UPDATE: The podcast for this show is available at: https://rss.com/podcasts/enviroshow/
Greetings Earthlings. Spring is upon us and the days are getting longer, more daytime to resist The Machine! Those corporados and their enablers are planning yet more deforestation for corporate solar arrays and associated explosive battery siting here in the Commonwealth and across the nation. The struggle for smarter siting continues. Sharon Weizenbaum of Smart Solar Shutesbury returns to the show joined by Eric S Bachrach of Smart Solar Amherst. As always we will also introduce you to our Fool-on-the-Hill and Those Whose Brains Were Small, along with our constant reminder that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!", our new Critter of the Week segment and more but first it's time for........Revenge of the Critters! Elephant herd seeks serious revenge for brutal murder of one of their own.
This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is racist Repugnican Congressman Mike Collins from Georgia's 10th congressional district. In February, he came under fire for proposing that the United States throw migrants out of helicopters into the ocean. As a HuffPost reporter pointed out at the time, Collins was "parroting a meme that's been popular among white supremacists and neofascists like the Proud Boys." Recently he shared a video in which a group of white college frat boys taunted and mocked a Black anti-war protestor with openly racist attacks. "Ole Miss taking care of business," Collins wrote. What's with Georgia? Why so many fools?
Surely by now everyone knows His Malignancy The Mad King doesn't care that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!", in fact his sorry-ass mind just views it as yet another transactional moment. Common Dreams reports: "According to new reporting,
Trump pledged to swiftly gut climate regulations put in place by the
Biden administration if the oil and gas industry raises $1 billion for
his 2024 presidential campaign. The "remarkably blunt and transactional pitch," reported by
The Washington Post, was Trump's latest explicit statement of
his intention to give the fossil fuel industry free rein to wreck the
planet if he wins a second term in power. Executives from Exxon,
Chevron, Occidental Petroleum, and other prominent fossil fuel companies
reportedly attended the Mar-a-Lago dinner." The piece goes on to state Will Bunch, a columnist for
The Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote in response to the Post's reporting that "you won't read a more important story today. Trump is willing to literally destroy the planet for $1 billion." Longtime listeners to this show know we are forever praising forests and trees as natural carbon capture climate saviors, right? Guess who wants to crucify those saviors? Here's the headline: "New Forest Service report reveals agency wants to max out logging"! And here's the jist of the report: "It’s hard to overstate just how important our national forests are to
our lives. Yet is the Forest Service managing these irreplaceable
forests to the benefit of all of us, as they are supposed to? A recent Forest Service report to
Congress provides a blueprint of how the agency could increase logging
to meet arbitrary, non-science based timber production goals." As you may know by now, biodiversity and climate chaos are intrinsically entwined. Checkout this paper published recently. Sorry, no good climate news today but here is a petition to The Prez urging him to call a Climate Emergency. Yes, we need way more than petitions. Stay tuned!
Time to move on to "Their Brains were Small and They Died" to remind everyone, once again, about the modern-day dinosaurs we call corporados and what they do. We've been talking about this on the show forever, apparently to no avail. The subhead in this Grist piece says it all: "A sobering new study finds that the world's biggest industries burn through $7.3 trillion worth of free natural capital a year. And it's the only reason they turn a profit." Of course, the free pass lasts only so long. The corporado dinos' asteroid is closing in, sadly it will take most of us as well.
Meanwhile, in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we echo HuffPo's reporting: "Never missing an opportunity to make life
easier for extractive industries, House Republicans passed a suite of
bills this week to boost development and dismantle environmental
protections across millions of acres of federal land." Thankfully the report goes on: "The bills stand little chance of passing in
the Democratic-controlled Senate, but they give GOP industry allies
something to tout heading into the 2024 elections. And since several of
the measures closely mirror priority
actions found in Project 2025, the 920-page policy blueprint that
dozens of right-wing organizations compiled to guide [the] former President" You might want to checkout their Project 2025 , dear listeners. Think of it as a game plan for a fascist takeover of the U.S. No joke! 😡 Finally, we have a link to the Trees as a Public Good forum from Earth Day eve. Bring out the popcorn and libations, settle down and watch HERE.
Our new Critter of the Week segment comes close to home here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the highly endangered Barrens Tiger Beetle. As the name suggests, this beautiful emerald critter must have homes found only in Plymouth County within our state. Their specialized needs for patches of sand within pitch pine-scrub oak barrens make habitat loss one of their biggest threats. This critter has been found near the 104 Tremont mining site and is threatened by the Sand Wars taking place in Southeastern Massachusetts.
Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week is right in line with this week's show:
“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.”
- Chris Maser
After our interview we move on to the Bus Stop Billboard:
Wednesday May 29, 2024 beginning at 1:30 p.m. — Remote Only FirstLight Power has filed its application for a 401 Water Quality Certification (WQC) with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protections (MassDEP). The WQC application is available here: https://www.northfield-
Wednesday May 29, 2024, beginning at 7:00 p.m. — Remote Only [see above]
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TTGkjrLOT_qBnjxtUiDWmg#/registration
Thursday May 30, 5pm. Meet outside the John Glenn Middle School Auditorium, 99 McMahon Road, Bedford, MA holding our signs and banners and greeting the Hanscom airfield expansion developers and the public as they arrive at the meeting. The bigger the crowd of people who oppose this reckless plan, the better! Some signs will be available to borrow, but please bring your own if you can. We will end our demonstration outside shortly before 6 pm and then head into the meeting room for the presentation. This will be a peaceful and non-disruptive event. We are coordinating with campus staff to ensure no issues with security. It will be helpful for planning purposes if you can RSVP to the Bedford event (if you plan to attend in person or virtually), so please click here. Thanks for your support!l For questions, please contact adchat@aol.com
Thursday May 30, 5:30-8:00 pm. A fundraiser at LexArt! This fundraiser will be part of LexArt's Animal House Exhibit. Please save the date for a fun filled evening with food, drink, conversation, a wildlife rescue story, a wildlife photo exhibit, and more! Tickets are required. 130 Waltham St, Lexington, MA 02421-5413
Saturday June 1, 10am. Wachusett Reservoir Walk on National Trails Day! Join us for a walk along the beautiful Wachusett Reservoir on National Trails Day! We expect to walk around 3 miles with little elevation gain and loss (~400ft). Some highlights include views of the reservoir from up on some bluffs and lots of beautiful varied forests. There will be an option to extend the walk farther than this, but we will have looped back to the start by around 3 miles. RSVP HERE.
Saturday June 1, 7 to 9pm. Benefit Ball for Climate Solutions, Education and Advocacy. Blue Rendezvous Band Retro Soul and Swing. Northampton Center for the Arts, 33 Hawley St, Northampton, MA. Dance, celebrate and support: Trees As A Public Good, Extinction Rebellion Western Mass, MA Sierra Club Forest & Plant Based Planet groups And/or make a donation at: abeautifulfuture.com
Sunday June 2, 2pm-4pm. The UnConvention: Uniting Progressive Activists for Change. A virtual event. We are concerned about the loss of 15,000 members in the Democratic Party and want to re-engage those and other people at this critical time in our history. Our goal is to organize around progressive issues that are in the platform but not supported by the Party or the convention. Please fill out our questionnaire so we can know your thoughts and also register for the event: The UnConvention Activist Survey. While we are not charging a registration fee, we do have costs and appreciate your donation.
Tuesday June 4, 10:00 am – 3:30 pm. Register Now for Part II of the Western Mass Solar Forum! The Western Massachusetts Solar Forum is a series of public discussions and information-sharing sessions regarding the opportunities and challenges associated with solar photovoltaic (PV) development and installation in Western Massachusetts. Part I of the Forum was held in the fall of 2023. It will focus on the recent recommendations from the Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting and their implications for Western Massachusetts communities. For more information, visit ag.umass.edu/solarforum, or click here to register.
Tuesday June 4, 12:00-3:30pm. ISO New England (ISO-NE) Consumer Liaison Group (CLG) meeting . Holyoke Community College Kittredge Center in Holyoke, MA. This meeting is a great opportunity for New England ratepayers to get some answers to questions we posed last meeting about their demand response markets, begin a discussion about the meaning of “reliability,” hear about new developments at ISO-NE, and bring any other questions we have for the grid operator. It’s also a great opportunity for those who gather in-person to be together and experience the joy we create when we show up together! IMPORTANT: In-person registration closes at noon on Wednesday, May 29th. Online registration closes at noon on June 4th. The registration system maintained by ISO-NE is frustrating. Please stick with it, and if you have trouble, reach out to Marla for help 781-475-0996 or marla@climatedisobedience.org
Wednesday June 5, 1pm. National Farm Bill for Climate Justice Webinar. CCAN Action Fund is hosting a fun and free informational webinar on one of the most important pieces of legislation this Congress will pass: the Farm Bill. The 2023 Farm Bill serves as a major opportunity to confront the agricultural sector's greenhouse gas emissions. Go HERE.
Wednesday June 12, 10:00 - 11:30am. Join the Salata Institute, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at
Harvard, and climate editors from The Washington Post, Grist, The New
York Times, and the Boston Globe for an exclusive conversation about
media coverage of climate change. [A good opportunity to call out The Globe for its bogus climate reporting!!] Haller Hall, Harvard Museum of Natural History 26 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138 Register HERE.
That's all, folks......except to remember to listen to your Mother!
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