She's a repeat time offender and perhaps the queen of Fools-on-the-Hill. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Repugnican of Georgia is a monster. There's no better description we can think of, she even looks like one. Here's one of her latest escapades: "A former U.S. Capitol Police sergeant tore into Green for posting a new image of herself arriving at the complex with a military-style gun. “Finding this outrageous and dangerous is an understatement,” wrote former Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who left the police force after injuries and trauma sustained during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. He called out Greene’s “delusional obsession with political violence.” Delusional, yes. Creepy, yes. Fool......of course!
Meanwhile, over in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we have a Halloween candy alert for the kids: "Food dye Red 3 causes cancer, is in hundreds of candies, and should be avoided whenever possible." Sorry folks, those candy corns are no treat and neither are some chocolates. And this: We replay The Daily Hampshire Gazette's story on "more than 1,000 acres in Southampton, Westhampton and Montgomery to likely become permanently conserved as part of the Mountain Waters Project." It's another Kestrel Land Trust assisted project keeping land out of the hands of ghoulish developers. “It will protect open spaces; it will protect forests; it will protect people and the areas that are drinking-water-protection areas,” said Cindy Palmer, chair of Southampton’s Open Space Committee." That's the good news, over at UMass Amherst we have the bad news: "PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the vandal who used a razor blade to slash up and destroy PETA’s display at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass). Photos of the vandalism are here. PETA brought the exhibit—“Without Consent,” which examines the history of experiments on animals from the 1920s through today—to UMass as part of its campaign against Agnès Lacreuse’s menopause experiments on marmosets."
Mad scientists torturing critters and a roaming slasher sounds scary enough, but wait, there's more. What's that you ask? "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" A colleague just sent us this from Berkeley Earth: "2023 is almost certain to be the hottest year since reliable global records began in the mid-1800s and probably for the past 2,000 years (and well before that)." You might say that's a devil of a situation and you'd be right, ol' Beelzebub must be pleased. Also, in keeping with our Halloween theme, is COP 23 going to treat us to some actual action on climate or will it be just more tricks? We guess the devil's in the details (sorry 😏). How about here in the Baystate? The Healey administration climate chief Melissa Hoffer is out with an 86-page report: Read the full report. Actually, we do have treat for you, especially if you are not afraid of gnarly old trees. Mass Audubon teamed up with Harvard Forest recently to come out with this: "Growing Solar, Protecting Nature is the result of a comprehensive economic and geospatial analysis of whether Massachusetts can meet its solar goals while protecting its most valuable natural and working lands." They believe we can if we, "Eliminate state incentives for solar projects on valuable natural and working lands while increasing incentives for solar on rooftops and developed lands" among some other things. Check it out.
Here's another "Their Brains Were Small and They Died" segment, this one focused on The Oath Keepers. These boys (they certainly act like boys) are straight out of the Dark Ages and fascists to boot. Their attack on the Capitol during J6 was an attack on democracy and the Constitution. They are a nightmare, fit for some third rate horror film (Happy Halloween, boys. Hope you get some treats on the Inside) but not at all fit for being on the Outside exposing women and children to their violence and intolerance. They are even setting a bad example for some of our......police?
We have an excellent Halloween Quote of the week for you!
"Witchcraft has not a pedigree
’Tis early as our Breath
And mourners meet it going out
The moment of our death -"
- Emily Dickinson
After our interview with Laura we move on to the Bus Stop Billboard:
Thursday November 9, in-person gathering begins at 5:00 PM; presentation and Zoom start at 6:00 PM. [Critical thinking Alert!] Join us online or in person at our November Berkshire Green Drinks event with Tom Ryan, a forester with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Tom will touch on several areas within forestry, [Most of them bad!] including an overview of the current state of our forested landscape, a summary of state forestry programs and the existing land use designations for DCR state properties, conservation options for private landowners, forest-climate adaptation and carbon management concepts, landscape-scale habitat restoration efforts, MA forest product consumption trends, biochar, and supporting local forest products and how this can help mitigate climate change. Big Elm Brewery – Sheffield Taproom*, 65 Silver St, Sheffield, MA 01257 or Registration is required to attend virtually and receive the Zoom meeting info. Click here to register for online participation. Please RSVP if you plan to join us for the in-person gathering.
Friday November 10, 10:30am. Zoom Webinar on Climate Policy and the Electric Grid: Professor Chris Knittel of MIT’s Sloan School will speak on Climate Policy and The Electric Grid. He will describe how markets work, generally, and the economics of climate change. He will address how different types of policies affect those market outcomes and discuss what the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law does and what we might expect from it in terms of impact of CO2 emissions. The economics of climate change and its impact on the electric grid and consumer costs will be considered. The following link would be useful preparation for this discussion: http://knittel.world. Webinar link HERE.
Friday November 10, 1pm. How states can save the bees. Neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) are toxic to bees, leading to uncontrollable shaking, paralysis and death. Environment America and our national network have led the effort to ban the worst uses of these bee-killing pesticides. In this legislative briefing, we'll discuss the policies states should adopt to protect bees and other pollinators. RSVP today for our save the bees webinar on Nov. 10 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
November 10-13, opponents of Cop City will gather in the South River Forest for a mass nonviolent direct action. And we want you to meet us there. We've been telling you about the grassroots movement to save the forest and stop the expansion of authoritarian policing started under the fossil fuel fascist Trump. For two years, this work has delayed, but not stopped, progress on Cop City in Atlanta, Georgia. And now construction is set to begin. Groups in and outside Atlanta are getting ready for the mobilization. and there is updated information about housing, schedule, and some fun weekend concerts to kick off the mass action. Click here to get the details and RSVP to join us in Atlanta Nov 10-13.
Sunday November 12, Noon to 2pm. Learn how to identify trees throughout all the seasons with a local
naturalist and tree enthusiast! It may be surprising, but winter is an
excellent time for learning tree and shrub identification. The absence
of leaves allows one to take a closer look at distinctive features that
often get overlooked — like buds, bark, and tree structure. This walk
will be stop-and-go and outside the entire time, so please dress for the
weather! LOCATION: TOURISTS, 915 State Rd, North Adams, MA 01247 — Meet in the Lodge. Register HERE.
Sunday November 12, 6:30 to 7:45pm. Save the date!! The People vs. the NED Pipeline or a celebration and blueprint of how David took on Goliath in MA - a multi-media recollection starring YOU . Community Church 105 Main St Northfield, MA Have an affinity group reunion!!
Monday, November 13, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Speak for the Trees Celebration at Dorchester Brewing, 1250 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA. Come lean back, meet our staff, and relax with us. Free snacks & beer available for purchase. Pre-registration is requested: treeboston.org/celebrate2023 To provide oral comment at the virtual session on November 14, please sign up here To provide written comment related to Forests as Climate Solutions, please do so via the following form: share comments. If you are limited by length or wish to share attachments, please send materials to guidelines@mass.gov
Wednesday November 15, 10am. Rally in the Park: No More Toxic Gas. Join us for a rally in Kings Cove Park, in opposition to the operation of Enbridge’s compressor station. We are gathering to say “No More Toxic Gas”. The compressor station is spewing toxicity into the community, despite the lack of need for the gas or facility, and while a key license is being appealed in court. We will gather to speak out against the compressor and any efforts to expand the burning of fracked gas. Light refreshments will be provided. Parking is available near the park (map available here). More info here | Link to the Facebook event here.
Wednesday, November 15, 7 - 8:30pm. Virtual webinar: How do plastics affect our health, and the health of our planet? How do we interact with plastics ethically? Get up to date on emerging research and then join your neighbors in breakout room conversations to plan local actions to reduce our dependence on plastics. Sasha Adkins, PhD, MPH is a senior lecturer in environmental health sciences at UMass Amherst and a fellow with GreenFaith. Go HERE.
Thursday November 16, 3pm. Gas Leaks Webinar. We’ll start by exploring gas leaks at a high level and what they mean for safety and climate change and how we can quantify the extent of this leakage. We’ll then zero in on one community, Richmond Virginia, that is looking to understand just how bad the gas leak situation is in their city, and how they can hold their local utility accountable for fixing it. We’ll finally explore the financials of gas infrastructure where companies are building new gas lines to prop up old, aging infrastructure in an unsustainable system where bills are coming due. Go HERE.
Thursday November 16, 6 to 7pm. Coexisting Humanely with Wildlife at the Cummington Community House (33 Main St.) Elizabeth Magner from the MSPCA in Boston will be giving the talk. We are surrounded by wildlife,
including bears, coyotes, foxes, turkeys, fisher cats, racoons and much
more. How do we coexist humanely with these wonderful neighbors? Please help spread the word and we hope to see you in November. There will be light refreshments and home cooked dishes.
Saturday November 18, 9am. Mothers Rebellion Climate Circle. Amherst Farmers Market on the Common. Be part of the 3rd Global Mothers Rebellion for Climate Justice. Go to www.xrwesternmass.org or Mothersrebellion.com
Saturday November 18, 3 to 5pm. Living Rivers Flow Downstream - A Case for the Connecticut River Ecosystem. Shea Theater, Avenue A ,Great Falls [Turners Falls, MA]. Testimony from those knowledgable about and affected by FirstLight’s Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Station (including our own Glen Ayers!). A panel of respected Judges will render findings. Entertainment during the Judge’s deliberations. Information: Ctriverdefenders@gmail.com.
November 19, 25, or 26, 1:30 - 3:30pm. Invasive Plant Clipping Parties. Greening Greenfield, MA invites everyone to join them for a ‘clipping party’ to start the process of getting rid of invasive burning bush around Poets Seat Tower and Highland Park. Go HERE.
Tuesday November 28, 6 to 7 pm. You are invited to a webinar about the proposed expansion of Hanscom private jet service and its disastrous climate effects in Massachusetts. If the proposed expansion goes ahead, private jet emissions from Hanscom alone could cancel up to 70% of the climate benefits from all the solar PV ever installed in Massachusetts. While our cities and towns are trying to drastically decrease our carbon footprint, Massport & Runway Realty are planning to expand theirs at Hanscom. This is chiefly for luxury trips to resort destinations for the privileged few, with enormous cumulative costs to the climate and the vulnerable many. Go HERE.
Happy Halloween everyone and remember to listen to your Mother!
