A Highly Necessary Enviro Climate Show

Yes, it is a rather strongly worded title for this week's Enviro Show but given we've been trying to get highly respected climate scientist Professor Raymond Bradley of UMass Amherst on the show for some time now we thought we'd get into some....amplification? As we've been saying on the show since COVID daze began, the pandemic is actually  just another aspect of the Climate Crisis 'cuz both disasters have been brought about by the human propensity to trash Nature, OK? We are the Crisis, but we could also be the answer to the Crisis. Of course, we'll also bring you along to endure this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to witness His Malignancy The Mad King and his enablers latest insults to life on Earth, but first it's time for.........Revenge of the Critters! Another snap happy tourist in Yellowstone Park gets too close to the Buffalo. This one comes complete with a video of a previous Buffalo Tourist Toss. They are not harmless Disney robots people! 

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Arizona Congressional District Five House Rep. Andy Biggs who apparently is big on foolishness. Awhile back he would not support any of the COVID 19 assistance measures because it would either raise the debt, legitimize same-sex families, or give people an incentive not to go to work. Recently, at a time when Arizona's COVID numbers are spiking and hospitals are near out of ICUs, Biggs stated  “As our economy is restored, it is imperative that President Trump is not undermined in his mission to return our economy to greatness. Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx continue to contradict many of President Trump’s stated goals and actions for returning to normalcy as we know more about the COVID-19 outbreak. This is causing panic that compromises our economic recovery. We can protect our most vulnerable from the COVID-19 outbreak while still protecting lives and livelihoods of the rest of the population. It’s time for the COVID-19 task force to be disbanded so that President Trump’s message is not mitigated or distorted.”.  O  wait, did we mention when masks were being required by local governments, Biggs said it was the mark of a tyrannical government?

 It was reported recently His Malignancy The Mad King's Environmental Plundering....er "Protection" Agency and some enablers in Congress are expected to propose a new rule detailing how burning biomass from forests can be considered carbon neutral in the United States. The report states: "..industry leaders believe they have science on their side, making a case that wood pellet production is barely putting a dent in the carbon-storage capacity of forests in the South." Really? [Insert hysterical laughter here]  We don't think so! Also, Inside Climate News reports: "new plants are being proposed in South Carolina, Arkansas and other southern states to produce wood pellets for export to Europe. The industry for this type of biomass energy has exploded, driven largely by European climate policies and subsidies that reward burning wood, even as an increasing number of scientists call out what they see as a dangerous carbon accounting loophole that threatens the 2050 goals of the Paris climate agreement." And this from our friends at Grist, "After three and a half years and 100 environmental rollbacks either completed or in progress this is no surprise: President Trump has spent more time defending Confederate monuments than voicing concern over COVID’s taking of 16,000 Black lives that would still be here if African-Americans weren’t dying at more than double the rate of white Americans."  The man is a monster and so are his enablers. HERE is more proof, as if you needed it. 

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber our friends at Grist tell their readers about a new study scientists will soon unveil to help prevent future pandemics. Not sure why they didn't just ask us or the Center for Biological Diversity 'cuz we've been talking about the very same solutions for months now. Kidding!  We need all the science possible to protect threatened species and their habitats and put an end to wildlife trafficking. 

Of course our guest knows "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid" and we'll get into that presently but here's a quote from Scientific American that touches on something Prof. Bradley is very familiar with: "Facebook appears to be weakening a firewall it has built to fact-check such climate denialism. The company recently overruled a fact-check from a group of climate scientists, in a move that concerns researchers about a potentially new precedent by the platform that permits inaccurate claims to be promoted if they’re labeled as opinions. At the same time, Facebook has placed restrictions on one of the country’s most visible climate scientists, Katharine Hayhoe, of Texas Tech University and a lead author of the Fourth National Climate Assessment. She has been blocked from promoting videos related to climate research, a move that has limited her efforts to refute false claims."

 After our conversation with Prof. Bradley it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

July—August 9, 2020  NOFA Summer Conference.
Just sit back and relax in your home while we bring you the rich and dynamic education program of the NOFA Summer Conference right to your home. We’re bringing the classic and innovative content of the conference to you via video/webinar sessions so you can continue to deepen your knowledge on topics such as Vegetable Production, Hemp/CBD, Chickens, Grazing Plans, Soil Carbon, Wild E dibles, Worms and more.If you haven’t been to the NOFA Summer Conference in years because of the distance, now’s your chance to attend. If you love the conference but can’t make the schedule work for your summer schedule, now’s your time. If you wish you could have the program in hand to experience on demand, whenever you choose, now is your chance too. What’s in store for the new virtual Summer Conference program? More INFO, REGISTER. 


Monday August 10, 7pm.  Brattleboro Biomass Zoom Webinar hosted by Community Action Works. Register HERE.  Dirty energy pollutes our air and water, impacts our health, and contributes to climate change. Over the past 30 years, Community Action Works has helped communities all over the northeast retire dirty power plants responsibly, halt dangerous new fracked gas pipelines and win clean, local, renewable energy solutions. 
Monday

Tuesday, August 11, 11:30am – 2:00pm. (The meeting starts promptly at noon.) MA Elders Climate Action Zoom meeting. Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89313211335 This month we have the privilege of hosting Frances Moore Lappé, author Diet for a Small Planet, which gained world-wide attention 50 years ago. Since then she has written nearly 20 books. 


Wednesday August 12, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm. Extinction of Deer Ticks in North America. A virtual woirkshop with Dr. Stephen Rich, Professor of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Director the Laboratory of Medical Zoology. Dr. Stephen Rich will discuss a recent publication in Nature(June 2020) from the Laboratory of Medical Zoology that provides insight to the evolutionary and ecological origin of the primary Lyme disease vectors in North America.
Register at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7268068031726182913

Wednesday,August 19, 6-8 pm. 350MA Berkshires  Node  Zoom  Meeting . All are welcome! Use the password 350ma.    Zoom link 


On August 20th, join a virtual lobby meeting with your senator’s office to speak out against extinction. Speaking out by telling staffers how much you value plants, fish, and wildlife and the laws that protect them is one of the most valuable actions you can take as an activist. When senators hear that constituents like you are taking the time to show up to a meeting to speak, they listen closely. Register HERE.   

Wednesday, August 26, 7:30-8:30 pm "Adaptive Silviculture: Examining Climate Change Forest Management Strategies" Anoither  CounterAct Climate Change program  via Zoom. 

Register here.






That's all for now everyone. Please remember to listen to your Mother!

The Root for the Trees Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Watershed advisory councils giving bad advice, our trees being clearcut and hauled away to Canada, junk science run amok in the forests, who isn't seeing the forest for the trees in the Commonwealth? Chris Matera of Mass Forest Watch returns to help us clear the air. Did we say air? In the E-Valley-uatiuon segment we note that all those trees being cut down used to be busy cleaning the air! We'll also be checking in with this week's Fool-on-the-Hill, as well as a trip to the Enviro Show Echo Chamber, but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! Zoo enthusiast and lame Repugnican presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich attacked by penguin!


Let's start off with some serious E-Valley-uation, shall we? The Enviro Show was proud to be one of the sponsors of that SAGE Alliance anti-nuke rally in Brattleboro last Saturday. We were also glad to be there to here Bernie Sanders read the riot act to the corporados at Entergy. Here's his speech. Checkout WHMP's "VT Yankee: Power Struggle debate here. And this op-ed from the NY Times reminds us that all those trees being clearcut from the Quabbin watershed are actually better left standing! Who knew!!



Another past fool returns to this week's Fool-on-the-Hill. Once again Darrell Issa, House Oversight Committee Chairman, and former car thief turned congressman, mounts the Hill to proclaim that the federal loan guarantee program that helps fund solar energy development discourages solar energy development. Actually the solar energy sector grew enormously in 2011 compared to 2010, more than doubling in the U.S. Two major factors drove this surge in U.S. investment. One was the 1603 grant program, which replaced tax credits, thus making it easier and cheaper to finance projects. The other was the loan guarantee program. Maybe that was an oversight on Darrell's part.


In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber this just in: Greg Palast blows the cover off BP's OTHER disastrous blowout! And this: the Prez makes the point that Wall Street speculators are one of the big reasons you're paying so much at the pump for gas. Of course we've been saying that for months, even as high-profile enviro reporters like Elizabeth Kolbert and others seem oblivious. And this: biomass blaze in the UK sheds light on what one might call the Kalfka clause! Remember the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Well, if you order now you can get it free with Japanese radiation!


Speaking of radiation, while on one hand we applaud the New Boss for his slamming greedy speculators on inflated gas prices, on the other hand the Boss seems to think nukes are renewables!


Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week is spot on for the show's theme. It was Massachusetts' favorite son, Henry David Thoreau said:

"I come home to my solitary woodland walk as the homesick go home. I thus dispose of the superfluous and see things as they are, grand and beautiful."

O, by the way, last week's Guess the Quote? That was President Bill Clinton.



After hanging out with Chris we'll wander over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday April 25, Noon to 1:30pm. GREENWORK ROUNDTABLE. Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO Hall, 640 Page Boulevard, Springfield. GreenWork (the Western Mass Green Economy Working Group) consists of advocates for a Green Economy which serves local communities; guarantees workers' rights to organize; and promotes community-owned sustainable projects. Contact: Mary Vogel, 413-565-2381

Friday, April 27, 10:30 am. Greenfield Middle School, 195 Federal Street..Arbor Day will be celebrated by planting a disease-resistant elm tree at the Greenfield Middle School, 195 Federal Street. Superintendent Dr. Susan Hollins, Greenfield Middle School students and teachers will participate – all are invited. “It is hard to imagine our town without our beloved trees,” says Cindy Pomeroy, Greenfield Tree Committee member and organizer of Arbor Day. “We are healthier in body and spirit because of them.” For more information call 774-5667.

Saturday, April 28, 10am & 2pm. Unwanted Drug Collection. Ensure that unused drugs are disposed of safely by bringing them to a Saturday collection at Wildwood Elementary School, 813 N Pleasant St (enter off Strong Street) in Amherst. Antibiotics, Vitamins, prescription, non-prescription & veterinary meds are welcome. No liquids will be accepted.

Tuesday, May 1 A Day Without the 99%: May Day 2012. On May 1st we will take the streets to reclaim our jobs, our communities, our lives. Occupy Wall Street stands in solidarity with the calls for a General Strike, a Day Without the 99%, and more! There will be actions throughout the day, including a 4 p.m. rally at Union Square that culminates with a march to Wall Street at 5:30 p.m. Contact: mayday@nycga.net

April 30-May 5, 2012. Climate Impacts Action Week: We need volunteers! Action on the Coolidge Bridge. Rush-hour (8 to 9am & 5 to 6pm) groups of 10 or more people will stand on the sidewalk of the Coolidge Bridge between Hadley and Northampton. Main Event: Saturday, May 5, 8-9:00am, 5-6pm. Show your support for a world without fossil fuels. Sign up now:
 johnpberk@gmail.com, or 413-625-6374

Tuesday, May 8. 6p.m. Organic Lawn Care” lecture at Better Life Whole Foods, 1492 Allen St, Springfield. Registration call: (413)783-9424

Tuesday May 15, 7pm, Northampton UU Meetinghouse. Why ending Corporate Personhood at the local level is the right place to do the work. 150 communities in seven states are doing just that, banning harmful corporate activities in their own back yards. Paul Cienfuegos , known for his advocacy of "rights-based organizing," will speak, sponsored by the Occupy Affinity group of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.


So much for that. Next time it's the Valley Free Radio on-air fund drive. That's the part where YOU come in. We can't do this without your support. It's as simple as that. How about sending your donation right now? Just go here and click on the blue "donate" button near the top of the page. Thanks for that and remember, listen to your Mother!