Southeastern Mass Enviro Horror Show

Greetings Earthlings. It's not Halloween yet but it feels like it (and not in a good way) when monstrous corporados presently engaged in clearcutting & strip mining areas in Southeastern Massachusetts carry on their devastation of a fragile ecosystem with impunity and with no serious oversight from state and local government. Meg Sheehan returns to the show with new revelations in this ongoing horror. [UPDATE: Interview HERE] As always, we will also introduce you to this week's classic Fool-on-the-Hill and others Whose Brains Were Small, as well as remind those previously mentioned corporados and others that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" but first it's time for......Revenge of the Critters! Strap in Enviro Show listeners for Revenge of the Orcas - the Podcast!

As promised, we now turn to our classic Fool-on-the-Hill. A box of complimentary Endangered Species Condoms for the first listener to ID who made this foolish quote in 2015: “According to the satellite data, there has been no significant global warming for the past 18 years. Those are the data. The global warming alarmists don’t like these data - they are inconvenient to their narrative. But facts and evidence matter.”

The moron who said that back in 2015 remains a moron today and may never admit "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!"  And yet, recently our planet had the hottest days ever recorded in human history four days in a row. Some say the Earth hasn't experienced that kind of heat in 125,000 years. Talk about reactionary! One of those days has been labelled "Terrifying Tuesday" "Governments must prepare to deliver a commitment at COP28 to phase out all fossil fuels, and a just transition to renewable energy for all" said Jeni Miller, executive director of the California-based Global Climate and Health Alliance.  Of course, previous COP summits mostly proved to be staggering disappointments. What will it take for humans to finally wake-up and act?? Maybe Bernie, AOC & friends have some answers HERE.

How about THIS for our usual "Their Brains Were Small and They Died" segment? It reads in part: "The truth is, extreme heat is remaking our planet into one in which large swaths may become inhospitable to human life. One recent study projected that over the next fifty years, one to three billion people will be left outside the climate conditions that gave rise to civilization over the last six thousand years. Even if we transition fairly quickly to clean energy, half of the world’s human population will be exposed to life-threatening combinations of heat and humidity by 2100. Temperatures in parts of the world could rise so high that just stepping outside for a few hours, another study warned, “will result in death even for the fittest of humans.”

Sad to say, it seems we are "Backslidin' with Biden' once again when we read "Over the 4th of July long weekend, President Biden quietly nominated Elliott Abrams to the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. Hardline neoconservative, architect of catastrophic interventions and coups in Latin America — someone who embodies the complete opposite of public diplomacy — yes that Elliott Abrams is the one Biden nominated." That from Win Without War and it comes with this handy Action Link if you wish to show disapproval.  On the upside, The Prez approved the largest U.S. offshore wind farm off the Jersey coast. The it was announced a little over a week ago that the Biden administration would cancel $39 billion in student debt for more than 800,000 borrowers immediately. So, maybe we are "Abinin' with Biden" too? 

Time for an Enviro Show Quote of the Week which is a shameless repeat and good segway to our interview:

“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.”

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

Following the interview with Meg  Watch This then it's onto the Bus Stop Billboard:

Saturday August 6, 10am - 7pm & Sunday August 7, 10am - 5pm. Pocumtuck Homelands Festival - A celebration of Native American Art, Music & Cultures. Go HERE.  

Wednesday August 9,  12pm.  E-Bikes Will Change Your Life.  Join us as we dive into the world of e-bikes with our panel of experts. We will discuss how and why to get an electric bike and explore how e-bikes are transforming our communities and world for the better. Go HERE.  

Saturday, August 19, 9:30 to 11:30am. TREE IDENTIFICATION WALK at Lower Bowker's Woods, Stockbridge, MA. Montague Plains. Old Northfield Road. Parking area at the power lines 0.3 miles from the Lake Pleasant Road

                  Here is a map of the location.  For more information, contact:  Janet Sinclair - jasinclair@verizon.net  

Saturday August 19th, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Pine Barrens restoration project at Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area.   

Wednesday, August 23, 3 to 4pm.  The Farm Bill: Impacts and Opportunities for Animal Protection. Every five years, Congress must reauthorize the Farm Bill, which governs a wide range of agricultural issues and has significant implications for animals. In our upcoming webinar, Campaigns Manager Matt Rossell and Strategic Legislative Affairs Manager Alicia Prygoski will discuss the 2023 Farm Bill process, what we may see as Congress continues to develop this legislation, and how to get involved to advocate for a Farm Bill that prioritizes animal protection.  

Wednesday August 23, 7:00-8:30 pm. Elders Climate Action Monthly National Call. Unpacking the Farm Bill with Scott Faber. Scott Faber, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Environmental Working Group will join us to unpack the Farm Bill, the next must-pass bill in Congress this year, and what we need to know to protect critical funds that can help address the climate crisis. Go HERE.   

 OK, we are out of here now except to remind you to........listen to your Mother!

 

Another Smart Solar Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Deforestation for industrial solar? Nah! Sharon Weizenbaum of Smart Solar Shutesbury & Smart Solar Western Mass returns to the show with a tale of Shutesbury Massachusetts' David and Goliath struggle with WD Cowls, Inc and corporate solar regarding the clearcutting plans for vast swaths of climate friendly forests in that small hilltown. [Update HERE] As always, we will also bring you along to meet this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and those Whose Brains Were Small, as well as yet another reminder (perhaps for Cinda Jones) that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" That and more, but first it's time for......Revenge of the Critters! Their baaaack! This time the vengeful Orca pod gets into the race! 

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is the entire Repugnican caucus. Why? Back in mid-May House Repubgs were bidding for steep spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. "First, though, they paused during their private weekly meeting on Tuesday to bid for something else: Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s used chapstick"??  Guess who won the bidding? Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) placed a winning $100,000 bid. We guess Kevin uses a lot of chap stick given how many fascist butts he has to kiss all day. 

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we repeat the Washington Post's shocker of a headline: "Humans have used enough groundwater to shift Earth’s tilt".  If you go to the study cited in the Post's piece you get another shocker: "Drift of Earth's Pole Confirms Groundwater Depletion as a Significant Contributor to Global Sea Level Rise" OK, it's tilt & drown. All aboard, everyone!  Apparently this past week was some sort of Shock Theater 'cuz here's another: "Earth's Jet Streams Look as Chaotic as a Van Gogh Right Now, And That's a Big Problem - The currents of air that wrap around our planet are becoming unrecognizable to climate scientists" Click on the link if you want to see Van Gogh doing Earth. Vincent may have been a little disturbed but THIS??

After all that disturbing news, let's point out that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" and reference this news from the Magazine of The Sierra Club.  Most anyone here in New England will tell you how disease carrying Ticks are a plague. Yours truly nearly went to that great recording studio in the sky a few years back due to Lyme disease and Anaplasmosis, but it never occurred to me that forest fragmentation is a major contributor to increased Tick populations. Sadly, the article fails to mention deforestation resulting from clearcutting as a large part of the problem. Were sure the folks in our own MA Sierra Club Forest Protection Team know that. Meanwhile, over in the repug led House of Reps the enemies of the planet have introduced a bill to try and prevent The Prez from declaring a much needed Climate Emergency. Their suicidal legislation (which will never see the light of day) is titled the Real Emergencies Act, which, in true far-right fashion, isn't real at all. 

One might think those Repugs "Brains Were Small" and comments like this from Senator Lindsey Graham, “I don’t want to be lectured about what we need to do to destroy our economy in the name of climate change” has us wondering if the dinosaurs were too busy stuffing their big faces to be bothered looking up to see the sky was falling? "Don't Look Up"!

How about an Enviro Show Quote of the Week to take us to our interview with Sharon:

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” 

– Winston Churchill  

Now it's time for the Bus Stop Billboard:

Saturday July 22, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Rally to Protect Forests, Water and Communities and to Stop Sand Mining in Southeastern Massachusetts. Plymouth MA: Wareham Town Hall, 54 Marion Rd, Wareham, MA. Join us for a rally and to support grassroots activists working protecting the Pine Barrens forests, rivers, wetlands, ecosystems and communities throughout Southeastern Massachusetts! Learn about the threats, why the destruction is happening on

environmentwatchsoutheasternma@gmail.com

Monday, July 24, 6pm.  Join us at Burlington,VT City Hall to demand Mayor Weinberger and the City Council take immediate climate action! We will rally, connect with like-minded folks, hear from speakers, and then head inside for the City Council meeting to engage in public forum. Free food from People's Kitchen! go HERE. 

Monday July 24, 7pm. Climate Action Now Monthly Gathering via  Zoom. Speaker: Katie Talbot, Co-leader Neighbor to Neighbor, Springfield/Holyoke. Go HERE

 July 24-27  The 2023 NOFA Summer Conference will be happening online, and online and in person at Worcester State University. This shift to Worcester is a change that we’re excited about, and we have a long-standing relationship with WSU as it has been the home of the NOFA/Mass Winter Conference for many years. On Friday, July 28, we kick off the in-person portion of the conference in the evening, with dinner and salsa dancing for a good cause, and then on Saturday, July 29, we’ll be in person and online all day, hosting workshops, caucus groups, a fair, and opportunities for networking and community! This year’s conference theme is “Buen Vivir: Celebrating Harmony with Nature and our Communities” Go HERE

Tuesday July 25,  8:15am. Standout at the Voke to Save the NEMT Forest. Location: 100 Hemlock Road, Wakefield, MA. Wakefield's Conservation Commission has denied the permit for the NEMT Vocational School project on the hilltop. Because the NEMT has appealed their decision, the matter now goes to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) to decide whether to agree with or reverse the Conservation Commission’s decision. On Tuesday July 25, MassDEP representatives will conduct a site visit of the NEMT property where the school is proposed. NEMT school officials, their engineers and lawyers, Conservation Commission members and the ten residents who submitted to MassDEP additional evidence and a request to deny the project will attend. Go HERE. 

Tuesday July 25, 8:45am -12 noon.   We just learned this afternoon that Chase Bank in Northampton opened this past Tuesday.  Their grand opening is this coming Tuesday, July 25, 9:00Am -12 noon.  Let's gather as many people as we can at 8:45am at Chase Bank next Tuesday.  Bring signs and banners. We expect to have some handouts. Anyone is welcome to picket at any time, but let's focus our efforts on turning out a crowd on Tuesday morning!  We want all of Northampton to know, "DON'T BAK AT CHASE!"  THEY ARE THE WORLD'S BIGGEST FUNDER OF FOSSIL FUELS AND CLIMATE CHAOS. Contact: russvj@gmail.com   or  413-687-4080

Wednesday July 26 and Thursday July 27, time TBA.  Hearings to Put Gas in the Past bills S.2135 and H.3237. The effort to pass this legislation is reaching a critical moment, and we need your help. Submit written testimony in favor of S.2135 and H.3237. Send your written testimony to the Senate TUE members to Lexi.Concannon@masenate.gov, and to the House TUE members to Joint Committee. Utilities&Energy@malegislature.gov by Friday, July 28th at 5:00 p.m. Find more information about the bills in our fact sheet here.

Friday July 28, 4:30 to 6pm.  Standout on the Bridge to Shutdown FirstLight's Northfield Mtn. Pumped Storage. Peskeomskut (Tuners/Gill Bridge) Montague, MA. Go to http://ctriverdefenders.org  

 OK, we are out of here now except to remind you to........listen to your Mother!