Greetings Earthlings. It's a new year and the Healey Administration has come out with its "Report of the Climate Forestry Committee: Recommendations for Climate-Oriented Forest Management Guidelines" as expected. It's part of the so-called "Forests as Climate Solutions Initiative" we were talking about all last year. The Committee, loaded with business-as-usual operatives from the forestry industry, wasn't expected to come out with much in the way of real forest protection and preservation in this, the Climate Crisis. Michael Kellett co-founder and Executive Director of Restore the North Woods returns again to the show as we begin to bore down into the details. This is, as The Prez might say, a big F'ing deal so we are cutting back on our usual segments to devote more time to the issue at hand. That said, we will still introduce you to this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and remind everyone that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" but first it's time for.......Revenge of the Critters! Wild Boar takes out Russian soldier in Ukraine.
This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Repugnican of Tennessee and a real piece of work defending all those washer/dryers and gas stoves the Libs are trying to take away from American housewives. “First, the Left comes for gas stoves and washing machines,” the Major Appliance Warrior wrote online yesterday. “Now, the Biden administration wants to take away your water heater. What else will they take in the name of their socialist agenda?”
We're pretty sure we don't need to remind climate scientist James Hansen that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" especially after his recent remarks in The Guardian: “When our children and grandchildren look back at the history of
human-made climate change, this year and next will be seen as the
turning point at which the futility of governments in dealing with
climate change was finally exposed,” he said. “Not only did governments fail to stem global warming, the rate of global warming actually accelerated.” The piece goes on to note, "His comments are a reflection of the dismay among experts at the enormous gulf between scientific warnings and political action.
It has taken almost 30 years for world leaders to acknowledge that
fossil fuels are to blame for the climate crisis, yet this year’s United
Nations Cop28 summit in Dubai ended with a limp and vague call for a “transition away” from them, even as evidence grows that the world is already heating to dangerous levels." Nuf said? Nah! Germanys CO2 emissions fell to the lowest in 70 years! Wake-up people!
Glen came up with this Quote of the Week:
In his farewell address after voters elected Reagan, President Carter urged Americans to “protect the quality of this world within which we live…. There are real and growing dangers to our simple and our most precious possessions: the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land which sustains us,.... The rapid depletion of irreplaceable minerals, the erosion of topsoil, the destruction of beauty, the blight of pollution, the demands of increasing billions of people, all combine to create problems which are easy to observe and predict, but difficult to resolve. If we do not act, the world of the year 2000 will be much less able to sustain life than it is now.”
Which brings us to our conversation with Michael after which it's the Bus Stop Billboard:
January 9th - February 7th: NH Listens Climate Action Plan Feedback. New Hampshire listens is
hosting community sessions across the state this month to talk to people
about the climate action projects they want to see in their community. Click here to see the schedule and sign up.
Thursday January 18 thru February 1. MA Water & Wetland Regulation Changes events. Proposed wetlands regulations, along with the climate related goals established by the Healey-Driscoll Administration, will help minimize impacts from severe storms in a changing climate. Additional urgency and coordination will be needed in our continued fight to preserve wetlands, open space, and biological diversity. Go HERE.
Friday January 19, 6:30pm - REGENERATING LIFE, How to cool the planet, feed the world, and live happily ever after. A three-part documentary film by John Feldman. Wendell Free Library, 7 Wendell Depot Rd, Wendell, MA 01379
Saturday January 20, 2 to 3pm. Bigger Than Roe Rally. Generation Ratify Amherst and Alice Jenkins are organizing a Bigger than Roe Rally in Northampton. Generation Ratify Amherst is a youth-led, intersectional organization fighting for gender equality. The rally will feature dynamic speakers, tabling from lovely organizations, and more. We look forward to seeing you there! Northampton Town Hall, 210 Main Street, Northampton, MA, 01061
Monday, January 22, 4-5:30pm. Elders Climate Action DEEP DIALOGUE: Creating and Preserving Forever-Wild Forests on Zoom. For January's Deep Dialog we will be joined by Jon Leibowitz, Executive Director of the Northeast Wilderness Trust, a land trust that focuses on permanent protection of forest and wild lands in the northeast region. Jon will discuss the critical role that forever-wild forests,
wetlands, and intact ecosystems play in addressing the dual crises of
climate change and biodiversity loss, with an emphasis on long-term
climate benefits of rewilding permanently
Monday January 22, 7-8:30pm. Climate Action Now Monthly Gathering. Click here to register on Zoom. In collaboration with the International Cryosphere and Climate Initiative, Julie Brigham-Grette (UMass Amherst) will summarize outcomes from the recent COP 28 meeting in Dubai.
Tuesday January 23, 9:30am. Fight for your Rights Lobby Day! We will be meeting with legislators to build support and momentum behind three critical bills for democratic rights. The Voting ACCESS Act (S.410): to implement same day voter registration; The Sunlight Bill (S.1963): to require all votes made by legislators in committees to be publicly available, and to subject the governor's office to Public Records Law; Location Shield Act (S.148/H.357): to protect reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ lives, and freedom of movement. Go HERE.
January 24th, February 7th, and February 21, 6:30pm. Feeling starved for discourse about climate philosophy? You're in good company! Starting on January 10th, members of XR Boston are leading a Climate Philosophy seminar every-other-Wednesday at the Democracy Center (45 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge, MA). RSVP at this calendar link for more information and to ensure that we order enough pizza for you!
Thursday January 25, 2 to 9pm (EST). A public hearing on the Tennessee Valley Authority’s energy future. TVA’s trajectory will impact millions of people in the southeast AND whether we meet our federal climate goals. We hope you’ll join us – either in person or online – for this exciting event to tell TVA it’s time to transition away from polluting fuels to renewable, resilient, and low-cost power! Go HERE.
Thursday, January 25, 7-8pm. Online How is our commonwealth battling climate change, and what will it mean for you? Congregation Or Atid is pleased to host Massachusetts Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer as she discusses this and other issues facing us in the era of climate change. This event is free and open to the public. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with the zoom link. Go HERE.
Sunday January 28, 3 p.m. Screening of the film "Burned" by Cummington native son, filmmaker Alan Dater and co-filmmaker Lisa Merton. Dater, Merton and Dr. Mary S. Booth will also participate in a round-table discussion at the Cummington Community House, 33 Main Street, Cummington, MA.
Monday January 29, 6 – 8pm. Western Mass. Solidarity Roundtable. We'll review the mapping we did together in October, dig into some of the major issues raised, and discuss how to move forward together. People VS Fossil Fuels. Contact Kristen Streahle kristen@massjwj.net
Friday, February 2, Groundhog Day Actions will draw on the theme of being stuck in place, making no progress. The Strategy and Action Circle is creating action plans, messaging, templates, and documents,
but chapters are encouraged to choose their own time, location, and
action specifics. We will be sending out regular updates as plans
develop, but in the meantime please contact the Chapter Support and
Engagement Working Group at xrus_chapter_engagement@
Tuesday February 6 – 8, 2024, All days. Join Bill McKibben, Third Act, frontline leaders, and national allies in three days of nonviolent civil disobedience at the Department of Energy in Washington, DC to push the Secretary Granholm to stop approving new Liquified Natural Gas terminals, including the CP2 project in Southwest Louisiana! Go HERE! More info HERE.
Thursday, February 22, 7:00 pm until 10:00 pm (Doors open at 6pm). 50th Anniversary Celebration of Lovejoy's Nuclear War. 50 years of No Nukes on the Montague Plains. On February 22nd, 1974,
Sam Lovejoy, on a dark and frosty night, brought down the 500 foot
meteorological tower erected by Northeast Utilities on the Montague
Plains and ignited a national movement against the construction of
nuclear reactors and the use of atomic power. For Tickets & further info go HERE.
Sunday February 25, 2-3 pm. The MA Division of Water Supply Protection will hold a event called Understanding Watershed Forestry Management. This will be a hybrid event, with an in-person event held at the Quabbin Reservoir Visitor Center, broadcast virtually on Zoom. Have you ever wondered why trees are harvested on protected watershed land and why recently harvested areas look the way they do? Curious how active management of a forest can increase diversity and maintain forest health? Join DCR Quabbin-Ware Region Chief Forester Ken Canfield to learn about the benefits of a managed forest and the objectives and conditions that dictate when, where, and how trees are harvested. The event is free, but seating is limited and reservations are required. Click here for the registration form, and make sure to indicate if you plan to attend in person or remotely.
We'll be back on January 20 with Part 2 of this special edition. Until then remember to listen to your Mother, OK?
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