Greetings Earthlings. Last time around we talked about the Connecticut River below the Turners Falls dam and the endangered sturgeon who languish or die there. This time we take you up river to the next damn dam at the VT Yankee nuke where shad have reportedly decreased by 99%, most likely due to heated discharge from the scary old Entergy nuke. Did we mention radioactive leaks? Deb Katz returns to fill us in and invite YOU to take part in Our River Runs Through It: Flotilla and Rally to Stop VT Yankee Pollution Saturday September 8th on the Connecticut River. As always we give you latest enviro news in our Echo Chamber and in the E-Valley-uation segment. Also we visit The-Fool-on-the-Hill and hear the Quote of the Week, but first it's time for.........Revenge of the Critters!In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we rewind Beyond Nuclear's telling piece, Nuclear evaporating “like dry ice on a hot day”. Soooo, nukes aren't the solution to the climate crisis after all. Surprise! Speaking of which, the Heart(less)land Institute, that far-right freak show that actually had an office in Northampton some years back, is back at it again in the business of climate change denial. By the way, the climate crisis has always put the lie to the promotion of biomass incineration. Now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is starting to come around to what we've been saying all along: biomass is NOT green energy. Note: the operative word "starting"? Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources Commissioner Mark Sylvia has the caveat: “Through this regulation and other initiatives, DOER believes there is a role for biomass energy in the Commonwealth focused on high efficiency use of the limited sustainable wood resource.” Yuh. Here's our Enviro Show Blog Bonus: this freak on some lame-ass "reality" TV show said shooting a wolf was "the funniest thing he's done in years". Let's see how funny he thinks it is being called out publicly. Finally, do we think tar sands oil is the answer to the climate crisis? We don't think so! And yet, the construction on the southern end of the proposed Keystone pipeline has begun.
This week's Fool-on-the-Hill hasn't gotten there yet, but we thought we should prepare you for a rightwing nut-job whose parents actually met while working for Big Oil and while in high school he was part of a group sponsored by the so-called Free Enterprise Institute. With a background like that you can bet soon-to-be Texas Senator, Ted Cruz has picked up some....um...interesting ideas about the planet?
Our very long Enviro Show Quote of the Week is right on target for the show's theme:
"Today, population and development pressures continue against a backdrop of climate change. Rare species struggle in the face of ill-placed construction. Nineteenth century sewage treatment remains the norm in some of our cities--chemicals and untreated human waste continue to pour into rivers. Even in the twenty-first century companies are dumping unduly-warmed effluent and pollutants into the Connecticut to maximize profits; while others concoct schemes to sell off the basin’s precious, clean water for short-term gain. Stored nuclear fuel at a riverside plant poses questions that as yet remain unanswered. Non-point source pollution from farms and other operations degrades water quality. Poorly-stabilized river and stream banks foul downstream habitats with silt. Miles and miles of new pavement and parking lots rob groundwater “reservoirs” of their filtering and recharge capacities. Dams, big and small—many of them obsolete, remain impassable barriers to the Connecticut River’s migratory fish and a host of aquatic species that require both upstream and downstream habitat access to successfully complete complex life cycles. Fish passage and migratory populations on the main stem river are again in decline. Poor oversight and failing fish passage facilities are two controllable factors that need to be addressed." - Connecticut River Watershed Council
In our E-Valley-uation this week we take that call from Deb Katz of the Citizens Awareness Network in order to catch evceryone up on the upcoming Flotilla & Rally to Stop VT Yankee Pollution on Saturday, September 8 at Noon. But first, let's checkout the Connecticut River Watershed Council's thoughts on the subject.
On to the Bus Stop Billboard:
Friday, August 31, 7pm. Friday Night Free Films presents Controlling Interest: the World of the Multinational Corporation . A 1978 look at multinational corporations and the effects of the flow of capital and jobs across borders. 34 years later it's business-as-usual! Screening at the Frances Crowe Community Room, 60 Masonic Street in Northampton. Enter via Woodstar Cafe, at the front of the building. The venue is accessible.
Wednesday September 5, 7pm. A Design Public Hearing will be held by MassDOT to discuss the proposed Norwottuck Rail Trail Bicycle and Pedestrian Path project in Amherst, Hadley and Northampton, MA. Hadley Elementary School Cafeteria, 21 River Drive, Hadley.
Friday, September 7 at 7pm Bill McKibben on “Jail Notes: The Fight for the Planet Starts to Quicken” at the Johnson Chapel, Amherst college, Amherst, MA. Contact: margaretbj[at]aol.com
Saturday, September 8, 11:00am to 5:00pm. Our River Runs Through It: Flotilla & Rally to Stop VT Yankee Pollution on the Connecticut River. More info at: http://sagealliance.net/actions/river-9-8-12
Sunday, September 9, 1 to 5pm. Climate Action Now Conference. First Congregational Church, , Main Street, Amherst, MA Co-sponsored by Valley groups including The Enviro Show. Open Space format. Go to: http://climateactionnowma.org/
Thurs. Sept 20 - Sat. Sept.22 Washington DC NUCLEAR FREE CONVERGENCE ON OUR NATION’S CAPITOL Details:http://coalitionagainstnukes.org/no-nukes-rally-in-d-c/
That's about it. Remember now........listen to your Mother!
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