Greetings Earthlings. Yes, sometimes power lines can seem unearthly as the march across the landscape destroying Nature as they proceed. Michael DeChiara of Responsible Grid joins us to discuss the clear cutting of trees all along the corridors and how you can help. As always, we will also introduce you to our Fool-on-the-Hill; Those Whose Brains Were small; Who Left the Door Open and more but first it's time for.........Revenge of the Critters! Stay away from Mama bear, ok?
This weeks' Fool-on-the-Hill is Repugnican Rep. Mike Collins who is running for a Georgia Senate seat against Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff in a pivotal race. CNN reports "Collins, who built a national reputation as an online provocateur, has faced repeated criticism for his associations with far-right and extremist figures." Furthermore "his son-in-law, David Alan Scheer, a pro-White nationalist and social media influencer with a track record of sharing antisemitic material and Nazi imagery in comments across the internet." Also. "Collins previously faced criticism in 2024 over alleged antisemitic social media posts, his defense of January 6 rioters who he said deserved pardons and his associations with far-right activists and staffers." Another fascist fool on the Hill of Fools.
A recent CNN headline reminds us (as if we needed reminding) of "Those Who Brains Were small and They Died" because dinosaurs like Pete Hegseth don't belong anywhere near the Pentagon much less any government: "Pentagon plans public livestream of its first firing squad execution in decades." You'd have to go back a ways to find public executions in the U.S. but Hegseth is just the reptilian lower brain stem freak to bring it back home.
Speaking of fascists with bad ideas, this post on X begs the question: Who Left the Door Open?: "As Colorado’s Tina Peters reportedly meets with [the] President to discuss an election “plan,” her attorney says the plan involves seizing ballots nationwide and discusses strategy for a potential civil war." Peters is a dyed-in-the-wool J6 insurrectionist. The New Republic reported: "Peter Ticktin, Peters’s attorney, said that she proposed that [His Malignancy] seize ballots from across the country and conduct a hand recount. “It’s a good plan, and I do think that something like that is probably going to happen,” Ticktin said to right-wing podcaster Joe Oltmann in Colorado. “In the event that we have this kind of disaster, and everything goes wrong, and the vote is crazy, and the senatorial races put it up there to remove the president and the vice president, in that nightmare, should it come true, Donald Trump is not going to relinquish control again.” Control? This lot is out of control and in serious need for some comeuppance. Stay tuned!
How about some Doublespeak of the Week? The "President [was] slated to speak on Tuesday in Washington at an event that he has billed as an "extraordinary gathering of America's greatest leaders, builders, innovators, and citizens," according to invitation materials obtained by CBS News. The event will showcase the "people, ideas and innovations building America's Golden Age.." Say what?? Golden Age? [inset laugh track here]. Pushback time!
So, feeling like you're living in someone else's twisted fever dream? As we've said before, the line between fact & fiction has been erased by the likes of His Malignancy The Mad King (#NoKings). He who claims "I can do whatever I want, if I want.” Like, say mess with the upcoming mid-term elections as we documented here last time. Or get us into his undeclared never ending war with Iran that is trashing our economy and killing innocent people and then proclaim "They can take out a city. Let them take, let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay,” Complete and utter madness. His cruelty and hatred isn't just directed at his perceived enemies home & abroad either. He hates and seeks to destroy the very land we all live upon.
All that and no clue clue that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!" And yet, His Malignancy's "EPA just scrapped the carbon pollution limits on power plants -- limits Obama and Biden fought for years to put in place. Power plants are the second-largest source of greenhouse gases in America. The agency built to protect our air just canceled its own reason to exist." More crazy, right? How about this: "NPR broke the news that a tech startup called Valar Atomics has submitted an application to the Bureau of Land Management to seize more than 9,000 acres of federal public land near Price, Utah. They plan to build a sprawling AI data center complex dubbed "Project Beehive." To power it, they aren't just hooking up to the grid. They want to construct approximately 456 small nuclear reactors, build an on-site nuclear fuel fabrication facility, and permanently store radioactive nuclear waste right on our public land! The complex would consume 9.6 gigawatts of electricity—more than double the average power consumption of the entire state of Utah—all to keep corporate AI servers humming. And company documents reveal they want to break ground before the year is out." We're sure these corporados will be talking up bullshit "clean nuclear power" with zero mention of high-level radioactive waste and ground water depletion in a notoriously dry state. Even if mini-nukes were made of magic fairy dust they will still be vulnerable and in a time of Climate Crisis when mega-storms will rule the land. 456 radioactive SMRs on 9,000 acres could become a hellscape. Recall our past coverage of these nukes and our Gov's anti-democratic effort to bring nukes back from the grave here in Massachusetts? Go to Commonwealth Coalition for Democracy & Safe Energy (pdf).
Speaking of electrical power, in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we rerun the Daily Hampshire Gazette's piece on the utility Eversource and its plan to widen its powerline corridor to the extreme. Our guest will get into this in detail but here is an op-ed from Jeff Weston, one of the opponents of the plan that should be of interest, as well as his extensive evaluation. If you are sick & tired of utility company disregard for Nature as we are you might want to participate in Call the Governor Day on October 15th. In case you read this later you can always call or email the Governor anytime at the Western Mass Office (Springfield): (413) 784-1200 or Email: constituent.services@state.ma.us and let your concerns be known.
Our Critter of the Week is the Rhinoceros. According to The International Rhino Foundation "Rhinos once roamed across much of North America and Europe, throughout Africa and southeast Asia. Today, they only survive in pockets of protected areas in southern and eastern Africa and in a handful of Asian countries. The five remaining species are comprised of 10 subspecies. All rhino species are under threat of extinction, and one – the Sumatran rhino – is on the verge of disappearing. Across the five species there are only about 27,000 of these marvelous creatures are left on Earth. The greatest threats to rhinos are poaching, habitat loss, and for some species, isolated small populations unable to reproduce." This is one of the saddest poaching stories of all time. "Rhinos have walked the earth for more than 50 million years." Where do humans get off exterminating an entire species?
Finally, our Enviro Show Quote of the Week:
It is horrifying that we have to fight our own Government to save our environment.
~Ansel Adams,
Time for the Bus Stop Billboard:
First Here's Indivisible Northampton — Swing Left Western Mass's complete daily listing of all the pro-democracy events in WMass: https://in-slwm.org/wp-content/uploads/Calendar/cal.html. If you're looking for an easy weekday way to jump into the climate movement, you'll love the State House Stand Out! We gather at the Massachusetts State House in Boston between 10 am and 2 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Volunteers stand together for 2-hour "shifts," either outside or inside depending on weather, and talk with visitors and State House staff about the Climate Crisis. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 3 – 4pm.: Indivisible's What's the Plan with Leah and Ezra. Go HERE. Fridays, 1:30 to 3pm: De-ICE Hanscom Airfield Stand Outs, Hanscom Rotary, Lincoln, MA. Go HERE. ALSO:
Friday July 24, 4 to 5pm. Indivisible West Quabbin's Wisdom Way Bridge Visibility Brigade Rte I-91 every 4th Friday. Overpass standout located on Wisdom Way, Greenfield, MA. For more information or to sign up go to Mobilize or contact westquabbinindivisible@gmail.com . Saturdays, 11am to 1pm: No Fear w/Street Theatre, Burlington ICE Facility, Burlington Mall Rd. @ District Ave., Burlington, MA Go HERE
IndivisibleNorthampton.org upcoming actions:
Monday October 12, 10am. (Opening Service at 8:45 Hope Church 16 Gaylord St Amherst Ma.). Interfaith Peace Walk remembering Paki Wieland and Frances Crowe, honoring Indigenous Peoples. 9 (8.7) miles on Rt. 9. [Following the service] at 10 AM Starting at the common our first stop is the Hampshire Mosque 451 Russell St, continuing along Rt. 9 to First Congregational Church of Hadley on Middle st. Then across the river and onto the Meetinghouse 43 Center St. We will have a program featuring State Senator Comerford, former AFSC director. We are going to be honoring our teachers Paki Wieland and Frances Crowe. Then we will share some potluck food (light fare) and after the program have a silent (Quaker style) service at the meeting house. Possibly around 5pm.
For more information please contact Eric Wasileski: ericwasileski@gmail.com 413.557.4536
Monday October 12, 11:30am Registration, 12:00-5:30pm Program. Half-Earth Day. Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall, Harvard University, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. This year marks the tenth anniversary of both E.O. Wilson’s landmark book Half-Earth and of Half-Earth Day itself. The theme is Half-Earth at Ten: Honoring a Legacy of Hope. The day moves between science, art, and testimony: wild places brought to life through film and photography; Indigenous voices renewing our relationship to land; a tribute to Ed Wilson through the people who knew him best; poetry and music that carry what data alone cannot; and the presentation of the E.O. Wilson Legacy Award for Transformative Conservation Leadership to the Gorongosa Restoration Project. Tickets are available through the Harvard Box Office. And full program details can be found here.
Thursday October 15, All Day. Are you sick & tired of Eversource's disregard for Nature and its plan to clearcut an expansion of a 278 acre power line corridor running 29.3 miles, through Northfield, Erving, Wendell, Montague, Leverett, Shutesbury, Pelham, Belchertown, Amherst, Granby, and Ludlow? If so, participate in Call the Governor Day on October 15th. Go to the link for details. Save the Trees/Defend the Forest.
Thursday October 15, 6-8 p.m. Safer Tech @ Home, Work & School: Free Public Education Webinar! Cece Doucette is honored to co-host with retired teacher Sidnee Cox of EMF Safety Network for this fact-filled discussion. Excellent for parents, guardians, grandparents, teachers, health care practitioners, school committees, administrators and IT personnel -- please extend the invitation and post on-line and around town! Go HERE.
Thursday October 15, 6:30 p.m. Wildfire: Myths and Reality. Restore the North Woods Chairman George Wuerthner will provide a Virtual update on wildfires across the West and around the country during 2026. He will also address common myths regarding wildfire ecology, which lead to poor public policies that fail to reduce wildfire losses while degrading natural vegetation ecosystems. He will discuss the Fix Our Forest Act, a bill currently pending in Congress, which advocates more logging and burning on public lands. To protect communities from wildfire, he will highlight the need to focus on home hardening, not forest thinning and burning. Go HERE.
Friday October 16, 6 pm at LAVA, 324 Main Street in Greenfield. FCCPR is hosting a follow up conversation about the ballot questions we will be voting on this November. The session is free and the focus is on helping each other to understand the questions and wording rather than on how to vote. FCCPR has recommendations for how we are encouraging folks to vote, and will share those with those who are interested, but this session is all about understanding the questions. PLease share this with your friends, networks, and contacts.
Saturday October 17, 1 to 3pm. Pulaski Park, Main Street, Northampton, MA. Go HERE No Kings: Vote Early is the next step of reclaiming our power after a year of mass mobilizations. It's not a protest. It's a day of nonpartisan voter participation, being in community with each other, and making sure every eligible voter has a plan, knows their options, and is ready to make their voice count. Get ready! Mark Your Calendar! National Page: Go HERE. And remember: Your last chance to save America is October 17.
No Kings Day 4. Not just a protest. Mass voter outreach. Your presence is needed. Actually. Find an event near you and join the effort in your neighborhood. No event nearby? Host one. Then forward this to five people. Let’s go.
Saturday October 17, 1 to 5pm. Fire on the Land. A conference on the Wampanoag practice of landscape burning and the uses and symbolism of fire in traditional culture. Facilitated and led by Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag Elders Linda Coombs and Leslie Jonas. Plimoth Patuxet Museums, 137 Warren Avenue, Plymouth, MA or virtual HERE.
Tuesday October 20, 7pm. U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, Virtual Town Hall. Jim will be joining us by zoom to share his perspectives on what's been happening (or not) in the U.S. House, his priorities moving forward, especially if Dems take the House, safeguarding our election - and whatever else YOU want to know! Please submit your questions in advance here: Questions for Representative McGovern. Register in advance for this meeting:
The joyous Wendell Chorus will open the event. We’ll circle up, introduce our projects/interests. Then we’ll take food with us to tables where we’ll talk about What gives you hope, what actions are you taking. Each table will report back to larger group. More music from 3-3:30, then time to mingle. Shutesbury Athletic Club, (282 Wendell Road, Shutesbury, MA 01072) has a large outdoor pavilion, an indoor hall with a kitchen, a playground with swings, slides, etc. The bar will be open for customers. https://www.shutesburyac.com/ What to bring: Sweet or savory finger food, games/toys for children. All are welcome. Please pass the word! Questions etc., please email the Rabbit Run Responders affinity group of New Salem at rabbitrunresponders@proton.me
Thursday, October 8, 8pm. End the ICE Age National Day of Action happening October 31–November 2. National Organizing Call. Join a national organizing call to learn how you can help lead a local action in your community. Whether you are ready to host an action, bring your organization into the fight, mobilize your neighbors, or simply show up and spread the word, On these actions, we will demand that Congress: Get ICE out of our communities;
Redirect ICE funding to what our communities actually need & Shut down ICE detention centers for good. RSVP HERE
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