Blog Archive

Friday, March 22, 2019

The End of Ice Enviro Show

 
Greetings Earthlings and greetings to Spring, the Vernal Equinox has arrived once again.While it is the beginning of Spring it's also "The End of Ice". Dahr Jamail calls in to talk about his recent book and his travels in a troubled world. And speaking of trouble we will also take you to see this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and His Malignancy The Mad King, as well as reminding those who aren't paying attention that It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid! All that and more (as they say) but first it's time for........Revenge of the Critters!




This week we present a bevy of Fools-on-the-Hill: The exclusively white, male, and Republican leadership of the Congressional Western Caucus who recently hosted a “policy forum” on the Green New Deal — a “Green Pipe Dream,” as they call it — flanked by a who’s who of the country’s most prominent climate deniers, including the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Myron Ebell to ClimateDepot founder Marc Morano. Ceremoniously, Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, ate a hamburger, apparently in reference to the GND's concern about cows affect on the climate. On the other side of the isle Dems are trashing the GND too. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is a longtime supporter of fossil fuel interests, which have donated prolifically to his campaigns over the years. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J. — who was instrumental in killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s resolution to create a Select Committee on the Green New Deal — has taken in hundreds of thousands of dollars from polluting industries. We know history will trash these Fools but now is the time for them to just get out of the way!



His Malignancy has officially nominated David Bernhardt to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior. The guy has more conflicts of interest than any other nominee for a Cabinet position nominated during The Mad King's administration, according to a new analysis from the Center for American Progress. Just sayin'! We guess you won't be surprised to hear His Malignancy's call for a review of more than two dozen recent national monument designations was a sham. Surprise! Here's an indicator of just how far down the rabbit hole we've gone with The Mad King: Shell Oil is asking His Malignancy's enablers to regulate them! And this: The gritty details of Mad King's Budget for a Ruined America. Read it and weep (or better yet, RESIST!). Finally, it looks like the Climate Crisis has been.....delayed? His Malignancy's EPA head climate criminal, "Andrew Wheeler told CBS News in an interview airing Wednesday that climate change is “an important issue,” but most of the threats it poses are “50 to 75 years out” and it’s “unreasonable” for the 2020 Democratic candidates to focus so much on it." Someone's not paying attention!



Once again, in case YOU haven't been paying attention.....It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid! First the good news: On Friday March 15 millions of students world-wide walked out of class in a Strike for the Climate!   We hope the whole world was watching, especially climate change deniers like the one we saw giving junior high school kids on Martha's Vineyard the thumbs down. Wake-up, grumpy old white men! Do the research/Stop letting Faux "News" fascists tell you what to think. Now this: 

"On Monday, March 4th, 2019 a precedent-setting case was filed with the European General Court in Luxembourg challenging the treatment of forest biomass as a renewable fuel in the European Union’s 2018 revised Renewable Energy Directive (known as RED II). The case argues that RED II will accelerate widespread forest devastation and significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions by not counting CO2 emissions from burning wood fuels. Wood-fired power plants emit more CO2 per unit of energy generated than coal plants, but RED II counts these emissions as zero.  The treatment of forest biomass as low or zero–carbon renewable energy in both RED I and RED II has and will continue to increase harvesting pressure on forests in Europe and North America to meet the growing demand for woody biomass fuel in the EU."  Got it? OK, so you're sick and tired of our doom and gloom and just want to veg out on....what? re-runs of Sex and the City? Try Umbra's 21-Day Apathy Detox! BTW, The Enviro Show and many other defenders of the planet have co-signed a letter to the Gov (PDF) voicing our opposition to his promotion of commercial wood biomass heating and its consequences to our climate. Finally, here's our guest's latest piece on the Climate Crisis in Truthout. It's getting hot in here!



In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we find this Guardian piece informing us "About 70% of fresh produce sold in the US has pesticide residues on it even after it is washed, according to a health advocacy group.  According to the Environmental Working Group’s annual analysis of US Department of Agriculture data, strawberries, spinach and kale are among the most pesticide-heavy produce, while avocados, sweetcorn and pineapples had the lowest level of residues." Yet another reason to buy organic! Checkout our International Day of Forests Tour of UMass when the proclamation was left on DCR's door. Our friends at Beyond Nuclear reminded us that March 28 is the 40th anniversary of the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown in Pennsylvania. 



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




Monday, April 8, 2019, 9:30 – 3:00 pm. Millennials for 100% Renewable Energy Lobby Day to bring the voices of millennials to Beacon Hill. Massachusetts State House (meet in room 350) . Questions: Contact Ben Hellerstein, ben@environmentmassachusetts.org, 617-747-4368


 Tuesday, April 9, 6:00 to 8:00pm. Public Information Session on fate of Hadley Barn Swallows. U.S. Fish and Wildlife is holding a public informational meeting about the Bri-Mar Stable Environmental Assessment (EA). This is your best opportunity to directly ask questions and/or comment on the EA and to learn more about the issue. Please attend the meeting if you can to show you care about the Fort River Barn Swallows! U.S. Fish and Wildlife Regional Office, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA Go to: https://www.facebook.com/SaveOurSwallows/


 Saturday April 14, 10:30am. The Rock Dam: a fragile endangered sturgeon sanctuary.
Join sturgeon expert Dr. Boyd Kynard and journalist Karl Meyer for a short hike to this exceptional and beleaguered aquatic refuge where endangered shortnose sturgeon and other species have spawned for thousands of years. Kynard recounts their biology and his results from decades of sturgeon research at the Rock Dam pool; Meyer gives an overview of this embattled river reach, including geology and human and industrial history. Free.
 No pre-registration necessary. Meet at public lot off G Street in Turners Falls, near USGS Conte Fish Lab sign. Includes brief, steep, rugged terrain; not handicapped accessible. Walk best suited for ages 10 and above. Heavy rain cancels. 



Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 7 – 9pm.
Reading Climate Change & Consciousness.  Deb Koffman's Art Space, 137 Front St, Housatonic, MA. d.o. will be reading his new climate poem!  Readings selected for participation in the April 16 event will also be eligible for publication in a Spring 2019 special edition of the online magazine Fired Up! Creative Expression for Challenging Times, edited by Jennifer Browdy and Jana Laiz.




-->
Wednesday  April 17, TBA. Extinction Rebellion Boston begins its non-violent uprising against the long-standing criminal inaction on our planet's ecological breakdown. Our governments and the media have failed to tell the truth about the climate crisis and local environmental emergencies, and failed to communicate the need for drastic action in order to save life on our planet. Because of these crimes against humanity, we will gather at the site of the Boston Massacre at noon and demand truth from media sites in downtown Boston. We will then take publicly disruptive, non-violent action to declare what we know to be true, and upend the repressive silence around the climate emergency. Some of us will commit civil disobedience. The rest of us must bear witness to their courage, and stand with over 200 groups around the world participating in XR's week of action. If you cannot make it to the action in person, we will outline disruptive actions you can take from afar -- but we hope we will see you there! We are the ones we've been waiting for. With love & rage, XR Boston. Go HERE.


Friday April 19, 11am to 2pm.   Youth Led Climate Strike!  Statehouse, Beacon Hill, Boston MA. Meet at 11am in front of the State House to fight for our future! Entirely youth-led protest for students from Massachusetts and the greater New England area!. Go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/1042235505987607/


-->
Saturday April 20, 10am to 4pm. Greenfield Earth Day Events, Vision of Greenfield Pollinator Corridor, and Trip report: Ireland’s Pollinator Plan. John Zon Community Center, 35 Pleasant St., Greenfield, MA. Go to: PollinatorsWelcome.com



 Sunday, April 21, 2019 at 3 – 5pm. Screening of "The Lost Forests of New England" at Gateway City Arts92 Race St, Holyoke, MA. In celebration of Earth Day, come enjoy a film showing of "The Lost Forests of New England: Conserving Our Remnant Old-Growth Forests." This documentary by Ray Asselin includes stunning footage of our region's rarely seen old-growth trees, and tells the story of central New England's old-growth forests: what they once were, what changes have taken place since European settlers arrived, and what our remnant old-growth stands look like today. Bob Leverett, co-founder of the Native Tree Society and an old-growth tree expert, is featured in this fascinating film. Following the 1-hour screening, there will be a Q&A featuring Bob Leverett, Ray Asselin, and botanist Jared Lockwood, hosted by Lee Halasz, Kestrel's TerraCorps Regional Conservation Coordinator. Come for Brunch at The Bistro at Gateway City Arts prior to the Film!


Monday April 22, 2 to 8pm. Green New Earth Day Dance, March and Forum.
First Churches of Northampton, MA, 129 Main St, Northampton, MA. A Call: Energize your passion for healing the Earth and helping her children by dancing, marching, and learning about the GREEN NEW DEAL!  Join with MuZen Theater's giant puppets, Cellist, Stephen Katz, The Climate Action Band, Berkshire Bateria, and more! Followed by a March For Climate Action to the Forum for A Green New Deal at Northampton High School. For Our Children And Our Grandchildren And Their Children And Their Children’s, Children’s, Children’s, Children! Go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/249294522680797/


 Monday April 22, 7:30 to 9pm. The New Green Deal. On Earth Day, join the Amherst College Democrats and Amherst College Office of Environmental Sustainability to hear from New Consensus Policy Director Rhiana Gunn-Wright! Gunn-Wright has been called "the architect of the Green New Deal" and will be speaking about the process of creating what many say is the boldest and most progressive piece of climate legislation in American history. This event is free and open to the public. Johnson Chapel, Amherst College, Amherst, MA.


 Saturday April 27, 10am to 4pm. Amherst Sustainability Festival. Amherst Town Common. Join us for a day of family fun and education! Information on sustainable practices, resources and products for sustainable homecare, as well as live entertainment, face painting, live demonstrations and MORE. There’s something for everyone. More details to come! Questions? Contact Stephanie Ciccarello at ciccarellos@amherstma.gov 


 Saturday April 27, All Day. Local Environmental Action Conference. Worcester, MA.  Some big challenges we’re facing are climate change. Pollution from landfills and incinerators. Environmental racism and discrimination against working class folks. Toxic water coming out of kitchen taps and school water fountains. Lack of political will to leave the fossil fuel industry behind. We’re up against some big problems, and we know we can’t face them all alone. That’s why hundreds of activists across our region come together every year for Local Environmental Action—to build a movement where we’re all working together to bring about a better future.
Join us! Register for the Local Environmental Action conference on Saturday, April 27 in Worcester, MA.





That's it for now Earthlings but remember when you're out there to listen to your Mother!
That's it for

Friday, March 08, 2019

The 2019 Ides of March Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. One of these Ides of March is bound to take out some pretender to the throne, non-violently of course, yes? We're hoping it's the present one and his enablers who are literally destroying the planet and what's left of democracy here in the U.S. of A.  Sorry, maybe we've been smoking too much hopeium? Sarah Duckett and Sean Donaghy from the Boston Sunrise Movement call in to update us on how the Green New Deal is going. Also, Saraphina Foreman of the just forming Valley Sunrise Movement joins us in the studio. As always we will also take you to see our Fool-on-the-Hill and His Malignancy The Mad king and his enablers, as well as our Quote of the Week and more, but first it's time for..........Revenge of the Critters! It was an oldie but goody when "killer rabbit" zeroed in on President Carter back in the day. Not sure if it was a March Hare but we guess the bunny had issues with Jimmy's choice of fishing spots.

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is none other than old-school Dem Senator Dianne Feinstein who maybe should think about stepping out of the way given her obnoxious disrespectful interaction with young Sunrise Movement activists near her office late last month. Our friends at Grist set the scene: “Some scientists have said we have 12 years to turn this around,” a little girl told the senator. “Well, it’s not going to get turned around in 10 years,” Feinstein responded, which is the political equivalent of telling a kid that the tooth fairy doesn’t exist. Except maybe meaner." The Fool then went on to condescend, "I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I know what I’ve been doing. You come in here and say it has to be my way or the highway. I’ve gotten elected. I just ran. I was elected by almost a million vote plurality and I know what I’m doing. Maybe people should listen a little bit." Actually, maybe old fools should do some listening? SNL took a piece out of her HERE.

On to The Mad King of Fake Emergencies! His Malignancy not only concocted the fake Mexican Wall "emergency" in his effort to overrule that pesky Congressional thingy in the Federal Government, but his lackeys in the Environmental "Protection" Agency (EPA) have schemed up "so-called "emergency" approvals to spray sulfoxaflor—an insecticide the agency considers "very highly toxic" to bees—on more than 16 million acres of crops known to attract bees. Of the 18 states where the approvals were granted for sorghum and cotton crops, 12 have been given the approvals for at least four consecutive years for the same "emergency", reports EcoWatch.  Also, His Malignancy's lackeys at U.S. Fish & Wildlife are about to end wolf protections nationwide (did we mention they have an office on Rt.9 in Hadley?). And this: It's official, Old King Coal's favorite climate criminal, Andrew Wheeler has been confirmed as the nation’s 15th administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Grist reports: "Wheeler’s record-breaking reign as acting administrator was marked by an unprecedented assault on greenhouse gas regulations amid historic wildfires and hurricanes that scientists say offer a preview of the rapidly warming world to come. In August, Wheeler unveiled a proposal weakening fuel economy standards for new vehicles... as a “giant giveaway” to oil companies even as electric auto technology made huge leaps forward. Weeks later, he proposed gutting a landmark Obama-era power plant regulation, allowing....enough pollution to cause an additional 1,400 premature deaths per year."  Have you ever wondered how many instances of climate censorship have taken place in The Mad King's court of climate corruption? How about 194? Here's the tracker. 

In case you haven't been paying attention: It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!! (sorry....but it is). Here's a new-to-us aspect of climate chaos: We knew there was ocean warming but underwater heat waves? How about some good news for a change? Youth-led Climate Protests Sweep Across Europe. Guess what rest of the world.....you are next. Here in the Commonwealth on Friday March 15, 11am to 3pm at the State House in Boston. And: "Our planet just set a scary new CO2 record"

Here's our timely Quote of the Week;
"We are not looking to the right or left. We look forward. Together, we will change this country and this world, sure as the sun rises each morning."  - Sunrise Movement

Finally in The Enviro show Echo chamber our friends at Grist have an eye-opening headline for you: "Plastic has a long lifespam. It's probably shortening yours." Of course, if you've been a long-time listener to this show you probably already figured this one out, but check the link in case you missed anything.  Since we're on the subject, did you ever wonder why plastics became the "one word" in the shopocalypse? Time for some history!
 
After our conversation with the folks from the Sunrise Movement it's off to the Billboard: 


Thursday March 21, 10AM. [Raindate Friday March 22] International Day of Forests Tour of UMass. Concerned about the Climate Crisis? Come for a brief educational tour and rally for the trees. Meet at the westside entrance of the Campus Center. Sponsored by the Wendell State forest alliance, co-sponsored by Our Revolution UMass & The Enviro Show. Contact: savemassforests@gmail.com 


 Thursday, March 21, 6:30 pm. Green Rainbow Party of Western Mass meeting. , Green Fields Market, upstairs, 144 Main St, Greenfield, MA



Sunday, March 24, 6-7:30pm. (Doors open at 5:30.) Green New Deal Town Hall with Senator Ed Markey. Northampton High School Auditorium, 380 Elm St, Northampton. Join Senator Ed Markey for the first of his Green New Deal Town Halls throughout the state. The Senator will be giving an overview of the Green New Deal, a ten year mobilization to fight the existential threat that is climate change. He will then take questions from the audience. Sen. Markey's office asks that people go to the Senator's Facebook page at https://facebook.com/EdJMarkey/ to RSVP and get more information.


 Monday March 25, 7 to 9pm.  Climate Action Now Monthly Gathering. Unitarian Universalist Society,  121 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA. Go to: climateactionnowma.org 



Monday, April 8, 2019, 9:30 – 3:00 pm. Millennials for 100% Renewable Energy Lobby Day to bring the voices of millennials to Beacon Hill. Massachusetts State House (meet in room 350) . Questions: Contact Ben Hellerstein, ben@environmentmassachusetts.org, 617-747-4368


OK, we are done here 'til next time. Remember to Listen to your Mother, OK?