The Revenge of the Critters Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. In the wake of the UN's World Population Day we've turned our favorite segment into an entire show. Guess what happens to the critters and their habitats when the human population hits 7 billion. Jason Hribal, author of Fear of the Animal Planet - The Hidden History of Animal Resistance" calls in to share tales of four legged revenge. We'll see who this week's Fool-on-the-Hill might be, checkout The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and our E-Valley-uation segment, but first it's time for... Revenge of the Critters - The Segment! It's News of the Weird's Least Competent Do-it-yourself exterminators. Don't try this at home!

The Fool-on-the-Hill meets the Revenge of The Critters! Not sure if algae blooms qualify as critters but they sure took a piece out of this arch enemy of the Earth! Speaking of enemies of the Earth, the anti-environment climate crisis deniers over at Faux "News" are in a bit of trouble. Tooooo bad! There are plenty of actual critters out there that could use your help. Be good to them, maybe they'll reciprocate!

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber: We have some fishy Blog Bonus Take Action links. And, Common Dreams discovers direct action, but Anonymous is already there. Of course, as always, Earth First! is all over direct action. Sounds like Great White Sharks are looking for some direct action out by the Cape! It's said they're looking for Grey Seals for lunch, but hey, look at all those slow swimmers! About those seals? They sure could use your help. You know what other critters need your help? Bats! Finally, it looks like BP's trying to back out of its commitments in the Gulf. Did someone say slimy corporados?

In our E-Valley-uation segment we ask the disturbing question: Is toxic Giant Hogweed invading this Valley.......yet? So, the EPA issued tougher rules for power plants but not in Massachusetts? What's that about?? Power plants like those proposed biomass incinerators? We don't think so! Notify the Gov here not to cave in to biomass boosters.

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week here: "For the animal shall not be measured by man.In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not bretheren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the Earth" -- Henry Beston

After our interview with Jason Hribal, author of Fear of the Animal Planet" we move on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Friday, July 22 through Sunday, July 24. Clamshell Alliance reunion & resurgence:For rooms, tenting and dining, the World Fellowship can accommodate up to 150 overnight, so reserve soon (www.worldfellowship.org) if you plan to stay over. For information, connection and conversation, join clamshellalliance@yahoo.com, visit the www.clamshellalliance.org website and Facebook at http://facebook.com/ClamshellAlliance.

Saturday, July 23, 10am-6pm. The Worcester Green Jobs Coalition and the Making a Green Solidarity Economy Planning Committee invites Organizers, Activists, Academics, Media, and Community Members to participate in workshops, discussions, music and fun. Worcester Youth Center, 326 Chandler St., Worcester. Contact: Lazri DiSalvoPhone: (860) 309-5690

Wednesday, August 3,7pm. Charlie King & Karen Brandow in concert with special guest Leon Rosselson. Unity Church, 6 Arch St., Greenfield. Call Charlie and Karen 413-625-8115 for advance tickets.

Monday-Friday, August 15-19, 8:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. LATE SUMMER NATURE DISCOVERY DAYS (AGES 6-8). Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 525 South Pleasant Street, Amherst. Pre-registration required; please call 256-6006.

August 20th – September 3rd. Protest tar sands mining and the proposed Keystone pipeline! With people power and time-tested tactics of civil disobedience - join thousands of people from across the continent in a wave of sustained sit-ins at the White House. Together we’ll amplify our voices and escalate the movement and stop the Keystone XL pipeline to the Canadian tar sands. Go to: http://www.tarsandsaction.org/ or Contact tarsandsaction@gmail.com

We are out of here! Until next time remember: Listen to your Mother!

The Troubled Atmosphere Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Noticed how hard it is to breath easy here in the Valley, especially in the summer? And how about those fireworks? We have Sylvia Brandt, Associate Professor at UMass in the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics joining us to talk air quality, asthma, biomass incineration, maybe we'll even get to her work on the effects of climate change on Mid-Atlantic fisheries (or is that another show?). We'll do the Enviro Show Echo Chamber, Meet the New Boss, the Enviro Show Quote of the Week, and our E-Valley-uation thingy, but first it's time for...Revenge of the Critters! Macho "sports" fisherman gets caught! Sorry, you'll have to see it to believe it.

In our E-Valley-uation segment guess who got busted again at the Vermont Yankee nuke? That would be our own Jean (she's the shifty looking one in the back row with the shades on). Hey, they're just a bit concerned about nuclear safety, aren't you too? And, in keeping with the show's theme: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Rejection...err...that's Protection issues a new air pollution permit! Timing is everything! And, time for some good news (albeit a bit dated): 335 acres saved from McMansions in B-town!

Speaking of getting busted, in the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we note that Bill McKibben (of all people!) is inviting YOU to get busted in DC in a protest against tar sands and the proposed Keystone Pipeline. Protest....in DC....in August! Eeeww! Go ahead, you can tell your grandchildren between backstrokes that you actually tried to save the planet. Also this: New Mass. Bottle Bill coming to a vote. Take action!

Then it's time to Meet the New boss again! Looks like one of the old bosses (Al Gore in this case) has taken a piece out of the New Boss on confronting, or NOT, the climate crisis. So what do you think, has O lost your vote?

In case you missed it the first time around, our Quote of the Week is an instant replay (above) from the winner of the 2000 Presidential election:

"Here is the core of it: we are destroying the climate balance that is essential to the survival of our civilization. This is not a distant or abstract threat; it is happening now. The United States is the only nation that can rally a global effort to save our future." - Al Gore

"Fable" by Medollic takes us to our interview with Sylvia Brandt. Then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Friday July 8, 2011, deadline for submissions to The Healthy Environment/Healthy Springfield CARE Project. HEHS calls on Springfield’s organizations, churches and groups to submit ideas for an environmental education event that they would be willing to host. The proposed event may be a forum, community dialogue or specific educational presentation. Call 413-794-1803 for application for and guidance.

July 9-10, TRAINING for TRANSITION. The Transition movement in the U.K. ignited a global conversation and sharing about positive, creative actions to build community resilience in the face of economic instability, energy cost increases, worsening social inequity, and environmental crisis. Hefty fee. Info: www.TransitionUS.org or TinaClarke@TransitionNetwork.org, 413-658-8165

Sunday, July 10, 11am to 7pm, the first-ever Common Good Festival. Amherst Common. Award-winning activist songwriters Tom Neilson, Emma’s Revolution and Appleseed recording artists Kim and Reggie Harris headline a star-studded lineup. In addition, the festival will feature local sustainability and social justice activist groups and businesses, craft vendors, cooperative games, children's activities, a magician and more. For more information call (413) 628-3336 (9 AM to 7:30 PM)

Sunday, July 10, 4:00pm - 7:00pm. Pioneer Valley Green-Rainbow Local Monthly Meeting. Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 525 South Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA. Contact mlikins@hotmail.com

Saturday, July 16, 2011, 2-5pm. Festival for a Nuclear Free Future. Copley Square, Boston. The "nuclear age" began on this date 66 years ago – July 16, 1945 – with the Trinity atomic bomb test in the New Mexico desert. After a string of nuclear disaters, it’s time for the nuclear age to end. Let’s begin to end it in Copley Square on July 16, 2011! Co-sponsored by the Sierra Club. Go to: nukefreefest.org or Call 617-354-2169

Monday, July 18 to August 6. Walk for a Nuclear Free World. Starting at the Leverett Peace Pagoda, the walk goes to both Vermont Yankee and the Pilgrim nuke in Plymouth, MA ending at the Grafton, NY pagoda. Call: (413)485-8469.

Friday, July 22 through Sunday, July 24. Clamshell Alliance reunion & resurgence:For rooms, tenting and dining, the World Fellowship can accommodate up to 150 overnight, so reserve soon (www.worldfellowship.org) if you plan to stay over. For information, connection and conversation, join clamshellalliance@yahoo.com, visit the www.clamshellalliance.org website and Facebook at http://facebook.com/ClamshellAlliance.

Monday-Friday, August 15-19, 8:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. LATE SUMMER NATURE DISCOVERY DAYS (AGES 6-8). Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 525 South Pleasant Street, Amherst. Pre-registration required; please call 256-6006.

Done. Next time: the Revenge of the Critters Enviro Show. Author Jason Hribal joins us to talk about one of our favorite subjects! Until then remember.....listen to your Mother.

The Summer Solstice '11 Enviro Show

Solstice Greetings Earthlings. It's the longest day and time once again to honor the Earth with a Summer Solstice celebration! Also, Happy Birthday Arky Markham: Summer solstice baby extraordinaire! Mark Maynard of Urban Power USA steps into the studio to talk small wind. We visit the Enviro Show Echo Chamber, revisit the Fool-on-the-Hill and re-meet The New Boss, but first it's time for...Revenge of the Critters! Boating on the Thames this summer? Keep your hands inside the rails!

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we find Sea Shepherd freed illegally caught Bluefin Tuna....off the coast of Libya no less! Arab Spring? Spring the Tuna! On the down side, someone on the Cape is shooting listed gray seals. What kind of person does that?? Also: Take Action to save the horseshoe crabs (who aren't crabs at all). And this: Ken has a hissy fit over rainforest destruction. That's an Enviro Show Video Blog Bonus and so is THIS! How about one of the Ten Worst Ideas of 2011: Auzzies kill camels to save the planet? BUT, in our Ten BEST Ideas Dept.: reboot the CCC! Remember our past shows on floating isles of garbage? Will you take the pledge to be part of the solution? Since we're on the Oceana page here, how about speaking up against offshore drilling? Finally, down in South America it's dammed if you do, dammed if you don't!

In our E-Valley-uation segment we ask the musical question: Is the creaky old Vermont Yankee nuke shut down yet? No? But isn't it the same type of nuke as the ones still melting down in Fukushima? While everyone was fixated on Rep. Weiner's weiner, TEPCO announced that the meltdowns probably released more radioactive material into the environment than Chernobyl, making it the worst nuclear accident on record (just like D.O. said it would be). What? You haven't heard about that announcement in the news recently? Gosh, maybe it's not really happening! We checkout Vermont's legal struggle with the Entergy corporados. And, this update on the struggle in Wendell to live off the grid legally (why are we even having that conversation?).

In our Meet the New Boss segment we direct Enviro Show blog readers to Bill McKibben's "Obama Strikes Out on Global Warming" at Mother Jones AND his thoughts on the abusive relationship between O & the enviros at Grist. Goodness gracious, when former nice guy Sunday School teachers like Bill become disillusioned with the Prez....what can we say other than: say hello to the new boss! Why not call Obama to say hello and ask about putting those solar panels back on the White House? While you're at it, why not tell him to STOP SHILLING FOR THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY!!

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is House Natural Resources Committee Chair Doc Hastings (a Repugnican, of course). Apparently the doctor is out. He thinks the discovery of one months worth of oil proves we have abundant oil reserves!
Wait,don't you have to go to college for years and years to be a doc? Maybe Doc is also one of the 34% of the U.S. population who say there is no solid evidence of a climate crisis. You want stupid? We've got stupid!. Thanks, Faux "News"!

The King's Drummers at the Stonehenge Summer Solstice event takes us to our Solstice celebration. Then it's off to the Bus Stop Billboard:


Wednesday June 22,6:30 p.m. to 9:00 P.M. Annual Assessment of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet with the public to discuss the NRC's assessment of safety performance at Brattleboro Union High School, 131 Fairground Road, Brattleboro, VT. Meeting contact: Donald E. Jackson , chief, Projects Branch 5, NRC. (610)337-5306

Thursday & Friday, June 23-24, 9am. US District Court Hearing - Entergy vs Peter Shumlin et al. US District Court, Brattleboro, VT. Contact CAN: (413) 339-5781 Email: can@nukebusters.org Anti-nuke Vigil 7:30 – 9:00 AM on Thursday & Friday on the sidewalks in front of, and across the street from the Brattleboro Post Office on Main Street. The federal courtroom is upstairs in the Post Office building.

Saturday, June 25, 1 to 8pm. No Nukes Party! (And discuss non-violent action plans 3-5:30pm) Sponsored by: Wendell Conservation Commission. Co-sponsors: Clamshell Legacy and Antinuclear Mobilization; Citizens Awareness Network ; Safe & Green Campaign; Green Mtn. Post Films; W. MA AFSC; Traprock Center for Peace and Justice and the Solar Rollers. More information, call Sharon (978) 544-8822 or Tom (978) 544-3911

Friday July 8, 2011, deadline for submissions to The Healthy Environment/Healthy Springfield CARE Project. HEHS calls on Springfield’s organizations, churches and groups to submit ideas for an environmental education event that they would be willing to host. The proposed event may be a forum, community dialogue or specific educational presentation. Call 413-794-1803 for application for and guidance.

Sunday, July 10, 11am to 7pm, the first-ever Common Good Festival. Amherst Common. Award-winning activist songwriters Emma’s Revolution and Appleseed recording artists Kim and Reggie Harris headline a star-studded lineup. In addition, the festival will feature local sustainability and social justice activist groups and businesses, craft vendors, cooperative games, children's activities, a magician and more. For more information call (413) 628-3336 (9 AM to 7:30 PM)

Monday, July 18 to August 6. Walk for a Nuclear Free World. Starting at the Leverett Peace Pagoda, the walk goes to both Vermont Yankee and the Pilgrim nuke in Plymouth, MA ending at the Grafton, NY pagoda. Call: (413)485-8469.

Friday, July 22 through Sunday, July 24. Clamshell Alliance reunion & resurgence:For rooms, tenting and dining, the World Fellowship can accommodate up to 150 overnight, so reserve soon (www.worldfellowship.org) if you plan to stay over. For information, connection and conversation, join clamshellalliance@yahoo.com, visit the www.clamshellalliance.org website and Facebook at http://facebook.com/ClamshellAlliance.

We go out with "Litha - (Summer Solstice Song)" by Lisa Thiel. It's the Summer Solstice, what better time to listen to your Mother, right?

Enviro Show Roadtrip to Hell

I took a road trip through Monson and Wilbraham today, towns eastward of Springfield and dead in the pathway of the tornado that tore up parts of western Massachusetts a week ago. I knew I was going to witness a whole lot of devastation going in so I tried to ready myself psychologically for the experience. Guess what? There's no way you can prepare yourself for what you'll see in the wake of a strong tornado. And I only saw a small portion of the destruction. Just imagine what it's like for someone who lives within that path.

In Monson the tornado came pretty much through the town center, taking out church steeples, walls, roofs on the school, stores and homes, trees, fences and whatever else it could tear up. The only thing in my experience I could compare it to was the town of Bluefields, Nicaragua in the wake of Hurricane Joan back in 1988. But Monson isn't the so-called Third World, it only looks like it. I can't even imagine what it felt like last Thursday when the sun rose over what remained. Words like devastation lose their meaning under such circumstances.

Doubling back and driving eastward toward Wilbraham I was again out of the path of the tornado and except for an occasional tree branch, everything appeared pretty much like always. Even as I headed into the town on Springfield Street past shopping centers, gas stations and all the rest, it was business as usual. But then I drove south a few blocks after noting a police chopper hovering out that way and the whole world came to an abrupt change. Given the denser suburban population of this area, block after block of modest single family homes, the destruction was magnified beyond belief. Here, I had absolutely nothing to compare it to. Nothing over twelve feet high remained. Tarps were everywhere, 360 degrees of total desolation. No tree left standing for blocks. Countless homes seemingly beyond repair. Emergency and utility vehicles everywhere. A few blocks north women are going to the tanning salon, guys are having lunch in sports bars. Kafka couldn't write this stuff.

I could go on and on about the contrasts, the seeming lack of connection between one world and the other even though they are all neighbors, just a few blocks apart. But hey, these are just words on a page. We are just that much more removed from neighborhoods where thousands of families live, blasted almost beyond recognition. How do I describe the indescribable? All that pain, all the countless lives, human and non-human, actually terrorized (as opposed to being told you're terrorized) by the massive destruction of their homes. Who can tell that story?

Tomorrow I'll be delivering supplies to Springfield. I'll try describing it.

- d.o.

The Amherst Chainsaw Massacre Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Are we sick & tired yet of 19th century internal combustion vehicles dictating our infrastructure needs? How about the destruction of scores of trees to make way for roundabouts? It's like a merry-go-round ride made in a little corner of hell and it's round about time we reconsidered our priorities given the oncoming climate crisis. Amherst Tree Warden, Alan Snow and Shade Tree Committee member Hope Crolius join us to talk trees. We checkout some other valley news in our E-Valley-uation segment as well as news from the outside world in our Echo Chamber. How about we see who this week's Fool-on-the-Hill might be? All that and more, but first it's time for... Revenge of the Critters! Golfers beware: trees can ruin your game.

In our E-Valley-uation segment we revisit the chainsaw massacre in the Quabbin just in case you forgot, but Mother Nature delivered her own massacre last week in the form of tornadoes here in Western Mass. See the pics here and here and video here and here. Then ask yourself about so-called weather anomalies and the climate crisis (see Bill McKibben below). We applaud Massachusetts AG, Martha Coakley for backing Vermont's lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). We wish the nuke-boosters at the NRC would wean themselves of the industry kool-aide and REALLY listen to Arnie Gundersen for once.

This Week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Repugnican congressman Dana Rohrabacher who says since 80 percent of carbon emissions come from decaying plant matter, we should clear-cut rainforests in order to reduce carbon! Whoa! Why didn't WE think of that??

In our Enviro Show Eco Chamber...er...Echo Chamber, we replay Germany's Biggest Anti-nuke action EVER!. And this: McKibben, with tongue uncharacteristically embedded in cheek, nails corporate media and climate crisis deniers on mega-storms. Did someone say tornado? Speaking of massacres, check this out! And for good measure this!

We try once again to air "Earth" by The Green Rockers leading to our interview. Then it's on to the good ol' Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday June 8, 10am, Room A-1 at the State House in Boston. The Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy holds a public hearing on the Muni bill H869. Bill H869 amends a century-old, obsolete State law which gives NStar, Unitil, National
Grid and WMECO a permanent monopoly. We need your help! Go to: http://massmunichoice.org

June 8, 2011. An informational meeting on a new National Wolf Strategy will be held from 6:00 PM to 7:15 PM followed by the public hearings from 7:30 to 9:00 PM. at the Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, Maine. Contact: Martin Miller, Chief, Div. of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center Dr., Hadley, 413-253-8615.

Wednesday June 8, 7:00 to 10:00 PM. Jazz benefit to raise money for the Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO's charitable organization, the Union Community Fund, to help ease the financial burden on those unfortunate families that suffered life-changing setbacks as a result of the tornados that devastated our region. Montenia's restaurant located at 137 State Street in Springfield. Contact: MarkJazz64@aol.com

Thursday, June 9, 8pm? War criminal Karl Rove will be Keynote speaker for the 2011 Annual Landmen (Big Oil businessmen) Meeting at the The Boston Park Plaza Hotel (50 Park Plaza At Arlington Street, Boston). Rove is scheduled to speak at 9 AM. Bring handcuffs! Email: neimpeach@gmail.com

Saturday, June 11, 9am to Noon. Geo Plus River Walk. Steve Winters, now working as Holyoke Community College’s first full-time Earth Science instructor, will again make the geologic rounds in Turners. Great Falls Discovery Center, Avenue A, Turners Falls. Call: (413)863-3221

Satruday June 11. 10am to 4pm. Riverfest, celebrating the Deerfield RIver. Shelburne Falls. Call (413) 625-2526

Saturday, June 11, 3:00 p.m.: 250th Shutesbury Anniversary Parade, hopefully featuring our friends the trees. Parade from elementary school to town common along Leverett Road., after the parade: Festivities at Shutesbury Athletic Club! 5:30 p.m. barbecue; 7:00 - 10:00 p.m., performance by Briefcase Full of Blues. See: http://www.shutesbury.org/250th

Monday, June 13, 7 to 9pm. Edible Forest Garden Workshop. Wendell Town Hall. Go to: www.PermacultureNursery.com or Call (360)797-4034

June 23-24, 9am. US District Court Hearing - Entergy vs Peter Shumlin et al. US District Court, Brattleboro, VT. Contact CAN: (413) 339-5781 Email: can@nukebusters.org

Saturday, June 25, 1 to 8pm. No Nukes Party! (And discuss non-violent action plans 3-5:30pm) Sponsored by: Wendell Conservation Commission. Co-sponsors: Clamshell Legacy and Antinuclear Mobilization; Citizens Awareness Network ; Safe & Green Campaign; Green Mtn. Post Films; W. MA AFSC; Traprock Center for Peace and Justice and the Solar Rollers. More information, call Sharon (978) 544-8822 or Tom (978) 544-3911

Monday, July 18 to August 6. Walk for a Nuclear Free World. Starting at the Leverett Peace Pagoda, the walk goes to both Vermont Yankee and the Pilgrim nuke in Plymouth, MA ending at the Grafton, NY pagoda. Call: (413)485-8469.

Friday, July 22 through Sunday, July 24. Clamshell Alliance reunion & resurgence:For rooms, tenting and dining, the World Fellowship can accommodate up to 150 overnight, so reserve soon (www.worldfellowship.org) if you plan to stay over. For information, connection and conversation, join clamshellalliance@yahoo.com, visit the www.clamshellalliance.org website and Facebook at http://facebook.com/ClamshellAlliance.

We go out with "The Memory of Trees" by Enya; this in memory of all the trees recently killed to make way for yet more humans and their mistaken priorities. Next time it's our Summer Solstice show. Until then remember to listen to your Mother.

The Little Green Schoolhouse Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. With the Five College Area headed for summer break and young kids thinking about anything but school, we have a look at green education (what? contrary?). Abbie Jenks, founder of the Peace, Justice and Environmental Studies program at Greenfield Community College calls in. Also joining us in the studio, Marcy Gregoire, founder and proud member of Under the Tree Music Company where they practice "kidTunage to Love Up the Earth Mamacita" (sounds like we're on the same page, yes?). As usual, we see who this week's Fool-on-the-Hill might be, checkout our E-Valley-uation segment, as well as The Enviro Show Echo Chamber, but first it's time for......Revenge of the Critters! Since owls seem to be associated with wisdom, and since we're talking education here, did these guys score some smarts? Maybe not target #1, Byron Unger, "an award-winning world class racer [who] owns a wide variety of racing boats and automobiles". Maybe this wise owl was teaching Byron a lesson about carbon footprints?

It's E-Vally-uation time: Does Springfield really need fewer trees? We don't think so! And while we're in Springfield we report back on last week's Rally and City Council Meeting on the Springfield biomass incinerator that threatens Western Mass air, forests and communities! [This just in: City Council votes to revoke biomess permit!]. Meanwhile, up the river by Turners Falls we get an update from Karl Meyer on fixing the ocean connection on the Connecticut River. Karl is asking Enviro Show fans to notify their MA state reps and State Senator Stan Rosenberg about the need to "Build the long-overdue fish lift at the dam and return regulated spring flows to the crippled dead reach of the river below the dam". Save the shad! And a follow-up on Mass. Sierra Club's Elisa Campbell and her winning The Enviro Show Big Green Clearcutters Award. We can't get pro-clearcutting Campbell to pick-up the award no matter how hard we try, even offering it to her on the Mass. Sierra Facebook page (said offer vanished soon after posting....what's that about?).

We get in the Wayback Machine for our Enviro Quote of the Week which comes from Chief Luther Standing Bear of the Lakota Sioux:

"I am going to venture that the man who sat on the ground in his tipi meditating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures, and acknowledging unity with the universe of things, was infusing into his being the true essence of civilization."

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we can only wish we were echoing the corporate media about the ongoing multiple radioactive meltdowns at Fukushima but hey, that story is so last month! Not here though, we spotlight nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen who says that the containment vessels for reactors 1, 2 and 3 are all leaking. This is not good news, but here is something to cheer you up: direct action against the biomess in the UK (we celebrate where we can!). Our Enviro Show Blog Bonus is this Greenpeace action link. Stop whaling! Also: everyone loses on the Upper Big Branch mine disaster. And finally (and we really mean finally): Mickey & Minnie busted for tree-hugging!

This week's Fool-on-the-hill? Utah Rep. Rob Bishop who wants you to believe, "There are no special subsidies or tax breaks for oil companies, period." We used to call that lying, these days it's called.....messaging? How about a gaggle of fools: Senate wimps out on oil subsidies bill.

"Earth" by The Green Rockers takes us to our interviews. Then we're on to the Bus Stop Billboard (look at all these post-End of the World events!):

Wednesday May 25, 12:30pm (brown bag lunch at noon). Green Works meeting. Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council, 640 Page Boulevard, Springfield. Call: (413) 827-0301, Email: jon@wmjwj.org.

Wednesday, May 25, 2-4 pm. Deadly Deal: From Nuclear Waste to Depleted Uranium Weapons –What Have We Learned? A discussion will feature the 30-minute documentary film,
“Uranio 238”. Bangs Center - Room 101, Boltwood Walk, Amherst. Call: (413)522-7505

Friday, May 27, 10:30 to 11:30am. Fourth Friday Young Children's Story Hour explores Fish (especially for children ages 3-6). After the story, you can join us for an age appropriate activity. Great Falls Discovery Center, Avenue A, Turners Falls. Call: (413)863-3221

Friday, May 27, 7pm. Screening of A Killer Bargain The work that globalization offers often comes with pollution and life-threatening working conditions. Media Education Foundation, 60 Masonic Street in Northampton. Enter via Woodstar Cafe, at the front of the building. The venue is accessible. The screenings are free unless otherwise noted. Discussion follows.

Tuesday, May 31, 5:30pm. Citizens Action Network organizing meeting. Solar Store of Greenfield, 2 Fiske Ave, Greenfield. Come and get the latest info on ENVY, Entergy's lawsuit, Fukushima catastrophe. Come with ideas for possible actions. Come and help determine the next steps for CAN

Wed.-Fri. June 1-3, All day. Slow Living Summit, an intensive two-and-a-half day exploration to find ways to build healthy, thriving local economies while encouraging, mentoring and supporting a new generation of activists, entrepreneurs and engaged citizens. Featuring Bill McKibben. WARNING: Pricey! Go to: http://www.strollingoftheheifers.com/slow-living-summit

Saturday, June 4, 10am to 2pm. Fort River Celebration Day in Amherst. Please visit www.fortriverdiscovery.org for more information and further program and event listings.

Sunday, June 5, 2011, 4-5:30, potluck at 5:30. 7:00pm, meeting. Green-Rainbow Party - Pioneer Valley Chapter. Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 525 South Pleasant Street, Amherst. Call: 413-320-3747.

On June 6, environmental groups, labor unions and other activists and organizations will unite for the March on Blair Mountain, a five-day trek merged with workshops, cultural festivities and music. On the sixth day, a large rally will be held in Blair, followed by a march to the crest of Blair Mountain. MA contact: barefootreehugger@gmail.com or call (304)854-0390

Thursday, June 9, 8pm? War criminal Karl Rove will be Keynote speaker for the 2011 Annual Landmen (Big Oil businessmen) Meeting at the The Boston Park Plaza Hotel (50 Park Plaza At Arlington Street, Boston). Rove is scheduled to speak at 9 AM. Bring handcuffs! Email: neimpeach@gmail.com

Saturday, June 11, 9am to Noon. Geo Plus River Walk. Steve Winters, now working as Holyoke Community College’s first full-time Earth Science instructor, will again make the geologic rounds in Turners. Great Falls Discovery Center, Avenue A, Turners Falls. Call: (413)863-3221

Satruday June 11. 10am to 4pm. Riverfest, celebrating the Deerfield RIver, Shelburne Falls. Call (413) 625-2526

Saturday, June 11, 3:00 p.m.: 250th Shutesbury Anniversary Parade, hopefully featuring our friends the trees. Parade from elementary school to town common along Leverett Road., after the parade: Festivities at Shutesbury Athletic Club! 5:30 p.m. barbecue; 7:00 - 10:00 p.m., performance by Briefcase Full of Blues. See: http://www.shutesbury.org/250th

Friday, July 22 through Sunday, July 24. Clamshell Alliance reunion & resurgence:For rooms, tenting and dining, the World Fellowship can accommodate up to 150 overnight, so reserve soon (www.worldfellowship.org) if you plan to stay over. This is a link to organizing materials on the Clamshell Alliance website: http://clamshellalliance.org/?page_id=58. For information, connection and conversation, join clamshellalliance@yahoo.com, visit the www.clamshellalliance.org website and Facebook at http://facebook.com/ClamshellAlliance.

Lots to do, yes? We go out with "Teach your children well" by Crosby, Stills & Nash (not sure if Neil Young is in there). In any case, remember to listen to your Mother, ok?

The Annual Enviro Show Big Green Clearcutters Award!

Now listen-up! for our Annual Enviro Show Big Green Clearcutters Award: this year's award goes to (drum roll please) Elisa Campbell! Again!! For two years running, Mass Sierra Club's Elisa Campbell, the pro-nuke, pro-development, pro-clearcutting "environmentalist" proves her worth....lessness. She even undercuts the Sierra Club! That's right, the MA Sierra Club representative in charge of Public Lands and Forestry is trying to subvert the group's own principals. Checkout Campbell's comment at last November's Forest Forum:

"I'm still trying to plug away at subverting the usual paradigm at the Sierra Club"

What? You mean Sierra Club's stand against CLEARCUTTING! Someone get the hook!

Barking up The Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Have you been barking up the wrong tree lately? Michael Wojtech, author of the just released book Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast, joins us to talk trees. As always, we scope out the latest news in the Enviro Show Echo Chamber and locally in our E-Valley-uation segment. We'll Meet the New Boss this time, as well as this week's Fool-on-the-Hill, but first it's time for...Revenge of Critters: This bad player? His goat got him!.

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we stick with the critters for openers. Checkout the awesome lyrebird who apparently imitates sound of its own habitat destruction. So, how different is that from two-legged workers who imitate the sounds of the wealthy corporados? More critters in trouble: bees and colony collapse. Maybe it's NOT such a mystery. Neurotoxic pesticides that are known to be particularly toxic to honey bees has rapidly taken over the global insecticide market. Checkout this campaign. In case you're thinking we've moved on from what may be the worst nuclear power disaster ever, fear not....er..well...checkout this video from Fairwinds. Also this. O, and speaking of nuclear: uranium mining in the Grand Canyon? No thanks! Take action here. And, the New York Times discovers the truth about the NRC. Another environmental horror show is on deck: the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would carry environmentally destructive tar sands oil straight across the Canadian border across the width of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Take action here.

Time to Meet the New Boss again. We know Obama has scored all sorts of kudos for the reported hit on Osama (what's with these names?), but even if you happen to celebrate assassinations or are a knee-jerk Dem, the guy is still shilling for the corporados.

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (Repugnican-Wash.) who authored the bill passed in the House to expedite oil drilling lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Virginia coast. Repugnicans are falsely claiming that supply is the reason for rising oil prices when in fact Wall Street commodity speculation jacks up the prices you pay at the pump. The cop on the beat that's supposed to stop such nefarious activity is the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, but it seems they're asleep in the patrol car. Guess who wants to punish them anyway? The same Repugnicans who want to drill baby, drill!

In our E-Valley-uation segment we take a moment to scan the newly released proposed biomass energy regulations. Given that Western Mass is ground zero in the Biomess, these proposed regs have special meaning to Mass Forest Watch[pdf]. That reminds us: Happy Asthma Awareness Month? Kidding! It just seems since our air quality in the Valley is soooo awful we should maybe think about making it worse with a new incinerator? Ya' think?

Now for our Annual Enviro Show Big Green Clearcutters Award: this year's award goes to..(TADA!!)....Elisa Campbell! Again!! For two years running, Mass Sierra Club's Board of Directors member Elisa Campbell, the pro-nuke, pro-development, pro-clearcutting "environmentalist" proves her worth....lessness. She even undercuts the Sierra Club! That's right, the MA Sierra Club representative in charge of Public Lands and Forestry is trying to subvert her group's own principals! Checkout Campbell's comment at last November's Forest Forum: "I'm still trying to plug away at subverting the usual paradigm at the Sierra Club" What? like advocating CLEARCUTTING! Someone get the hook!

"C is for Conifers" by They Might be Giants takes us to our interview with Michael Wojtech, author of the just released book Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast.

Finally, it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Thursday May 12th, 6:30 PM. Screening of "Into Eternity", a compelling Danish film about the construction of the world's first permanent repository for high level radioactive waste in Finland. Greenfield Comm. College Main Campus, Main Building 3rd floor, Stinchfield Hall,Park in E lot, walk on service road that goes behind the main building, follow the signs. Admission: Contributions greatly appreciated.

Friday May 13 at 11:15am at the Central Labor Council Hall, 640 Page Boulevard, Springfield, there will be a report-back on the recent Green Jobs workshop that explored some of the issues around a possible Greening Mount Tom campaign, a community effort that might transform the coal-burning power plant in Holyoke into a more sustainable and socially just operation.

Sat, May 14, 1pm – 4pm. Bay State Village Big Bike Bonanza. Bike tune-ups, games, bike decorating, show off your interesting bike, face painting, try out the pedal people's bike with loaded trailer. Field in Bay State Village, Northampton. A Bay State Bike Week event. For more information, contact vhfath@verizon.net.

Saturday, May 14 · 9:00am - 12:30pm, North Amherst Community farm Plant Swap & Sale. Simple Gifts Farm in North Amherst, 1089 N. Pleasant Street, Amherst. Contact: kemgall@gmail.com

Sun, May 15, 9:00am – 10:30am. Another Bay State Bike Week event: Join naturalist David King as he leads a tour of the natural history and ecology and conservation efforts around Hadley. Meet at the Connecticut River levee and North and West Street. Bring binoculars. For more information, contact Heather Vinski at hvinski@yahoo.com.

Tuesday, May 17, 4:30 pm. Springfield City Council will hold a hearing at Springfield City Hall to consider amending or revoking Palmer Renewable Energy's permit to construct a biomass incinerator in Springfield. ALL OUT TO STOP IT! Rally at 3:30pm. SPRINGFIELD RESIDENTS: please call your City Councilor and At-Large City Councilors. It is now crucial that we secure nine city councilor votes to revoke this permit, and we need your help to do this. Go to: www.springfieldincinerator.info/actions.html

Thursday, May 19, 7pm, Sea Lamprey with Expert Boyd Kynard— Come learn about one of the most fascinating, misunderstood fish of the Fort River! Rivaling beavers for their stream engineering, sea lamprey are a keystone fish species of great ecological importance to both aquatic and riparian life. Hitchcock Center, 525 South Pleasant Street, Amherst.

Saturday, May 21, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. From the Grassroots Up: Stop Incentives for Incinerators. A strategy meeting for activists working to stop biomass and waste burners. Doyle Center, Leominster MA. RSVP: Biomass Accountability Project at 800-729-1363 or stopbiomassburning@gmail.com

Saturday, May 21, 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. (Rain Date: Sunday, May 22) OLD GROWTH AT DUNBAR BROOK. Visit a spectacular remnant of native old growth forests of the high Berkshires in Monroe in northwest Franklin County. The trees are impressive in size, although the old growth stand is limited to about 150 acres. Pre-registration & fee required, please call the Hitchcock Center at 413-256-6006

Sunday, May 22, All Day. The Rapture......maybe. Prepare to lock-down unless you want to spend eternity with a lot of really strange people. It's that or deal with some nasty guys on horseback.

Sunday, Sunday, May 22, 10am. Manhan Rail Trail Grand Opening Ceremony and Rolling Party. Bike riders and walkers are invited to explore the new rail trail and art spots along the way. Riders can meet at 10am at Millside Park in Easthampton for bagels and musical performances, and then at 11 ride to the Route 10 Bridge. At 12, Mayor Higgins and Mayor Tautznik will cut the ribbon on the Bridge, and afterwards the procession will make its way to a concluding lunch at Veteran's Field in Northampton. Contact: julianecasey@gmail.com

Tuesday, May 31, 5:30pm. CAN organizing meeting. Solar Store of Greenfield, 2 Fiske Ave, Greenfield. Come and get the latest info on ENVY, Entergy's lawsuit, Fukushima catastrophe. Come with ideas for possible actions. Come and help determine the next steps for CAN

Sunday, June 5, 2011, 4-5:30, potluck at 5:30. 7:00pm, meeting. Green-Rainbow Party - Pioneer Valley Chapter. Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 525 South Pleasant Street, Amherst. Call: 413-320-3747.


On June 6, environmental groups, labor unions and other activists and organizations will unite for the March on Blair Mountain, a five-day trek merged with workshops,
cultural festivities and music. On the sixth day, a large rally will be held in Blair, followed by a march to the crest of Blair Mountain. Go to:
MA contact: barefootreehugger@gmail.com or call (304)854-0390

That's all folks. We go out with "De Light", by The Morning Birds and.....until next time, f'get about Osama and Obama, just listen to Yo' Mama!

The Roadkill Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. In the wake of Earth Day we take a deep breath and checkout the damage from the wake of all those motor vehicles out there. Derek Yorks of the Linking Landscapes turtle mortality study joins us in the studio to talk roadkill mitigation. Of course, we revisit the multiple meltdowns in Fukushima, on this the 25th anniversary of the Chernoybl nuke disaster, that in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber as well as a look at some direct action down in DC. Back here at home we get a local response to Entergy's lawsuit against the state of Vermont in our E-Valley-uation segment and find out who this week's Fool-on-the-Hill might be, and who knows, maybe we'll even get to The Quote of the Week, but first it's time for...Revenge of the Critters! THE best squirrel attack ever! Tooooooo long for The Enviro Show, but we'll give you the Cliff Notes version. No roadkill for this squirrel. Instead, this squirrel kills.....well, actually, just wounds.

At the top of the Enviro Show Echo Chamber an E-Day must see: Democracy Now's Earth Day Special. Then, Bill McKibben rallies the troops at Powershift '11 in the belly of the beast but quite frankly we were more impressed with Rising Tide DC taking it to the Dept. of Interior. That's the same agency that's sucking up to Big Oil on the anniversary of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf! Speaking of government agencies that don't function so well, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) certainly qualifies! And this: BP's 10 BILLION dollar tax break? Give us an f'ing break! Finally, you can stil take action to keep Big Wind out of our public waters.

This weeks Fool-on-the-Hill is our own Repugnican, Sen. Scott Brown. The League of Conservation Voters notes: "The good news is that all four reckless anti-clean air amendments failed to get a majority of the vote in the U.S. Senate. The bad news is that Senator Brown chose to stand with big polluters -voting to protect polluter profits and weaken public health protections." Perhaps Scotty isn't aware of Western Mass' infamous air pollution? Does he really care? Run Elizabeth Warren, run!

The Enviro Show Quote of the Week is from Alice Walker: "The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men."

In our E-Valley-uation segment: Earth Day action at VT. Yankee. Jean was there! Also, we checkout both Citizen Action Network's Deb Katz's response and the Vermont Gov's response to Entergy's lawsuit against Vermont regarding the proposed re-licensing of the Vermont Yankee nuke. Also this: the NRC sucks! Who knew! Beyond Nuclear knows, but they're petitioning the NRC anyway! Meanwhile Ed Markey (D-MA) comes up with some sane legislation. Will it pass in a world gone mad?? Finally, a Blog Bonus: tell the Gov to Stop the Biomess!

"We've got ourselves (a roadkill)" by Colleen Kattau takes us to our interview with Derek Yorks of the Linking Landscapes turtle mortality study. Then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday April 27,12:30-2pm, GREENWORK: THE WESTERN MASS GREEN ECONOMY WORKING GROUP. Brown Bag Lunch at Noon, Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO Hall, 640 Page Boulevard, Springfield. Call: (413)732-7970

Thursday, April 28, 6:30, YMCA Community Room, Main Street, Greenfield. Follow-up panel discussion with co-sponsoring groups to share ideas on how we can all be involved in moving Greenfield and our region toward more sustainable energy use and food security. Part of Spring Film Series of Greening Greenfield and Friends.

April 28 - 30, 6 to 9pm. Public sessions for proposed Gateway development in Amherst. Large Activity Room, Bangs Community Center, Boltwood Walk, Amherst. More here and here.

Friday, April 29. Deadline for comments on the State's draft air permit for the proposed biomass incinerator in Springfield. Hampden County is already home to the dirtiest, unhealthiest air in the state. Springfield children have blood lead levels and respiratory disease rates twice that of the children of the state. You can make a difference! Please visit and make your comments.

Friday April 29, Noon-1:30. Takaaki Morikawa, a survivor of the Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima, will share his personal history of the event using a power point presentation and a film dramatically illustrating the devastating effects of the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the Sloan Theater Greenfield Community College.

Saturday, April 30, 7 - 9pm. "Bhopal....BP......Fukushima.....Should Corporations Get Away with Murder and Ecocide?" A conversation with Ward Moorehouse. Cohousing Common House is located at 24 Mountain Laurel Path in Florence.

Monday, May 2, 7-9:30pm. "Earth Day '11: Facing our Present and Future through Eco-poetry, Prose, and Song". Second Congregational Church, Court Square, Greenfield. Donation requested to cover costs. Contact: 413-625-6374 or johnpberk@gmail.com

Monday, May 2, 7:30pm Vandana Shiva: The Rights on Mother Earth. Paino Lecture Hall, Earth Sciences Building, Free and Open to the Public. Wheelchair Accessible.

Wednesday, May 4, 7:30pm at Amherst Cinema, come see the powerful new documentary "Queen of the Sun: What Are The Bees Telling Us?", followed by me reading my poem "Honeybees: This Century's Canary in the Coal Mine?" and discussion of film.

Saturday May 7, 10:00am -1:00pm. The City of Holyoke is hosting a City Wide Clean Up Day. SEIU Local 888 rep Scott Burns says: This is an excellent
and fun opportunity for us to give back to the community. The city will provide pizza and refreshments afterward at Heritage State Park. Contact: sburns9960@aim.com

Sunday, May 13. 5 - 8pm. Art Bike Show & Auction Fundraiser to benefit the Holyoke Community Bike Shop. Holyoke Health Center Art Gallery: 230 Maple Street, Holyoke. Call: 413-534-5631 x114

Tuesday, May 17, 4:30 pm. Springfield City Council will hold a hearing at Springfield City Hall to consider amending or revoking Palmer Renewable Energy's permit to construct a biomass incinerator in Springfield. ALL OUT TO STOP IT! The Chicopee City Council, meanwhile, passed a resolution last Tuesday by unanimous vote, opposing the proposed biomass plant in Springfield. Go to: www.springfieldincinerator.info/actions.html

Saturday, May 21, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. From the Grassroots Up: Stop Incentives for Incinerators. A strategy meeting for activists working to stop biomass and waste burners. Doyle Center, Leominster MA. RSVP: Biomass Accountability Project at 800-729-1363 or stopbiomassburning@gmail.com

Sunday, Sunday, May 22, 10am. Manhan Rail Trail Grand Opening Ceremony and Rolling Party. Bike riders and walkers are invited to explore the new rail trail and art spots along the way. Riders can meet at 10am at Millside Park in Easthampton for bagels and musical performances, and then at 11 ride to the Route 10 Bridge. At 12, Mayor Higgins and Mayor Tautznik will cut the ribbon on the Bridge, and afterwards the procession will make its way to a concluding lunch at Veteran's Field in Northampton.

Next time it's Barking Up The Enviro Show with Michael Wojtech. Until then remember: LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER! (sorry, didn't mean to yell).

A River Runs Through The Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Those sketchy old nukes in Japan, the same kind as the Vermont Yankee reactor just up river from us, continue melting down. But, let's practice some of that good old fashioned all-American media denial for a spell and focus on the Connecticut River as it exists before Entergy utterly destroys it. Karl Meyer of "Shad for a Brighter Future" finally joins us to talk about our finned relations and the Connecticut. We visit our E-Valley-uation and Meet the New Boss segments, The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and ,who knows, maybe even our Fool-on-the-Hill offering, but first it's time for.... Revenge of the Critters! Don't pee in this river. The fish do not like it, guys.

In our E-Valley-uation segment we find that the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, which sits on the banks of the Connecticut River, has been operating under the terms of a zombie discharge permit that expired five years ago. The Connecticut River Watershed Council petitioned Vermont to conduct a review in order to protect the Connecticut River from the thermal discharge from the plant. BTW, here's an Enviro Show Blog Bonus about Vermont Yankee as well as a story about some of their non-submersible electrical cables discovered underwater! Gosh, electricity & water.....together! Also this: American Rivers is partnering with the Town of Greenfield, Connecticut River Watershed Council, Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, NOAA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Deerfield Watershed Association on a Green River Ecosystem Restoration Project. They're talking dam removal here, folks, once considered a radical idea only promoted by the likes of your friends...(ahem!) at Earth First! Meanwhile over in Amherst, the Fort River is in the news for having no dams! O, and this: Cowls goes for big solar in the woods?

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber let's repeat Environmental Action's call to action for Congress to defund nukes! AND Beyond Nuclear.org's petition to Obama to build a nuclear-free future for our children NOW! Maybe your thinking we don't need a nuke-free future 'cuz TEPCO, the NRC & the nuclear industry are leading you to believe everything is under control at Fukushima? Silly human. Speaking of under control? Remember THE worst oil spill disaster in history? Our own Rachell Maddow does too! Finally, we don't know what to think about this. Do you?

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week comes from inside the French nuclear industry where an unnamed executive VP stated with regard to the Fukushima multiple meltdowns: "Clearly we are witnessing one of the greatest disasters in modern times". Hmmm, where's the media on that?

On that note, it's time to Meet the New Boss......again. Obama's recent energy speech finds him continuing to keep the bed warm for the nuclear industry and Big Oil. However, given the ongoing multiple meltdowns at Fukushima his nuke boosts are really scary and...um...tone deaf? Do you think this is no laughing matter?

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Michigan Dem Debbie Stabenow who seems to have hitched a ride on the Repugnican crazy train going off the rails on the climate crisis. Jump Deb!

"Head of the River"by Elliot Bronson from '101 Subtle Ways' takes us to our interview with Karl Meyer. Then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, April 13, 4:30 p.m. Northampton Cheers to Clean Air. The Sierra Club and the Western Mass Green Consortium invite you to raise a glass for clean air at the Northampton Brewery, 11 Brewster Ct, Northampton. Contact: peter@petervickery.com

Sunday, April 17, 2 to 4 p.m., Organizing meeting for "Bike Week 2011" at Studio Helix, on the 3rd floor of Thornes Marketplace in downtown Northampton.

April 18, 1pm at the End of Powershift Rally (scheduled from 10am-1pm) Rising Tide North America invites all residents, students and youth to join the Reclaim Power.
Reclaim Power March & Creative Direct Actions, Lafayette Square (H St NW & Jackson Pl NW); Washington D.C. CONTACT: extraction@risingtidenorthamerica.org

Thursday April 21st,11:00 AM - 2:00 PM (2nd floor), The State House, Boston. Earth Day celebration, environmental fair, and lobby day, The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow is teaming up with environmental groups in Massachusetts this Earth Day. Every person that comes to Earth Day 2011 will be asked to visit their legislators and urge them to support funding in the state budget for environmental programs and the pro-environment bill(s) of their choice. Please come and ask your legislators to support the Safer Alternatives Bill (H-1136 & S-397) to protect our health from toxic chemicals in our workplaces, consumer products, homes and communities. Call 617-338-8131

Thursday 4/21, 7:30, Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall, Smith College Barry Sanders speaks on The Environmental Costs of Militarism.

Friday, April 22, 6:30 - 9:30pm. "Earth Day '11: Facing our Present and Future through Eco-poetry, Prose, and Song". Unitarian Universalist Society, 220 Main St., Northampton in the wheelchair-accessible Social Hall downstairs (b.y.o. pillows for plastic chairs. Donation requested to cover costs). D.O. will be reading. Contact: 413-625-6374 johnpberk@gmail.com

Saturday, April 23, 10a.m.-4:00pm Northampton's Earth Day celebration in Pulaski Park. Look for the giant Earth Ball made by students out of single use plastic bags. Also, an Earth Day film festival next door at the Academy of Music with special episodes of "Martha Speaks" at 11:30 am, "Nova-Power Surge", Now’s David Brancaccio’s fiim, ?Fixing The Future", and a special screening of "Carbon Nation" at 7:30 pm. Call: 413 584 3237


Saturday, April 23, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 2nd Annual Amherst Sustainability Festival. Held on the Amherst Town Common and around town. The festival combines The Renewable Energy Fair, Amherst Grows Green, and Arbor Day. There will be tree pruning and tree climbing demonstrations. Sustainable product suppliers, local artisans, consumer information regarding energy efficiency, and renewable energy providers will be on hand on the Town Common.

Monday, April 25, 7pm. "Voices of Chernobyl" Reading performance. Grace Church Parish Hall, Spring Street, Amherst. Call: (978)249-9400

Tuesday, April 26, 7pm. Same event at the Unitarian Society, 220 Main Street, Northampton. Call: (978)249-9400

Thursday 4/28, 6:30, YMCA Community Room, Main Street, Greenfield. Follow-up panel discussion with co-sponsoring groups to share ideas on how we can all be involved in moving Greenfield and our region toward more sustainable energy use and food security. Part of Spring Film Series of Greening Greenfield and Friends.

Saturday, April 30th, from 9:00a.m. to noon the Northampton Tree Committee in recognition of Arbor Day, will distribute approximately 120 street trees to Northampton residents at Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School, located at 80 Locust Street. The goal of the program is to have the trees planted near the public way or within public view. It is essential that trees not be planted under utility wires. Twelve different species—all on the NTC’s pre-approved species list—will be available. The trees will be in large seven to ten gallon containers. To receive a free tree, individuals and families must register by April 20 at www.ntcfreetree.eventbrite.com. Questions about the program can be e-mailed to nohotrees@gmail.com

Monday, May 2, 7-9:30pm. "Earth Day '11: Facing our Present and Future through Eco-poetry, Prose, and Song". Second Congregational Church, Court Square, Greenfield. Donation requested to cover costs. Contact: 413-625-6374 johnpberk@gmail.com

Time to flow on out of here 'til next time. Until then remember: listen to your Mother, OK?

Meltdown with The Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. On Tuesday it's day 18 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuke disaster and a day after the 32nd anniversary of the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown. Why are we boiling water with deadly radioactive material we don't know how to dispose? This is the real March Madness, yes? Former Valley resident and nuclear activist,Harvey Wasserman calls in with updates and Citizens Awareness Network's Deb Katz returns to connect the dots to Vermont Yankee. D.O. waxes poetic with his take on Pluto Rising and we report back on the recent Vermont Yankee action in our E-Valley-uation segment. Time permitting we'll also have a peak into The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and over at the Fool-on-the-Hill, but first it's time for...Revenge of the Critters! Whale commandeers yacht, demands passage to new planet! (OK, so we lied about that last part).

"Shut 'em Down" means it's time for another E-Valley-uation: was last week's anti-nuke vigil at Vermont Yankee effective? When will the state shut it down? Post your thoughts on the blog.

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Congressman Ron Paul,(Repugnican,TX), who seems to feel that much of the reaction to the nuclear power crisis in Japan is "overblown". Paul stated: "Nuclear power is very dangerous, but it is also the safest form of energy we have.” Say what?? Maybe Ron worships the Invisible Hand of the Free Market. That might explain his....er..incongruity? Hey Ron! Would you like salt with that meltdown?

D.O. is all freaked out about plutonium these days. Just because it's THE most toxic substance known to the human race and may be escaping into the atmosphere from Japan, why get all worked up about it?? Anyway, he does the spoken word on it and notes on his blog that sensors inside Daiichi reactors are not working, but censors outside work just fine!

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we bring you a Blog Bonus: Vermont Yankee license renewal? No way! Seabrooke renewal? HA!. So, why is no one talking about how bad Fukushima could be? Also this: Beyond Nuclear asks YOU to act now, but just signing a petition is not enough. Everyone needs to get active. Remember the old saw: "Better active today than radioactive tomorrow". It looks like Physicians for Social Responsibility is active: they just called for a nationwide moratorium on "new nuclear reactors in the United States and a suspension of operations at the nuclear reactors with a similar design as those involved in the disaster in Japan". And, get this: Germany set to abandon nuclear energy. Macht den Menschen!

Here's our Enviro Show nuclear link fest featuring the sites we've been pretty much glued to these past few weeks. First is our favorite nuclear physicist's site Michio Kaku's Big Think. Next we've linked above to our friends at Beyond Nuclear. Also we often check in with The Bulletin of Atom Scientists Daily Update from Japan as well as The Radiation Network's National Radiation Map, showing radiation levels across the U.S. from non-governmental sources. Finally, if you want to know where the prevailing winds are in any given day you can go to End Times Report (yes, it's a creepy name, but hey! these are creepy times, no?).

Following our interviews with Harvey & Deb it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Friday, April 1, 2011 at 7:00 pm. The Committee for the Leverett Peace Commission sponsors a Community Talk, “Fear or Consciousness: Dare We Change?” with Penny Gill, Professor of Politics, Dean of the College at Mount Holyoke at Leverett Town Hall. In her talk, Penny will address some of the obstacles we have inherited from the post-industrial capitalist structures of our world. These barriers inhibit our confidence in our ability to create the changes we all so long for - a peaceful world, a sustainable economy, and stable climate. Call: (413)367-9520

Sunday, April 3, 7:00-9:00 p.m. “An Evening with Starhawk in Celebration of the Heart and Soul of the Five Rivers Community”. Look for booksigning following the talk. Admission: sliding scale. Montague Grange, Main Street, Village of Montague, Massachusetts. For more information, contact Joshua: jjwaffles[at]juno.com or 520-358-1520

April 4, 2011, a day to stand in solidarity with working people in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and dozens of other states where well-funded, right-wing corporate politicians are trying to take away the rights Dr. King gave his life for. It’s a day to show movement. A day to be creative, but clear: We Are One! Call: (413)732-7970

Tuesday, April 5, 6:30 PM plan to attend the public hearing at Duggan Middle School, 1015 Wilbraham Road, where the state will present its draft air permit for the PRE biomass incinerator proposed for Page Boulevard in Springfield. This is the final permit the developers need before they can put a shovel in the ground. Please prepare to speak, submit written comments or just come and show support with your presence which really does matter! Call 455-3829 or 734-4948.

Friday, April 8th. PENTAGON ACTION FOR PEACE “DISARMAGEDDON”. Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia Metro entrance Arlington, VA. Local contact: (413)522-7505

Saturday, April 9, 2011, 12:00 pm "Bring the Troops Home Now!" Union Sq. to Foley Sq./ Broadway and 14th St. New York, NY. Call: 518-227-6947

Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 6-8pm. Bi-monthly meeting of the Springfield-Area Sustainable Energy Association. Topic: Organic Landcare. Hear about a how to care for your lawn and garden using anon pesticide, petro chemical fertilizer approach. Help learn how you can stop the pollution of our waterways and still have a healthy vibrant green space. Western New England College (WNEC), Sleith Hall, Rm S101, 1215 Wilbraham Rd, Springfield. Call: (413) 883-3144

OK then, next time we get back to that canceled on acount a' snow show: "Shad for a Brighter Future" with Karl Meyer. Until then remember: Listen to your Mother!

Japanese nuke disaster - a media meltdown too!

Ever since it began, the nuclear diaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in northern Japan has also proved to be a media disaster. Coverage of the event has been all over the map and continues to confuse people at a time where precise information is most important. A good part of the reason for this confusion seems to come from Japan itself, where "damage repair" is not simply confined to the reactor site, but to the boardroom and official press briefings as well. It has been reported that Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the complex, has a history of of falsified safety reports, fatal accidents and underestimated earthquake risk. If this is the case, why should such dishonesty change now when the company faces its biggest challenge ever? Indeed, the Japanese government itself has been accused of a cover-up. Does this remind us of something? Making matters worse, international agencies that are supposed to protect and inform us in times of a nuclear crisis apparently have a hidden agenda. In the U.S. there has always been problems with the ‘politicization’ of nuclear energy.

Given all that disinformation and media manipulation it's no surprise that U.S. reports of the nuclear disaster and its global effects are replete with mixed messages. However, that situation is made even worse by news or informational organizations that have their own corporate agendas. On one end of the spectrum are outright propaganda outfits like Faux "News" (Fox News) who even promote radiation! Less overt, but seemingly just as pro-corporate, National Public Radio (NPR) has a history of nuclear industry bias and NBC is actually owned in-part by nuclear reactor maker GE. These outlets often make use of questionable information from nuclear industry lobbying groups, passing it off as news. But such manufactured media is not limited to the United States. Public relations hacks and commentators in Australia, the UK, and elsewhere are engaged in the effort as well.

Add to all this the propensity for most all media in this day and age to suffer from a highly limited attention span. Always on the lookout for the next new thing, editors and reporters may be some of the most sensation-driven professionals among us. "If it bleeds it leads" is the infamous tagline associated mainly with the mainstream media, but that sort of voyeurism is partly derived from human nature. The media simply makes an art of it. Now, we see the multiple meltdowns in Japan, not to mention the thousands who died in the earthquake and tsunami, fall from the headlines or be pushed aside by the war in Libya. The fact of the matter is: the Fukushima meltdowns have the potential to be the WORST NUCLEAR CRISIS EVER. The media needs to stay on the case.

So, where does one go to get the actual facts? Didn't we ask that same question last year during the BP oil disaster in the Gulf? Wasn't there just as much disinformation and spin coming from government and industry? Given the dynamics of the so-called "Information Age", it is left up to us to seek out a wide range of information on our own and decide for ourselves what is relevant and factual. I guess that's the same as it ever was, only there's more of it.

The Real Ides of March Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. The Earth has shifted on its' axis, Japan is not where it used to be, and nukes are melting down. The New York Times reported this morning at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station "an explosion damaged the vessel containing the nuclear core at one reactor and a fire at another [possibly in the spent fuel pool] spewed large amounts of radioactive material into the air". Radioactive fallout anyone? Who is running the show in Japan anyway? When will it get here? We think that qualifies for the Ides of March, no? The sins of Old King Coal was to be the theme of this show but life got in the way. Deb Katz from the Citizen Awareness Network calls-in with the latest on nuclear meltdown, radioactive exposure, official obfuscation and, of course, cover-ups. The Fukishima Nuclear Power Plant is a General Electric (GE) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) with a Mark 1 containment, the same type of creaky old nuke as Vermont Yankee. Did we mention that the Nuclear Recommendation...err...Regulatory Commission just granted VY another 20 year opportunity to meltdown right here in the Valley? In any case, we'll truly have a full house 'cuz: Jeff Biggers, activist and author of Reckoning at Eagle Creek also calls in from Coal Country while here in the not-so-large studio Peter Vickery joins D.O., Glen & Jean to tie-in that funky old Mt. Tom coal burner looming over the Valley. Peter has been working with Mass Sierra Club in an effort to get Mt. Tom to switch to cleaner burning natural gas. Of course gas drilling comes with its' own host of ills and in our Enviro Show perfect world we'd rather see corporados in treadmills producing power, but hey, it's not exactly the 19th century, right? If time allows we'll tumble into some of our usual segments like The Enviro Show Echo Chamber, the Quote of the Week, Fool-on-the-Hill and whatever, but first it's time for.....Revenge of the Critters! Yellow sack spiders driving people crazy!

Our Fool-on-the-Hill this week is Rep. John Shimkus, Repugnican chair of the House Subcommittee on Environment and Economy who actually believes the climate crisis exists but that there's no reason to worry, since God promised Noah after the great flood that he wouldn't deluge the world again. "I do believe in the Bible as the final word of God," he said. "And I do believe that God said the Earth would not be destroyed by a flood." Whew! That was a close one.

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week is way on theme: "Football is a game designed to keep coal miners off the streets". - Jimmy Breslin

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we first go to Monday's Democracy Now! to hear from the Valley's own Harvey Wasserman. Also we checkout the biomess over in the UK where some would have you think biomass incineration as an answer to the ills of burning coal for power. And since coal is our focus here, let's hear out Bill McKibben on coal exports. Also, Chris Hedges takes the long view regarding empires and the environment. Is there hope that enviros will get it together and have the kind of mass action we've been talking about for years now? Rainforest Action Network, 350.org and others FINALLY take the plunge! And this: March on Blair Mountain! Witch side are you on? (sorry). A march to preserve Blair Mountain, abolish mountaintop removal in Appalachia, strengthen labor rights, and invest in sustainable job creation for all Appalachian communities, June 6 to 11. Some good news here: the proposed biomass incinerator for Pownal, VT just over the border has been put on hold. Finally this: a list of Koch Industry products to boycott.

"Just a Little Meltdown" by Tom Neilson takes us to our interviews. Then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:


Saturday, March 19th, 10:30am-12pm, Improving Access to Free Energy Efficiency Services through MassSAVE, Alliance to Develop Power, 130 Union Street, Springfield. Contact: Boone Shear at (413)739-7233

Saturday March 19 from 9 AM – 10PM. Equinox and the Making of a Sacred Landscape. At the University of the Wild’s Center, Earthlands There is a deposit for Saturday’s programs, please make reservations to assure your place and meal, at office@earthlands.org

Monday evening, March 21, at 7:00 pm, "COUTDOWN TO CLOSURE and a Green, Nuclear-Free Future" will take place on at the Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main St. in downtown Brattleboro. March 21 is exactly one year before the scheduled shutdown of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. All are welcome. Call: (413) 624-8858

March 22, 2011 is World Water Day. Declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993.

Friday, April 1, 2011 at 7:00 pm. The Committee for the Leverett Peace Commission sponsors a Community Talk, “Fear or Consciousness: Dare We Change?” with Penny Gill, Professor of Politics, Dean of the College at Mount Holyoke at Leverett Town Hall. In her talk, Penny will address some of the obstacles we have inherited from the post-industrial capitalist structures of our world. These barriers inhibit our confidence in our ability to create the changes we all so long for - a peaceful world, a sustainable economy, and stable climate. Call: (413)367-9520

April 4, 2011, a day to stand in solidarity with working people in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and dozens of other states where well-funded, right-wing corporate politicians are trying to take away the rights Dr. King gave his life for. It’s a day to show movement. A day to be creative, but clear: We Are One! Call: (413)732-7970

Tuesday, April 5, 6:30 PM plan to attend the public hearing at Duggan Middle School, 1015 Wilbraham Road, where the state will present its draft air permit for the PRE biomass incinerator proposed for Page Boulevard in Springfield. This is the final permit the developers need before they can put a shovel in the ground. Please prepare to speak, submit written comments or just come and show support with your presence which really does matter! Call 455-3829 or 734-4948.

Friday, April 8th. PENTAGON ACTION FOR PEACE “DISARMAGEDDON”. Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia Metro entrance Arlington, VA. Local contact: (413)522-7505

Next time: Amherst's proposed Gateway Project with Mary Wentworth, Until then remember: Listen to your Mother!