The Standing Trees Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. News reached us recently that our friends at Standing Trees have taken Vermont to court "to force transparency and accountability in state land decision-making, as required by law". As longtime Enviro Show listeners know, this kind of action has been taken in New Jersey and here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and elsewhere. The legal option is costly and often disappointing but it is another tool in the toolbox for confronting forest destruction in a time of Climate Crisis and the Sixth Great Extinction. We will talk about this as Zack Porter returns to the show along with plaintiff, Dr. Jamison Ervin and attorney, James Dumont [UPDATE: Interview HERE]. As usual, we will also drag you along kicking & screaming to meet this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to remind anyone not paying attention that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" All that and more, but first it's time for............Revenge of the Critters! Stupid old guy tries small wildlife removal trick on a Gator? Spoiler: It doesn't go well.  

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is not on the Hill and hopefully never will be 'cuz he is as dumb as a post. Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker actually said this in early November: “What we need to do is keep having those gas-guzzling cars. We got the good emissions under those cars.” 😏

Obviously, Walker is unaware "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" As expected, COP 27 was chock full of corporados and shills for business-as-usual (even some from right here at UMass Amherst).  Also, "Attempts at the climate talks to get all countries to agree to phase out coal, oil, natural gas and all fossil fuel subsidies failed. And countries have done little to strengthen their commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the past year," said Peter Schlosser, a professor of Earth and environmental sciences at Arizona State University.  And this from The Guardian: "Our leaders had a final chance to halt climate breakdown. They failed each and every one of us". Surprise! On the upside, France is soon to require all large parking lots to have solar canopies, something we Yanks should have required long ago. It's not too late to redeem yourselves, developers!  

Now, it's time to once again visit our Good Riddance Biomass Baker Countdown Timer:

Surely Glen will have a few choice words for the outgoing Gov. and perhaps some kind words for the incoming Gov. 😉

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we echo an AP story doing the rounds with the headline, "US advances largest dam demolition in history". This is big news! Now we echo The Boston Globe's coverage of that forest rally in the Green Mountain National Forest last week that Glen spoke about. It reads in part: "On Earth Day last April, he issued an executive order to protect mature forests on federal lands. 'We can and must take action to conserve, restore, reforest, and manage our magnificent forests here at home,' Biden wrote in the order. The order requires federal regulators to identify all the nation’s mature and old-growth forests within a year, and 'institutionalize climate-smart management' policies to protect them. There are no existing federal rules to exclusively protect those older forests. But with the US Forest Service now planning to substantially increase logging in the Green Mountain National Forest.... local climate activists have been staging protests, arguing the agency is defying Biden’s executive order and acting hypocritically." And here's some follow-up opinion on the destruction of "The Merry Maple" in Amherst, MA we spoke about on the last show. 

Time for our Enviro Show Quote of the Week:

“I am convinced that most Americans of the new generation have no idea what a decent forest looks like. The only way to tell them is to show them.”   ― Aldo Leopold

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

Thursday, December 8, 6:30pm.  Massachusetts Pollinator Network presentation in the community room at Forbes Library on West Street in Northampton. The theme of Peggy MacLeod's talk is “Creating local solutions to biodiversity loss”, inspired by the biodiversity conference with a similar theme that I attended recently in Ireland. Here’s a link to a description of the presentation. https://forbeslibrary.libcal.com/event/9833349   

Friday December 9, 12pm. Franklin Parkland /Post Shattuck Hospital Tree Advocacy Updates.  Many of you have been part of our work advocating for the restoration of parkland following the state’s planned demolition of Shattuck Hospital. Some of you attended a previous update on the project, via Zoom or otherwise. I am reaching out on behalf of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy to share recent media coverage and invite you to one of our upcoming Franklin Park/Shattuck Hospital update sessions (via Zoom). An overview of our work on this effort is available here.  Join a Zoom Update and Discuss Next Steps  HERE 

Wednesday December 12, 6pm. Same as above but Zoom Update  HERE.  

Tuesday December 13, 6:30 - 8 pm. Environmental Summit - Saving Boston's Tree Canopy and the Benefits of Natural Grass via Zoom. Go HERE.  

Tuesday, December 13, 2pm. Join us on Tuesday, December 13th at 2pm ET to discover the mental health impacts of climate change, ethical behavior in times of crisis, and psychological tools you can leverage to inspire climate action. This training will be led by PSR board member Lise Van Susteren, MD, who is a general and forensic psychiatrist based in Washington, DC, and an expert on the physical and psychological effects of climate change. To register for the training, sign up here. 

Wednesday December 14, 2:30pm. Forest Carbon Coalition Presents: What are Industrial Forest Practices Costing Us? The Climate and Societal Costs of Logging.  Join renowned economists Dr. John Talberth, Dr. Kate Anderson, and Ernie Niemi for presentations on the climate impacts of industrial forest practices and the economic imperative of moving away from these practices and towards available alternatives. There are hard dollar costs from logging, but there are also climate and societal costs impacting us all. What are they specifically and what can we do about it? Come find out! Webinar Registration Required

Wednesday December 14, 3pm.  High efficiency heat pumps - often called Cold Climate heat pumps are a key technology in helping individuals and communities move towards rapid electrification and decarbonization no matter where they are located. Because they are designed to maximize heating efficiency, they are able to keep houses warm in cold climates where temperatures fall well below zero. Our panelists from two of the leading heat pump suppliers, Mitsubishi and Daikin, will share the latest research and updates on cold climate heat pumps.   Go HERE.

Wednesday December 14, 6pm.  Speak out against the proposed Eversource-Longmeadow Pipeline!  Eversource Gas has filed with the Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) for approval to build its proposed “Western Massachusetts Gas Reliability Project”. Eversource wants to build  a new meter station in Longmeadow, a new 16” 200 psi pipeline beneath the streets of Longmeadow into Springfield and an upgraded meter station going through Environmental Justice communities and downtown Springfield.  Go HERE. 

OK folks, that's  it for now but  please remember to.....what?   LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!