Another Carbon Capture Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. You may have run across more than a few stories from Corporate America about the wonders of industrial carbon capture even though none of it seems to work or is still on the drawing board. Hey, how about carbon capture that actually does work! You know, things like oceans, intact prairies and wetlands, regenerative farming and gardening, forests and yes, the trees in your neighborhood. Michael Kellett of Restore the North Woods returns to the show to help us catch the latest on carbon capture. As usual, we will also bring you along to meet this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to checkout our new Charlie Baker Good Riddance Countdown Timer, as well as a reminder to the Gov and whomever "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!". That and more but first it's time for........Revenge of the Critters!"  Is it really wise to imprison a highly deadly African Pit Viper as a pet? We don't think so!

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Repugnican Chip Roy from Texas who apparently is fool enough to believe everything he sees on Twitter. Recently he convinced himself Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had fled to the States in fear of a group of truck drivers who are protesting vaccine mandates. Rather than do a bit of double checking, Chip forged ahead with classic far-right trolling like “Is there a more gutless and cowardly display than a tyrant on the run?” A day later, he posted: “If Justin Trudeau is hiding in the United States, we should return him to Canada and make him face his own people immediately.” Trudeau never left home, whereas Chip spiraled off into the Qmosphere 😉

 We bet Chip Roy is welded to his party line when it comes to climate chaos but we can't stop reminding them......."It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!"  And with that, how about this: "Marine scientists have discovered deep sinkholes -- one larger than a city block of six-story buildings -- and ice-filled hills that have formed "extraordinarily" rapidly on a remote part of the Arctic seafloor."  We've talked about sink holes opening up in the permafrost up north numerous times in the past but sink holes in the bottom of the Arctic?? Also, somebody tell Joe Manchin his f'ing coal mines are emitting more "super polluting methane than venting & flaring from gas & oil wells"! According to a study in Global Energy Monitor, "Coal mining emits 52 million metric tons of methane per year, more than is emitted from either the oil sector, which emits 39 million tons, or the gas industry, which emits 45 million tons, according to the report.." How about some potential good news?  "Scientists have discovered a new and tiny marine predator which is capable of naturally sequestering carbon. They say the single-celled microbe could be "a secret weapon in the battle against climate change" as oceans get warmer and more acidic. According to the team at the University of Technology Sydney, in Australia, the critter could be cultivated to help offset carbon emissions." Chances are good the microbe in this finding isn't "new", only new to us suicidal humans but we'll take help from anyone no matter how small! 

Time for our new improved Charlie Baker Good Riddance Countdown Timer!

      

Glen will have something to say about this, for sure. In fact, some ears must still be burning from his recent tirade during a DOER Zoom hearing on dirty biomass. Stay tuned!😏

How about an Enviro Show Quote of the Week? 

"I think it is quite responsible to support robust research into whether or not it might in the future become possible to safely capture and sequester CO2 from coal plants. But we should not delude ourselves about the likelihood that that´s going to occur in the near term or even in the mid term. It is extremely expensive. There is not a single large scale demonstration plant anywhere in the US. The research is one thing. We must avoid becoming vulnerable to the illusion that this is near at hand. It is not." 

                                                                      - Al Gore 

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we find this eye opening quote that deals directly with the theme of this show: "With his climate agenda stalled in Congress, President Joe Biden has managed to win billions in federal spending for one pillar of his platform that is gaining increased attention globally: carbon capture. In a major win for oil, coal, utilities and other industries, the federal government is poised to make its largest investment ever—more than $12 billion from last year’s infrastructure bill—in technologies that capture carbon dioxide from smokestack emissions or straight from the air."  We'll ask our guest about his thoughts on that one. 

In our conversation with Michael about the effort to get H.912 & H.1002 passed on Beacon Hill the subject of funding came up. With that in mind please go to  https://www.restore.org/donate    and help support their critical work saving forests in the Commonwealth, OK? Thanks. Now,  it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard: 

 

 

Wednesday April 20, 7-8:30pm. "Native Plants for your Garden" with Uli Lorimer
Director of Horticulture at Native Plant Trust. Please join Uli Lorimer, Native Plant Trust’s Director of Horticulture, for a presentation highlighting our region’s spectacular plant diversity and varied habitats. With so much under threat from a changing climate, invasive species, habitat loss and fragmentation, and declining numbers of birds and insects, planting natives in your garden is one step we can each take to make a difference. Register here! 

 

Thursday April 21, 7pm. "A Liveable Commonwealth: Trees as a Public Good" A Zoom forum with Representative of the Wampanoag Nation Darius Coombs; Bob Leverett, co-founder of the Native Tree Society, the co-founder and President of   Friends of Mohawk Trail State Forest, a senior advisor to American Forests on the Champion Tree Program, co-founder of the Champion Tree Certification Cadre, and Chair of the Massachusetts DCR Forest Reserves Science Advisory ; Yvonne Lalyre, Friends of Melnea Cass Boulevard; Marc R Welch, Deputy Commissioner City of Forester, City of Newton Parks, Recreation & Culture and Quinton Zondervan, Cambridge City Councilor. This online forum will educate people about (1) the community services and climate mitigation that mature trees provide and (2) how to strengthen legal protections for urban and rural tree canopies. Like water and air, trees are public goods that must be protected because the loss of even a single tree impacts air quality, heat levels, and storm water drainage for half a city block. This is an environmental justice issue. Neighborhoods and towns with less wealth and more people of color have fewer trees and thus are “heat islands” with poorer air quality and more flooding, putting residents at greater risk for health and climate emergencies. Zoom link TBA. Contact:  climate@ourrevolutionma.com  

 

 

Earth Day, Friday, April 22, 3:30 pm Freedom From Fossil Fuels Tour to visit the various local institutions that collaborate with the fossil fuel industry. We will call out the financial, legal, and governmental powers most guilty, march, and dance in the streets à la discobedience style. That's right, get ready to dance for climate action! This is the beginning of XR Boston's 2022 "No New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure" campaign. RSVP here. 

 

 

Friday April 22 , 4:30-6pm.  Earth Day Celebration in Greenfield Energy Park! Miles Street (off Main), Greenfield, MA.Empower yourself to care for this planet and prepare for a green future! Land Acknowledgement David Brule of Nolumbeka Project; Morris Dancers: Wake Robin &Juggler Meadow; Music with Annie Hassett and more; Tree Planting with the Greenfield Tree Committee; Community Art Project; Tables & more. 

 

 

Friday April 22,  6:30pm. Vigil for Truth. Pulaski Park, NorthamptonAs we mark another Earth Day, we reckon with both what we've accomplished and what's left to be done. In a month including a rally, a dance mob, street actions, and educational events, this Vigil will hold a space for us to stand together in our truths: what we love about the world we share, what we worry about for our collective future, and what we dedicate our action to in the year to come. This will be a space for sharing and ritual, possibly with an appearance by the ethereal Red Brigade. Everyone who loves the world and wants to build a better one is welcome to join us! 

 

Saturday April 23, 10am to 4pm. Hadley Climate Day at the Hadley Senior Center and Hadley Public Library complex. Limited capacity. To register for the day, go to: tinyurl.com/hadleyclimateday.  For more information about the event and to submit pieces of art, up to four per person, send email to hadleyclimatechangecommittee@gmail.com.

 

Saturday April 23, 11:00 - 11:30am. Earth Day Flash Mob. We will take downtown Amherst by surprise by bursting into dance on the Common. Come join us! Whoever you are, you are part of this! We dance to celebrate Our Nature: the environment around us. We love it and we need it. We protect nature because it sustains us. And we dance to express Our Nature: the spirit within us. Our nature is generous and strong. Our nature is to learn, grow, and adapt. RSVP to sign up as a dancer – no experience necessary! Contact: • info.ma.pioneervalley@mothersoutfront.org

 

Saturday April 23, 12:00pm – 4:00pm. Springfield Eart Day Celebration. Lawn and parking lot of 227 Mill Street, Springfield, MA 01108. Join us for a fun afternoon and see the work Springfield is doing to build a just, sustainable, and cooperative economy and world ! Info HERE. 

 

Monday April 25, 7 to 8:30pm. Climate Action Now Monthly Meeting via Zoom. All welcome. Register in advance HERE.  

Tuesday April 26, 7-8:15pm. Massachusetts Pollinator Network Monthly Meeting. We will hear from guest presenters from the Metrowest Conservation Alliance's Native Pollinator Task Force about their exciting Ambassador Program and other projects they have been taking on! Register here!

 

Wednesday, April 27, 12:00pm. The Dangers of Cooking with Gas - and the Benefits of Induction Stoves. More and more research is showing that gas stoves are dangerous for homeowners and the planet. A recently released paper from Stanford University finds that "the climate and health impacts of natural gas stoves are greater than previously thought."  Register HERE.  

 

Saturday April 30, 8:30 to 11:30am. Community Tree Planting in Greenfield, MA. SAVE THE DATE! Please join us for our all-volunteer community tree planting on April 30th. We will plant about two dozen trees, with your help. Great family event and opportunity to meet new people and do something good for our City and our environment.  Meeting place TBA.  For updates go HERE. 
 

 

 OK, we are out of here but one last thing: Please listen to your Mother, yes?  

A Fasting for a Future Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Did you know "Six members of 350 Mass announced their intention to commence a hunger strike to demand an immediate transition to clean energy in Massachusetts, beginning with an end to the planned dirty oil/gas peaker facility in Peabody MA."? They are Fasting for a Future, part of a sustained effort to make that project go away and some of them will be joining us for this show. [ UPDATE: Interview HERE ]As always, we will also be bringing you along to meet our Fool-on-the-Hill and to remind anyone not paying attention that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!". That and more but first it's time for.........Revenge of the Critters! Hangin' with Hippos? Not a good idea!  They are wild animals, silly. 

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Old King Coal Sen. Joe Manchin who said at an energy conference in Texas recently that "I'm very reluctant to go down the path of electric vehicles... I'm old enough to remember standing in line in 1974 trying to buy gas—I remember those days. I don't want to have to be standing in line waiting for a battery for my vehicle, because we're now dependent on a foreign supply chain—mostly China." 😏 Somebody doesn't quite get it!

Time for our Charlie Baker Good Riddance Countdown Timer! 

 

 

 Senator Joe Manchin is just one of many who missed (or more likely disregards) the memo titled, "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" Our next show will be focusing on carbon capture but we can't resist commenting on a recent piece from Inside Climate News on the subject. The article states: "In a major win for oil, coal, utilities and other industries, the federal government is poised to make its largest investment ever—more than $12 billion from last year’s infrastructure bill—in technologies that capture carbon dioxide from smokestack emissions or straight from the air. ExxonMobil, Southern Company and other oil fossil fuel giants have promoted carbon capture and storage as a tool for cutting emissions for more than a decade, with little to show for it."  Exactly, the technology is in its infancy and largely unproven. On the other hand, natural carbon capture was pretty much blown off in the piece, prompting d.o. to fire off a comment on ICN's Facebook page, to whit: "The article gives short shrift to natural carbon capture Nature does for free 24/7/365. Truly protecting & preserving existing forests, bogs, wetlands, plains and oceans (all of which capture CO2 emissions among others) should be our A #1 priority."  Meanwhile, the Repugs are busy invoking the “major questions doctrine,” a seldom used judicial principle that in essence says, an issue is too big for any president to tackle without explicit direction from Congress. "In oral arguments before the Supreme Court West Virginia will argue on behalf of 20 states, with support from the coal industry, that the Environmental Protection Agency should be blocked from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants under the major questions doctrine."reports Inside Climate News. Sounds like all those state AGs want to kick the can down the road to ruin.

Anyway, speaking of presidents, we could be Abidin' with Biden if, as The Zero Hour tells us "There are a lot of ways that the Biden administration can take real action on emissions. Commercial heavy duty trucks alone are responsible for 24% of carbon emissions in this country. In fact, heavy trucks are regulated entirely separately from passenger vehicles—emission standards are much lower. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order that moves us in the right direction: “Strengthening American Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks". But until federal government agencies actually move on these goals and promotes electric trucks, this Order only pays lip service to a crisis that demands action." Here's an Action Link for you on that. Also this: The Prez banned oil and gas imports from Russia recently in one of the most far-reaching sanctions against the country after Putin sent troops to invade Ukraine. The move comes as gas prices soar and some in Congress hope to use the moment to push a clean energy agenda. We'll see how that turns out. Finally this from The Atlantic: "The White House unveiled a slew of policies aimed at overhauling the U.S. industrial sector in order to reduce its planet-warming carbon pollution. Many of the policies have bipartisan backing—they were authorized in last year’s infrastructure bill. These policies are a big deal because they could help solve one of decarbonization’s thorniest problems: how to make steel, concrete, chemicals, and other major industrial products in a zero-carbon way."

 In The Enviro Show Echo Camber the World Wildlife Fund informs us, "Countries from around the world took a major step toward ending plastic waste. The United Nations Environment Assembly unanimously agreed to develop a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution, taking one of the world’s most ambitious environmental actions since the 1989 Montreal Protocol, which effectively phased out ozone-depleting substances." OK, "steps" are good, now how about enacting it! And this from the Sierra Club: Last week  "the Environmental Protection Agency heard testimony on one of the most important public health standards of our time: regulating hazardous air pollution from power plants. Many Sierra Club supporters and allies testified that they support the EPA’s proposal to restore the legal finding that this regulation is 'appropriate and necessary.' "  Add your voice HERE.   And finally this:  Why is The Nature Conservancy afraid of controversy?  They held a real lovefest on Zoom, " A Special Conversation with MA/EEA Secretary Katie Theoharides"  (who dares to refer to herself as "Climate Katie!) and Deb Markowitz, MA State Director of The Nature Conservancy in which any hard questions to the Secretary from the participants were totally ignored. That conversation was "special" alright, we call greenwashing by TNC!  

Let's go for a Quote of the Week:

“We must always remember that the fossil fuel era began in violent kleptocracy, with those two foundational thefts of stolen people and stolen land that kick-started a new age of seemingly endless expansion. The route to renewal runs through reckoning and repair: reckoning with our past and repairing relationships with the people who paid the steepest price of the first industrial revolution.”
― Naomi Klein, On Fire: The Case for the Green New Deal  

 

After the conversation with our guests we move on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Saturday April 2, 10am.  Protest and street theater calling on banks to stop funding fossil fuel companies. Bank of America and TD Bank on Main Street in Northampton, MA.  Members of Climate Action Now, Extinction Rebellion, and the UMass Amherst Environmental and Social Action Movement ask you to bring Large signs with messages;  giant model of an oil pipeline; money bags CONTACT: Kevin Young Kyoung1984@gmail.com (413) 777-0912 

 

Saturday, April 2, 11 am to 1 pm,  Stand-out on the Turners Falls Gill-Montague Bridge!! Participants will be dressed in black in observance of a Day of Mourning for the Connecticut River. The public is welcome to participate. Please, everyone who has ever fought for the truth about this river, the life of this river—all of you who have marched, stood out, written and shouted publicly “NO LICENSE TO KILL” for our ancient Connecticut and its living waters, come to the Gill/Montague Bridge above the River on April 2^nd.  We will stand in honor of the soul of this Valley--above FirstLight’s TF dam, controlled from inside Northfield Mountain, 5 miles away. We’ll be across from US Fish & Wildlife Service-funded and MA Division of Conservation and Recreation-run, Great Falls Discovery Center. Each one of these entities is culpable for allowing a four-state ecosystem to be turned into our river’s 23-mile mortuary by Northfield’s brutality in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Come, stand together and bear witness.  

 

Tuesday, April 5th, 4-6pm.   DCR's Strategic Readiness Initiative Public Listening Session. As the largest landowner in the state, DCR’s assets will play a critical role in adapting to and mitigating numerous threats of climate change, and we must be ready. Guided by internal
and external engagement, DCR will develop a set of core principles and priorities to fully realize the agency’s mission in the context of the 21st century. These principles will articulate how and why we carry out our mission, and why it matters. This process will incorporate and build off the recommendations in the DCR Special Commission Report.  Register HERE. If you have any questions or concerns, please email Daniel.cushing@mass.gov.

 

Saturday April 9, 1pm.  Rally to Stopo the Eversource Pipeline. No More Fossil Fuels! Rise Up for Our Climate Future! Federal Court House, 300 State Street, Springfield, MA. Go to: stopthetoxicpipeline.org  

 

April 13 - 23  Sign up to be part of the massive, sustained civil disobedience campaign in NYC announced by Extinction Rebellion NYC. See: https://www.xrebellion.nyc/campaign   

Local organizing link HERE. 

 

 

Earth Day, Friday, April 22nd at 3:30 pm to visit the various local institutions that collaborate with the fossil fuel industry. We will call out the financial, legal, and governmental powers most guilty, march, and dance in the streets à la discobedience style. That's right, get ready to dance for climate action! This is the beginning of XR Boston's 2022 "No New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure" campaign. RSVP here. 

 

 

Friday, April 22,  6:30pm. Vigil for Truth. Pulaski Park, NorthamptonAs we mark another Earth Day, we reckon with both what we've accomplished and what's left to be done. In a month including a rally, a dance mob, street actions, and educational events, this Vigil will hold a space for us to stand together in our truths: what we love about the world we share, what we worry about for our collective future, and what we dedicate our action to in the year to come. This will be a space for sharing and ritual, possibly with an appearance by the ethereal Red Brigade. Everyone who loves the world and wants to build a better one is welcome to join us! 

 

 

 

That's  all for now, folks. Please remember to listen to your mother!

 

 

 

 

Unpopular Logging on Public Lands Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Let's suppose you took a poll in your community on how much support there is for logging on public lands? Can you predict the outcome? We were recently a bit surprised to learn the results from quite a few polls went thumbs down on logging our public lands. That's good news unless you happen to be in the deforestation racket in which case: Beware the Ides of March!  Andy Mahler founder of Heartwood Council joins us to sample some polls and.....get opinionated?  😉  As usual we will also introduce you to this week's Fool-on-the-Hill, checkout the Charlie Baker Good Riddance Countdown Timer, see if we are Abidin' with Biden after his State of the Union Address, and remind anyone not paying attention that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" but first it's time for.........Revenge of the Critters! Yes, and their revenge increases year after year, especially Mountain Lion attacks. 

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill must be another repeat performance because A) Repugnican Senator Ted Cruz is such a fool we could not have possibly overlooked him in the past and B) what I just said. OK, ready? First here's the video version of one of his recent gaffs complete with entertaining comebacks. Second, do you think we should nominate Ted as The Enviro Show Fool of the Year? Leave a comment on the blog! That said, Ted has some stiff competition from the Sedition Sisters (Boebert & Greene) making utter fools of themselves during the State of the Union Address heckling The Prez like a bunch of tweens in the lunchroom.

Time to checkout our Charlie Baker Good Riddance Countdown Timer!  

Once again we are compelled to remind Charlie Biomass Baker and anyone else who isn't paying attention that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!"  Don't take our word for it: "The dangers of climate change are mounting so rapidly that they could soon overwhelm the ability of both nature and humanity to adapt unless greenhouse gas emissions are quickly reduced, according to a major new scientific report released on Monday. The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the body of experts convened by the United Nations, is the most detailed look yet at the threats posed by global warming." And this: Longtime listeners already know about apocalyptic scenes appearing all around the world in recent years with hillsides in towering flames and smoke, haze blanked skies from horrific distant forest fires and terrified animals and human residents seeking refuge. A new United Nations report has declared it a “global wildfire crisis.” “The heating of the planet is turning landscapes into tinderboxes,” the report by the United Nations Environment Program noted. Meanwhile it's show & tell time now: Did you know Peatlands, like bogs and fens, make up only 3 percent of land on Earth but store twice as much planet-warming carbon as all the world’s forests combined?  We didn't until we saw this.  Also, The New York Times focused on one such threatened bog, Congo's Peatlands.  And finally this from The  Guardian: "A study published on Monday in Nature Sustainability shows that carbon loss from tropical deforestation in the last two decades has doubled and continues to rise, driven largely by the expansion of agricultural frontiers. The findings contrast with previous assessments, such as the Global Carbon Budget 2021, which had suggested a slight decline in carbon loss from deforestation."

OK, it looks like we'll be somewhat Abidin' with Biden this week for most of his State of the Union speech last Tuesday EXCEPT........."It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" 😞  The Prez only mentioned THE greatest threat to life on Earth once!  We're not about to give The Prez a pass on that but we appreciate his EPA for pushing back against Postmaster DeJoy's move to replace gas guzzling postal trucks with......more gas guzzling trucks instead of going all electric. Wait, why is DeJoy even anywhere near a federal office?? The guy is one of His Malignancy's lackeys and arrogant beyond belief. Let's throw this bum out, OK? 

How about an Enviro Show Quote of the Week?

“By destroying the animals, the air, and the trees, we are destroying ourselves.” 

                                                  – Thích Nhãt Hanh

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber the folks from Stop the Money Pipeline tell us: "Since 2016, Chase Bank has led more lending and underwriting to Gazprom than any other bank in the world. In 2014, Chase underwrote $700 billion in bonds for Gazprom, even when no other US bank would touch the deal. Not only is Gazprom helping to fund Russia’s war machine [presently aimed at Ukraine], but it has a business model that is betting on catastrophic climate change ― Gazprom is spending billions every year on massively expanding its oil and gas operations. Here's an Action Link where you can protest Chase's bloody business. Finally, Inside Climate news gets into "The Human Toll and Environmental Devastation from Russia’s Unprovoked War of Aggression in Ukraine"  

After the conversation with our guest we head over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, March 16, 4:30pm.  Fix the Grid Rally Boston. Boston Common across from Statehouse. ISO-New England, our regional energy grid operator, is slow-walking the transition to renewable energy and keeping us hooked on fossil fuels. Time and again, they set policies that benefit fossil fuel interests at the expense of our health and our future. The state has the power to hold ISO-NE accountable for their actions, but keeps standing aside. Join us in telling Governor Baker and his administration that it's beyond time to Fix The Grid!  Go here: https://actionnetwork.org/events/fix-the-grid-rally-boston/

 Wednesday, March 16, 7:30pm. WMass Extinction Rebellion Earth Day Planning meeting. Everyone is invited to help us create local Earth Day events.  Join on Zoom here.   

Thursday, March 17, 12 – 1pm. Webinar: A Conversation with Sec. Katie Theoharides. Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. You'll also have the chance to ask the Secretary your questions. Spaces are limited. Register HERE. 

Thursday March 17, 3:00 – 4:30pm. Oceans - Sequestering carbon in the sea. Methods for sequestering carbon on land have been studied and practiced for decades. Much less is known about the efficacy and the practicality of techniques to sequester carbon in the ocean despite the fact that oceans are one of the largest natural carbon sinks on earth. Numerous approaches for deliberate ocean carbon sequestration, ranging from biological and geochemical methods to industrial techniques, have been proposed by scientists, engineers, and technologists. Join us as we discuss some of those methods and what is known about their potential benefits and risks, and what activities are taking place now to better understand this potentially critical pathway to carbon neutrality. Go HERE. 

Thursday March 17, 6pm.   PFAS 101: How to keep your family safe from toxic PFAS in drinking water and consumer products. This workshop will be held on Zoom with plenty of time for questions and discussion. Zoom link HERE. 

Friday March 18, 3:00 – 4:30pm. Climate-wise landscaping - Sequester at home. Join our final Sequestration Week webinar for practical solutions on how to "Sequester at Home." This webinar will take an active and optimistic approach to dealing with our changing climate by summarizing some of the actions that property owners or managers (homeowners, communities, and municipalities) can take now to become more Earth-friendly. Go HERE. 

Saturday March 19, 1pm. Rally to Stop the Eversource Pipeline. Hear from hunger strikers opposing the Peabody peaker plant & the Eversource pipeline (also featured at a morning vigil in South Hadley) Watch for details! Background info HERE. 

Monday March 21, 5pm.  Toxics & Environmental Justice. Virtual Event. Join the MA Sierra Club Chapter's Toxics Team for a workshop on integrating an environmental justice lens into our Toxics reduction advocacy. This will be an interactive meeting, so come prepared to learn and participate! Go HERE.

 

Monday March 21,7:00 - 8:30pm. Fixing our Broken Democracy in Massachusetts. A presentation and discussion with Erin Leahy of Act On Mass about the lack of democracy in the Massachusetts legislature, with a focus on organizing for change. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion. Registration is required. Register HERE 

 

Tuesday March 22, 6:00 - 7:30 pm.  WMass Peace Organizing Meeting. The Resistance Center for Peace and Justice and Massachusetts Peace Action invite Western Massachusetts peace and justice activists to come together and plan the future of peace organizing in Western Massachusetts. We invite all community members to join a brainstorming session to gauge interest and capacity on a Western Massachusetts peace organizing group. LEARN MORE 

 

Tuesday, March 22, 7pm.  “Getting to Know the Soils of Massachusetts and Why It Matters” with Ralph S. Baker, Ph.D. in soil physics. Soils are not all created equal. Understanding how they differ, and why, is important if we’re to recognize their key role in a changing climate. Ralph will introduce how the soils of Massachusetts are arranged on the landscape, where soils information can readily be obtained, as well as answering such questions as what soils sequester the most carbon in Massachusetts? Register today.

Wednesday, March 23, 6:00 to 7:00pm. Restoring Ecosystems in a Time of Ongoing Global Change. David Moreno Mateos, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design; Affiliate of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard UniversityAdvance Registration Required.  

TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 7-8pm.  Zoom Elders Climate Action National Call, Organizing to Win with Bill McKibben and Third Act.  Join us for an evening with Bill McKibben and Vanessa Acara from Third Act. Bill will talk about his experiences in fights like the ones over Keystone XL and fossil fuel divestment, and how they prepare us for taking on the challenges of this crucial decade. Vanessa will discuss Third Act's plans and how we will all work together to tackle the climate crisis.

Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9ospxT5uRFSoe_QYX5wOkg

 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 4-5pm.  Zoom. Barriers to Regional Decarbonization Co-hosted by League of Women Voters of Massachusetts and ECA Massachusetts. Regional cooperation is essential to meeting our clean energy goals. The road to decarbonization faces challenges from long-established regional rules that favor fossil fuel interests and stand in the way of clean energy. Join us to learn who is in charge of these regional practices, what their impact is, and how we can meet these challenges. Our speaker is Melissa Birchard, Regulatory Attorney for Power Grid Reform, Acadia Center. Register at https://bit.ly/barriers-to-decarb  

 

 

Monday March 28,  7 to 8:30pm. Virtual Climate Action Now Monthly Meeting.  We currently meet on Zoom on the 4th MONDAY evening of each month from 7- 8:30. All are welcome! Look for link HERE. Working group meetings take place at other times in the month, which you can find HERE.

 

 

Tuesday, March 29, 1-4pm via Zoom, with written comments due April 1st. DOER's proposed changes weakening the RPS biomass regulations were poised to go into effect last November, but they never did because  notice was never properly issued. DOER has now put out a proper official notice of a public comment hearing on proposed changes to the RPS regulations.  One more chance to give them a piece of our minds although verbal comment will only be accepted if a written copy has been sent in advance. Now, why do you suppose they are doing that? 😏 

 

 

 

Wednesday March 30, 2pm. Join Los Padres ForestWatch and John Muir Project for a webinar featuring a panel of independent scientists as they discuss the findings of their latest paper, "Have western USA fire suppression and megafire active management approaches become a contemporary Sisyphus?" recently published in the peer-reviewed journal, Biological Conservation. Go HERE.  

Massachusetts Climate Change Assessment Community Discussions

Join a conversation on climate impacts – such as extreme heat and flooding - affecting you, your families, and your community.

The information you share will inform the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ Massachusetts Climate Change Assessment, which the state is undertaking to identify the most pressing current and future climate challenges and impacts facing MA sectors and regions. These impacts are especially seen and felt by vulnerable communities facing disproportionate environmental, social, economic, and other burdens. Your feedback will be used to inform how the state prioritizes actions to address these challenges as part of the upcoming State Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan.

Public Meetings on the Commission on Clean Heat. 

The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) invites you to attend public meetings focused on the work of the Commission on Clean Heat and related policies for building decarbonization. The meetings will be virtual and include a short presentation, followed by a period for public comment. We are holding two sessions on each date with the same presentation, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. We encourage people to pre-register for the meetings by clicking on the links for each respective meeting times below. During registration you can also indicate if you wish to provide comments during the meeting, which is helpful for planning purposes.

Commission on Clean Heat public meeting dates:

Public Meeting #2:

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Option 1: 12:30pm - 2:00pm

» Link to register

Option 2: 6:00pm - 7:30pm

» Link to register

 

Saturday April 9, 1pm.  Rally to Stopo the Eversource Pipeline. No More Fossil Fuels! Rise Up for Our Climate Future! Federal Court House, 300 State Street, Springfield, MA. Go to: stopthetoxicpipeline.org  

 

April 13 - 23  Sign up to be part of the massive, sustained civil disobedience campaign in NYC announced by Extinction Rebellion NYC. See: https://www.xrebellion.nyc/campaign   

Local organizing link HERE. 

 

 

Earth Day, Friday, April 22nd at 3:30 pm to visit the various local institutions that collaborate with the fossil fuel industry. We will call out the financial, legal, and governmental powers most guilty, march, and dance in the streets à la discobedience style. That's right, get ready to dance for climate action! This is the beginning of XR Boston's 2022 "No New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure" campaign. RSVP here. 

That's all for now folks but PLEASE remember to listen to your Mother!