The Green Mountain National Deforestation Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Our home base here in Massachusetts isn't home to any of our National Forests but just over the line in Vermont there's the Green Mountain National Forest where the business-as-usual U.S. Forest Service is planning on logging 43,440 acres of your public lands.  Zack Porter, Executive Director of Standing Trees joins us for the details. So, if that's not bad enough maybe you'd like to join us to meet this week's Fool-on-the-Hill? How about a reminder that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!"? Another peak at the Charlie Baker Good Riddance Countdown Timer? (OK, that's actually good news 'cuz it means we'll be rid of him soon). All that and more but first it's time for........Revenge of the Critters! Not sure how we missed this one last Halloween but here it is: Lawns trashed by wild hogs in California!

 

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Florida Repugnican Rep.Vern Buchanan who doesn't seem to know what he's doing in Congress but most everyone else does! “House G.O.P., banding together, kills bid to honor pioneering black judge,” by New York Times’ Annie Karni: “A bill to name a federal courthouse in Tallahassee after Justice Joseph W. Hatchett, the first Black man to serve on the Florida Supreme Court — sponsored by the state’s two Republican senators and backed unanimously by its 27 House members — was set to pass the House last month and become law with broad bipartisan support” until someone realized the guy is not white. “Asked what made him vote against a measure that he had co-sponsored, Representative Vern Buchanan, Republican of Florida, was brief and blunt: ‘I don’t know,’ he said. … A spokesman for Mr. Buchanan... clarified that the congressman had opposed the bill ‘because of the judge’s position against prayer at graduation ceremonies.”  😏

 

While the Freddies at the Green Mountain National Forest prepare to trash our public forest we'd like to remind them "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" And just one of the many features of this EMERGENCY is more powerful storms and hurricanes.  "A study published on Wednesday in the journal Weather and Climate Dynamics reinforces the growing consensus that the hurricane threat to vulnerable coastal communities will keep increasing. The research shows global warming has “contributed to a decisive increase in Atlantic Ocean hurricane activity” in the last 40 years and doubled the chances for extreme seasons like 2020."  Another aspect of climate chaos concerns the fact that Alaska is collapsing. Yes, it's the melting permafrost once again. "The word permafrost, after all, is simply an abbreviation of “permanently frozen ground.” Much of Alaska’s permafrost is tens to hundreds of thousands of years old, first frozen when Goldstream Valley was grazed by mammoths. Now, that sense of immutability is slipping."  

 

We were surely Abidin' with Biden during E-Day when The White House announced a new policy to protect mature and old-growth trees........until we read this:  "Unfortunately, the president’s order will not ban logging of mature and old-growth forests or even protect the trees.  Instead, the President’s order is the latest version of a long bipartisan, Orwellian plan to subsidize the destruction of America’s national forests and the carbon sinks they contain." Read the link if you dare, we did and now we think it's just more Backslidin' with Biden. 😖

 

Hey kids, what time is it? Time for a visit to our kinda' new Charlie Baker Good Riddance Countdown Timer!

 We wonder what Biomass Baker did for Earth Day? Maybe Glen knows? 

 

 We have Breaking News!   "Climate Katie" better known  as  MA Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides, who announced Wednesday that she is resigning on May 6. Theoharides would not say... what "new professional opportunity" she is leaving the administration for" Who knows, maybe she snagged a high paying spot at some international logging corporation!  So long, Katie, thanks for all the entertainment. 

 

Are you ready for  our Quote of the Week?  This one is a bit....novel?

Humanity is cutting down its forests, apparently oblivious to the fact that we may not be able to live without them.

                                       - Isaac  Asimov

 

And finally a brief trip to The Enviro Show Echo Chamber where we echo Smart Solar Shutesbury's eye-popping presentation on W D Cowls' scheme of deforestation-for-solar. The video runs a bit over one hour so break out the popcorn and go HERE.

  

Following our conversation with Zack we move on to the Bus Stop Billboard: 

 

 Saturday, May 14, 10 AM to Noon. We will be having another Stand-Out Rally to save Crane Ledge Woods at 980 American Legion Hwy, Roslindale, MA. We will also clean up the DCR public land at the perimeter of the woods.   More  info:  https://www.savecraneledgewoods.org/

 

Saturday May 21, 10am to 3:30pm. A Day of Remembrance. Join the Nolumbeka project to celebrate of the release of the video series “Indigenous Voices: Stories from the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts—A Series of Short Videos about Native Life Past and Present,” from 10 a.m.—12:00 p.m. in the Great Hall. From 1:00 –3:30 p.m., a commemoration of the 346th Anniversary of the Great Falls Massacre, outdoors weather permitting, or in the Great Hall. Members of the Tribal and non-Tribal public are welcome. Free and open to all. Speakers include filmmaker Robbie Leppzer, video producer Jennifer Lee, Doug Harris, one of the organizers of the Reconciliation Ceremony in 2004, and Robert Peters, Mashpee Wampanoag artist whose paintings will be on display. http://www.nolumbekaproject.org. Co-sponsored by the Nolumbeka Project and Mass Humanities.  

 

Sunday May 22, 9:15am. Smart Solar Shutesbury Walk. "We Speak for the Trees March & Rally" from 359 Montague Road, Shutesbury to the Amherst Town Common at 1pm. Walk, bike, drive - Rain or Shine. "Are you concerned about  local clearcutting of hundreds of acres of forest for multinational corporate solar sites?"  Email: smartsolarshutesbury@gmail.com 

 

 Tuesday, May 24, 10am.  &  6pm. A public hearing in accordance with M.G.L. c. 30A on proposed amendments to 310 CMR 7.75 Clean Energy Standard. The proposed amendments would provide additional certainty to regulated entities regarding the need to accelerate the schedule for decarbonizing the electricity supply and Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP) rates. The accelerated schedule is consistent with Massachusetts’ Net Zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions goal for 2050, announced in January 2020, the 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap, and the goals set out for 2030 and 2050 in the Interim CECP and Chapter 8 of the Acts of 2021 - An Act Creating a Next Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy.  10am meeting link HERE.   6pm meeting link HERE. Testimony may be presented orally at the public hearing. MassDEP will accept written comments until 5:00 PM on Friday, June 3, 2022. Written comments must be submitted by email to climate.strategies@mass.gov or by mail to: Joshua Cook, MassDEP, One Winter Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02108. 

Thursday, May 26, 11am-3pm. Stop the Peabody Peaker Mass Action.  Construction has started on the new gas power plant in Peabody. We can't allow things to keep moving forward with blatant disregard for our health and environment. Join us for a mass action in Peabody to tell the Baker Administration: do the health and environment studies that have never been done. We'll be making it clear that our opposition to this project continues, and we want the answers to the questions we've been asking for over a year. We're still finalizing the details of the action, but there will be lots of ways to participate! Please RSVP if you're interested in coming, and we'll follow up with more information. If you have any questions, reach out to Mireille Bejjani: mbejjani8@gmail.com 

June 18, 2022 Mass Poor People’s and Low Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington, and to the Polls. Buses leave Massachusetts the evening of June 17th. Time depends on the exact location. They will arrive near the National Mall around 9 am Saturday, and depart for the return trip around 3:45. We have 16 bus stops currently planned in Massachusetts. Click on the stop closest to you to reserve a ticket. All bookings are 100% refundable if cancelled. If you are buying a Free/No-Cost ticket, sign up with the promotional code PPC100MA when asked if you have a promotion. We also have the option of low-cost $10 seats; and full fare tickets (around $100).  f you are going to DC, please RSVP here. We have hundreds of no-cost bus seats available for impacted persons. If you would like to sign up for a no-cost bus seat, please click here and choose "free ticket" 

 

Sunday June 26, 1 to 4pm. Plymouth Sand Mining Tour. Join biologist Bill Stubblefield and ecologist Bart Bouricius for a tour of the sand mining and solar building in Southeastern Massachusetts. Plymouth- meeting place TBA.  Gather 1-2 talk lecture;  2-3 walk ramble; 3-4 closing. Organized by Save the Pine Barrens. Contacts:environmentwatchsoutheasternma@gmail.com

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

Another Earth Week Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Yes, we know every day is Earth Day and every week is Earth Week, in fact every year is Earth Year here on The Enviro Show but what's anyone doing about it?? Christene DeJong, Kate O'Connor and a Parrot named Sophie of Extinction Rebellion WMass join us to find out. [UPDATE! Checkout our "Trees as a Public Good" E-Week event HERE ]  As always, we will also bring you along to learn about this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to see if we are Abidin' with Biden, as well as another peak at the Charlie Baker Good Riddance Countdown Timer and more, but first it's time for...........Revenge of the Critters! You may have heard about Jonah and the Whale but who believes anything in that book written so long ago by unknowns? Today we have recorded evidence! (though it probably wasn't anyone named Jonah)

 We have Breaking News!   AG Healey's  position paper on climate for her bid as Gov states: "Burning wood for bioenergy depletes our forests, increases greenhouse gas emissions, and is a threat to human health. Maura will end subsidies for forest bioenergy for electricity and commercial-scale heat.  Maura will place a temporary moratorium on commercial harvesting on state-owned public forest land. Within her first year as Governor, she will develop and implement a science-based state forest management plan that accounts for the impacts of climate change on our forest resources and the role our forests can play in protecting the climate."

 

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is another dangerous fool, the worst kind in fact 'cuz he's a bona fide fascist tool. Yes, it's a return appearance for Rep. Paul Gosar (Repugnican-AZ) who, after five weeks of silence, blames his staff for him showing up to speak at a white nationalist conference.  Gosar claims "there was a miscommunication" even though Gosar attended the same event last year. 😏

We were Abidin' with Biden the other day when he referred to Putin's murderous war on Ukraine as genocide, and for being true to his word about putting an African-American woman on the Supreme Court as well as Low-income families will be able to lower their utility bills with $3.16 billion in funding for home retrofits made available by the Biden administration. However, that said, we also learned the "Biden administration announced it would uphold former President Donald Trump's decision to not regulate drinking water levels of a chemical used to make rocket fuel and explosives."? What's THAT about??  

 

 

There it is!  Our relatively new  Charlie Baker Good Riddance Countdown Timer and Glen will most likely have something to say about that.

 

We've said it before, we'll say it again: Biomass Baker needs to wake-up 'cuz "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!"  And with that in mind there's this: "Our data show that global emissions continue to move in the wrong direction at a rapid pace," National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Rick Spinrad said in a statement. "The evidence is consistent, alarming, and undeniable." As NOAA notes, carbon dioxide remains the biggest climate change threat. However, scientists say that reducing methane emissions—the largest anthropogenic sources of which are animal agriculture and energy production—is relatively easy."  [Full story HERE]  And here is yet another example of climate criminals at work: "The publication of the third and final part of the United Nations' latest comprehensive climate assessment... was postponed by several hours after a contentious weekend of negotiations in which wealthy governments attempted to weaken statements about green financing for low-income nations and fossil fuel-producing countries objected to unequivocal language about the need to quickly ditch coal, oil, and gas." 

 

On to The Enviro Show Echo Chamber where Laura Haight, U.S. Policy Director at Partnership for Policy Integrity passes on the good news, "..the Massachusetts Senate passed a climate package (S.2819) that includes, for the first time ever, provisions to remove subsidies for woody biomass energy. We are thrilled that the Senate has affirmed that burning woody biomass is not clean energy and should not receive the same subsidies as clean renewable energy like wind and solar." That said, the next hurdle is in the House so, Enviro Show listeners, be sure to "call your State Representative and urge them to join the Senate in taking woody biomass out of the definition of clean energy sources. They can show their support in two ways: 1. Co-sponsoring H3333, and 2. Asking House TUE Chair Jeff Roy and House leadership to include the same biomass provisions in the House climate bill." Finally, an Enviro Show Blog Action link on Endangered Species is HERE. 

 

Time for our Quote of the Week and given it's Earth Week how about this:

"For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver." —Martin Luther King Jr

 

Following our conversation with this week's guests we go to the Bus Stop Billboard: 

Friday April 29, 6pm. Vigil for Wynn Bruce. Extinction Rebellion Western Massachusetts will be conducting a reflective and regenerative vigil this Friday at 6 pm to honor the life of climate activist Wynn Bruce. This event will involve silent contemplation. We will gather outside the Northampton District Court.  Go here for trigger warning and details 

 

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. 

 

Monday May 2, 7pm.  This is Not a Drill: Climate Poetry Vigil. Northampton High School, 380 Elm Street, Northampton, MA. Join us for a celebratory night to hear creative climate poetry from young activists, inspiring protest songs & more connections between art & activism. Go HERE.

Tuesday May 3, 7pm.  Deep Roots for Food Justice: Grow Food Northampton Nourishing the Community and the Earth. Grow Food Northampton's (GFN) mission is to build a resilient local food system rooted in racial, economic, and environmental justice. The organization's food access, land access and stewardship, and community education endeavors not only meet the immediate needs of community members experiencing food insecurity, but provide long-term, foundational solutions for food justice and increased climate resilience. With a 121-acre Community Farm in Florence as the heart of all GFN does, the organization is working comprehensively to ensure that everyone can garden, farm, and grow and access food in ways that nourish our community and the earth. Go HERE   

 

Have a good Earth Week folks and remember to listen to your Mother, OK?  

 

 

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