The Drop Dead Green Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Will your grand finale be Earth-friendly? We stare mortality in the face with Carol Coan, trustee of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Western Massachusetts and environmental journalist Mark Harris, who authored the book “Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial.” We'll try once again to run that E-Valley-uation segment on the local biomess controversy (another victim of the clock) and we venture into The Enviro Show Echo Chamber for more news on the planet. Did I mention the Quote of the Week? But first it's time for......Revenge of the Critters! Bees attack White House. BEEware Obamaistas! And especially YOU, Major Garrett!!

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we learn that the Waxman energy bill eases biomass limits (groan). O, and speaking of making things easy for the corporados, checkout what the folks on Beacon Hill have in mind for privatizing public space for Big Wind. Of course the good news big story was Obama’s new mileage rules! That's the big news, now here's the bad news. Our Enviro Show Blog Bonus comes from Grist: Cash from climate criminals shaping Waxman-Markey clean-energy bill.

We go straight into that E-Valley-uation segment that got blown off last time. Let's visit the local controversy about proposed biomass plants for Brattleboro, Greenfield, Springfield, Russell and Palmer (did i miss any?) with dueling screeds from some of the major players. Interesting that Mass Sierra Club's Elisa Campbell is boosting incinerators while her club isn't!. And this: Western Mass Electric supports mountain top removal. Have we got a great proposal for them!

"Empty me" by Congress of Starlings from the "Albedo" album takes us to our interview with Carol, who will be in the studio with us, with Mark calling in on the tele. That will be about The End, but not the end of the show (which, as you know, must go on) because next is the.......



Bus Top Billboard:


Tuesday, May 26, 7pm. GREENFIELD ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS on the BIOMESS! Greenfield Middle School Cafeteria, 195 Federal Street, Greenfield. Pioneer Renewable Energy, LLC – Request for a special permit to allow a 47 MW Biomass Power Plant within the Planned Industry Zoning District.


Thursday, May 28, 7pm. The Franklin Regional Planning Board will meet in the Franklin Regional Council of Governments conference room, 278 Main St. Greenfield. The agenda includes a presentation about Biomass availability in western Massachusetts & Renewable Biomass from state forests with Gordon Boyce of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. There will also be a presentation on the proposed Pioneer Renewable Energy Biomass facility in Greenfield by Matthew Wolfe of Mader Energy.

Saturday, May 30, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. OLD GROWTH FOREST EXCURSIONS with Bob Leverett, eastern old growth forest expert, as he takes you through some of the most extraordinary old growth forest in the state. The
trip will include elevation climb, bigger trees and a view. Bring lunch and water. Carpooling from Amherst can be arranged. Pre-registration is required; please call (413) 256-6006.

Wednesday, June 3, & Friday, June 5, 7:30 - 9:30am. Morning Nature Walks. Participants will meet at the bird bath outside the main entrance to the Great Falls Discovery Center in Turners Falls. Morning Nature Walk topics may include “Wing and Water,” informal birding and observation of water foul activity in Unity Park/Barton Cove; “Riverwatch,” an early-morning exploration of the Connecticut River, Barton Cove, and the power canal; “Fern-tastic,” fern identification and photography along the bike path; or “Byways and Backways,” an exploration of nature found along Turners Falls side streets and alleys. For more information, call 413.863.3221 or visit www.greatfallsma.org.

Wednesday, June 3, 6:45pm Biomess strategy meeting. 2nd Congregational Church. Call 774-5952

Saturday, June 6, 2009, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Pondering Ponds with Micky McKinley, Hitchcock Center for the Environment Educator. Pre-registration is required; please call (413) 256-6006.

June 10-19, 2009. 10-Day Wild Earth Intensive. Contact: patrick@universityofthewild.org

OK, now it really is the end. Next time it's land conservation with Carol Gray. Stay tuned and remember: listen to your Mother!

The Greening Greenfield Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. You'd think a town with a name like Greenfield would be plenty green already, no? We talk with Nancy Hazard, Co-chair of the group Greening Greenfield about projects they're working on. Like always, we'll inspire you with The Enviro Show Quote of the Week, depress you with bad news from The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and confuse you with our E-Valley-uation segment, but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! BLACK FLIES!

On our Enviro Show Quote of the Week we confirm what far-right ideologues have always suspected: we repeat the words of Karl Marx!

"The development of civilization and industry in general has always shown itself so active in the destruction of forests that everything that has been done for their conservation and production is completely insignificant in comparison. "

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber the U.S. Climate Emergency Council tells us that Congressman Boucher, who took $176,554 from the coal industry in 2007-2008, is spearheading an effort in Congress to urge the sponsors of the "American Clean Energy Security Act" to give away free permits to our nation's biggest polluters. Giving these permits away would result in massive profits for polluters and hurt working families. Here's the action link for that one. And this from the other coast: Bulk of forest biomass fuel to come from national forests!. Also this: U.S. Chamber of Converse (did i say that?) actually taking a hit from its' own membership! And finally (and we mean FINALLY! Obama budget rescinds energy industry tax breaks!

In our Enviro Show E-Valley-uation segment we briefly visit the local controversy about biomass with dueling screeds from some of the major players. Interesting that Mass Sierra Club's Elisa Campbell is boosting incinerators while her club isn't!.

"The Tree", by Marie Mason from "Not For Profit" takes us to our interview with Nancy. Then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:


Wednesday, May 13, 7pm. Vermont Public Service Board Second Public Hearing - ENVY Certificate of Public Good at Vermont Interactive Television sites across the state. Brattleboro Union High School, 131 Fairground Rd - Room 125. Contact: cchang@nukebusters.org

Thursday, May 14, Noon to 2pm. Bike Week tour of the endangered farmland folks are trying to protect in S. Amherst and the Fort River area of Hadley. Tour goes from Station Road to Pomeroy Lane, Moody Bridge Road and East Street in Hadley and back to the bike trail for a ride back to Station Road. Contact: judyeiseman@comcast.net

Thursday, May 14, 9:00 p.m. the Greenfield Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on Pioneer Renewable Energy's request for a special permit to allow a 47 MW Biomass Burning Power Plant to be built on Butternut Street. Police Station Meeting Room at 321 High Street. Bring a written statement about how this plant would affect you; be prepared to read it aloud and/or submit it to the record.


Sunday, May 17 from 8:00 to noon. Bike Week Breakfast to Benefit Manhan Rail Trail at the Apollo Grill, Eastworks Building, 116 Pleasant Street, Easthampton, MA. Eastworks is located adjacent to the bike path, so cyclists or walkers can stop and enjoy their breakfast before continuing on their way.

Saturday, May 30, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. OLD GROWTH FOREST EXCURSIONS with Bob Leverett, eastern old growth forest expert, as he takes you through some of the most extraordinary old growth forest in the state. The trip will include elevation climb, bigger trees and a view. Bring lunch and water. Carpooling from Amherst can be arranged. Pre-registration is required; please call (413) 256-6006.

Saturday, June 6, 2009, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Pondering Ponds with Micky McKinley, Hitchcock Center for the Environment Educator. Pre-registration is required; please call (413) 256-6006.

June 10-19, 2009. 10-Day Wild Earth Intensive. Contact:patrick@universityofthewild.org

Enough! Next time we checkout "green burials".....well, not literally! Until then remember: listen to who?.............yes! Your Mother!!

The Coming Biomess Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Eric takes over on the board for this one 'cuz Glen went and scheduled some kind of meeting (what was he thinking??) We return to the issue of public lands in the Commonwealth being sacrificed for a slew of proposed biomass energy plants (some, like Glen for instance, would say INCINERATORS!), all in the name of .....what? the climate crisis? sustainability? pick a buzz-word, any buzz-word! Chris Matera of Mass Forest Watch returns to these microphones with that story. And this JUST IN: we may be laying the Swine Flu Outbreak at the feet of Big Meat! We'll also checkout some national enviro news in the Enviro Show Echo Chamber, hear the Quote of the Week and some tunes, but first it's time for..... Revenge of the Critters! Talk about a biomess: Ruffed grouse calls for destruction of Massachusetts forests!

The sounds of Spring Peepers brings us to our Enviro Show Quote of the Week. This one from FDR:

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

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber it's a two-fer from the New York Times: EPA clears way for Greenhouse gas rules. And in an accompanying piece: Company hopes to store CO2 beneath ocean. Finally, an Enviro Show Blog Bonus Action Link on protecting our National Forests: Tell AG Holder - Stop defending Bush's policies on the Roadless Rule! More good news from the Obama machine: Bush-era endangered species rule revoked!

In our E-Valley-uation segment "Ancient Pines",by Loreena McKennitt takes us to our interview with Chris Matera of Mass Forest Watch

Then we catch the Bus Stop Billboard:


Wednesday, April 29, 10 - 2 pm. Vermont Statehouse, Montpelier, VT. 10am - Join the Mock Nuclear Evacuation March from City Hall to the State house. 10:30am - It's Y(our) Choice : Mock Evacuation and Renewable Energy Fair on the State house lawn. 12 pm - Opportunities to Lobby legislators. Join us in a day of action to show WE CAN REPLACE VERMONT YANKEE! Rain or Shine! For more info - 802-377-7403 (There is a bus going up from Brattleboro)

Wednesday, April 29, 7pm. "Are There Ways To Get Around Without Polluting The Planet?". Screening at ACTV, 246 College Street (Rt. 9) in Amherst. For more information, call 413-256-6005

Wed. April 29, 6:30 to 8:30pm. Screening of "Future Car" Alan Alda visits the research labs of the Big Three auto makers to find out what people will be driving in the future. Also includes a short: Enjoy the Ride. A local story about the rise of the bicycle as transportation and recreation in the PioneerValley. Greening Greenfield Film/Discussion Series at the Greenfield Public Library.


Friday, May 1 & Saturday, May 2, Sustainable Energy Summit, UMass. Friday kick-off 7-9pm. Music by The Raging Grannies * Verne McArthur * Jose Ayerve * Tom Neilson & Kat Allen * Red Valley Fog * Jay Mankita. Speech by long-time community and labor organizer Stewart Acuff. Info at: www.cooppower.coop

Saturday May 2 12 to 6pm. Free Ridebuzz Music Festival at Kendrick Park, Amherst. Call 253-0681

Monday, May 4, 5 - 8 pm. Greening Greenfield 10% Challenge Fundraiser at Hope & Olive, in Greenfield. Contact Nancy Hazard, WorldSustain & Co-chair, Greening Greenfield 413-774-5667


Thursday, May 7, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Rail Trails: Bringing community consensus. Dick Williamson will be the upcoming speaker at the Southampton Greenway monthly presentation. Edwards Public Library Meeting Room, 30 East Street, Southampton, MA. mail@SouthamptonGreenway.org

Mother's Day, Sunday, May 10, 11 am. The Fourth Annual Peaceable Planet Mother's Day Puppet Parade! Meet at the Bridge Street School, in Northampton, at the bottom of town on Rte 9, as you round the corner to get to the bridge towards Amherst. The School will be on your left. Bring puppets, banners & kids! Call 413-268-3588



That about does it. We go out on the 88's with "Church of Trees" by Liz Story. Next time it's Greening Greenfield (wait! isn't it green already??) And in case it's slipped your mind, remember to.......listen to your MOTHER!

The Other Oceanic Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. We'll try not to go overboard about the deep blue sea once again, but you never know. There's pirates out there! Jackie Savitz Pollution Campaign Director, and Senior Scientist at Oceana joins us to discuss the human impact on the Seven Seas. Here on The Enviro Show blog we'll take you out on an Ocean Adventure with Jean-Michel Cousteau to Garbage Island. Back in the studio we'll forgo the sea-legs and content ourselves with visits to The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and rather than swear like a sailor (and risk losing our FCC license) we'll settle for The Enviro Show Quote of the Week. Also, the E-Valley-uation Segment returns with a vengeance, but first it's time for.... Revenge of the Critters! Lobster attacks!

The Enviroshow Quote of the Week comes from Rachel Carson:

“To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of year, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.”

We'll have some genuine whale songs to take you to the E-Valley-uation segment. Remember last time we spoke about some breaking news? Yes, The Earth First! Roadshow is coming to the Valley!! Last year, Al Gore called the blockading of construction sites of new power plants an appropriate response to the environmental crisis facing the planet. But this was no new mandate to Earth First!, who has been advocating grassroots direct action to protect and restore the planet for near 30 years. Now, the Earth First! Movement has launched its largest roadshow since the early 1980’s. The tour will include presentations, performances and trainings on environmental civil disobedience and will be making 100 stops in 30 states. The traveling group includes activists from various bio-regions representing ecological campaigns against logging, mining, road expansion, ocean exploitation, energy infrastructure and urban development. Also on the agenda of these events will be discussions of a new wave of political repression, coined the “Green Scare”, where environmentalists have experienced a documented increase in government surveillance, harassment and even entrapment.

The Roadshow will be at Amherst College at O'Connor Commons, Charles Pratt Hall on Thursday, April 23rd, 4:30PM-6:30pm for a participatory presentation followed by direct actions workshops at 7:30PM. For info on that contact our favorite student activist, Alissa at: aayden11@amherst.edu. This event is sponsored by the Amherst College Responsible Endowment Coalition and the Green Amherst Project. Co-sponsors are the UMass Eco-Coalition, part of UMass EarthWeek 2009 and your very own Enviro Show.

In addition, the Roadshow will be at The Evolution Café in Florence at 6pm on Friday, 24th following an all-day tour of state lands under the axe. Contact us about that gig: enviroshow@valleyfreeradio.org. Do not miss this, guys.

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we find Ocean mercury on the increase. Also, as you may have heard, a giant mass of Antarctic ice is "set for collapse". AND, speaking of The Poles, Hillary Clinton is said to be seeking greater protections for them (No, not THOSE Poles, the POLES!). Finally, last time we spoke with Linda Glover about the dwindling Tuna population, right? Well, last week we learned that the European Union countries adopted new rules to help restore endangered bluefin tuna in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. How about this rule: STOP FISHING!

"Disection of the Squid", by RoMak & the Space Pirates will take us to our interview with Jackie Savitz, Pollution Campaign Director, and Senior Scientist at Oceana.

Then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:


Wednesday, April 15, 7:30 pm. Dave Rovics at the Echo Lake Concert Series. Leverett Town Hall, 9 Montague Rd., Leverett. Call 413-548-9394

Wed. April 15, 6:30pm. Eco Sense II: Energy Solutions. Questions of energy and specific solutions being explored and implemented. Discussion leader:
Darren Jones, Products & Services manager of Coop Power in Greenfield. Greening Greenfield Film/Discussion Series at Greenfield Public Library.

Wednesday, April 15, 7pm. Screening of the film "Flow". Amherst Community Television, 246 College St, Amherst. Part of "Empowering Ourselves: Think Globally- Act Locally" film series screening timely eco conscious films: FLOW: How Did A Handful of Corporations Steal Our Water? Info: 256-6005, www.actvamherst.com.

Thursday, April 16, 7pm, Film: King Corn A feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fastfood nation..Part of the GCC Peace and Social Justice Club's Peace and Truth for Reel film series. Traprock Peace Center, 24 Miles St. in Greenfield. Call (413) 773-7427

April 16, 3:30 - 5:30 pm & 7 - 9:30 pm. NRC Annual Assessment of Vermont Yankee Operations. Ramada Hotel and Conference Center, 1380 Putney Rd, Brattleboro, VT The NRC requested an Annual Assessment Meeting with Entergy to discuss the NRC's assessment of the safety performance of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station for calendar year 2008. Time will be provided for questions related to the 2008 assessment of Vermont Yankee. In addition, a Town Hall Style Meeting will be held in the evening to answer questions on the role of the NRC in ensuring safe plant operations. This meeting will be dedicated to answering questions from the public. Contact: cchang@nukebusters.org

Saturday, April 18 (Earth Day) from 8 am to 11 am. Bike Path Cleanup. Volunteers will start at two locations: The bike path behind the Stop and Shop,
and a mile north on the bike path where it crosses Prospect Avenue. Depending on how many of us there are and how vigorous we are, can go both directions
for as far as we can.

Sunday April 19, 1 to 4pm., Climate Leadership Workshop. McConnell 103, Smith College. If possible, please RSVP by sending an e-mail
to workshop@pvclimate.org with your name and email. Or, go to www.pvclimate.org. Requested donation but all are welcome, regardless of what you can afford.
If questions, please contact Tina at tina@pvclimate.org, 413-863-5253.

Saturday & Sunday April 18 & 19, 2009 Green Fair and Better Living show. Franklin County fairgrounds. Call (413)773-5463

Monday April 27, 10 am - 3 pm. Vigil to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear explosion. Wells Fountain, Brattleboro
For more info contact Hatti Nestle at 978-249-9400

Monday, April 27th, 7pm. a public hearing for the Manhan Rail Trail (an extension to the Norwottuck Rail Trail from Easthampton to Northampton) Northampton at the Bridge Street Elementary School (2 Parsons Street)

May 1 & 2, Sustainable Energy Summit, UMass. Friday kick-off 7-9pm. Music by The Raging Grannies * Verne McArthur * Jose Ayerve * Tom Neilson & Kat
Allen * Red Valley Fog * Jay Mankita. Speech by long-time community and labor organizer Stewart Acuff. Info at: www.cooppower.coop

That would be May Day, right? MAY DAY! MAY DAY! Listen to your MOTHER!!

The Oceanic Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings (and matees!). We are once again all wet on The Enviro Show as we dip into the majesty of (and travesties against) the sea. Linda Glover, co-author of "Ocean - An illustrated atlas" published by National Geographic, calls-in with news from The Deep. It's not Dress Like a Pirate Day here in the studio, but we may steal some appropriate booty for you to bury away. Also we'll delve into more nautical news in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and the Quote of The Week, as well as see what's happening around The Valley eco-wise in The Bus Stop Billboard, but first it's time for........ Revenge of the Critters! Jellyfish shutdown nuke!

The Enviro Show Quote of the Week, in keeping with our theme, comes from none other than Capt. Paul Watson of the no nonsense direct action group, Sea Shepherd: "[Cape Wind] is a threat to seabirds and as a marine wildlife conservation organization, we represent our clients, marine wildlife and this Cape Wind project is not in their interest".

The Enviro Show Echo Chamber is getting mighty crowded! We have this from Grist: Lessons from the Exxon Valdez. Also, an Enviro Show Blog Bonus: Democracy Now! on the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. And checkout the three-fer: a Take Action Link on pirate fishing operations using harmful fishing methods that damage marine habitats and injure or kill other marine life; a link to a How Green is My Seafood Quiz, and another Take Action link to cancel new oil and gas leases in the Polar Bear Seas, home to endangered polar bears and other imperiled wildlife. Also, The New York Times tells us Mtn. top removal may not get get a free pass anymore. Here's a Take Action link for this one too! Finally, this from the AP: Report: Alternative energy killing birds.What? Windmills killing birds?? Who knew!

After our interview with Linda "The Last Leviathan" by Cadence Carroll, from the "Evolve" album takes us to the Bus Stop Billboard:


Wed. April 1, 6:30-8:30pm. Eco Sense I: Energy Problems, a 30 minute TV show from the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan exploring how the end of cheap energy is changing the ways we will run our cities. Segment I concentrates on defining the problems, and segment II next week deals with the solutions being pursued by the city. Greening Greenfield Film/Discussion Series at Greenfield Public Library.

Wednesday, April 1st, at 7:30 pm. The Commons Group is sponsoring a talk on sustainable living by U/Mass Professor John Gerber on , at the Bangs Center in Amherst.


Thursday, April 2nd, at 7:30 p.m the Mount Holyoke College Center for the Environment, the Kestrel Trust, and the Odyssey Bookshop will welcome environmentalist, and best-selling author, Bill McKibben to Hooker Auditorium on the Mount Holyoke College campus. This reading is free and open to the public.


Friday, April 3, 1pm. Bail Out the People, Not the Banks! National March on Wall Street on the Anniversary on the day Martin Luther King gave his life fighting for social and economic justice. Meet at the NY Stock Exchange, Broad & Wall Streets. For more info go to: www.bailoutpeople.org or call (212)633-6646

Saturday, April 4. 11am. UFP&J March on Wall Street. Assembly Location: Leonard, Franklin and White Streets, between Broadway and Lafayette St.
Info at: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/index.php

Tuesday, April 7, 7pm Biomass 101 at the GCTV studio, 393 Main Street in Greenfield, MA or watch it on GCTV

April 7, 12:00pm. Helen Caldicott Tour. Middlebury College's Bicentennial Hall. Dr. Caldicott is an articulate and passionate advocate of citizen awareness regarding the nuclear and environmental crisis. Dr. Caldicott ‘s lectures are free and open to the public. For additional information please contact Marketing Partners at 802-864-6710.

Thursday, April 9th, 7pm. Witch Hunts: a prehistory of modern patriarchy. A Visual Presentation by Historian Max Dashu of the Suppressed Histories Archives. At the Media Education Foundation Community Room, 60 Masonic St, Northampton. Sponsored by the Rain and Thunder Collective. For more information about the event,
contact: rainandthunder@yahoo.com


Saturday, April 11, 10:00 - 11:30 am. General Meeting of Mass Bike. Go to: http://www.massbike.org/mbpv

Wednesday, April 15, 7:30 pm. Dave Rovics at the Echo Lake Concert Series. Leverett Town Hall, 9 Montague Rd., Leverett. Call 413-548-9394

Wed. April 15, 6:30pm. Eco Sense II: Energy Solutions. Questions of energy and specific solutions being explored and implemented. Discussion leader:
Darren Jones, Products & Services manager of Coop Power in Greenfield. Greening Greenfield Film/Discussion Series at Greenfield Public Library.

Thursday 4/16, 7pm, Film: King Corn A feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fastfood nation..
Part of the GCC Peace and Social Justice Club's Peace and Truth for Reel film series. Traprock Peace Center, 24 Miles St. in Greenfield. Call (413) 773-7427

Saturday & Sunday, April 18 & 19. 2009 Green Fair & Better Living Show. Franklin County Fairgrounds, Greenfield, MA. Call (413)773-5463

That's it for this week but we'll be back next time with more tales of the high seas. Until then remember.......listen to your Mother!

The Too Many Humans Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings, there are way too many of us two-leggeds taking up space and resources here on Mother Earth. What are we gonna' do about it? Stephanie Kraft of the Valley Advocate addressed this issue in a column a few weeks back and now she's in the studio to help us crunch the numbers. Soooo, what do we need? Negative Population Growth? A Voluntary Human Extinction Movement? Enough with the liberals taboo, let's talk! Also, we're coming up on the 30th anniversary of the nuke meltdown at Three Mile Island. We'll listen to clip from the re-release of local media artist, Robbie Leppzer's two-hour radio documentary on that frightening event in U.S. history. As always, we'll visit the Enviro Show Echo Chamber , the Quote of the Week and the Bus Stop Billboard, but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! Imprisoned chimp stockpiles weapons!

"All the People", by Dyniss takes us to the Enviro Show Quote of the Week where we once again give you a two-fer: we quote ourselves (shameless, self-serving tree huggers that we are!) with a special ZPG reading by our in-house poet, D.O. as well as this from the late eminent economist Kenneth Boulding:

"Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist."

After the clip from Robbie's documentary on TMI we move on to the Enviro Show Echo Chamber where we find that the EPA plans to regulate coal ash (whoa!, we've got some of that right here in the Valley). And this from the New York Times: Science returns to the White House. Welcome back! In the Irony of Ironies Department: No more glaciers in Glaciel National Park?

And, following our visit with Stephanie Kraft (and maybe some irate calls from you?) we head over to the Bus Stop Billboard:


FRIDAY, MARCH 20 7:30 PM. TURNING HOPE INTO ACTION. Rep. John Conyers and The Nation’s John Nichols to Appear at the NORTHAMPTON HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM 380 ELM STREET NORTHAMPTON, MA. Register to attend? wendy@pdamerica.org

Saturday, March 21, 9:45am. another Montague Home Energy Efficiency Workshop. Montague Center Library. call 367-9304

March 19-22, 2009, Forum on the Solidarity Economy; University of Massachusetts, Amherst. This four day conference will include an inspiring range of solidarity
economy tours, workshops, plenaries and cultural events including issues of sustainability. Go to: www.populareconomics.org

Friday, April 3, 1pm. Bail Out the People, Not the Banks! National March on Wall Street on the Anniversary on the day Martin Luther King gave his life fighting
for social and economic justice. Meet at the NY Stock Exchange, Broad & Wall Streets. For more info go to: www.bailoutpeople.org or call (212)633-6646

Saturday, April 4. 11am. UFP&J March on Wall Street. Assembly Location: Leonard, Franklin and White Streets, between Broadway and Lafayette St.
Info at: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/index.php

Saturday, April 11, 10:00 - 11:30 am. General Meeting of Mass Bike. Go to: http://www.massbike.org/mbpv

Wednesday, April 15, 7:30 pm. Dave Rovics at the Echo Lake Concert Series. Leverett Town Hall, 9 Montague Rd., Leverett. Call 413-548-9394


Enough! We go out with "Supernova",by Liquid Blue. And speaking of blue, next time we take a dip into the ocean. Tune-in! O, and remember: listen to your Mother!

The King Coal's Getting His Butt Kicked Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. On Sunday, right here in the Happy Valley we took part in the Anti-Coal Protest at Mount Tom. You can read an account of the rally on Peter Vickery's blog here. You've no doubt heard us on past Enviro Shows bad-mouthing that old coal-burning clunker by Mt. Tom in Holyoke, not far over the Northampton line (I-91 and Rts. 5 & 10 pass right by it). According to a press release from Peter Vickery, "the coal-burning Mount Tom power station generates more than one million tons of CO2 annually....which is reason enough to stage a peaceful protest at the GDF Suez-owned plant."

Soooo, we never made it to DC for the Capitol Climate Action but you can read about that big bash on the link below. On with the show! Of course we'll once again point out that burning coal for electricity is a bit like eating junk food for your health. We bring you the sounds of protest from the Capitol Climate Action in DC, as well as a report on the PowerShift09 Conference held prior to the action. As always we'll delve into the Enviro Show Echo Chamber for the news and checkout the Enviro Show Quote of the week, AND some sounds of the Amazon Jean brought back with her, but first it'll be time for.......Revenge of the Critters! Illegal loggers pay the ultimate price! Looks like there really was a tiger in THEIR tank!!

On to the Quote of the Week, this from Gore-al: "If you're a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration"
(timing is everything, yes?).

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber the New York Times asks the musical question: Is America Ready to Quit Coal?. And this link from Grist: Cap & persuade, the corporados lobby for destroying the planet. Our Enviro Show Blog Bonus? It's Democracy Now! on Greenhouse Emissions Rising at Alarming, Unexpected Rate (we're not the only ones doing doom & gloom!) AND another BONUS!! Prepare to laugh yur' ass off with Clean Coal!

After our interviews with Amherst College students fresh from the action in DC and any random soundbites we may've picked up on the trail, we'll have a look at the Bus Stop Billboard:


Wednesday, March 4, 7pm. GREEN Northampton meeting to discuss the objectives for GREEN Northampton and specifically discuss an action plan for the reduction of the waste stream to the Northampton Landfill and the City's announcement of a citizen's Solid Waste Management Advisory Committee. 102 Bancroft Rd., Northampton (corner of Round Hill Road and Bancroft, near the Clark School).

Saturday, March 7, 2009, 9am to 4pm. Workshop:Women Sustaining Woodlands-Forest Stewardship 101. Great Falls Discovery Center, Turners Falls. This is a one-day workshop for women interested in forest stewardship and management planning. Advance registration is required. Please call 508-389-6300 or 413-256-1201, ext. 3 for more information.

Sunday March 8, 2-4 pm Citizens Awareness Network Annual Meeting. Media Education Foundation, 60 Masonic St. Northampton, MA. Come to hear about the latest in the fight to close the reactors in the NE. CAN will have a slate of officers and elections! Please let Harvey know if you are attending harvey@nukebusters.org

Monday, March 9, 2009, 6:00 - 9:00 PM. Public Hearing: Vermont Dept of Health - Ionizing and Nonionizing Radiation Controls. Vernon Elementary School, 381 Governor Hunt Road, Vernon, VT. This is a critical and precedent setting issue for citizens living in the reactor sacrifice zone. Vermont Yankee is one of the first reactors up for relicensing that will not have clear sailing. We must not allow Vermont to weaken its radiation protection laws because Entergy wants to continue "business as usual". We will be having a photo shoot in the parking lot at 5:30pm! for more info contact claire chang 413-626-3620 or cchang@nukebusters.org


Saturday, March 14, 12:45pm. Montague Home Energy Efficiency Workshop sponsored by the Montague Energy Committee. Maezumi Institute, 177 Ripley Rd., Montague

Saturday, March 21, 9:45am. another Montague Home Energy Efficiency Workshop. Montague Center Library. call 367-9304

March 19-22, 2009, Forum on the Solidarity Economy; University of Massachusetts, Amherst. This four day conference will include an inspiring range of solidarity
economy tours, workshops, plenaries and cultural events including issues of sustainability. Go to: www.populareconomics.org

That about does it, campers. We'll be back next time with Stephanie Kraft of The Advocate to exhume that old taboo, Zero Population Growth. Until then remember to LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!

The King Coal's Getting Old Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Now that we're in the Obama Era will Old King Coal still have his way with Washington? Both Obama and Biden support so-called clean coal. Secretary Chu? Not so much. There's been a lot of debate about whether clean coal is possible, or if today's limited funding wouldn't be better directed toward solar, wind, wave and biofuel technology. Alissa Ayden from the Amherst College Responsible Endowment Coalition joins us in the studio. She took part in a student protest at Bank of America in Amherst last November over BOA's support of King Coal. And, another Enviro Show EXCLUSIVE: we air for the first time EVER,on any station anywhere, Tom Neilson's latest tune, "Babies In These Mountains". Tom will call-in from coal country and we may get a call from Peter Vickery as well, concerning a demo at Mt. Tom on March 1st. We'll find more dirt on coal (not too hard, that!) in our Enviro Show Echo Chamber and the E-Valley-uation segments. Also, the Enviro Show Quote of the Week gets us all kinds of weighty in the heart & soul department, and we get a road call from Tom himself, but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! It's deja vu all over again! Birds demand airspace and the return of abducted chicks! (this one got pre-empted last time).

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week comes from the prez:

"The issue of climate change is one that we ignore at our own peril. There may still be disputes about exactly how much we're contributing to the warming of the earth's atmosphere and how much is naturally occurring, but what we can be scientifically certain of is that our continued use of fossil fuels is pushing us to a point of no return. And unless we free ourselves from a dependence on these fossil fuels and chart a new course on energy in this country, we are condemning future generations to global catastrophe." - Barack Obama

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we start off with a blog bonus here. And, it's goodnews/bad news on Obama's stimulus package. Also, those tar-sands in Canada we spoke about awhile back are dead ducks, literally! And this: Two more coal burning power plants down the tubes! Wait, did i say two? Make that three!.

The premier radio broadcast of "Babies in These Mountains" with Tom Neilson & Sue Kranz, and Derrik Jordan on fiddle takes us to the newly revived E-Valley-uation Segment of the show where we turn to Alissa Ayden for a students take on Old King Cole and responsible investment.

Finally it's time to scope out the Bus Stop Billboard:


Friday, February 20, 2:00 p.m. Preliminary planning/brainstorming meeting for this year's Bike Commute Week at the Town of Amherst Department of Public Works Offices at 586 South Pleasant Street (Route 116 just south of Amherst College – same side)
Call ahead at: 413-549-6200

Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 7 to 9 p.m. THE POWER OF COMMUNITY: HOW CUBA SURVIVED PEAK OIL (film viewing & discussion). Hitchcock Center for the Environment, West Street, Amherst. Pre-registration is required; please call (413) 256-6006.

Friday, February 27 - Monday, March 02. Washington, DC. Power Shift 2009 is the second national youth summit to solve the climate crisis. Young people from across the country will take a message of bold, comprehensive and immediate federal climate action to Washington. Go to: http://www.powershift09.org/

Saturday, February 28, 2009, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. TRACKING PREDATORS AND PREY: COYOTES AND TURKEYS. Hitchcock Center, Amherst. Pre-registration is required; please call (413) 256-6006.


March 1, 2009 1:00PM to 3:00PM. Citizens vs. Coal. Mt. Tom Power Plant. Rally to end the deadly use of coal and start building the secure green future!
For more information, visit www.securegreenfuture.org or contact Peter Vickery at 413-549-9933 or peter@petervickery.com.


Monday March 2. Take part in a civil act of civil disobedience outside a coal-fired power plant near Capitol Hill. 1,000 or more people will come to Washington, D.C. to encircle the coal plant that provides power to the U.S. Capitol buildings. There will be many hundreds of young people participating following the conclusion of the PowerShift 09 national conference and lobby action. Also participating will be authors and activists Bill McKibben and Wendell Berry. Go to: www.capitolclimateaction.org.

That about does it for us and Old King Coal (we wish). Jean's in the Amazon listening to her Mother. She'll be back next time with tales to tell. Stay tuned!

Yet Another Fuelish Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. We return to the timely subject of energy, this time with a call-in from Ricky Baruc of Seeds of Solidarity. What fuels your transportation, your home, your workplace; these once mundane matters are now among the issues of the day. The Seeds of Solidarity School & Farm are off-grid and sans Big Oil. How can we join them? We get a brief call-in from Everglades Earth First! as they battle the corporados to save old-growth cypress. Also, The Enviro Show Echo Chamber looks into more fuelish issues; we checkout The Quote of the Week; and bring our old E-Valley-uation segment back from the grave; but first it's time for..... Revenge of the Critters! Birds demand airspace and the return of abducted chicks!

On to the Quote of the Week!
"Nature never deceives us; it is always we who deceive ourselves".
~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau

It's the return of our E-Valley-uation segment. This week and AS WE SPEAK!: "Why Nuclear Power? A Debate and Community Forum" during our show? How could they?? It's Tuesday Feb 3 (Snow Date Feb 11); 6:30 – 9:30 pm at the Buckland Town Hall, 2nd Fl, State St, Shelburne Falls. Listen to the Enviro Show as you travel to the forum! ALSO, we read Peter Vickery's recent letter to The Daily Hampshire Gazette concerning the Mt. Tom Coal plant.

"No business like oil business" bumps us into the Enviro Show Echo Chamber where King Coal takes a hit in South Dakota from Obama's EPA!
ALSO, it looks like the new Obama soundbite may be "nil baby, nil" on offshore oil drilling (sorry, Sarah!). AND this from the AP: Obama faces tough choice on Cape Cod wind farm. We guess! FINALLY, Two Enviro Show Blog Bonuses: One is like "An Inconvenient Truth" meets Bread & Puppet here. The other is a plea to our new Interior Secretary to protect the Polar Bear.

Then it's on to our interview with Ricky about Seeds of Solidarity and their excellent work blowing off Big Oil and King Coal while cluing in the kids at the same time. Talk about ambidextrous!

Finally, we scope-out the Bus Stop Billboard:


Wednesday, Feb. 4, 7pm. The First 100 Days: Climate Change and the Dawning of a New Administration. David Orr & Hunter Lovins. Gamble Auditorium, Mt. Holyoke College, S. Hadley

Thursday, Feb. 5, 7pm. "In Praise of the Earth", Screening of film about and reading by Amherst poet Wally Swist at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, West Street, Amherst. Admission charge.

Friday, February 6th, from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Community Power Kickoff. Bangs Community Center in Amherst (70 Boltwood Walk, Amherst, MA). This kickoff convention features a variety of projects seeking to address community needs.

Saturday, February 7, 2009, 8 to 10 a.m. QUABBIN WINTER WALK. Join exceptional birder and naturalist John Green as he shares stories and takes you through his favorite habitat, the Quabbin Reservoir.
Pre-registration is required; please call (413) 256-6006.


Friday, February 27 - Monday, March 02. Washington, DC. Power Shift 2009 is the second national youth summit to solve the climate crisis. Young people from across the country will take a message ofbold, comprehensive and immediate federal
climate action to Washington. Go to: http://www.powershift09.org/


Monday March 2. Take part in a civil act of civil disobedience outside a coal-fired power plant near Capitol Hill. 1,000 or more people will come to Washington, D.C. to encircle the coal plant that provides power to the U.S. Capitol buildings. There will be many hundreds of young people participating following the conclusion of the PowerShift 09 national conference and lobby action. Also participating will be authors and activists Bill McKibben and Wendell Berry. Go to: www.capitolclimateaction.org.


We'll go out with an "Anti-corporate rant",by Patrick Dodd. Sooooo, until next time remember: Listen to your Mother! OK?

The Bush Be Gone Enviro Show!

Greetings Earthlings. It's PARTY TIME!! Time to pile on the so over Bush regime. Yes, after eight years of THE WORST administration EVER in the White House it is FINALLY time to say: don't let the door hit you on the way out.....no, never mind, let it! We are soooooo done with Darth Cheney and the boy emperor, so done that we've pulled the plug on The Enviro Show Bush countdown clock. That's right, no more Darth Cheney theme; no more bad news from the Bush regime 'cuz that regime's done gone! And, with that in mind we'll turn to this..."George Bush you're going to hell",by Barry P. Smith

With that out of the way it's on with the show! Peter Vickery local lawyer, politico and friend of the planet joins us to talk about the new Prez, enviro politics and King Coal. As always we'll checkout the latest news in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and have at The Quote of the Week, but first it's time for.....Revenge of the Critters! Raging bull attacks house. Talk about a housing crisis!

The Enviro Show Quote of the Day comes from none other than the boy emperor. Remember this one? "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." That was August 5, 2004, in the bad old days.

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we checkout Chu's energy views from our friends at Grist, BUT the New York Times notes some backpedaling at Chu's confirmation hearing (hope THAT'S not a sign of things to come). On the other hand, Obama's appointee for the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson promises that science will trump politics at the EPA. Now THAT'S novel! ALSO, another coal waste spill from the TVA. AND from the AP: The Guv's still ga-ga over Cape Wind (groan).

Keeping in the spirit of the times "Down with the King" by the group Chiefly takes us to our interview with Peter Vickery. So it's down with all the kings!

Finally, on the Bus Stop Billboard:


Thursday, January 22, 7-8pm. wonder why birds stay here for the winter? Do you know if you're feeding them the best foods? Great Falls Discovery Center. 2 Avenue A., Turners Falls. Scott Surner founding member and current president of the Hampshire Bird Club and a contributing author to the Bird Finding Guide to Western Massachusetts will be here to answer these questions and more. Ph 413.863.3221.

Thursday-Sunday, Jan 22-25, Women & tracking. Rowe Conference Center. Spend a fabulous long weekend learning and practicing the art of tracking in both inner and outer landscapes. Rowe’s diverse ecosystem includes mixed hardwood forests where fisher, fox, and coyote roam, rocky ridges that are habitat for bobcat and bear, and wetlands that are home to mink, otter, and moose. Call (413) 339-4954for info.

Friday, January 23, 7-9pm. Friends of GFDC present Poetry & Prose, Science and Nature open mike with special guest, Paul Richmond. Bring your original work or a favorite piece of writing- as long as it's related to science or nature! First come, first on the list, so come early to get signed up. Delicious home-made goodies, donation appreciated. Event is free and open to the public. The Enviro Show will be there!


January 23-25, 2009. The Peoples Music Network for Songs of Freedom and Struggle will hold its Winter Gathering at the Greenfield High School, 1 Lenox Ave., Greenfield, MA. Go to: www.peoplesmusic.org

Tuesday Feb 3 - Snow Date Feb 11; 6:30 – 9:30 pm. WHY NUCLEAR POWER? A DEBATE AND COMMUNITY FORUM. Buckland Town Hall, 2nd Fl, State St, Shelburne Falls, MA. For more info Call: Harvey Schaktman at 413-625-6177 or Pam Walker at 413-625-9671.

Saturday, February 7, 2009, 8 to 10 a.m. QUABBIN WINTER WALK. Join exceptional birder and naturalist John Green as he shares stories and takes you through his favorite habitat, the Quabbin Reservoir. Pre-registration is required; please call Hitchcock Center for the Environment at (413) 256-6006.

OK folks, this party will hereby adjourn to the next celebratory venue. Next time we visit with Rick & Debby of Seeds of Solidarity. Until then remember: listen to your Mother, bye George!

Runoff with The Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Our first show in '09 is all about runoff, from your roof, from the yard, from the streets, malls and parking lots. Dr. Dylan Ahearn a hydrologist at Herrera Environmental Consultants in Seattle phones-in with everything you ever wanted to know about runoff but were afraid top ask. As always, we checkout The Enviro Show Echo Chamber for the news and go over to the dark side to see what outrages Darth Cheney and his sock puppet, George have undertaken as they slither away into the night (better check that White House silverware, guys!). Of course, we'll do the Enviro Show Quote of the Week and groan over the TVA's Kingston Coal Ash Containment Area Blowout, but firsts it's time for..... Revenge of the Critters! Jealous rhino rage! An Enviro Show listener tip.

There's that awful theme again, BUT it just may be the last time you hear it on this show. Glen? will it REALLY end? When?? Darth Cheney and the boy emperor still have two weeks to continue trashing the planet. Their minions in the so-called Environmental Protection Agency just had their snarky industrial pollution exemption reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals. They're "disappointed". Tooooo bad! BUT these guys are anything if not persistent: they've declared oil-shale waste as non-hazardous. Guess we can use it as a food additive now! Are they gone yet? No way. They just denied protection for the Arctic Seals, AND , least we forget, these enemies of the Earth are still trying to gut the Endangered Species Act.

Our Enviro Show Quote of the week comes from Wendell Berry:

"How would you describe the difference between modern war and modern industry—between say, bombing and strip mining, or between chemical warfare and chemical manufacturing? The difference seems to be only that in war the victimization of humans is directly intentional and in industry it is "accepted" as a "trade-off." Were the catastrophes of Love Canal, Bhopal, Chernobyl, and the Exxon Valdez episodes of war or of peace? They were in fact, peacetime acts of aggression, intentional to the extent that the risks were known and ignored."

"If I don't take care of the land", by Sarah Barchas takes us to the Enviro Show Echo Chamber where we segway into today's topic with the sorry tale of the Tennessee Valley Authority Kingston Coal Ash Containment Blowout. Talk about runoff!! Closer to home, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission has a relatively new project in place to address some runoff issues relating to the CT River.

Then it's on to Dylan's phone-in and some good old-fashioned nepotism (yes, we're very related), after which we visit the Bus Stop Billboard:


Saturday, January 10. Washington, DC or...? Keep Winter Cold Polar Bear Plunge. We chose this date because the newly-elected U.S. Congress will be returning to Capitol Hill around this time. The new President will be inaugurated 10 days later. Our plunges into cold bodies of water will say loud and clear to our state and national government leaders that the time for strong action is now!Go to: http://www.keepwintercold.org.


January 9-11, 2009 - Please join us for our annual Winter Retreat for Earth Lovers, to be held at Earthlands in Petersham, Massachusetts. Take some time to reflect in the depths of winter while connecting with the natural world and with one another. Spaces are limited, so sign up soon! Please see our website for a retreat flyer with details and registration information, http://sacredearthnetwork.org/updates/


Saturday, January 17th, All day. Join the Northeast Organic Farming Association for the 22nd Annual Winter Conference, Organic Farming: The Roots of a Sustainable Community. The conference will be held at Worcester Vocational Technical High School in Worcester from 9:00am-5:30pm. Pre-registration is now open. For more information, visit the NOFA/Mass website or contact Conference Coordinator, Jassy Bratko at (978) 928-5646


Fridays, January 16 to February 27, 2009 ; Session 1: 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.; Session 2 1 to 3 p.m. NATURE DISCOVERY PRESCHOOL: WINTER WONDERS. Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Amherst. Enjoy the beauty and wonder of winter with cozy indoor activities and fun outdoor exploration. Explore how nature changes with the winter season. Discover the ways animals adapt to the cold and snow. This program is designed for children ages 3-5 accompanied by an adult. The group will go outside for a short exploration each day unless temperatures are extreme. Space is limited so pre-registration early is recommended. Pre-registration is required; please call (413) 256-6006.

Thursday-Sunday, Jan 22-25, Women & tracking. Rowe Conference Center. Spend a fabulous long weekend learning and practicing the art of tracking in both inner and outer landscapes. Rowe’s diverse ecosystem includes mixed hardwood forests where fisher, fox, and coyote roam, rocky ridges that are habitat for bobcat and bear, and wetlands that are home to mink, otter, and moose. Call (413) 339-4954for info.

That will be it for this week. Stay tuned to WXOJ for more enviro hi-jinx next time when we delve into our inner-child with Frank Grindrod of Earthwork Programs. Until then remember: listen to your Mother!

The Winter Solstice Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. We celebrate the Return of the Sun with Cassie and Winifred of Awentree in Easthampton. No, it's not the manifestation of Bill O'Reilly's "War against Christmas", but hey, let's talk about the Christian War against Pagans while we're at it! Speaking of war, we'll checkout that infamous warmonger Darth Cheney and his target practice dummy (btw, do not throw your shoes at the radio). As always, we'll peek into The Enviro Show Echo Chamber for the news of the day and give you the Quote of the week, but first it's time for......Revenge of the Critters! Santa attacked by bobcat in Jersey!

There's that theme again! So Glen, how long before Darth & the boy emperor have to hang their stockings somewhere else? As you may have heard, W has been very naughty: he's endangered the polar bears. Santa will not be pleased!

That heartwarming tune, "All I want for Christmas is to impeach the President" takes us to the Enviro Show Echo Chamber where there's good news to report (finally!), three dams are to be taken out on the Klamath River in Oregon and California (you see, it's not all gloom & doom). Having said that, the Amazon? Not so much. AND this: Obama's pick of Ken Salazar for Interior Secretary gets mixed reviews. ALSO, another Enviro Show Video Blog Special, this one for the holidays!

The Enviro Show Quote of the Week comes from Jonathan Swift: “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.”

The Pagans & the Christians" by Dar Williams takes us to our interview with.....the pagans!

Then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard for a brief perusal:



Saturday, January 10. Washington, DC or...? Keep Winter Cold Polar Bear Plunge. We chose this date because the newly-elected U.S. Congress will be returning to Capitol Hill around this time. The new President will be inaugurated 10 days later. Our plunges into cold bodies of water will say loud and clear to our state and national government leaders that the time for strong action is now!Go to: http://www.keepwintercold.org.


January 9-11, 2009 - Please join us for our annual Winter Retreat for Earth Lovers, to be held at Earthlands in Petersham, Massachusetts. Take some time to reflect in the depths of winter while connecting with the natural world and with one another. Spaces are limited, so sign up soon! Please see our website for a retreat flyer with details and registration information, http://sacredearthnetwork.org/updates/


Saturday, January 17th, All day. Join the Northeast Organic Farming Association for the 22nd Annual Winter Conference, Organic Farming: The Roots of a Sustainable Community. The conference will be held at Worcester Vocational Technical High School in Worcester from 9:00am-5:30pm. Pre-registration is now open. For more information, visit the NOFA/Mass website or contact Conference Coordinator, Jassy Bratko at (978) 928-5646


We'll go out with "The holidays are here and we're still at war" by Brett Dennen. Can you belive this?? Next time it's the wonderful world of run-off. Until then remember: listen to your Mother!

The Dump on the Aquifer Enviro Show, Part #2‏

Greetings Earthlings. It's a proposed landfill expansion hootenanny! Mary Serreze, whose recent piece in The Valley Advocate about Zero Waste and the dump issue, joins us to ask the musical question: Does your water taste funny when your neighbors dump on it? Also, we look deep into the darkness with Darth Cheney and the boy emperor. We'll checkout The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and the Quote of the Week, but first it's time for... Revenge of the Critters! Shark attacks boy....in his bedroom!

The Enviro Show Quote of the Week comes from author, Susan Griffin: "The part of the mind that is dark to us in this culture, that is sleeping in us, that we name 'unconscious', is the knowledge that we are inseparable from all other beings in the universe".

There's the Darth Cheney fanfare again! Glen! Tell us it's over NOW!! When do Darth Cheney and his little sock puppet exit stage right? We've been talking these past few weeks about all the ecological damage these enemies of the planet are doing on their way out the door. Last time we delved into the top 100 Bush regime rollbacks. Now add this one: their vile minions in the EPA have finalized rules that will make it easier for mountaintop mining companies to dump their waste near rivers and streams.

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we pile on DC insiders Environmental Defense along with our friends from Rising Tide over that carbon trading scam you keep hearing about. Also, did Big Auto really earn that loan? AND, Obama embraces Big Oil with the James Jones pick.

Then, live from the luxurious Pine Street Studios of WXOJ-LP it's Mary Serreze and the Zero Waste Valley Band! After Mary rocks the walls we'll have a chat about this concept of putting a dump over an aquifer. Is that living better through chemistry??

Then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:


Tuesday, December 9 at 8 PM. Talk to Bill McKibben and Michael Brune about Global Warming. Prepare for an earnest and lively discussion with RAN Executive Director Michael Brune and writer-activist Bill McKibben, followed by a Q & A the steps we need to take collectively to free our country and our world of fossil fuels. You can remind Bill that Cape Wind is the privatization of the Commons! Just call: 1-866-864-8698 And type in the passcode: 1051283210


Thurday, December 11, 6pm. Home Depot "Grand Opening" sprawl teach-in. Food for Thought Books, Amherst. Scheduled speakers so far include Emily Kawano (populareconomics.org), Jeff Lacey (Shutes Planning Board and professional planner, who will project some great slides on the wall). We'll be approaching the issue from the same diversity of perspectives that worked so nicely for the wal-mart campaign: local economy, downtowns, employers, domestic workers, sweatshops abroad, students, seniors, environmentalists, cyclists, etc. For info call: 413 549 1193


Saturday, December 13, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Small animals up close. Family science days are designed for families with children ages 5-8, with adults participating along with their children. Come get to know some small but interesting animals. Learn how to study them as you explore their special behaviors and adaptations. Some of the creatures you may meet are: walking stick insects, land snails, goldfish, hissing cockroaches, large millipedes and Speedy the box turtle. Pre-registration is required; please call (413) 256-6006.

Thursday, Dec. 18, 7-9pm. Ritual Chant Circle to embrace the time of Yule and the Winter Season. 102 Cottage Street in Easthampton. (413) 527-3331
http://www.awentree.com


Dec 19, 20th and 21st. Mountain Justice is hosting a Winter Campout at Frog Level Tennessee. If you love mountains, camping, hiking, the forest and all that is wild your invited to the Winter Solstice camp. Go to: www.mountainjusticesummer.org or email: unitedmountaindefense@yahoo.com or call: 865 257 4029

Saturday, January 10. Washington, DC or...? Keep Winter Cold Polar Bear Plunge. We chose this date because the newly-elected U.S. Congress will be returning to Capitol Hill around this time. The new President will be inaugurated 10 days later. Our plunges into cold bodies of water will say loud and clear to our state and national government leaders that the time for strong action is now!Go to: http://www.keepwintercold.org.


January 9-11, 2009 - Please join us for our annual Winter Retreat for Earth Lovers, to be held at Earthlands in Petersham, Massachusetts. Take some time to reflect in the depths of winter while connecting with the natural world and with one another. Spaces are limited, so sign up soon! Please see our website for a retreat flyer with details and registration information, http://sacredearthnetwork.org/updates/

OK, that's it for this week. Next time it's our Winter Solstice party. Don't move that dial....and remember: listen to your Mother!

The Safe & Green Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Will we be safe & green in the Obama era? Does that clunky, leaky old nuke just over the Vermont border put you on edge? Deb Katz joins us on the horn to talk turkey about unsafe nukes, safe energy, and the Safe & Green Campaign. We'll delve into the latest news on the environment during The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and have a peek at the dark side where Darth Cheney, the boy emperor and their minions deliver their final blows to the biosphere. There will be the Enviro Show Quote of the Day and the usual hi-jinks concerning the upcoming "Buy Nothing Day", but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! Turkeys attack dirt biker!

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber the BIG news is DINGELL'S OUT! The Congressman from Big Auto gets towed!! The Waxman is in! Also, Obama on climate change. You'll note he doesn't use the term "climate crisis". There's only a "financial crisis". Tell that to the south sea islanders and the polar bears! Also, That One is talking cap & trade, he's talking nukes, "clean" coal (groan). Say it ain't so, O! Finally, Dems boot Lieberman from Environment Committee (how's THAT for Joe-mentum! What? you want MORE punishment for Traitor Joe?

Brrr! It ain't just the cold that makes us shiver. Glen! Tell us it's over soon!! Darth Cheney and the boy emperor have trashed years worth of environmental protection. Will Obama reverse the worse 100 Bush regime rollbacks? Sign the petition. OK, last time we told you about the Bush regime's 11th hour move for more wolf slaughter out west, right? It's time to TAKE ACTION! There's only a few more days to get your comments to U.S. Fish & Wildlife (of course, you COULD deliver your comments in-person to their office on Rt. 9 in Hadley behind Staples, maybe along with....what? some theatrics? IF you wanted to).

The Enviro Show Quote of the day is a variation on our theme, it comes from Albert Einstein: "The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophes"

"The Great Unknown" by Dar Williams from "The Honesty Room" takes us to our interview with Deb Katz. We'll open up the phone lines......ok, so there's only one line..so you listeners can get in on the conversation.

Then we checkout the Bus Stop Billboard:

Friday, November 28. All Day: Buy Nothing!

Monday December 8, 6pm, Commuter Rail Hearing. TD Banknorth Conference Center, 1441 Main St, Springfield. ConnDOT will hold public hearings for the preparation of an Environmental Assessment for the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter line. Info: http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?Q=425266&A=1373.


Thurday, December 11, 6pm. Home Depot "Grand Opening" sprawl teach-in. Food for Thought Books, Amherst. Scheduled speakers so far include Emily Kawano (populareconomics.org), Jeff Lacey (Shutes Planning Board and professional planner, who will project some great slides on the wall). We'll be approaching the issue from the same diversity of perspectives that worked so nicely for the wal-mart campaign: local economy, downtowns, employers, domestic workers, sweatshops abroad, students, seniors, environmentalists, cyclists, etc. For info call: 413 549 1193


Saturday, December 13, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Small animals up close. Family science days are designed for families with children ages 5-8, with adults participating along with their children. Come get to know some small but interesting animals. Learn how to study them as you explore their special behaviors and adaptations. Some of the creatures you may meet are: walking stick insects, land snails, goldfish, hissing cockroaches, large millipedes and Speedy the box turtle. Pre-registration is required; please call (413) 256-6006.


Dec 19, 20th and 21st. Mountain Justice is hosting a Winter Campout at Frog Level Tennessee. If you love mountains, camping, hiking, the forest and all that is wild your invited to the Winter Solstice camp. Go to: www.mountainjusticesummer.org or email: unitedmountaindefense@yahoo.com or call: 865 257 4029


Hmmm, not much happening this week. Must be that everyone's hunkered down by the wood stove (remember "split wood not atoms"?). Whatever. Or, maybe everyone is stuck on YouTube watchin' FrankenBarbie celebrate T-Day and local business with a little "levity". Until next time, remember: listen to your Mother!

Clearcut The Commonwealth Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. We're all about clearcuts on today's show, here at home and around the planet. We'll have Chris Matera, forest activist and author of the Clearcut Massachusetts blog in the studio with us. Chris has documented some little known clearcutting taking place on public land here in the Commonwealth. Also tonight, Obama Nation! Will the new prez' protect the planet or will he cave to the corporados? (we can hope it's the former, yes, we can!). As always, we'll witness the latest assaults on Mother Earth from Darth Cheney and the boy emperor; we'll checkout The Enviro Show Echo Chamber; and the Quote of the Week, but first it's time for...... Revenge of the Critters! Watch out for 'dem donkeys!

The tune "We are everywhere" by Dave Rovics reminds us that OK, so YES, WE DID! We did finally show the door to the Repugnicans, BUT there's still weeks to go before they get dragged out that White House door, and even then we have to ask: how much does Obama owe to the corporados? Let's hear from some Enviro Show listeners. Give us a call at (413)585-1033 and let know your thoughts: will an Obama Administration put the corporados in their place? Soooo, we continue to celebrate the light at the end of this loooong dark tunnel, but we remain vigilant as to just who has Barack Obama's ear.

Glen! When does the Obama bouncer toss Darth & the boy emperor out the door? AND, what sort of damage can THE WORST ADMINISTRATION EVER do to the planet before they're finally gone? Here's one take: "Bush administration prepares environmental messes for the next prez". AND this: "Bush admin to open almost 360,000 acres of Utah public lands to drilling". If time allows, we'll run through a list of other Repugnican enemies of the Earth, members of the League of Conservation Voters' "Dirty Dozen", that voters threw out of Congress last Tuesday.

The Enviro Show Quote of the Week naturally goes back to last Tuesday when Barack Obama spoke to tens of thousands gathered in Chicago after his victory at the polls:

"This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can."

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we checkout Worcester Telegram on how our Forests, parks need friends. ALSO, New law protects old-growth in N.Y. Forests. AND, this from RAN: Rainforests and agriculture.

Then it's time for our conversation with Chris Matera. Did you know there was clearcutting of our public forests in the Quabbin and on the Montague Plains? You can see the photos here on Chris' blog.

Let's see what's on the Bus Stop Billboard:


Wednesday, November 12th, 7:00 PM. Citizens United for a Healthy Future general meeting. In the social room of the Unitarian Church, 220 Main Street,
Northampton, MA 01060. SAVE THE AQUIFER. Protect our drinking water .Stop the Northampton landfill expansion. www.savingparadise.info

Friday Nov 14. Take Action against Bank of Ameica's Dirty Coal Investments. Emerson College; Boston, MA. Contact: Ethan_Silverstein@emerson.edu

Friday November 14, Noon-1:30pm, Alliance to Develop Power, 130 Union St, Springfield (739-7233). Networking and sharing by advocates for a Green Economy which (1) serves local communities; (2) guarantees
workers' rights to organize; and (3) promotes community-owned sustainable projects. Info: Jon Weissman, 827-0301, wmjwj@wmjwj.org, or Eduardo Suárez, 335-6224.

Saturday, November 15,Noon. "Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy" will be held at the National Building Museum located at 401 F St. NW. Join us outside to say "Money for Meet People's Needs, Not Bankers' Greed!" For more information, check back at http://www.answercoalition.org/, email info@answercoalition.org or call 202-544-3389 x14.

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 @ 7:00 PM. The Northampton Board of Public Works is hosting a Public Forum on Innovative Approaches to Managing Northampton's Solid Waste. Come and share your ideas. JFK MIDDLE SCHOOL COMMUNITY ROOM, Bridge Road, Northampton, Massachusetts. Your attendance is important.

Sunday, November 16th, 9am to 5pm. Mass. Climate Action Network Conference. MIT Stada Center, Cambridge, MA. [beware of Cape Wind propaganda!] Go to: www.acteva.com/go/mcan

Thursday & Friday, November 20 - 21, 2008. All day. Building a Local Economy in the Valley. First Congregational Church, Hadley, MA. Sliding scale $25-$150, includes lunch and materials. Contact: www.faireconomy.org or (617) 423-2148.

Thursday, November 20, Noon to 5pm. Cooling the planet with Zero Waste. Zero Waste Businesses are leading the way for Zero Waste and have diverted over 90% of their waste from landfill and incineration. Zero Waste Communities have adopted Zero Waste goals and plans to implement those goals. Join us to understand how Zero Waste can be a key part of community and business sustainability plans and help contribute to reducing greenhouse gases. Location: Room 101 of the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center, 900 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115; (617) 954-2000; www.mccahome.com

Thursday, Nov 20, 6 - 9 pm. Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel Mtg. Brattleboro Union High School, 131 Fairground Rd, Brattleboro, VT. Contact: cchang@nukebusters.org

Saturday November 22,9am-4:45pm, CLEAN ENERGY CONFERENCE: GREEN JOBS IN MASSACHUSETTS. Clean Energy Connections is intended to be a forum for individuals
and organizations accelerating the growth of the clean energy economy in Massachusetts and those seeking clean-energy career information.
Pre-registration is required. Info: 545-2706, www.umass.edu/green.

Dec 19, 20th and 21st. Mountain Justice is hosting a Winter Campout at Frog Level Tennessee. If you love mountains, camping, hiking, the forest and all that is wild your invited to the Winter Solstice camp. Go to: www.mountainjusticesummer.org or email: unitedmountaindefense@yahoo.com or call: 865 257 4029

That is all. Next time we have Randy Kehler in the studio with us to talk about finally shutting down that old nuke just over the Vermont border. Until then remember: yes, you can listen to your Mother!

Another Very Scary Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Coming up on Halloween and not many days before we find out if we're FINALLY rid of the Repugnican scourge OR subjected to yet another stolen election. Very scary. If it's the latter, prepare to occupy the White House. Maybe we'll paint it black! Tonight we'll checkout the usual haunts for frightening news about the end of the world as we know it. Also, Tamara, the house witch, returns to these microphones to set the seasonal mood, as well as Betsy Dumont, a local bat expert from the Department of Biology at UMass Amherst, but first it' time for...... Revenge of the Critters! Big Black Brit Cat Attack!.

After Tamara tells us about the thin veil between the world of the living and that of the dead we'll hear from Count Dracula who hits the spike on the head when he tells us there ARE far worse things than death, like the gloom and doom of the climate crisis maybe? What? Gloom & doom on The Enviro Show? Nooooo! Say it ain't so, Joe!

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we checkout the Reuters story, Arctic air temperatures climb to record levels. So, what's worse than dropping dead on the spot? How about slowly starving or contracting some gruesome tropical disease! Here's some gloom & doom from Greenpeace. Not gloomy enough? How about The Most Dangerous Project on Earth? Had enough? Let's move on to....

Something positive! Here on our Blog Special section we have Gore-al's Power Vote webcast airing tomorrow night. And check this out: JFK: back to the future!.

O no! He's back!! Lord Cheney. Glen? Can't you get rid of these bad actors?? How much longer must we endure them? So, last time we had Darth Cheney here in the studio, kind of, right? How can we top that?? How about with this: Cheney LIKES being compared to Darth!. Perfect! Happy Halloween!

After we dance to the "Climate Mash" we'll do our interview with Betsy Dumont about those winged rodents who frequent the night. Sadly, many of them are facing the mysterious and deadly "white nose disease". We'll find out about that and much more.

Then we checkout the Bus Stop Billboard:

Thursday, October 30, 6:30 - 8:30pm. Boom, Bust & Bailout - What happened and what to do about it. Unitarian Meeting House, N.Pleasant St., Amherst. Call 413-545-0743

Friday, October 31 - Keene, NH, 4:00 to 6:00 pm. "McSame Bush" SIGNS AND BANNER visibility standout. Rt. 101 & Rt. 10 South intersection, Keene, NH. Halloween costumes encouraged! More dates planned. For more information or to volunteer, call Judy at 978-544-5550.

Tuesday, November 4, All day. VOTE for sanity! Besides a sane Prez and VP, you might want to vote "yes" on Question 3 for the sake of the dogs. Also: vote "yes" on Question 6 if it's on your ballot, which would put pressure on local representatives to support legislation mandating an 80 percent reduction of greenhouse emissions in Massachusetts by 2020 - 30 years sooner than more popular national measures. It would also phase out tax incentives for non-renewable energy projects and put focus on localized sustainability.

Thursday, November 6 at 6:30 pm at the Edwards Library in Southampton, MA, the Friends of Southampton Greenway will welcome R. Bruce Donald, President of the Farmington Valley Greenway as the monthly speaker. This is the same trail that will one day connect New Haven to Northampton. More info about Bruce, the speaker series and the project in Southampton, click on this site. http://www.southamptongreenway.org/

November 7 - 9. All Day. Reading the forested landscape: a natural history of New England w/Tom Wessels. Rowe Conference Center. Call: 413-339-4954 or go to: www.rowecenter.org

Sunday, November 16th, 9am to 5pm. Mass. Climate Action Network Conference. MIT Stada Center, Cambridge, MA. [beware of Cape Wind propaganda!] Go to: www.acteva.com/go/mcan

Thursday & Friday, November 20 - 21, 2008. All day. Building a Local Economy in the Valley. First Congregational Church, Hadley, MA. Sliding scale $25-$150, includes lunch and materials. Contact: www.faireconomy.org or (617) 423-2148.


So much for another Halloween show. Hope we made it grim enough for you, no? OK, so it's NOT as scary as FrankenBarbie and Crazy John McSame. Give us an "E" for effort, will ya'? Happy Halloween!!.........O, and remember: listen to your Mother!

Sorry, no inter-galactic intervention today. Back to work!

If you heard last night's Enviro Show you may have caught the reference to the "Gallactic Federation" supposedly making contact with us sorry humans here on planet Earth yesterday. Of course we had our collective tongue deeply embedded in our collective cheek when we spoke about it, but hey: if it takes aliens to save us from the Repugnicans and the corporados, so be it! Well, sad to say, magical thinking time is over. No alien contact that we can find (and D.O.'s been monitoring real-time satellite cameras on Earth). Guess we'll just have to save the planet ourselves. That means it's up to us and YOU, dear listener.

Soooo, first off let's make sure crazy John McSame and FrankenBarbie don't get elected, or if the Repugnicans try stealing another election, we fightback this time. Of course, we need to continue the struggle against the climate crisis as well; through government; personally; and with other actions. And remember: listen to your Mother!