Still Another Autumn Equinox Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. We hope you all have a timely Autumnal Equinox this time around and that you don't fall back on anything too hard, all things being equal (sorry). Our old friend the Enviro Show roving reporter bardic insurgent, singer-songwriter Tom Neilson returns to the show for a premier performance of his latest album "Give Trees a Chance". This abbreviated version of the show will feature many of our favorite cuts on the album along with our conversation with Tom. Of course, we can't forget to bring you along to meet this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and maybe some other of the usual segments, but first it's time for.........Revenge of the Critters! It's said "You can't fix stupid!" but maybe if you just add a bit of alcohol and a highly poisonous snake? 

We have a dastardly duo for a special Fools-on-the-Hill this time. Of course Repugnican Margie Greene is no stranger to this segment but this time she's teamed up with the Minority Leader of the House, Kevin McCarthy who is more crime boss than fool and he surely hasn't been fooling around in his ugly defense of fellow domestic terrorists. In any case, Forbes ran a story on the dastardly duo's attempt at extorting telecommunications companies from honoring congressional requests: "In a complaint filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington president Noah Bookbinder, the watchdog group points to McCarthy’s statement on Tuesday that Republicans, if they retake Congress, “will not forget” if the companies comply, vowing to hold them “fully accountable under the law.” It also highlights Greene stating in a Fox News interview, “If they go along with this, they will be shut down,” suggesting both comments violate House rules requiring members to “behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.” Or maybe seem a bit....um...thuggish? 

Since Tom's new album is dedicated to the Trees it seems fitting we fall back on The Enviro Show Echo Chamber for this one from The Guardian titled "Anti-logging protest becomes Canada’s biggest ever act of civil disobedience". This sustained action has been going on for many months now but it never got any traction here in the States (Surprise!) "A string of protests against old-growth logging in western Canada have become the biggest act of civil disobedience in the country’s history, with the arrest of least 866 people since April. The bitter fight over the future of Vancouver Island’s diminishing ancient forests – in which activists used guerrilla methods of resistance such as locking their bodies to the logging road and police responded by beating, dragging and pepper-spraying demonstrators – has surpassed the previous record of arrests set in the 1990s at the anti-logging protests dubbed the 'War in the Woods'."  Naturally, our listeners well know that it's yet another front on The War Against Nature.And This from Grist: "More than 230 publications said unchecked climate change could have “catastrophic” and irreversible consequences for global health." These journals report that the Climate Crisis is “greatest threat to global public health,” 

On that note, how about we check out The Enviro Show Quote of the Week for a seasonal note:

"As Summer into Autumn slips
And yet we sooner say
"The Summer" than "the Autumn," lest
We turn the sun away,

And almost count it an Affront
The presence to concede
Of one however lovely, not
The one that we have loved -

So we evade the charge of Years
On one attempting shy
The Circumvention of the Shaft
Of Life's Declivity."

                 - Emily Dickinson 

After our conversation and listening session with Tom it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Monday September 20, All Day. National Day of Action - Congress Bring it Home. This fall, Congress has the opportunity to demonstrate their power to improve people’s lives by passing a robust climate centered infrastructure package that includes a Civilian Climate Corps and bold investments towards public housing, schools, transit and renewable energy – a historic piece of legislation that will kick off the Decade of the Green New Deal.  Find or hold an event HERE. 

Tuesday September 21, 6pm. Pulling the curtain back on The Hydrogen Hoax. Cathy Kristofferson, from the Pipe Line Awareness Network for the Northeast, tackles one of climate change's most popular misconceptions about using hydrogen as an energy source (and how industry is hyping false solutions) and the future of clean renewable energy for Massachusetts.  Go HERE. 

Tuesday September 21, 8:00 pm. The Truth about Old-Growth Forests, Climate and Wildfire.  This month's speaker is Chad Hanson, PhD, forest ecologist, director of the John Muir Project, and member of the Sierra Club’s Board of Directors.  Chad will speak on "Debunking Disinformation about Wildfire: Research Tells Us What Works and What Doesn't." Go HERE. 

 

Wednesday September 22, 2-5 p.m. There is a bill in the Massachusetts Legislature, Senate Bill 590 being heard next week before the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture. It will give more subsidies for destroying farmland and forests for solar. Please help us oppose a law that will give more taxpayer subsidies to solar projects that destroy forests and farmland! More info HERE. 

Friday September 24, All Day. Global Climate Strike! (See map) Fridays for Future (FFF), is a youth-led and -organised global climate strike movement that started in August 2018, when 15-year-old Greta Thunberg began a school strike for climate. In the three weeks leading up to the Swedish election, she sat outside Swedish Parliament every school day, demanding urgent action on the climate crisis. She was tired of society’s unwillingness to see the climate crisis for what it is: a crisis. Action Map: https://fridaysforfuture.org/action-map/map/ More info HERE

Wednesday, September 29​, 7:30-8:30 pm. (Audience Q&A from 8:00-8:30) Community Solar: A Brief Introduction. There's a lot of info out there about solar panels for individual homes, but what about community solar projects? Tom Michelman, Senior Director at Sustainable Energy Advantage, will talk about the definition(s) of Community Solar and how it varies across the country. With an emphasis on northeast US execution, his presentation will focus on how Community Solar is being implemented in practice, as well as its benefits and costs (including societal / environmental costs). Register here. 

October 11-15, All Day . President Biden: Build Back Fossil Free. Fossil fuel pollution and climate disasters are already disrupting millions of lives. We deserve a world beyond fossil fuels: a world in which workers’ rights, community health, and our shared climate come before corporate profits. That’s why we are coming together to ensure Biden becomes the climate president he promised to be before attending the global climate talks this November. Indigenous people, pipeline fighters, water protectors, young people, scientists, faith leaders, and more are saying enough is enough: it's time to finally place people over fossil fuels. [Wait! what about the Trees??] Go HERE. 

That's all folks. Until next time remember to  do....what?  Yes, listen to your Mother!

 

Save the Woodlands Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. We talk a whole lot about saving forests on this show but how about those woodlands that are smaller and maybe closer to home? Nathaniel Thomas and Mimi Turchinetz of the Crane Ledge Woods Coalition joins us to discuss saving "the largest unprotected urban wild remaining in Boston". And speaking of wild, how about we take you to meet this week's Fool-on-the-Hill as well as remind anyone who was busy being raised by wolves out in the Wild that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" Also, we'll check in with the Prez to see if there's any Backslidin' with Biden and maybe come up with an Enviro Show Quote of the Week but first it's time for............Revenge of the Critters! Do you ever wonder if racehorses get sick & tired of the race?

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Rep. Madison Cawthorn, (Repugnican-N.C) who, while once again repeating the Big Lie about the presidential election at a gathering at the Macon County Repugnican Party headquarters, also said: “If our election systems continue to be rigged, and continue to be stolen, then it’s going to lead to one place, and it’s bloodshed, I will tell you, as much as I am willing to defend our liberty at all costs, there is nothing that I would dread doing more than having to pick up arms against a fellow American.” Riiiiiiight! We're thinking the veil on that threat is so thin one can't help but see right through it. Once again, another dangerous fool for the FBI's domestic terrorist watch list. 😒

Time now to remind everyone "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" Here's more proof (as if you needed it), a recent NOAA report comes up with yet another eye-popping historical reference: "Atmospheric CO2 Levels Haven't Been This High in 800,000 Years". Biologically speaking that's when your ancestors were running for their lives from giant sabre-toothed cats.  Moving on, remember when everyone was so squeamish about mentioning climate change when talking about hurricanes? OK, that was back when they were also going on about Beanie Babies but not anymore, check this out: "Climate change is now an ingredient in every storm, including Ida."  Hey, times change. Wanna buy some Beanie Babies? And this: Let's remember dirty biomass is decidedly NOT clean renewable energy and should NOT be classified as such by the State of Massachusetts.  Let's revisit our friend, State Senator Jo Comerford on What Gets Defined As Renewable Energy?.

We have to give props to The Prez for finally pulling the plug on the Nation's longest war in history in The Graveyard of the Empires (doesn't anyone learn from history?) but he still has us Backslidin' with Biden when it comes to our War on Nature and the like. It seems, "President Joe Biden’s administration is sticking by the decision under former President Donald Trump to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S" so that iconic keystone species will be mercilessly slaughtered by cowboys and girls. However, on the bright side, Biden's EPA has FINALLY banned Chlorpyrifos pesticide so d.o. won't have to continue trying to pronounce it.  😉

Here's our Enviro Show Quote of the Week, but you'll have to jump into the Wayback Machine with us in order to hear it...

"I went to the woods because I wish to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."  

                                     -  Henry David Thoreau

After our conversation with our guests we head over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Friday September 17, All Day. The radical change we need will only come from lots of ordinary people taking action. We must find the means to enter the public discourse where the truth and the extent of climate action required to avert climate catastrophe, biodiversity loss, and minimize the risk of social and ecological collapse can emerge. Treat this year like it’s Do or Die for the planet by standing with us. New York City (specifics coming soon). Go HERE.

Friday September 17, 3 p.m. Zoom interview with Prof. Bill Moomaw.  "The Critical Role of Forests and Trees in a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency.  Go HERE.  

Saturday September 18, 11am to Noon. CT River Bridge Action. This is a river undefended and left for dead these last 50 years.  Northfield Mountain is an energy-wasting killer. DEMAND the only river cleanup that matters. Tell FERC, ISO-New England, US Fish & Wildlife Service, MA Fish & Wildlife and MA Dept. of Environmental Protection:
“NO FIRSTLIGHT-FERC LICENSE TO KILL!!” Turners Falls/Gill-Montague Bridge over the river, just off Rt.2.  Bring friends, family, kids—anyone, and take just ONE HOUR at a critical moment to stand up for a living ecosystem and future generations. Bring your mask--maybe make a sign or help hold a banner, but show up!  

Saturday September 18, 1:30 PM  Climate Change Solutions - MA Takes the Leads. So how are those of us in Franklin County instituting these changes?  That is what we are asking Rep Paul Mark and Joan Meschino!  (Masks required,  Bring a chair)  Outdoors at Greenfield Energy Park, Miles Street across Main St. from Green Fields Food Coop.  Street parking is free on Saturdays. in Greenfield.

Saturday September 18,  1pm.  Celebrating Old Growth: Robin Wall Kimmerer, Robert Macfarlane, & David Haskell. In August 2021, Orion Magazine released Old Growth, an anthology of essays and poems about the lives of trees. It's a dynamic cross section of Orion's long history of engagement with arboreal culture. These authors bring a unique perspective on the legacy of trees in deep time, which they explore in their recent books Braiding Sweetgrass, Underland, and The Song of Trees,respectively. Go HERE.  

Monday September 20, All Day. National Day of Action - Congress Bring it Home. This fall, Congress has the opportunity to demonstrate their power to improve people’s lives by passing a robust climate centered infrastructure package that includes a Civilian Climate Corps and bold investments towards public housing, schools, transit and renewable energy – a historic piece of legislation that will kick off the Decade of the Green New Deal.  Find or hold an event HERE. 

Tuesday September 21, 6pm. Pulling the curtain back on The Hydrogen Hoax. Cathy Kristofferson, from the Pipe Line Awareness Network for the Northeast, tackles one of climate change's most popular misconceptions about using hydrogen as an energy source (and how industry is hyping false solutions) and the future of clean renewable energy for Massachusetts.  Go HERE. 

Tuesday September 21, 8:00 pm. The Truth about Old-Growth Forests, Climate and Wildfire.  This month's speaker is Chad Hanson, PhD, forest ecologist, director of the John Muir Project, and member of the Sierra Club’s Board of Directors.  Chad will speak on "Debunking Disinformation about Wildfire: Research Tells Us What Works and What Doesn't." Go HERE. 

Friday September 24, All Day. Global Climate Strike! (See map) Fridays for Future (FFF), is a youth-led and -organised global climate strike movement that started in August 2018, when 15-year-old Greta Thunberg began a school strike for climate. In the three weeks leading up to the Swedish election, she sat outside Swedish Parliament every school day, demanding urgent action on the climate crisis. She was tired of society’s unwillingness to see the climate crisis for what it is: a crisis. Action Map: https://fridaysforfuture.org/action-map/map/ More info HERE

Wednesday, September 29​, 7:30-8:30 pm. (Audience Q&A from 8:00-8:30) Community Solar: A Brief Introduction. There's a lot of info out there about solar panels for individual homes, but what about community solar projects? Tom Michelman, Senior Director at Sustainable Energy Advantage, will talk about the definition(s) of Community Solar and how it varies across the country. With an emphasis on northeast US execution, his presentation will focus on how Community Solar is being implemented in practice, as well as its benefits and costs (including societal / environmental costs). Register here. 

October 11-15, All Day . President Biden: Build Back Fossil Free. Fossil fuel pollution and climate disasters are already disrupting millions of lives. We deserve a world beyond fossil fuels: a world in which workers’ rights, community health, and our shared climate come before corporate profits. That’s why we are coming together to ensure Biden becomes the climate president he promised to be before attending the global climate talks this November. Indigenous people, pipeline fighters, water protectors, young people, scientists, faith leaders, and more are saying enough is enough: it's time to finally place people over fossil fuels. [Wait! what about the Trees??] Go HERE. 

That's all folks. Untiul next time remember to  do....what?  Yes, listen to your Mother!

 

A New & Improved Climate Crisis Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. We seem to be running out of titles for shows focused on climate science and related stories. Given THE critical issue of our times, The Climate Crisis, is forever being updated and expounded upon perhaps it's a good thing we have to keep coming up with headlines or new titles. Shaina Sadai, a PhD Candidate at UMass Amherst studying climate change joins us for a conversation about her work in climate science and her activism as well. As always, we will also take you along to see this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to remind anyone who has been in a coma for the past few decades that....."It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" That and more, but first it's time for............Revenge of the Critters!  River Otter didn't care to share.

Here's a Fool-on-the-Hill we haven't featured in the past, not because we didn't know this fool was out there but since there are so many to choose from she got lost in the shuffle. That said, she stepped into it big time recently: "“The American people deserve to know the truth that Nancy Pelosi bears responsibility as speaker of the House for the tragedy that occurred on Jan. 6,” said Representative Elise Stefanik, Repugnican of New York and, now the party’s No. 3 fool. 

Our guest will no doubt be much more diplomatic than us in reminding everyone that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" But it's not just us with the reminders, NPR (of all people) recently noted July was the hottest month in all recorded history! And look what Rolling Stone came out with recently. The feature is focused on the Greenland ice sheet we've discussed on this show for years now in all its scary implications. Our guest's work is focused primarily on the Antarctic so we may as well go international on this show 'cuz the Climate Crisis knows no borders. On another note some of you older listeners may remember all the brouhaha back in the 1970s over The Club of Rome? "In 1972, a team of MIT scientists got together to study the risks of civilizational collapse. Their system dynamics model published by the Club of Rome identified impending ‘limits to growth’.. that meant industrial civilization was on track to collapse sometime within the 21st century, due to overexploitation of planetary resources." Back then, radicals and liberals alike trashed the study and those, like Henry Kissinger (of all people!) who supported it. The political left, which saw the study as a scam by the elites designed to trick workers into believing that a proletarian paradise was a pipe dream. Flash forward 50 years and read THIS from Vice. The study was uncomfortably close to today. Who knew! Finally, we find Scientific American reminds us of the natural carbon capture potential of the world's oceans.........without mentioning the growing threats of acidification on that potential?

Time for some Backslidin' with Biden we guess? We're not sure how much the Prez had a hand in those subsidies for the fossil fools and corporado loggers in the "bipartisan" Infrastructure bill voted out of the Senate, now in the House, but Reuters reported recently the Biden administration is supportive of a production tax credits for existing nukes. "This would increase costs for consumers and delay the uptake of cheaper, cleaner renewables." And This: Did you see The Prez driving around the White House last week in an all-electric Jeep? That big....umm....rollout? took place at the same time as this was reported by the Center for Biological Diversity: "The Biden administration is proposing new tailpipe emissions standards today that are weaker than what automakers agreed to with the Obama administration nearly a decade ago. Today’s proposed rules were supposed to deliver on President Biden’s climate pledges by reining in the country’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, carmakers successfully lobbied for loopholes that will allow them to keep making polluting cars, SUVs and trucks, escaping pollution controls through lavish credits for electric vehicles and other technologies."  😠

Time for another Enviro Show Quote of the Week. This one is germane to the theme of this show:

"We are the first generation to feel the sting of climate change, and we are the last generation that can do something about it."

                                                         - Governor Jay Inslee

After our conversation with Shaina it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard: 

Friday September 3, 11am. Stop Funding Fossils and Commercial Logging, Expand Medicare, and Expand Union Rights.  Currently your taxes are funding the climate crisis and fossil fuel industry profits. They also pay to line the pockets of companies destroying the earth’s lungs. As Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Neal will play a key role in ending these practices and passing the Reconciliation Budget package in the House. For the next four weeks we will show up at Rep. Neal’s office to tell him it is time to stand up to the fossil fuel dinosaurs and climate criminals. The climate crisis is urgent and demands a far reaching solution. Richie Neal could make that happen! Office of Rep. Richie Neal, 300 State Street, Springfield, MA 01105. Go HERE. 

Wednesday September. 8, 7:30pm. .Join WMass Extinction Rebellion to hear about recent actions and plan for our next steps toward regenerative culture and action against fossil fuel infrastructure. Place TBA. Go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/2984852311835948  

Thursday September 9, 11am. Stop Funding Fossils and Commercial Logging, Expand Medicare, and Expand Union Rights.  Currently your taxes are funding the climate crisis and fossil fuel industry profits. They also pay to line the pockets of companies destroying the earth’s lungs. As Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Neal will play a key role in ending these practices and passing the Reconciliation Budget package in the House. For the next four weeks we will show up at Rep. Neal’s office to tell him it is time to stand up to the fossil fuel dinosaurs and climate criminals. The climate crisis is urgent and demands a far reaching solution. Richie Neal could make that happen! Office of Rep. Richie Neal, 300 State Street, Springfield, MA 01105. Go HERE.  

Friday September 17, All Day.  The radical change we need will only come from lots of ordinary people taking action. We must find the means to enter the public discourse where the truth and the extent of climate action required to avert climate catastrophe, biodiversity loss, and minimize the risk of social and ecological collapse can emerge. Treat this year like it’s Do or Die for the planet by standing with us. New York City (specifics coming soon). Go HERE.

Monday September 20, All Day. National Day of Action - Congress Bring it Home. This fall, Congress has the opportunity to demonstrate their power to improve people’s lives by passing a robust climate centered infrastructure package that includes a Civilian Climate Corps and bold investments towards public housing, schools, transit and renewable energy – a historic piece of legislation that will kick off the Decade of the Green New Deal.  Find or hold an event HERE. 

Wednesday, September 29​, 7:30-8:30 pm. (Audience Q&A from 8:00-8:30) Community Solar: A Brief Introduction. There's a lot of info out there about solar panels for individual homes, but what about community solar projects? Tom Michelman, Senior Director at Sustainable Energy Advantage, will talk about the definition(s) of Community Solar and how it varies across the country. With an emphasis on northeast US execution, his presentation will focus on how Community Solar is being implemented in practice, as well as its benefits and costs (including societal / environmental costs). Register here.

That's all folks. Untiul next time remember to  do....what?  Yes, listen to your Mother!

The Deforestation or Reforestation Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. The recent use of overwhelming force by Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz and the NPD (with State Police back-up) to cut down and destroy a perfectly healthy row of Cherry Trees on the aptly named Warfield Place reminds us about the kind of mindset far too many arrogant bureaucrats embrace when it comes to trees and those who value them. Katie Young joins us with the gruesome details. Thankfully, on the sunny side, MA Senator Cynthia Creem talks to us about S. 504/ H. 905 An Act establishing the municipal reforestation program. Doesn't reforestation sound so much friendlier than deforestation? As usual, we will also bring you along to meet this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to see if we are Backslidin' with Biden who may have forgotten "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!". That and our Quote of the Week but first it's time for.........Revenge of the Critters! Slight young men probably shouldn't taunt big old elephants.

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is back for a repeat performance. Yes, it's addled Repugnican RonJon back at it again. This time at a Repugnican Women's Luncheon he said, "I don't know about you guys, but I think climate change is -- as Lord Monckton said -- bullsh*t," Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson said, without uttering the word but mouthing it, and referring to British conservative climate change denier Lord Christopher Monckton. "By the way, it is", he added. Sounds a bit like transference from here. 

I guess we are Backslidin' with Biden when we find tweets like this from the John Muir Project of the Earth Island Institute: "Biden's #InfrastructureBill needs to get bolder for the sake of the planet. Agreeing to roll back environmental laws, while increasing subsidies for fossil fuels and harmful extractive logging is a #DirtyDeal". Read their entire "Statement on the Infrastructure Bill" HERE (pdf). Granted, many of the anti-forest and pro-fossil fuel and biomass provisions to the bill may have been added in Congress but The Prez has publicly endorsed the bill and it's on him to see to it that it's not business-as-usual. And this from Common Dreams: "The Biden White House announced Thursday that it will not extend an eviction moratorium that's set to expire...claiming a recent Supreme Court ruling rendered the administration powerless to act on its own. In a statement, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that Congress must act "without delay" to "extend the eviction moratorium to protect such vulnerable renters and their families." Does that sound like passing the buck to the Congressional black hole? 

Time now to remind folks that it's "The Climate Crisis, Stupid!" (an obvious take off on the old Clinton-era myopic meme on the economy). Once again, The West is burning and in some places it may burn into the Fall (no pun intended but hey!). "In the remainder of the year, fire conditions will likely get worse before they get any better. According to a fire outlook report released by National Interagency Fire Center, the months of August and September are expected to have above average fire activity before conditions improve in October." Here's a totally anthropocentric headline for you: "Eliminating Carbon Emissions by 2050 Would Save 74 Million Lives This Century". Is no one counting the other species on the planet? 

Time for The Enviro Show Quote of the Week: 

“The trees encountered on a country stroll/ Reveal a lot about that country’s soul / A culture is no better than its woods.”

― W.H.Auden

After our conversations with Katie and Senator Creem we go to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Friday August 20, 4:30 to 5:30pm and Every Friday.  Speak out for Clean Air! Come join our 'Put Peakers in the Past Coalition' for this stand-out protest to let folks know about Pittsfield Generating’s peaker power plant. They are filing for renewal of their Air Quality Permit, which would give them permission to keep polluting our air - we must stop it! At the corner of Thorndyke and Dalton Ave. in Pittsfield, MA.   Contact Info: rose@thebeatnews.org

Read all about it at No Frack Gas in Mass

Monday August, 23, 7 to 9pm.  Climate Action Now monthly Zoom gathering. We’ve been have wonderful virtual gatherings via ZOOM during the time of COVID closure. Look out for zoom registration details before the next meeting in our newsletter or on facebook.  

Wednesday August 25, 6 to 7:30pm. Climate Activist Tool kit Part 2.  Elders Climate Action proudly presents The Climate Activist Toolkit, a 3-part summer workshop series designed to build our strengths as climate advocates. These facilitated workshops will cover a range of topics including Tools for Meeting with Elected Officials, The Power of Personal Stories, and Communicating for Climate Action. We’ll dive into helpful skills, tools and strategies relevant to our members working at local, state, and federal levels. Participants will engage in small-group work (via Zoom breakout rooms) to discuss personal strategies and ideas, practice skills through role play, and plan how to engage in actions. Register HERE

Wednesday September. 8, 7:30pm. .Join WMass Extinction Rebellion to hear about recent actions and plan for our next steps toward regenerative culture and action against fossil fuel infrastructure. Place TBA. Go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/2984852311835948 

Friday September 17, All Day.  The radical change we need will only come from lots of ordinary people taking action. We must find the means to enter the public discourse where the truth and the extent of climate action required to avert climate catastrophe, biodiversity loss, and minimize the risk of social and ecological collapse can emerge. Treat this year like it’s Do or Die for the planet by standing with us. New York City (specifics coming soon). Go HERE.

 

That is all except for one thing........remember to listen to your Mother

 

 

 

The Enviro Show vs. Evilsourse

Greetings Earthlings. You're probably aware of all the bad press Eversourse has garnered over the years, yes? When it comes to utilities, which should be publicly owned btw, these privateers have a long list of customer and public interest group's grievances that are about to be multiplied by their purchase of Columbia Gas. Susan Lemont and Alex Chambers from XR-Boston join us to drill down into the issues. As always we will also bring you along to meet this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and, sadly do some Backslidin' with Biden as well as remind the MAGA-minded that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" and more, but first it's time for........Revenge of the Critters!  Do Not, Repeat, Do Not Stick Your Arm in the Tiger Cage.  

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is rootin' tootin' six gun shooting Repugnican Lauren Boebert, the "cartoonishly absurd Republican representative from Colorado, [who] pranced across the CPAC stage like a country music singer with a head injury, crowing "don't come knocking on my door with your Fauci ouchie," referencing Anthony Fauci, the country's leading infectious disease expert." reports the Chicago Tribune. Of course, it takes a real fool to actively support a deadly pandemic but Boebert goes the extra mile by condemning the effort to overcome it. 

We have a point/counter-point edition of Abidin' with Biden vs. Backslidin' with Biden this time around. First, the Prez gets bonus points for  "proposing" to restore environmental protections to Alaska's Tongass National Forest, the world's largest temperate old growth rainforest. "In a statement, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would move to restore the Clinton-era Roadless Rule protections to the Tongass, conserving 9.3 million acres of the largest U.S. national forest. The agency also said it would end large-scale old growth timber sales in the Tongass and focus resources on forest restoration, resilience and recreation." Can we move from "proposing" & "would" to just doing it??   On the other hand why isn't Biden actively pushing for restrictions or an end to the filibuster in the Senate?  It is the ONLY way to push the seditious Repugs aside and pass legislation that will literally save the Republic. Also, As Biden works to uphold his promises to address climate change and environmental justice, we must urge him to establish strong, ecologically-sound, and environmentally-just protections for our forests, as they are central to fulfilling these pledges. Let him know! Go HERE. 

Here's a real eye opener for you from the New York Times showing "How Wildfire Smoke Spreads.." across North America. If you're asking why there are so many wildfires lately may we remind you that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!". Our last show with Chad Hanson got into many of the contributing reasons for these mega-fires but what's dominating the headlines lately? Massive flooding in Europe! If you are thinking End Times you are.......correct! And it's not like we haven't been talking about this on the show since the beginning 16 years ago. Wait, did we just say The Enviro Show is 16 years old? 

After you have sung us a few rounds of "Happy Birthday" and sent in your presents it should be time for The Enviro Show Quote of the Week: 

"It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."     --Albert Einstein

And, after our conversations with Susan and Alex we go to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Friday August 6, 4:30 pm.  Put Peakers in the Past Action. Please Join Us - standing up for clean air for Pittsfield neighborhoods! Come join our Put Peakers in the Past Coalition for this stand-out protest to let folks know about Pittsfield Generating’s peaker power plant, now filing for renewal of its Air Quality Permit. Corner of Dalton & Thorndyke Ave. (Dalton Ave. Plaza, near Zucco's, across from Plastics Ave.) Go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/674772667254134/ 

Saturday & Sunday August 7 & 8, 10am to 5pm.  8th Annual Pocumtuck Homelands Festival:A Celebration of Native American Art, Music, and Cultures.  Go to:  https://nolumbekaproject.org/pocumtuck-homelands-festival  /

Friday August 6, 7pm.  August 6 and 9, 2021, will mark the 76th anniversary of the atomic bombings of two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, and exposed thousands to lethal radiation. Join us in Easthampton, Mass., to express solidarity with the remaining Hibakusha survivors and hear from speakers who are calling for a rapid phase-out of nuclear weapons. Divest from war, invest in peace! 7:00 p.m. Meet at Emily Williston Library, 9 Park St. Easthampton. 7:10 p.m. Peace Walk departs Williston Library for Nashawannuck Pond. 7:30 p.m. Peace walkers arrive at Nashawannuck Pond with candles. Peace walk will be followed by reflections, performances, and lantern-floating on the pond.

We're off to snag some sweet sixteen B-Day cake now but want to remind you to listen to your Mother!