Greetings Earthlings. We continue the theme from last time while focusing on Trees and urban heat islands in a warming world. Robert McDonald, lead author of "Trees halve urban heat island effect globally but unequal benefits only modestly mitigate climate-change warming" published in Nature's Communications Yes, climate change didn't just magically go away when His Malignancy reemerged from The Swamp, that said we will also introduce you to some of MAGA's worst like our Fool-on-the-Hill, Those Whose Brains were Small and Who Left the Door Open, as well as some other segments but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! Another tourist ignoring warnings at Yellowstone.
This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is a major player in the Mad King's (#NoKings) scheme to privatize our public lands and sell off the family jewels. Those jewels come in the form of vast public forests or minerals that belong to all you taxpayers. "On March 4, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Representative Celeste Maloy (R-UT) filed twin resolutions in Congress that would do something no Congress has ever done to a national monument.....H.J.Res.151 and S.J.Res.109 [will] ...kill the rules that govern the land, and under the Congressional Review Act, once those rules are killed, the Bureau of Land Management is permanently barred from writing anything “substantially the same” ever again. A national monument without a management plan is a legal shell." That from MoreThanJustParks but Lee isn't just fixated on Red Rock Country, he wants privatize the entire system. This alarm from the National Parks Conservation Association: "National parks belong to all Americans. They shouldn’t be political pawns, and they shouldn’t be for sale. We are weeks away from a yearlong commemoration of the 250th anniversary of America — we should be celebrating our national parks, not selling them. Nobody asked for this. Nobody wants this. Americans understand that nobody benefits if our national parks are gutted."
It seemed hard to find bottom-dwellers as awful as Lee......until we read about these monsters. We have to ask: "Who Left the Door Open"?? You might want to skip this one if you are even a bit Squeamish: "On a busy tourist strip in Orlando, behind noisy bars and souvenir shops, 21 sloths in crates reached the end of a grueling international trip. Soon, they would all be dead. The tree-dwelling mammals were transferred to a warehouse resembling an old oil-change garage and placed in cages..There was no running water. No electricity. The space heaters meant to keep them warm were plugged in with extension cords running from another building... But the heaters repeatedly tripped the fuse and shut off. At least one night in December 2024, the sloths were left alone in the cold warehouse without heat. One by one, they died. The warehouse is the off-site facility of a new roadside attraction called “Sloth World,” a $49 animal encounter marketed as a conservation-focused center scheduled to open soon. Nothing could have prepared the sloths for this. Until recently, they lived wild in the forest canopies of Guyana." Believe us, it gets worse and, as if it wasn't bad enough, the perps have the balls to play the victim card: "Two sloth conservation and rescue organizations have sharply criticized Sloth World’s sourcing of animals from the wild, noting that sloths are notoriously difficult to keep alive in captivity. The animals are highly sensitive to stress, largely solitary with an aversion to humans and dependent on specialized diets.....[Benjamin Agresta, owner of Sloth World] said such organizations want to abolish animal conservation and “are the enemy.” Asked about the state records indicating that sloths have died, he called that “completely fiction".....Speaking by phone, he declined to disclose what conservation organizations Sloth World is working with, or intends to work with. He refused to answer other questions, referring Inside Climate News to his media team, which did not respond to multiple requests for comment nor to a list of questions."
We have to thank Oligarch watch for this Doublespeak of the Week: "Since assuming office again last year, [His Malignancy] has called for the arrest of Barack Obama, promised to annihilate a “whole civilization” during his war on Iran, and deployed federal shock troops at home to intimidate left-leaning cities, resulting in the murders of numerous Americans. But to Jeff Bezos, Trump in his second term “is a more mature, more disciplined version of himself than he was in his first term.” The centibillionaire and executive chairman of Amazon, who made the comments during an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin that aired on Wednesday, added that “Trump has lots of good ideas.” 😏
We have Breaking News! This comes after we recorded the podcast for this show. The NY Times just reported: "Pope Leo XIV on Monday set out a sweeping vision for corporate executives, politicians and individuals who will shape and be shaped by the future of artificial intelligence, warning leaders to safeguard humanity from A.I.’s most disruptive effects. Leo’s declaration came in the form of a papal encyclical, an open letter to “all people of good will” that ran to roughly 42,300 words in its English version. It outlined his desire to protect human dignity and agency in an age in which technology threatens to replace humans in many professional and social roles." Read the full report HERE.
We're not sure you need to (much less want to) read further than this headline to see who qualifies this week for "Their brains were small and they died". These dinosaurs seem to be up for turning the calendar back to the days of Boss Tweed or worse: "The threat of election-denying candidates is particularly acute in Arizona, where they are running for governor, secretary of state, and attorney general." Want to know if any deniers are in your state? Go HERE. Want to pushback of The Mad King's (#NoKings) takeover of our elections? Go HERE. How about pushing back HERE on his hairbrained scheme to spend your tax dollars on a slush fund for the J6 Insurrectionists?
And, speaking of His Malignancy, shall we look for just a few of his latest bullshit ideas & actions? How about.......no? How about laugh at him instead?
There. Does that feel better? Every day we file away yet another outrage or idiotic idea or comment from His Malignancy. Our mailboxes have begun to smell from the stench; they have turned the color of overripe avocados, the ones the cartels ship across the border. They taint all the other mail around them. Enough. Let's move on to a lighter subject. How about "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" ? The Mad King's (#NoKings) War Against Nature had a setback recently in the War Against Wind theater. The Globe reported "A federal judge in Massachusetts struck down several.. administration actions slowing down development of clean energy, including a requirement that all solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters be personally approved by Interior Secretary Burgum. Judge Casper of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled wind and solar developers were likely to succeed on the merits of their claims that the administration’s actions violate federal statutes. She issued a preliminary injunction to stop the administration from implementing the policies." Meanwhile, in the War Against Water "The administration has announced a plan to kill Biden-era drinking water limits on four Pfas “forever chemicals”, and to delay the implementation of standards for two other compound. The Environmental Protection Agency is [counter intuitively] proposing two separate rules to delay and rescind the limits." Speaking of Water, some greedheads don't believe it's rising? Finally, in the War Against Animals some humans are urging Congress to strengthen Endangered Species Protections. You can join them HERE. While we're pushing back, how about telling Congress to Stop Big Oil's Immunity from trashing the planet as well? O wait, wasn't that pretty much all about His Malignancy anyway??
Our Critter of the Week is so much more than what some folks order when they dine out on the town. We are talking about Salmon. "The Atlantic salmon lives mainly in the North Atlantic Ocean. It breeds in the rivers of North America and Europe. Pacific salmon are found in the waters of the North Pacific. They breed in rivers near both the North American and Asian coasts.....After being born in fresh water, salmon travel to the ocean. They live there for one to three years. Then they travel back to where they hatched in order to breed. For some salmon, this can mean a trip of more than 2,000 miles. Salmon may leap over waterfalls and cut through churning rapids to reach their home waters again. Once in fresh water, salmon stop eating and live off their body fat. The males fight for a mate. After a male and a female are paired, the female digs a pit and lays thousands of eggs. Most Pacific salmon die shortly after mating. Many Atlantic salmon, however, return to the sea and may breed again." The Wild Salmon Center informed us: "Right now, a foreign mining company wants to build a toxic mine right at the headwaters of two rivers that feed Bristol Bay, Alaska – an area that currently sustains 30 million of the world’s most spectacular salmon every year – but only if the water stays clean. Protecting salmon strongholds means protecting healthy forests, climate action, recreation opportunities, wild protein, and local jobs. Want to help out? Go HERE.
In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we have an Action Alert to Save the Postal service from YouKnowWho have spent years trying to gut the USPS – pushing cuts, downsizing, and
privatization schemes to dismantle a public service that millions of
Americans rely on every day. Go HERE. Also, we replay this call for climate education from Ferd Wulkan: MTA members have been working with young folks for quite some time, trying to get climate education legislation passed: An Act implementing elementary and secondary interdisciplinary climate literacy education has a better than ever chance of passing now. Mass Audubon has created two separate Action Alerts for this bill. Please click on the links to write to your legislators and share with your colleagues. Senate - https://web.massaudubon.org/
After our conversation with Rob it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:
First Here's Indivisible Northampton — Swing Left Western Mass's complete daily listing of all the pro-democracy events in WMass: https://in-slwm.org/wp-content/uploads/Calendar/cal.html. If you're looking for an easy weekday way to jump into the climate movement, you'll love the State House Stand Out! We gather at the Massachusetts State House in Boston between 10 am and 2 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Volunteers stand together for 2-hour "shifts," either outside or inside depending on weather, and talk with visitors and State House staff about the Climate Crisis. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 3 – 4pm.: Indivisible's What's the Plan with Leah and Ezra. Go HERE. Fridays, 1:30 to 3pm: De-ICE Hanscom Airfield Stand Outs, Hanscom Rotary, Lincoln, MA. Go HERE. Saturdays, 11am to 1pm: No Fear w/Street Theatre, Burlington ICE Facility, Burlington Mall Rd. @ District Ave., Burlington, MA Go HERE
May 24-29 May 2026. A global week of climate action. Beautiful Trouble will be joining thousands in the movement to KICK POLLUTERS OUT. Whether you’re planning a street action, guerilla projection, public gathering, a banner drop, a workshop, a tribunal, a performance, or something entirely different - this moment calls for bold, collective action and Beautiful Trouble is here for you! [ We couldn't find any action near us here in The States but regardless, Solidarity Forever! ]
Tuesday May 26, 7pm. Protect Our Oldest Forests. Online -- join from wherever you are! Now, this administration is trying to roll back the clock by attempting to repeal the Roadless Rule. This summer will be a key moment for us to influence the process. At the same time, the administration is dismantling the very agency charged with stewarding our entire national forest system, the US Forest Service. RSVP to hold your spot and receive the invite link. Can't make it live? No problem! RSVP anyway, and we'll send you the recording along with instructions so you can learn about this issue and take action at your convenience.
Tuesday May 26, 8 – 9pm. From Group Chats to Grassroots Power: Organizing with Signal & WhatsApp - A Virtual Training. Join Indivisible and D-Hub, a global democracy defense organization, for a practical training on how organizers across the world are using Signal and WhatsApp to build stronger, safer, more effective grassroots movements. Whether you’re mobilizing rapid response networks, coordinating immigrant defense efforts, or growing local community power, the tools you use matter. In this session, you’ll learn how to strategically use Signal and WhatsApp together to organize securely, communicate at scale, and strengthen your local campaign. Go HERE.
Wednesday May 27, 8:15 to 5pm. WMass contingent to the Burlington MA ICE detention center. FCCPR bus meets at the S. Deerfield Park & Ride, Intersection of Rt. 5 & 116. Important note: Everyone who is going from Western MA should register, please, regardless of whether you're going by bus, driving, or being a passenger in someone else's car!! Go HERE.
Monday June 1, 7pm on Zoom :The High Cost of Nuclear Power. Register Here. Presented by: Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility Presenters: Dr. Philip Landrigan, Boston College, Global Public Health program, Dr. Benjamin Sovacool, Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability, Dr. M.V. Ramana, U. of British Columbia, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, Moderator: Dr. Caren Solomon, Deputy Editor at the New England Journal of Medicine.
Monday, June 1st, 7-8pm via zoom. Indivisible Northampton Speaker Series: How can we effectively fight back against the patriarchy in power's attacks on women's rights, healthcare, and economic security? Prof. Carrie Baker, J.D., Ph.D. Smith College. What are the best strategies to overturn destructive laws? How do we support people in abortion ban states who need reproductive care right now? And, how do we support the abortion providers?After registering HERE you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Saturday June 6, 11am to 12pm. De-ICE Citizens Bank Northampton - National Day of Action. Public Sidewalk on King Street in front of Stop and Shop Plaza (Citizens is inside), 228 King St., Northampton, MA 01060 Join Indivisible Northampton and thousands of people across the country from 11-12 on Saturday, June 6th to send Citizens Bank a clear message: financing private prison and immigration detention facility operators The GEO Group and CoreCivic is bad for business. Please bring signs specific to this action: De-ICE Citizens Bank; Cages Aren't Communities; Citizens Bank - Stop Financing ICE Prisons; Citizens Bank + ICE = Human Rights Abuse; ICE Prisons Don't Strengthen Our Communities; Citizens Bank - Cut Ties With ICE Prisons; etc. Go HERE.
Wednesday June 10, 5:30pm. People Over Utility Profits - Springfield Rally at Eversource HQ, 300 Cadwell Drive, Springfield, MA 01104. "Did you know that Eversorce profits doubled from 2024 to 2025?" If your organization shares this vision and is ready to take action, join us. Contact the Arise office at 413-734-4948 to become part of the Springfield Climate Justice Coalition.
Thursday June 11, 5:30 - 7:30 pm. Virtual Rules Meeting: The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) is inviting public comment on a proposed rule that would guide how state lands are planned and managed for the future. This process helps ensure that Vermonters have a voice in how these lands are cared for over time. The comment period is open until June 18, 2026. RSVP here
Tuesday June 16, 7 p.m. Join Courtney & Amelia Gilardi and Massachusetts for Safe Technology for our fourth annual World EMR Syndrome Day Forum. This live Zoom forum is a direct call to arms for advocates, tech safety groups, and citizens worldwide. Come celebrate our unity and solidarity for all those who have EMR Syndrome symptoms from mild to severe, alongside our allies and advocates. Register HERE.
OK for now but do remember to listen to your Mother!
