limiting the temperature rise to the 1.5-degrees-Celsius target set in the Paris accord." Sounds like a plan! 

OK, after speaking with our guests we head over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Thursday, March 25, 7:00-8:00pm.  Local Energy Solutions. Episode 1 will lead with a video excerpt from a Naomi Klein speech, followed by panel presentations and a round of questions. In her speech, from a 2014 climate conference, Klein explains how little government has achieved in 30 years due to ideological privatization, deregulation, austerity, and free trade. Register HERE.  

Tuesday, March 30, 8-9am.  At our March Sustainable Concord Coffee, Sharon McGregor will explain how Net Zero will get us only so far along the path to climate stabilization. A commitment to achieving Net Carbon Sink, which incorporates and fine-tunes Net Zero as an interim milestone, is necessary to take us the rest of the way in the attainment of both nature and climate renewal… Click here for further information, and to register.

Tuesday, March 30, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Climate Action Now - Soil Health and Carbon Sequestration Series:  Beyond Stopping Emissions: How Healthy Soil and Plants Can Help Restore Climate Balance. Maintaining living plant cover is one of the essential practices of building soil health. This talk will provide practical guidance on using cover crops in a small-scale, non-mechanized, no-till context to improve soil health both for growing more nutritious food and for sequestering atmospheric carbon into the soil to help heal climate change. Register HERE. 

That's all folks but please remember to listen to your Mother, OK?