[ Listen to the entire show HERE]
Greetings Earthlings. Have you heard about stranded Shortnose Sturgeon by the dam at Great Falls (aka. Turners Falls, MA) ? These ancient federally listed Endangered Species have been getting abused along this part on the Connecticut River seemingly forever. If it turns out they exist north of the dam (which is being studied as we speak) then the Sturgeon are further threatened by FirstLight's "shad-o-matic fish blender" (aka, Northfield Mountain Pump Station) which is in the process of getting a new operating license for.....are you ready?...50 years! That sucks....literally! It sucks untold number of tiny aquatic creatures, egg, yolk-sac larvae, fry, and juvenile fish, and more through grinding turbines, up hill to a man-made reservoir and back down through the turbines again to generate power. It seems to us, that's no place for an Endangered Species much less any other life form. FYI, there will be a public DEP Hearing on October 10 at 6pm at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls, MA. All Out! Priscilla Lynch and Gary Seldon of Connecticut River Defenders join us for the interview. As always, we will also introduce you to this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and Those Whose Brains Were small among other things but first it's time for...........Revenge of the Critters! It's said an Elephant never forgets. Poachers beware, Another of our Poachers get poached specials.
This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is probably a redo given that Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy has a long history of showboating and making flagrant racist remarks. Most recently in a Senate hearing he began questioning of Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute by accusing her of supporting Hamas. "After more back and forth along those lines with Kennedy again accusing her of supporting Hamas and making unconfirmed allegations against [a] Palestinian relief agency, he told Berry, 'You should hide your head in a bag'. Kennedy’s comments were despicable and hypocritical but not unexpected. The hypocrisy comes in Kennedy virtue signaling that he’s concerned with terrorism when Kennedy himself is a vocal supporter of Trump who incited the Jan 6 act of “domestic terrorism”—as the FBI has designated that attack. And Kennedy both peddled election lies that fueled that terrorist attack and was one of only eight senators to vote to overturn the 2020 election after the mob was driven from the Capitol. Kennedy apparently has no issues with terrorism when it’s in pursuit of GOP power." Another dangerous Repugnican fool on The Hill.
Of course Sen. Foghorn Leghorn Kennedy will never admit "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" Here in the so-called Commonwealth of Massachusetts we wonder if many of those on Beacon Hill and in the Gov's offices are willing to act on it as well. < Click on that one! Thousands of folks in New York City gathered for Climate Week. This year, Climate Week NYC was held from September 22-29.
The event takes place every year in partnership with the United Nations
General Assembly and is run in coordination with the United Nations and
the City of New York for what that's worth. Not everyone was pleased. Meanwhile in the real world, largest deforestation undertaking in the world has begun. "A total of 2 million hectares (5 million acres) of forests, wetlands and
grasslands in Merauke district will be razed to make way for a cluster
of giant sugarcane plantations, part of the Indonesian government’s
efforts to boost domestic sugar production." Do we rally need more sugar?? This at a time when EU nations are starting to address deforestation but getting resistance from the USA and other climate criminals. "The uproar underscores the bruising difficulties of making progress on a
problem that most everyone agrees is urgent: protecting the world’s
population from devastating climate change." Finally, here's a Mother Jones headline we like: "Kamala Harris Framed Climate Action as a Patriotic Duty. New Research Shows Why That’s Effective." We better get more effective 'cuz according to a recent study in the journal Nature Geoscience we can expect a future with even more extreme weather in the next few years.
Guess who is making another appearance for "Their Brains Were Small and They Died"? That would be "big, dumb & slow" North Carolina Repug candidate for Gov. Mark Robinson who, this time, "apparently fancies himself a Black Nazi who would like to own slaves of his own." Even though his prints are all over it, he denies he wrote those words. We're thinking his words are his own personal giant asteroid. 💥 BTW, the Atlantic reports: "Much of his senior staff has resigned, and the Trump campaign is reportedly distancing itself from Robinson, although Donald Trump’s endorsement of Robinson still stands." And, There is plenty of footage of the twonstanding together. As Rachel Maddow said on Tuesday, September 24 Robinson is "cartoonishly offensive". True enough, but way worse.
In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we echo what op-ed writer Matt Barron penned in both The Greenfield Recorder & the Daily Hampshire Gazzette titled "legislators toe the line against overdue audit". We had State Auditor DiZoglio on our last show talking about the need for some sunshine on Beacon Hill. What's with all the push back? Could it be minions of the sorry status quo?
Sadly, it looks like more Backslidin' with Biden this time in the wake of his recent UN speech which on most accounts was an impressive swan song. That said, his comment "the U.S. was on track to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, in line with its Paris agreement commitment"was a bit of.....well. blarney. Say it ain;t so, Joe! That said, here's a NYT headline for a sobering thought: "Biden Boasts of Climate Wins and Warns of Reversals Under Trump".
We're not sure if this one qualifies for "Their Brains were Small" or Double Speak of the Week. You decide: "Microsoft announces plan to reopen Three Mile Island nuclear power plant to support AI" 🤯 We guess that's why they call it artificial intelligence.
How about we stick with the "of the Week" theme and move on to The Critter of the Week? Given the theme of this show it makes sense to have the Shortnose Sturgeon as our subject. We are told the earliest remains of the species are from the Late Cretaceous Period, over 70 million years ago. In other words, they were here long before us and actually survived the aforementioned Giant Meteorite. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tell us:"Unlike Atlantic sturgeon, shortnose sturgeon tend to spend relatively little time in the ocean. When they do enter marine waters, they generally stay close to shore. In the spring, adults move far upstream and away from saltwater to spawn." That brings us to the Rock Dam below the Great Falls dam on the CT River, an important spawning ground for the Sturgeon. We will talk about that in the interview. The Rock Dam is not protected as it should be. Far too many anglers and recreation buffs have been present there during the spawning season and far too little water has been released from the dam at the critical times of spawning in the spring.
May as well go to The Enviro Show Quote of the Week now:
What is a fish without a river? What is a bird without a tree to nest in? What is an Endangered Species Act without any enforcement mechanism to ensure their habitat is protected? It is nothing.
- Jay Inslee
After our interview with Gary and Priscilla it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:
Wednesday October16, 6pm. Training Series: Media Support (Online): Join this online training beginning to learn about messaging: target, demand, imagery, and communication. Useful for anyone involved in XR or other organizations!
Wednesday Oct 16, 7:00pm. FCCPR General Assembly Welcomes State Auditor Diana DiZoglio to the Guiding Star Grange 401 Chapman St Greenfield, MA. Question 1, Authorization of State Auditor to Audit General Court Initiative. A "yes" vote supports explicitly authorizing the state auditor to audit the accounts, programs, activities, and functions of all departments, offices, commissions, institutions, and activities of the state legislature and any authorities or districts created by the state legislature. Join us in a conversation with State Auditor Diana DiZoglio [ as heard on this show ] about how our State legislature functions (or doesn't function) and what we can do about it.
Thursday October 17–23. Join former Vice President Al Gore and Climate Reality for a virtual climate leadership training and get the skills, know-how, and network to protect our democracy and build a thriving clean energy future for America. Go HERE.
Friday Oct 18, 1pm. Air, Land, Rock, Water: An Overview of Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathways. The world is navigating the necessary transition away from polluting fuels toward clean energy, but many scientists believe we must also work to remove climate pollution that has already been dumped into the atmosphere. That’s known as carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The call for CDR is only growing stronger as new analyses find that we’re not on track to meet the Paris Agreement targets. In this second webinar of a six-part series, experts will provide an overview of the primary ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere, both natural and engineered. These include direct air capture, soil carbon management, afforestation, biochar, ocean CDR, biomass carbon removal and storage, and enhanced rock weathering. Go HERE.
Saturday October 19, 10 to 11:30am. Accessible Nature Walk. Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge is located at69 Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA. You will need to enter Moody Bridge Road from Bay Road and drive in .8 mi. (The South Maple Street entrance to Moody Bridge Road doesn’t go all the way through.). Ample parking is available.
Sunday October 20, 1 to 3 p.m Wendell State Forest Alliance members and friends are invited to the Green Field Coop’s community room, 170 Main Street, Greenfield, MA for an in-person gathering and book swap. Go HERE.
Monday Oct 21, 7:30pm. Save the 100yr. Old Arlington Pine! This might be the last meeting at the Community Center, 27 Maple Street where the ARB is reviewing the plan for 821 Mass Ave which will determine the tree's fate. Of course, if you could help spread the word and tell your friends
and family to do the same - and sign the petition if they did not yet (https://www.gopetition.com/
Monday October 21, 8 - 9:30pm. Break Big Biomass - A National Call To Action. Virtual event. Burning forests as fuel in power plants is not a climate solution. Learn about the forest, community health, and biodiversity harms of biomass. All happening under the guise of clean energy. Take action to break big biomass. Go HERE.
Monday October 28, 7-8:30. Climate Action Now Monthly Gathering pm via Zoom. Protecting Wildlands in our Communities. The detailed resources and mapping in the Wildlands in New England report offer a tremendous opportunity to identify and protect Wildlands in all of our communities. Massachusetts is predominantly forested (~60%), yet just 2% of the Commonwealth is documented with permanent or temporary intent as a Wildland. We need more recognized and protected Wildlands! Learn about an exciting new collaborative project and find out how you can get involved! Register here
Tuesday November 12, 7pm. Forests for our Future: The Role of Massachusetts Forests in Combating Climate Change (Part III). Recently, we added climate stabilization to the list. Massachusetts is now legislatively committed to reaching “Net Zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Forests are expected to put the “Net” into this “Net Zero” goal. According to the legislation, forest carbon sequestration (sometimes called "negative emissions”) can be counted to offset up to 15% of the emissions reduction goal. Is this a good idea? Is it even possible? How can we influence forest’s ability to sequester and store carbon? Attend this free event in person at First Parish in Lincoln, 4 Bedford Rd, Lincoln, Mass., or online. Go HERE.
That's all folks.......except to remember to listen to your Mother
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