Blog Archive

Friday, May 18, 2018

The Climate Crisis & the Media


Greetings Earthlings. When was the last time you saw or read a story about climate chaos in the mainstream media? Is it all Trump and trash or bleeding leads? Lisa Hymas director of the climate and energy program at Media Matters joins us to test the waters. Of course, here on The Enviro Show we're all over the Climate Crisis like an invasive species without any natural predators. Speaking of which, we'll also take you to see The Mad King and some of his crazed court of climate criminals, as well as a side trip to have a good laugh about this week's Fool-on-the-Hill. All that and more (as they say), but first it's time for....................Revenge of the Critters! You may not be surprised to learn there's "vermin problem at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave" and not just in the Oval Office!

So much for the little creepy crawlers, on to the bigger specimens like His Malignancy The Mad King and his entourage of vermin like, for instance, Ryan Zinke crazed cowperson of the Department of the Inferior whose long list of scandals and ethical shortfalls was tallied up by none other than our guest's organization, Media Matters. But Lyin' Ryan is a piker compared to The Dark Prince over at the EPA. Politico reports, Scott Pruitt’s EPA and You-Know-Who’s White House teamed up in an attempt to block a report on water contamination by PFAS chemicals after one White House staffer warned that the report would be a “public relations nightmare.” What?? The public relations nightmare has been in progress for over a year. Why the sudden concern?  Meanwhile over at NASA, whose incoming administrator has zero experience with science, the program that tracks greenhouse gas emissions is being cancelled. Surprise! O wait, the same Yahoo News report notes : "Trump has proposed cancelling another Earth science mission, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3 (OCO-3)" as well. Maybe he'll use the savings for his fantasy about space cadets? Don't those cadets need a livable planet to return to? Stay tuned.

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill may have rocks in his head. Repugnican Rep. Morris Jackson Brooks Jr.  is vice chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology but like sooooo many Repugs on this sorry-ass committee Brooks is clueless on the subject of science. Last Wednesday during a hearing on “Using Technology to Address Climate Change” the congressman came up with a new theory on rising sea levels. Never mind the vast store of peer reviewed climate science identifying man-made CO2 and methane emissions warming the planet, Morris Brooks says: "Every time you have that soil or rock deposited into the seas, that causes the sea level to rise, because now you’ve got less space in those oceans, because the bottom is moving up.”  It's rocks. Who knew!

On to our Enviro Show Quote of the Week and this one fits our focus for this show:

"The U.S. news media have a critical role to play in educating the public about climate change.
                                                                                              - Amy Goodman

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we rerun the New York Times' piece on the disappearing "old ice" up in the Arctic. Just like us senior citizens, pesky old ice seems to stick around forever.....until now. And this: our friends at the Center for Biological Diversity are sounding the alarm about all the pesticides being sprayed on our National Wildlife Refuges? Is there no refuge??

After our conversation with Lisa we move on to the Bus Stop Billboard:


Saturday June 2, 7:30 to 10pm. Screening of the film "Burned", at Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls, MA. Shelburne Falls Memorial Hall, 51 Bridge St, Shelburne Falls, MA




Monday, June 4, Press Conference at 1pm, rally at 2pm, Poor People's Campaign-Rally on Ecological Devastation and Health at Springfield City Hall, Springfield MA. This is a prime moment to show our solidarity. Please show up in Springfield if you are able! Go to: http://racialjusticerising.org/news-on-week-4/


JUNE 5, 7:00pm. Climate Action Now and the League of Women Voters have partnered to bring you three candidate forum on Climate & Energy.  JFK Middle School, 100 Bridge Rd, Florence. With Candidates for 1st Hampshire District (Consisting of Hatfield; Northampton; Southampton; Westhampton; Montgomery [Hampden Co.])


Friday June 8, 9:30am. Walk the Talk on Climate. On Thursday June 7, Boston Mayor Walsh will hold an International Mayors Climate Summit. The following day, on June 8th, he will kick off the US Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting. Join the rally Friday morning to call on Mayor Walsh and all US mayors to turn their climate promises into climate action! They must 'walk the talk' on climate. Call 617-971-8568 with any questions.




That's all folks BUT remember: Listen to your Mother, OK?



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