This week's Fool-on-the-Hill may well be another repeat offender. Senator John Cornyn, Repug from Texas was responding to an outraged tweet by former Pres Obama in the wake of the Supreme Court's trashing of Roe v. Wade. Cornyn wrote “Now do Plessy vs Ferguson/Brown vs Board of Education.” in a manner befitting a true Southern racist and, of course, an utter fool.
We know Sen. Cornyn, like so many of his fellow travelers. is a climate denier but we never tire of reminding these fools that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid". With that in mind, "the Supreme Court has decided West Virginia vs EPA, sharply curtailing the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from coal fired power plants," Climate Hawks tells us and this: "From the dissent: 'The Court appoints itself — instead of Congress or the expert agency — the decision maker on climate policy". We know what's wrong in that picture. Now, how about this one: "Should the US approve 25 proposed liquefied methane gas export terminal projects, we could see an additional 90 million tons of greenhouse gasses (GHG) released into the atmosphere per year, according to a recent analysis by the Environmental Integrity Project..EIP says"
And speaking of the Climate Crisis, there's been more Backsliding with Biden, this time regarding The Prez's US Forest Service. "The Black Ram project will allow nearly 4,000 acres of the Kootenai National Forest to be commercially logged, including clearcutting more than 1,700 acres and logging hundreds of acres of centuries-old trees. These rare, old forests are champions of carbon storage, which reduces harms from climate change." Rick Bass, chair of the Yaak Valley Forest Council says, “The proposed Black Ram sale is climate treason. The Department of Agriculture and Forest Service are deliberately undercutting the Biden administration’s commitment to battling climate change.” Maybe that "commitment" isn't all that strong? Recall the Admin's plan to open up public waters to more oil drilling? Here's an Enviro Show Action Link calling for reversing that decision. Also, the Administration is being sued for opening up Public Lands to new oil & gas drilling in Wyoming. Does it ever end? Maybe not: "Biden Accused of Lighting Fuse for 'One of the Nation's Biggest Carbon Bombs'" reads this headline from Common Dreams. It seems "the U.S. Forest Service [there they are again!] rejected challenges to the Uinta Basin Railway, which is expected to quadruple oil extraction in northeast Utah's Uinta Basin by connecting its fracking operations to a transcontinental railroad network that would move hundreds of heated tank cars loaded with waxy crude through the Colorado Rockies en route to Gulf Coast refineries each day." Also....."the Forest Service argued that constructing 88 miles of rail line to transport fossil fuels is in the public interest. The agency issued a special use permit for the roughly 12 miles of tracks that would cross the Ashley National Forest in Utah, dismissing opponents' objections to cutting through public lands protected by the Roadless Area Conservation Rule."
Time to take a break from all that horror and look forward with the Charlie Baker Good Riddance Countdown Timer!
Take it away, Glen!
In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we pass on a message from PETA concerning more horrific stories of animal experimentation at UMass Amherst. "The University of Massachusetts–Amherst’s animal laboratories should lose their license to operate. Federal documents obtained by PETA reveal that the school’s experimenters went rogue and kept young hamsters in constant, complete darkness for 200 days, even though approval had been given for only half that duration. Apparently, UMass personnel lack both empathy and a willingness to follow the law. PETA has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA. This is just the latest in a litany of violations at UMass: Mice have drowned, birds have starved to death, and zebrafish have died from overheating. In one incident, experimenters failed to give necessary pain relief to mice several hundred mice who had just undergone surgery. All these problems are in addition to the university’s use of fragile marmosets in deadly menopause experiments—even though these tiny monkeys don’t naturally experience menopause. " We ask yet again, why are they even doing animal experiments at UMass??
Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week comes from our guest and/or members of the Stop Shopping Choir:
"We oppose the mono-culture in the broadest terms: consumerism, militarism and capitalism’s attack on nature. We focus our energy on hyper local issues and global ones, and they often intersect. We often work in coalition but we also approach things alone and very much on our own terms. We confront and contend with racism and economic inequality within our own community and organize with the understanding that both are at the heart of nearly every issue. We work for the Earth."
After our conversation with Rev. Billy it's on to the Bus stop Billboard:
Thursday August 4, 3 to 6pm. Banner drop to bring attention to the issue; Biden and the necessity for him to declare a Climate Emergency.The plan he and Manchin cooked up will only make the crisis worse. We will meet 3:00- 6:00 at the Rt 91 overpass on Mountain Park Rd in Holyoke. Bring banners and signs.There's another group thats doing the same in Northfield at the Berk Flats Rd overpass from 4:00-6;00 on Friday.
Friday August 5, 7:30 p.m. – 9:15 p.m. Screening of Farm Free or Die .Florence Civic Center Lawn, 90 Park St, Florence, MA. Farm Free or Die examines the role that regenerative agriculture can play in not just building an equitable food system, but in creating climate resilience in the face of the climate crisis.
Saturday & Sunday August 6 & 7, 10am All Days. Pocumtuck Homelands Festival. Go to: https://nolumbekaproject.org/events/
Tuesday August 9, 5pm. Hearing with the Public Shade Tree Committee meeting in a virtual format. Amherst’s famed Merry Maple tree, and two other aging Norway maple trees on the North Common in front of Amherst Town Hall, will be the subject of a hearing next month focused on their possible removal. The Committee normally meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month and start each meeting with a public comment period. Come tell us your thoughts about your public street trees! For more information, contact us.
Thursday, August 04, 7:00pm. No Coal No Gas Mass Call. We will talk about our campaign strategy, reflect on the past year of
strategic actions and review the shape of our strategy moving forward! Everyone is invited- whether you are new or familiar to the campaign, we’d love to see you there! Register here.
Saturday, August 6, Hiroshima Day vigil on the
Greenfield Common from 11 am to noon, and A
Call for Peace: Remembering Hiroshima & Nagasaki the
next day in Easthampton. The 1-2 pm opening of the exhibit on
August 6 will be filmed and available for later viewing, as space
at the LAVA
Center is limited. Please share and come if you can.
Saturday, August 6, 1:30-4:30pm. Extinction Rebellion WMass Strategy Gathering. We plan to hear about opportunities for actions aligned across XR northeast chapters, discuss what we'd like to do next, and think through the bandwidth we'll need to make that happen. If you plan to attend, please RSVP (just to me is fine) so we can keep a head count and send you the address in advance. If you have any dietary or accessibility needs and didn't take the previous survey, let me know that, too. Contact HERE.
SATURDAY
August 13 @ 2 to 6 p.m. HONOR THE EARTH RALLY! Second Annual
Statewide grassroots rally to raise awareness about protecting our
water, forests and community character. Two locations: Plymouth and
Western Mass at Peskeomskut Park in Turners Falls. Music: Featuring the Bruce Katz Band ; Joe Graveline & other musical guests; Enviro poetry reading by d.o.; Speakers:
Karl Meyer, Fred "the Farmer" Beddall, Joe Graveline, Bill
Stubblefield; 50/50
raffle & Door prizes and more.
Monday August 15 Deadline for public comments. The U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, on behalf of the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior, are seeking public comments on the development of a definition framework for old-growth and mature forests on federally managed lands. This work will help inform how the departments respond to President Biden’s Executive Order 14072, Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities and Local Economies.
Wednesday, August 17, 10am. The Mass. Dept. of Agricultural Resources is holding our summer quarterly update about the invasive pest known as spotted lanternfly on Wednesday, August 17 at 10am. This free webinar series is geared towards providing environmental groups and the green industry with the latest info about this pest, and is eligible for the following education credits: 1 Mass. pesticide license credit (ALL categories and license types!), 1 MA Forestry License credit, and the following association credits: 1 MCA credit, 1 MCH credit, 1 MCLP credit, ¾ ISA credit, or ½ MQTW credit; attendance for the full session and response to poll questions will be required to receive credits. Go HERE.
Saturday & Sunday August 20 & 21. Little Leaders Summer Climate Convention is for young leaders interested in getting involved in direct action. We are committed to helping guide students through the process of finding their voices and amplifying their unique perspectives. The weekend will be completely youth-led and centered around a series of interactive workshops on topics including environmental justice, creative climate action, and leadership training. Learn more and register your Little Leader here:
Monday August 22, 7 to 8:30pm. Climate Action Now Monthly Gathering Details: We currently meet on Zoom on the 4th MONDAY evening of each month from 7- 8:30. All are welcome! CAN Newsletters provide Zoom links and details.
That all folks! Be sure to listen to your Mother, OK?
