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Greetings Earthlings. When you hear Audubon you probably think of birds, right? Yes, the group does a lot on birds but what about logging in forests? Silvia Solaun and Katherine Evans of New Jersey Forest Watch/Friends of Sparta Mountain return to the show to explain as we complain. As always we will also introduce you to this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and "Those whose brains were small", as well as remind everyone that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" (especially to His Malignancy The Mad King et al.) and more, but first it's time for......Revenge of the Critters! Monkeying around with the grid in Sri Lanka.
"Their Brains Were small and They Died" segment is devoted to Harold "Frackenstein" Hamm and his fellow Fossil Fools this week. This billionaire oil tycoon's fingerprints are all over The Mad King's MAGA push to crush environmental regulation and renewables. "The fossil fuel industry went on to donate $96 million directly to [His Malignancy’s] campaign; spend $80 million on political advertising...Most of the fundraisers were organized by Harold Hamm. [The President] went on to nominate fracking executive and climate denier Chris Wright to lead the Department of Energy, which oversees energy policy and research. Wright was hand-selected for the position by Harold Hamm." There seems to be a pattern here among the dinosaurs, yes?
This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) who " introduced House Joint Resolution 18 (H.J.Res.18) to nullify the EPA’s groundbreaking improvements in 2024 to regulations that lowered the limit of lead in drinking water. The EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations for Lead and Copper: Improvements (LCRI) rule also directed public water systems to replace all lead and certain galvanized service lines within 10 years. Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill appropriated $15 billion over 5 years for the replacement of the lead pipes. Polling has found lead replacement rules have a 90% approval rating among all Americans." Not so much from MAGA freaks, we guess.
Since we're all over the MAGA freak show here we may as well head straight into our Mad King 2.0 segment. First off, how about the recent totally duplicitous transactional anti-American fabricated ambush of President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office?? Can you find a more embarrassing moment in U.S. history? Meanwhile, the folks at The Sierra Club note: "Elon
Musk’s DOGE team has fired thousands of rangers, educators, scientists,
and caretakers of the National Park Service, Forest Service, Fish and
Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management. Unless they are reversed, these mass firings will hurt protected lands, wildlife, and visitors." We have to say however, that the National Forest Service could use a shake-up, not so much with a logging industry hack in the front office, maybe remove them from the Dept. of Agriculture so they'll stop thinking of forests as crops? Anyway, Sierra is asking you to register your displeasure HERE. Moving on to the EPA, His Malignancy bragged about Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin planning to cut 65% of his
agency's workforce, a move that came as a surprise to agency staff. "So far, the EPA terminated nearly 400 probationary employees and placed nearly 200 employees on leave who worked on environmental justice issues at the agency." Then there's this: "The Environmental Protection Agency
is reportedly calling on the Trump administration to strike down a
landmark climate finding that cleared the way for regulating
planet-warming and polluting greenhouse gas emissions." Dereliction of duty anyone? The group Take It Back notes: "Every day more experts are purged, more safeguards are
dismantled, and more power is handed over to the fossil fuel industry.
Congress must protect the EPA and stand up for climate action. If they won’t fire Musk, they must at least stop him from destroying the most important climate agency in America." Here's an Action Network link on this shitshow. Of course, as we noted in the past, as they "flood the zone" ("The Swamp" in their own words) with their own sewage they seem oblivious to the fact they live their too. 🤣
OK, though His Malignancy denies it, we will never stop repeating "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" Even as he strips away support for scientific research in the US and overseas that contains the word “climate.”[he] finds particularly inconvenient... The US government is withdrawing grants and other support for research that references the climate crisis amid [The Mad King's] blitzkrieg upon environmental regulations and clean-energy development. Yes, it's Orwellian and at the same time "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has marked for fast-track review more than 600 permit applications for projects under [the] President's [fake] “Declaring a National Energy Emergency” executive order that would disturb critical wetlands and waterways"......with gold mining, crude oil pipelines, deepwater oil loading terminals and Increase logging on our Public Lands. The announcement on this latter one states, in part: "Our inability to fully exploit our domestic timber supply has impeded the creation of jobs and prosperity, contributed to wildfire disasters, degraded fish and wildlife habitats [?], increased the cost of construction and energy, and threatened our economic security." Full text HERE. We saw it coming and here it is, but (as noted above) doesn't MAGA realize they live here and suffer along with the rest of us??
Our Critter of the Week this time around is the Beaver. These guys are the "The Best Engineers On The Planet" According to Champions for Wildlife "First, they are the largest rodent in North America.... They are mammals with continually growing front incisor teeth. And did you know 40% of all mammals are rodents? Second, beavers are one of the few animals that modify their habitat. In order to protect their families, they build their homes in the middle of ponds. But the cool part? They dam up streams to create the ponds." That's kind of an understatement. See what they did in the The administration of the Brdy protected landscape area, which had gained approval for the 30 million crown project, was dealing with red tape and seeking the respective building permits from the Vltava River Basin authorities when the dam project was completed almost overnight by a local colony of beavers." Follow the link to learn more about it.
Our Doublespeak of the Week comes from State Attorneys General carrying water for the corporados at Bayer: "On January 21, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accepted a petition from the AGs of the 11 states, requesting that the Agency initiate rulemaking to amend existing pesticide regulations “such that any state labeling requirements inconsistent with EPA's findings and conclusions from its human health risk assessment on human health effects, such as a pesticide's likelihood to cause cancer, birth defects, or reproductive harm, constitute misbranding.” Whoa! Forget science. It's all about branding in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota.
In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we rerun this alarming alert from Care2 Petitions: "Between 2016 and 2024, the amount of microplastics and nanoplastics found by researchers in human brains increased by about 50%. This is incredibly alarming. Nanoplastics are small enough to travel from our food, drinks, and environment into our cells, bloodstreams, and organs. Many of the ones found in this study came from the material that is used in plastic packaging, bags, and drink bottles." Apparently the alert is based on this study in Nature.
Finally we come to our Quote of the Week:
A growing number of governments and non-state actors are pledging to be carbon-free – and obviously that’s good news. The problem is that the criteria and benchmarks for these net-zero commitments have varying levels of rigor and loopholes wide enough to drive a diesel truck through. We must have zero tolerance for net-zero greenwashing.
- UN Secretary General António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres
After our conversation with our guest it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:
Tuesdays, 4-6pm Hold banners, signs and flags, on I-91 overpass to show people that they are not alone - and help give them the courage to join us and take a stand against the Coup & DOGE. Please make signs with very few words and very big and bold letters. Come even if you don't have a sign, we'll have plenty! Here's the link for more info and to register:https://mobilize.us/s/4Gq1hs
Weekly on Tuesdays & Thursdays. The MA State House Stand Out is back in a new incarnation! This historic climate action lasted for 14 months and engaged hundreds of volunteers from across the climate movement. Volunteers are needed!The new version, lovingly referred to as Stand Out Two, happens at the Massachusetts State House between 10 am and 2 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
This is a great way to participate in the climate movement with no risk
of arrest! Volunteers normally sign up for a 2 hour “shift." If you have questions about the Stand Out or would like to get a link to the sign-up sheet please contact organizers at fossilfuels.standout.ma@
Wednesday, February 19 through Wednesday, April 2, we'll meet from 7:00-9:00 PM ET via Zoom to delve into almost every aspect of the plastic pollution crisis and, most importantly, what we can do to help fix it. Beyond Plastic Pollution, my seven-week, very popular, virtual class taught via Zoom that's offered through Bennington College. Click here to learn more and register n
Saturday March 15, All Day. Total Shutdown! The movement, Shutdown 315, is calling for Americans to stop making purchases from major corporations, end social media use and even not come to work on March 15 as a way to "fight back" against a "broken system." Go to The Peoples Union.
Saturday March 15, 11am. Tesla Takedown! Tesla Dedham, 840 Providence Hwy, Dedham, MA 02026. (Also Watertown, Boston & Peabody, MA) We are taking non-violent, non-vandalizing action at Tesla. ⚡ Sell your Teslas, dump your stock, join the picket lines. ⚡ Hurting Tesla is stopping Musk. ⚡ Stopping Musk will help save lives and our democracy. The stakes couldn’t be higher. No one is coming to save us—not politicians, not the media. #TeslaTakedown #BoycottTesla.Create an action near you HERE.
March 15th, All Day many people will mail Donald Trump a postcard expressing our opposition to him. In vast numbers from all corners of the country, we will overwhelm the man with his unpopularity and failure. We will show the media and the politicians what standing with him — and against us — means. And most importantly, we will bury the White House post office in pink slips, all informing Donald that he’s fired. On March 15, mail your message to: President (for now) Donald Trump, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500
Sunday March 16, 12;#0 to 5pm. Climate Action Now's Non-Violent direct Action Training, Northampton, Registration Required. Contact Russ Vernon Jones, russvj@gmail to register or for more information.
Sunday March 16, 2pm. Make Polluters Pay. MA. Arlington Street Unitarian Universalist Church at the corner of Arlington and Boylston Street in Boston. The event space entrance is at 351 Boylston Street. RSVP here to Save the Date and be the first to be notified with more information as we get closer! #makepolluterspay
Tuesday, March 18 “Gulf of Mexico Day.” It will be a [Do It Yourself ] “people’s” holiday,
tacked onto the tail end of the St. Patrick’s Day carousing, like a
second Fat Tuesday. Celebrate with us! Raise a cerveza or two! You’ll be surprised how many taverns, sports bars and pubs will
be eager to join in. Beer, drink, and burger specials —
maybe fundraisers for the families being summarily deported and the NIH
scientists tossed from their jobs?
Tuesday March 18, 6:30 to 8:30 pm. A Town Hall Forum with Congressman Jim McGovern Greenfield Middle School Auditorium, 195 Federal St., Greenfield, MA. Doors will open at 6:00. The Town Hall has been organized by Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution (FCCPR). The Congressman will make some opening remarks, addressing the crisis in our democracy and its impact on his constituents, including veterans, farmers, and people relying on the social safety net. There will be lots of time for questions from the audience.
Tuesday March 18, 7pm. Nobel Prize – Winning Scientist Dr. William R. Moomaw on protecting urban trees. Online & In Person: RSVP . At the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton, MA. We invite you to an eye-opening talk by Nobel Prize–winning scientist and Professor Emeritus of International Environmental Policy at Tufts University, Dr. William R. Moomaw. Dr. Moomaw has spent decades promoting pro-forestation policies to achieve climate goals and protect urban public health against the worst impacts of climate change.
Wednesday Mar 19, 1pm. Keep It In The Forest Webinar is a twelve-article series prepared by member organizations of the Forest Carbon Coalition, presenting the scientific and economic case for keeping carbon in forests rather than relying on the wasteful and discredited approach of cutting down trees and storing carbon in wood products. Register in advance for this webinar: HERE. You can explore these topics further on our Keep It In The Forest webpage, where we will publish the articles and provide additional suggested readings on each weekly topic. If you'd like to learn more about our grassroots campaign or support our efforts, sign up for our Keep It In The Forest webinar
Wednesday March 19 from 6 to 7:30 pm. Do you have a deep affinity for animals? Are you passionate about how food system changes can save the planet? Join us for the Animal Rebellion online kick-off. Late comers are welcome, don't worry if you can't be there right at 6 pm. Animal Rebellion Boston is an XR Boston affinity group open to anyone who is interested in developing actions to work towards changing the global food system from an animal agriculture-based, climate-destroying system to a more regenerative system, allowing the reclaiming of a vast amount of mono-crop farmland and animal grazing lands to their natural, wild state.
Thursday, March 20 at 6pm. Climate Stories Project Director Jason Davis will speak with Somatic
Movement Therapist Jamie McHugh in an exclusive online interview about Climate Storytelling in the Anthropocene. There will be 45
minutes of conversation followed by 30 minutes of audience interaction.
Don't miss this special event! Please register here.
Saturday, March 22, 1pm. - Walk in the Wendell Woods with NAB (Bill Stubblefield and Adam Kohl, walk leaders) – rain date is Saturday, March 29. Meet at Wendell State Forest ranger station, 392 Wendell Road, Millers Falls, MA at 1:00 p.m. Please dress appropriately (wear boots!)
Monday March 24, 3 pm. The
Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
(EEA) recently released the Forest Carbon Study report on
www.mass.gov/ForestCarbonStudy that examines 1) the trends and risks to
Massachusetts' forest carbon through the end of this century and 2) the
potential of various strategies to enhance carbon sequestration by
forests in Massachusetts. EEA and the team behind the analysis will
provide an overview of the key findings, takeaways, and policy
implications from the study and will answer questions. Register HERE.
Tuesday, March 25, Noon to 1pm. A Call to Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere. Webinar on SPJE Faith Resolution Campaign with Speakers Rev. Jim Antal and Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger, and others (see flyer for details). Register Here
Wednesday March 26, 4pm. The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) has reopened the public comment period on proposed new regulations authorized by Chapter 274 of the Acts of 2022, An Act to Preserve Open Space in the Commonwealth, and will hold a third public hearing on the proposed regulations. The comment period will close at 5pm on March 26, 2025. The proposed regulations, 301 CMR 52.00: Disposition or Change in Use of Article 97 Interests, are required by the Act and provide procedures and requirements for proposals to change the use or dispose of land or interests in land subject to Article 97 of
the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth. EEA is seeking public comment on the proposed regulations. Registration is required to obtain access to the virtual hearing room, which will be provided via Zoom. To register, go to: link. There is no requirement to register in advance of the hearing to attend; registration and access to the hearing is available both prior to and during the meeting until it has ended.
Wednesday,
March 26th, 6:30 - 7:30pm, Zoom Webinar. Join ecologists Bart
Bouricius, Cheryl Joy Lipton and Bill Stubblefield for a deep dive into
the effects of logging on forests, and discussion of pro-logging spin.
We’ll explore narratives coming from the timber industry, government
agencies, and some academics that suggest our forests can only be made
healthy by cutting them, and the myth that simply letting our forests
develop naturally is irresponsible. We’ll cover the science of the
climate, biodiversity, and hydrological impacts of timber harvesting,
compare natural disturbances to those caused by logging, and give you
the backstory on how timber industry myths have developed over time. RSVP here to receive the meeting link.
Friday March 28, 6 - 9pm. Wildlife Rehabilitator, JoAnn Byrnes' goal is to return injured or abandoned wildlife to the wild. Come meet Coco a Red-Tailed Hawk Rescue! 158 Center Hill Road Plymouth, MA 02360. Join JoAnn and Coco for a talk on her work, and the role of raptors in our ecosystem, after which there will be drinks, goodies, and conversation. Register HERE.
Saturday, April 5, national and local organizations are coming together across the country to mobilize for Hands Off!, a national mass activation in defiance of the Trump-Musk coup and Republican assault on our democracy and our communities. Hands Off! is an all-in moment for the pro-democracy movement—a demand, a warning, and a rallying cry that responds to the primary reasons for our mobilization. We are aiming to secure anchor events in 3-6 major cities ahead of launch, with more cities confirmed and registered after public launch. Priority cities include: Washington, D.C. (confirmed); Los Angeles; New York City; Chicago; Philadelphia & Phoenix. If you are able to host a mobilization in a major metro or want to be plugged into a confirmed event, please reach out to Lizzy Price (lizzy@fightbacktable.com) to coordinate.
Monday, April 7, 8pm. Online rally, Break Big Biomass: A National Call to Action! If you’ve been taking action with us in recent years, you know that the biomass industry is burning trees for electricity and falsely calling it a clean energy solution. We’ve joined with organizations in the U.S. to bring you a 1.5 hour rally with powerful speakers, interactive discussion, and actions to join the fight against big biomass! Register HERE.
We are out of here for now but do remember to listen to Your Mother!
"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03453-1
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