Rally Saturday! - Shutdown VT Yankee Nuke/Suppport VT

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
VT Governor Peter Shumlin
Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell

to speak at
RALLY TO SUPPORT VERMONT

Citizens from Vermont and surrounding states show support for the democratic will of the people and Vermont elected officials and learn why and how we must act now to decommission Vermont Yankee rather than extend its original 40-year license.
Saturday, April 14, 2012, Noon to 2:00 pm
Brattleboro Common, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301


Also Statements issued from

Former Governor Madeline Kunin
and other elected officials

Special Musical Guest:
Fenibo (a rousing 12-piece Afro-beat ensemble)



The rally will:

• Acknowledge the state’s work to replace Vermont Yankee with sustainable energy solutions and prevent further radioactive contamination of the soil, air, and water surrounding the reactor.
• Support Vermont’s resolve to stand up to the Entergy Corporation’s arrogance and intimidation.
• Recognize Vermont Yankee’s impact on neighboring states and growing national momentum to close 24 antiquated Fukushima-type reactors like VY nationally.
• Demand Entergy Corporation stop using courts to delay fulfilling its agreement with the state to begin, as of March 21, 2012, a responsible, jobs-creating decommissioning of the reactor and clean-up the site.

• Inform the community of the urgent need to work together now to secure the funds needed (while they still exist) to get the job done.



Rally sponsors include: Citizens Awareness Network (CAN), Safe & Green Campaign, Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), Nuclear Free Vermont, Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance, New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution (NEC), Beyond Nuclear, Greenpeace, SAGE Alliance, Vermont Citizen Action Network, Vermont Toxics Action Center, The Enviro Show, Clamshell Alliance, the Sierra Club, Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR -- representing 1,180 Vermont companies).

The Seeing Redd Enviro Show

Greetings Earthling. Time once again to check the spin cycle on the old greenwashing machine. Jeff Conant, Communications Director for our friends at the Global Justice Ecology Project joins us to look into Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation or REDD. While being hyped as oh so green such programs will have serious negative impacts and will not mitigate climate change. Also on the show: the Fool-on-the-Hill, our E-Valley-uation segment, The Enviro Show Quote of the Week, and a trip to the Echo chamber, but first it's time for......Revenge of the Critters! Fox mugs large human for groceries!

House Budget Committee chairman Repugnican Paul Ryan once again wins the prize: the biggest Fool-on-the-Hill. Ryan rode his stupid Trojan Horse up the Hill to a sort of pyrrhic victory with the expected passage of his draconian budget in the Repugnican dominated House. Obama called it "a prescription for decline". We call it a steaming pile of toxic waste (and that's just for when we're on the air in mixed company).

This time our Enviro Show Quote of the Week is actually a Guess the Quote. Who said:

"First, I worry about climate change. It's the only thing that I believe has the power to fundamentally end the march of civilization as we know it, and make a lot of the other efforts that we're making irrelevant and impossible".

We have a special prize for anyone who guesses correctly.

"Judi Bari"by Dave Rovics takes us to the Echo Chamber where we find the ghost of Judi Bari back in the news. Also this interesting piece in HuffPo. So, protect the atmosphere, right? How about protecting it from this Total disaster? A six mile long plume of gas, maybe going on for months in the North sea? Did someone say BP-like blowout 2.0? In our Dept. of Useless Humans we have the meth-head who burned down a 3,500-year old tree while taking pictures of it with her cellphone. And this: cowboys & corporados are fixin' to close the door forever on Navajo and Hopi food and water sovereignty, security and self-reliance. You can do something about it here. And speaking of doing something, how about pledging to protect Bluefin Tuna here?

Good news in the E-Valley-uation segment: Occupy Holyoke Community College General Assembly passed a proposal to endorse the movement to Shut Down Vermont Yankee - As Scheduled In 2012 ! More and more Occupiers are becoming aware of the radioactive threat the corporados at Entergy are laying on us. Also this: recent letters in the Valley Advocate in favor of continued clearcutting in the Quabbin watershed have generated some push back. With that in mind, we announce this year's winner of the Enviro Show Big Green Clearcutter's Award !

After our visit with Jeff we take a peek at the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, April 11, 7:30 to 8:30pm. Panel on Oil. Michael Klare & Michael Lynch debate "Can the U.S. rely on oil as a source of energy in the future? Smith College Campus Center, Carroll Room. Email: nh10@hampshire.edu

Saturday, April 14, Noon. Rally to Support Vermont Shut Down Vermont Yankee. Brattleboro, VT Town Common. Keynote speaker: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders with Special Musical Guests, including the 12-piece Afro-beat ensemble, Fenibo. Please join us for a rally to support the democratic will of the people and elected officials of Vermont to shut down the dangerous Vermont Yankee nuke rather than permit it to operate beyond its original 40-year license. Go to: http://sagealliance.net

Sunday, April 15, 9:30am 99% Spring Training - Pioneeer Valley Central Labor Council., 640 Page Boulevard, Springfield. Call: (413) 732-7970

Friday, April 20, 21, 27, 28, at 8 PM, and April 22, 29, at 2 PM, in Shea Theater, 71 Avenue A, Turners Falls. Based on real events, Radium Girls tells the story of young American women who went to work painting watch dials for the U.S. Radium Corporation in 1917. Decent and good paying jobs for women were hard to come by. U.S. Radium paid top dollar and thousands of women went to work painting watch dials with a glow-in-the dark radium-based paint. Numerous women became sick with a crippling illness and died. The corporation blamed the victims and practiced a cover-up. But the “Radium Girls”, in the face of death, refused to go quietly. Called “a genuine theatrical gift” by the Chicago Stage Review, Radium Girls is a compelling drama. Tickets are available at the door, can be purchased at the World Eye Bookshop, Greenfield, and the Jones Library, Amherst. Contact: Robert Freedman, 413-586-6095, http://www.arenacivictheatre.org/.

Saturday April 21, 10:00 AM - 4:00pm. The 3rd Annual Amherst Sustainability Festival on the Amherst Town Common. Bring unwanted clean & dry clothing, rags & household textiles to benefit the Amherst Survival Center & Fisher Home Hospice Shop. Tree identification activities and games led by Jim Terruso, Mt Tom Park Ranger. Participate in the Eco-Hero Hunt and win great prizes! Learn about home energy savings, renewable energy options, tree care, waste footprint reduction, sustainable energy, tree planting demonstration. Support local businesses, local artisans, environmental organizations, and the environment.

Saturday, April 21, 2:00pm – 5:00pm. Would you support a food co-op in downtown Amherst? Meeting at Food for Thought Bookstore, 106 N. Pleasant St., Amherst, MA. We invite you to attend a community interest meeting about the Amherst Community Market, a food cooperative for our town. A cooperative business is one that is owned and operated by and for the community it serves.

Sunday, April 22, 1:00pm - 6:00pm. Earth Day Festival 2012. Library Lawn, UMass Amherst Campus. Join over 35 student organizations at the sustainability fair to learn about how students are making UMass Amherst the greenest campus! Contact: Ezra Small, esmall@facil.umass.edu (413) 545-0799

Sunday, Apr 22, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM. Occupy Earth Day. BP Gas Station, 300 Lafayette St., New York City. Occupy Earth Day begins with a second line funeral march for the Gulf Coast commemorating the anniversary of the BP Deep Water Horizon oil spill in 2010. We will march from the BP station to Union Square for a rally reclaiming Earth Day from corporate greenwashers and bringing it back to its radical roots. Email: owseswg@gmail.com

Monday, April 23, 10:00am - 1:00pm. Ignite is an energizing, geek event hosted in over 100 cities worldwide. At the event, UMass Amherst student and alumni presenters will be given the exciting opportunity to share their ideas about sustainability to an audience of colleagues, friends, professors, and students via 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds for a total of five minutes. Student Union, UMass, Amherst.

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.

Next time we drag Chris Matera into the studio for a few rounds of whack-a-mole...err...we mean clearcutter. They keep popping up! Until then remember: listen to your Mother!

The Next Big Thing......

The Antibiotic Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. So, you think the FDA is there to protect you from the abuse of antibiotics? Maybe not. Kyla Bennett, Director of New England Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility returns to these microphones to take the cure....no wait! to TALK about the cure. That covers the antibiotics (which is more than the FDA seems concerned about). We get into some probodiotics with a report-back from the healthy direct action on the body politic at VT Yankee's corporate Entergy office in our E-Valley-uation segment, as well as some positive news in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber. As usual we double down on the bad news (of course!) with The Fool on the Hill and when we Meet the New Boss, but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! This week it's teeny, tiny critters who are seeking revenge against......are you ready? Antibiotics!

In The Enviro Show E-Valley-uation segment it's reportbacks from last Thursday's direct action at Entergy headquarters in Brattleboro. Everyone was there.....except for Entergy! Without a corporado in sight, it looked like we scared them off leaving only us, the media and the friendly cops, the 99%, to act out our parts in the theater of protest. Maybe next time we should just show up unannounced, like the Shut it Down Affinity Group does all the time. Now we're coming up on the 33 anniversary of the nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island. Here's D.O.'s thoughts on that fiasco. And this: Rivers & streams getting low? Remember two summers ago when we found the Sawmill River in Leverett with barely any water? Fish and other aquatic life cannot survive in rivers and streams that are chronically desiccated in summer and fall. Please go here to help protect them and our rivers & streams.

The Enviro Show Echo Chamber leads off with an important Blog Bonus Action link. We need to convince the Gov that logging in the Quabbin Watershed is ...well, not such a good idea. Go here and let your voice be heard. Here's that positive news we mentioned earlier, it's from Grist: former corporado seeks to save the planet! On to the bad news: No deaths from Fukushima? Stay tuned on that one. O, and speaking of disasters, Science Daily tells us that not only did oil affect the ecosystem in the Gulf during the BP blowout, but it was still entering the food web after the well was capped. Yum! Toxic sludge is good for you. No? OK, how about ending corporate welfare for Big Oil? By the by, it's not just Big Oil who is picking your pocket at the pumps, it's their friends on Wall Street too. Finally, this from Treehugger: corporados wrote the law requiring climate denial being taught in Tennessee schools. Not so smart ALECS we'd say.

Our Fool-on-the-Hill is freakin' Florida Repugnican Rep. Cliff Stearns who wants to sell off our National Parks! Hey, if he waits a few months we can have actual fire sales out West!

This time we Meet the New Boss as he "stood in a red-dirt field before acres of stacked pipeline pieces on Thursday to illustrate his support for expedited construction of the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline" (You know, the one that's intended to spew dirty tar-sands oil off to China? The one he opposed before he supported it?). Obama said "We’ve added enough new oil and gas pipeline to encircle the Earth and then some". Aren't you impressed? Also, The Washington Post revealed this weekend that the White House has a current offer "still on the table" to make billions of dollars of cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Democratic Leaders in Congress, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, grudgingly agreed to the deal, according to the Post. All such cave-ins to the corporados and far-right extremists means more scrambling for survival by the rest of us which, in turn means less consideration for a failing biosphere and a deeply troubled planet.

"The End of the World" by Marie Mason, Danny Dollinger & Darryl Chemey & friends takes us to our interview with Kyla Bennett, then we checkout the Bus Stop:

Wednesday, March 28, Noon to 1:30pm. GreenWorks Roundtable. 640 Page Blvd., Springfield, MA. Contact: maryvogel@builtbest.org

Wednesday, March 28th 6:30 pm, "Permaculture:TheGrowing Edge" a film about sustainable care for the earth, its people and the future [What, only people??] by Donna Read and Starhawk that offers an antidote to environmental despair, a hopeful and practical look at a path to a viable, flourishing future. Greenfield Public Library (back door), Main St. in Greenfield.Discussion will follow. Offered by Greening Greenfield Energy Committee and Transition Town Greenfield. For more info call 773-7004

Friday, March 30, Noon. Occupy the EPA to rally and launch the American Spring with a demonstration at the headquarters of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC. The demonstration will start at 12:00 noon at Franklin Square Park (13thand I Sts, NW, Washington, DC) and the march will head down 12th Street to the EPA Headquarters. Call: 410-591-0892

Friday & Saturday, March 30-31, The 30th National Pesticide Forum Healthy Communities: Green solutions for safe environments Yale University -- New Haven, CT. Go to: www.beyondpesticides.orgor call (202)543-5450

Saturday, March 31,1:00 PM. What’s So Cool About a Vernal Pool? Come to the Leverett Library to find out all about what a vernal pool is and some of its special features. Dawn Marvin Ward will present a hands-on program designed for families and beginner naturalists. This program will begin inside and then venture outside to visit the library’s own vernal pool (weather permitting). All ages are welcome BUT this program is designed for children ages 8+ and accompanied by an adult. If extremely inclement weather; indoor activities will be available. For more information contact Dawn 367-9562 or Leverett Library 548-9220.

Sunday, April 1, 12:30 to 3:30pm. Pioneer Valley Green-Rainbow Regional Convention. Umass Amherst Campus Center, Room 101, Campus Center Way. Presidential candidate Jill Stein will be speaking around 1 pm! Stein was recently endorsed by Noam Chomsky and has been traveling around the country, meeting activists and discussing her proposal for a "Green... New Deal" for the USA. Email: crustacean99@gmail.com

Sunday, April 1, 2-3 PM, Leverett Library. "Moths: Better than Butterflies" with Ted Sargent. Join Ted as he discusses his 50 years of observation and research (as a naturalist and Professor of Biology, UMass) on moths and their interactions with birds and the effects of those interactions on the evolution of the moths.

Tuesday, April 3, 6pm public hearing on Springfield's Combined Sewer Overflow long term control plan at Springfield City Hall (36 Court Street). Twelve years after they put together a draft document, Springfield will unveil its 20+ year plan for significantly reducing CSO discharges into the Connecticut River. Find out why they don't think they can achieve full elimination. This is your chance to let them
know you care about water quality in the river.

Tuesday, April 3, 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Public meeting on the reconstruction of the Norwottuck Rail Trail. Hadley Elementary School, 21 RiverDrive, Hadley (Rt. 47). The Department of Conservation and Recreation will hold an informal meeting and information session about the long awaited reconstruction of the Norwottuck RailTrail. Plans for the new trail will be on displayand trail users are encouraged to come and voice their opinions. Email: Morrisfri@aol.com

Saturday, April 14,Starting at Noon- 2:00. Rally to Support Vermont & Shutdown Vt Yankee! Keynote speaker: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders with Special Musical Guests (including the 12-piece Afro-beat ensemble, Fenebo). Gov Shumlin has also been invited to speak in addition to a number of other people!! More details to follow. Contact Deb for more info 413-339-5781

So much for that show. Stay tuned for our April 10 Enviro Show on "A Darker Shade of Green: REDD Alert and the Future of Forests". Until then remember: listen to your Mother!

Another Ides of March Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Time once again to beware the Ideas of March. This time we send the warning out to Entergy, owners of that ticking nuclear time bomb just to our north on the shore of the Connecticut River in Vernon, Vermont. Warning, warning corporados! The people are coming! We talk with Randy Kehler of the Safe & Green campaign about the issues and area residents rising up to defend their homes from nuclear meltdown and corporate criminal behavior in the wake of the first anniversary of the ongoing multiple meltdown in Fukushima, Japan. Also, we hear from The Fool-on-the-Hill, our Enviro Show Quote of the Week, echos from the Echo Chamber and who knows what all, but first it's time for.....Revenge of the Critters! Think climate disruption when camels attack!

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is leading the charge against the President's clean energy proposals........you know, the ones he was for before he was against? McConnell and the Repugnican crazy choir are trying to make fun of algae biofuel advances, labeling them pipe dreams or worse. Did someone say crazed ideologue? No? Maybe pathetic hypocrite? Meanwhile it's still that tired old call for "drill, baby drill" on the far-right even though Big Oil is......are you ready? exporting dirty U.S. petro instead of keeping it here at home! And speaking of Repugnicans difficulty relating to the planet, checkout this.

Our Quote of the Week is on message from Ronny Raygun: “All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.” The question is: whose desk!

In our E-Valley-uation segment we do a run-down on all the area actions around the scary Vermont Yankee nuke.....you know, that old crusty boiling water reactor just like the ones melting down in Fukushima? Checkout coverage on The Commons site here and here as well as an excellent letter to the editor from the CT Watershed Council here. And here's a link to the latest news on the VT Yankee struggle in the courts. There were Fukushima anniversary events at Vt Yankee and everywhere. Here's Beyond Nuclear's coverage. Also this: Tell MA House Speaker DeLeo to advance the Updated Bottle Bill. Go here. Finally, if you're on Facebook here is an excellent & creative way to remind Gov. Patrick that logging in the Quabbin watershed is a truly bad idea.

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we find Repugnicans in the U.S. Senate failed in trying to ram an amendment into the Transportation Bill to move ahead on the Keystone XL dirty oil pipeline. While we're on the topic of Big Oil checkout Greg Palast's in-depth analysis of the new BP oil disaster settlement down in the Gulf region. Looks like BP gets off easy.....once again. Let's not forget King Coal! Here's an Enviro Show Blog Bonus action link telling the EPA to limit carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants. Do it for the Polar Bears! Now, how about doing one for the Manta Rays?

Our favorite no nukes anthem, "Shut 'em Down" by the late great Gil Scott Heron takes us to our interview with Randy, then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Now thru March 23: Remember Fukushima - 19 day walk for a new spring 2012. A nineteen-day walk from Seabrook Nuclear Power day Plant in NH to Plymouth Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, MA on the anniversary of the catastrophe at Fukushima, Japan and ending the walk in Vernon, VT at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. For more information or to support the walk when it comes to your community contact: Tim Bullock at 413 413-485-8469 or email: walk4newspring@gmail.com

Thursday, MARCH 15, 3:00PM. Save Our Homes Front of Bank of America, 1 South Pleasant Street, Amherst. Go to: http://pol.moveon.org/event/saveourhomes/127683

Saturday, March 17, 1 to 2:15pm. The Puzzle of New England's Predators. Predators such as bobcat, coyote, and fishers live locally, but do we really know that much about them? Join naturalist John Foster of the New England Naturalist Training Center for a slide show of New England's predators. Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A., Turners Falls. Call: 413-863-3221

Wednesday, March 21,7:00 to 9:00pm. Creating Democracy and Challenging Corporate Rule. Join David Cobb from Move to Amend for an action meeting to determine our community’s response to the court's ruling and what we can do to join the national movement to Abolish Corporate Personhood. Fracis Crowe Community Room, 60 Masonic St., Northampton.

Thursday, March 22,11am. Entergy your time is up! Town Common, Brattleboro, VT. Non Violent Affinity Groups from around the Evacuation Zone and beyond are telling Entergy Their time is UP!! Meet on the town common and walk up to Entergy Headquarters on Old Ferry Rd. You need to join an affinity group and attend non-violent training. To join an affinity group contact David at: reporter@montaguema.net

Friday, March 23, 7pm. Forks over Knives .Two nutrition researchers argue that a vegan, whole-food diet reduces one's risk of heart disease, cancer, and other health problems. Northampton Committee Friday Night Films. Frances Crowe Community Room, 60 Masonic Street in Northampton.

Saturday, March 24. "Day of Solidarity with Vermont. Actions by our sister reactor communities around the United States. Go to: www.BeyondNuclear.org/FreezeOurFukushimas

Wednesday, March 28th 6:30 pm, "Permaculture:TheGrowing Edge" a film about sustainable care for the earth, its people and the future [What, only people??] by Donna Read and Starhawk that offers an antidote to environmental despair, a hopeful and practical look at a path to a viable, flourishing future. Greenfield Public Library (back door), Main St. in Greenfield.Discussion will follow. Offered by Greening Greenfield Energy Committee and Transition Town Greenfield. For more info call 773-7004

That's it 'til next time BUT remember: listen to your Mother!

The Art of Recycling Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Like the man said: "One word.......plastics". Lou Leelyn of Lou's Upcycles joins us to talk EcoArt and transforming plastics into classics. As always we venture into The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and gawk at The Fool-on-the-Hill, as well as have a listen to the Quote of the Week and our E-Valley-uation segment, but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! Shakira on the rocks with angry sea lion!

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill was knocked off the Hill awhile back but we couldn't resist taking a whack at Rick Sanitarium.....err...Santorum who apparently believes environmentalism is anti-science. And to think we thought Repugnicans were anti-science. Who knew!

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week comes from Rachel Carlson:

"Considering the whole span of earthly time... Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species – man – acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world."

In our E-Valley-uation segment we find that Western Massachusetts Electric Company recently finished building the largest utility-owned solar power facility in New England on Goodwin Street in the Indian Orchard section of Springfield. And this: will Green Transportation work in our ex-urban valley? Checkout Pioneer Valley Relocalization on Facebook.

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we scope out the New York Times piece on the Heartland Institute's plans to promote a curriculum that would cast doubt on the scientific finding that fossil fuel emissions endanger the long-term welfare of the planet."Global warming? - Not man made, not harmful". Whoa! Talk about education!

After our interview with Lou Leelyn we move to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, February 29, 8:00am. Shutdown the Corporations! Eastern Point Beach Park, Groton, CT. Go to: http://occupyhartfordct.com/f29/

Thursday, March 1, Noon to 3pm. Occupy Education. Umass Amherst march & direct action. Walk out of class, meet at the Student Union steps. Occupy Education has called a national walkout and day of action for universities throughout the United States. UMass Amherst will walk out of classes at noon, converge on the student union steps, followed by a march and direct action in solidarity with Occupy Education.

Saturday, Mar 3, 9:30am to 10:00pm. Powershift. Meet at Court Square - The Greenfield town common, Greenfield. We, the people of MA, VT and NH will be marching on March 3rd to the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor. We will gather in Court Square in Greenfield MA and depart at 9:30am for the nuclear plant in Vernon, VT. This is an estimated 6 hour walk for about 16 miles. We shall vigil for the remaining hour and will have shuttle services from Vernon to Brattleboro for our after party at 7pm. Contact: fungiaffinity@gmail.com

Saturday, March 3, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The Toxics Action Center 25th Anniversary event in Boston. The workshops are still being finalized. The key notespeakers are Lois Gibbs is the Executive Director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice.

March 4, 2pm, Grace Church, Amherst for Alexandra Dawson's memorial service. If you would like to help the family with preparations, please respond to alexandramemorial@gmail.com. Memorial gifts may be made to Kestrel Land Trust at www.kestreltrust.org.

Saturday, March 10th from 1-4pm Western Mass General Assembly at a U-Mass location TBA.

Sunday, MARCH 11, 12:45 pm. “IT COULD HAPPEN HERE” -- MOCK EVACUATION AND PUBLIC
FORUM ON THE ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE. Transportation Center, Flat Street, Brattleboro, VT. Culminating at 5:00pm at the River Garden, Main Street, Brattleboro. On March 11, one year after the disastrous earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima, Japan, the SAGE Alliance will be sponsoring a mock
evacuation of Vermont Yankee in solidarity with the people of Japan. We are asking supporters who want to take part in the evacuation to meet at 12:45 pm at the Transportation Center on Flat Street in Brattleboro with their "evacuation gear." School buses will transport participants to the Vermont Yankee gates, where we will assemble with our strollers, roller bags,backpacks, and other “evacuation” items, as well as our signs and banners. We will then walk the six miles from Vermont Yankee to downtown Brattleboro. Call: 802-258-7750

Thursday, March 15 and Friday, March 16, Arise has the great good fortune to host the Walk for a New Spring. The Walkers are focused on ending nuclear war, nuclear weapons, nuclear power plants, with a special focus on the victims of Fukushima. On Friday morning, just before the Walkers leave for their next destination, we'll have a ceremony at the Connecticut River. We are looking for haikus on the following themes: protecting the river, blessing the waters, peace, anti-nuclear-- pretty broad, really. Send your haikus to michaelannb@gmail.com. And feel free to join us!

That is all. Remember: listen to your Mother!


--

The Brushy Mountain Enviro Show - A Love Story

Greetings Earthlings. Of course it's near Valentines Day and we're here to tell you we love Brushy Mountain in Leverett and love the fact that it's been saved from development....forever! Cinda Jones of W.D. Cowls & Kristin DeBoer, Executive Director of Kestrel Trust join us for the love fest. As usual we'll also visit this week's Fool-on-the-Hill, Meet the New Boss, and the Enviro Show Echo Chamber, as well as have a listen to the Quote of the Week, but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! A post-Holidaze Special: it's about those Christmas trees. Yes, we know trees aren't critters, but are mold spoors?

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is last week's Fool-on-the-Hill. House Speaker John Boehner and the Repugnican leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives announced plans last Thursday to cut all designated funding for mass transit. With any luck the House might throw Boehner under the bus, but we doubt it (we can dream though, right?.......O wait, which far-right nut job would replace him!). So what do you suppose is behind this latest far-right assault on mass transit? Could it be.......black helicopters! Many way off the rails Teabaggers think so!

It looks like The New Boss is trying to look tough on the corporados and Big Banksters due to their assaults on the U.S. economy and all those home owners they kicked to the curb. But looks sure can be deceiving! O wait, you think this post doesn't belong on a show about the environment? Shall we talk about the limited choices faced by bankrupt citizens? families? towns? states? nations?

This week's Quote of the Week comes once again from one of Massachusetts' favorite sons, Henry David Thoreau:

"Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it."

In our Enviro Show Echo Chamber we find Senate Republicans are pushing legislation that would reverse the president's decision and grant immediate approval for the Keystone pipeline. Here's an Action Link to....um..act on! And this: a 26-second tour of your planet melting down! Ugh, maybe something more upbeat? How about 300,000 organic farmers sue Monsanto in Federal Court?

"Morning in the Mountains", by Walkin' Jim Stoltz takes us to our love fest with Cinda & Kristin, then we stroll over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, February 15, 7pm. Ray Bradley, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geosciences and director of the Climate System Research Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst speaking at the Leverett Library in Leverett Center on the climate crisis: "Global Warming and Political Intimidation". (Snow date: Monday, February 27) Call: 413-548-9220

Thursday Feb 16 at 7pm in First Churches of Northampton, in the Parlor (upstairs) there will be a meeting for anybody wanting to plan a Western Massachusetts General Assembly.

Thursday, Feb. 16,7pm. Environment Massachusetts benefit at the Wendell Public Library.

Friday,February 17, Noon to 1:30. Panel on Vermont Yankee at the Sloan Theater, Greenfield Community College. DECOMMISSIONING AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER REACTOR – A PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL FORUM. Call: (413) 367-9725

Tuesday, February 21st 7:00-8:30 an informational forum about the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Vernon, MA, which will be at UMASS on in the Cape Cod Lounge.
This forum is a chance to find out what’s been happening with the plant and its owner Entergy. Call: (413) 577-4253

Thursday, Feb 23, 5:30pm. Citizens Awareness Network Meeting. Solar Store of Greenfield, 2 Fiske Ave, Greenfield. Hear the latest on the fight to Shut Down ENVY. What can be done to support the PSB in their decision to withhold a CPG from ENVY? Report from the SAGE Alliance coordinating committee. Help organize local forums and house parties on decommissioning issues. Email: deb@nukebusters.org

Saturday, Feb 25, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Non-Violent Direct Action Training. Media Education Foundation 60 Masonic St. Northampton, MA. For more info and to register please contact: Paki Wieland: pakiwieland@gmail.com or Jeff Napolitano: JNapolitano@afsc.org or (413) 584-8975

Monday February 27, 6:30 pm to 8:00pm. Sunderland Safe Energy meeting at the Sunderland Library. Contact phone # is 774-563-9846
Find & Like on Facebook at Sunderland Safe Energy

Thursday, March 1, Noon to 3pm. Occupy Education. Umass Amherst march & direct action.
Walk out of class, meet at the Student Union steps. Occupy Education has called a national walkout and day of action for universities throughout the United States. UMass Amherst will walk out of classes at noon, converge on the student union steps, followed by a march and direct action in solidarity with Occupy Education.

Saturday, Mar 3, 9:30am to 10:00pm. Powershift. Meet at Court Square - The Greenfield town common, Greenfield. We, the people of MA, VT and NH will be marching on March 3rd to the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor. We will gather in Court Square in Greenfield MA and depart at 9:30am for the nuclear plant in Vernon, VT. This is an estimated 6 hour walk for about 16 miles. We shall vigil for the remaining hour and will have shuttle services from Vernon to Brattleboro for our after party at 7pm. Contact: fungiaffinity@gmail.com

Saturday, March 3, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The Toxics Action Center 25th Anniversary event in Boston. The workshops are still being finalized. The key notespeakers are Lois Gibbs is the Executive Director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice.

March 4, 2pm, Grace Church, Amherst for Alexandra Dawson's memorial service. If you would like to help the family with preparations, please respond to alexandramemorial@gmail.com. Memorial gifts may be made to Kestrel Land Trust at www.kestreltrust.org.

On Thursday, March 15 and Friday, March 16, Arise has the great good fortune to host the Walk for a New Spring. The Walkers are focused on ending nuclear war, nuclear weapons, nuclear power plants, with a special focus on the victims of Fukushima. On Friday morning, just before the Walkers leave for their next destination, we'll have a ceremony at the Connecticut River. We are looking for haikus on the following themes: protecting the river, blessing the waters, peace, anti-nuclear-- pretty broad, really.
Send your haikus to michaelannb@gmail.com. And feel free to join us!

That is all EXCEPT we wish to take this opportunity to remind you to ....listen to your Mother!

The Democracy Gone Wild Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. You think Occupy is the only home of real democracy? Suppose we told you that more than a few critters discovered democracy long before us two-leggeds? Iain Couzin of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University calls in to talk about what democracy looks like for the rest of us. Also, we delve into the Enviro Show Echo Chamber, Meet the New Boss.....again, as well as our Fool-on-the-Hill and the E-Valley-uation segment, but first it's time for.... Revenge of the Critters! Thanks to Dana for this one: Bull-runners beware of correbous!

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we checkout that Ohio gas leak courtesy of Sunoco. Since we're on the subject of irresponsibility how about the folks at the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Audubon Society of New Hampshire shilling for the clearcutters. Also this: an in-depth look into Big Green's dark closet. And this with a WARNING (it's rated R for repulsive): the worst rainforest loggers story ever. D.O.'s memorial piece is here.

In our E-Valley-uation segment they're at it again! Yup, it's the Shut it Down Affinity Group getting into the face of Vermont Yankee, this time in costume! Also, VT Yankee campaign goes national! And this other bit of good news: Springfield Biomass incinerator permit revoked!

It looks like The New Boss may be dropping the ball on habitat destruction. O, and how about protecting our coast lines from oil drilling? Maybe not.

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week takes us on another journey in the Wayback Machine, all the way back to 1902 with a visit to Petr Kropotkin and his book Mutual Aid:

"In the animal world we have seen that the vast majority of species live in societies, and that they find in association the best arms for the struggle for life"

Our Fool-on-the-Hill this week is one of the biggest fools on The Hill, Repugnican Speaker of the House, John Boehner who invited Big Oil into the House Chamber to hear Obama's State of the Union speech. We don't know why the Speaker bothered, Big Oil is already in the House! Why take up more space?

"Killing Wage" by Congress of Starlings takes us to our interview with interview with Iain Couzin on democracy in the rest of the animal world, then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, February 1, All Day. The Occupy Wall Street OccuBus will be making an outreach trip in a couple of weeks making 14 stops including Northampton on Feb 1! Here’s the trip itinerary: http://bit.ly/y8DrM0. There will be 17 Wall Street Occupiers on the bus. The objective of this trip is to strengthen the OWS network by deepening relationships between occupiers, increase OWS’s capacity through mutual transfer of skills and knowledge, and clarify OWS’s narrative by deepening its commitment to listening. There will be a 6pm event at The Academy of Music. Email: geogruven@gmail.com Go to: http://occupynorthampton.com/

Saturday, Feb. 4, 2 pm—9pm. No Nukes Benefit Concert and Speak Out. Sponsored by The Quahogs Affinity Group to benefit the SAGE Alliance. Leverett Town Hall, 9 Montague Rd., Leverett. Food and refreshments will be available free, with a sliding scale for admission. Contact: Ann Ferguson ferguson3636@gmail.com. Call: 413-367-2310

Saturday, February 4, 2PM. Free Pizza And Discussion Of the Pioneer Valley's Energy Future. Join Sierra Club members for free pizza and discussion on how to move the Pioneer Valley away from dirty energy sources and towards a clean energy future. Paisano's Pizza, 136 College Highway, Southampton, MA.

Tuesday, February 7, 7pm. "The Pitfalls and Dangers of Nuclear Power: a Mandate for a Carbon-Free, Nuclear-Free Future". Leverett Elementary School, 85 Montague Road, Leverett.

Tuesday, Feb. 28, 5 to 8 p.m. A public meeting to discuss the findings of epidemiological studies addressing noise, infrasound, vibrations and shadow flickering of wind turbines at Lee Middle and High School Auditorium, 300 Greylock St., Lee, MA. Snow date: Feb. 29.

Saturday, March 3, All Day. 25th Annual Southern New England Environmental Action Conference at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. Go to: http://www.toxicsaction.org/ or call Toxics Action Center at: (413) 253-4458


March Month of Action (and beyond) to permanently close Vermont Yankee:
March 3: Greenfield (MA) Community College affinity group is walking from GCC to the reactor, then celebrating in Brattleboro.
March 11: Anniversary of the ongoing Fukushima nuclear meltdowns in Japan, mock evacuation
March 17 & 18: non-violence trainings and/or teach-ins around New England.
March 21: Vermont Yankee retirement party at the Statehouse in Montpelier.
March 22 and thereafter: Non-violent direct actions against Entergy (the New Orleans-based owner of VY). Details to be determined by an AG Spokes Council.
March 23 and thereafter: national call for solidarity in opposition to Vermont Yankee, Pilgrim and Indian Point.
April 1: mass legal rally in Brattleboro in alliance with legislators and environmental and safe energy groups.
Contact tom@clamshellalliance.org or see Upcoming Events on the homepage of www.sagealliance.net for location and on-going action information.

That's all folks!.....O, wait...we nearly forgot to remind you to LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!

The Eat Your Heart Out Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. We may not be what we eat, but what we eat probably determines what we are, like dead or alive! Dr. Pam Popper calls in to talk about Forks over Knives, the book and the film that reminds us of the ills on our plates. Warning meat-eaters: this film is rated R.....for reconsider! As always, we checkout the news in the Enviro Show Echo Chamber and our E-Valley-uation segments, as well as look at The Fool-on-the-Hill. This week we return to Meet the New Boss as well as our Quote of the week, but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! Man attacked by Hamburger!

It's been awhile since we've met The New Boss, but he made up for that time off for good behavior when Obama signed the National Defense Appropriations Act in which lurks provisions for detaining U.S. citizens on U.S. soil in military custody without trial for as long as there is a war on terror. Soooo, your First Amendment rights? Not so much. The Fourth Amendment? F'get about it! Gosh, how's THAT for hope & change?

The Enviro Show Quote of the Week puts us once again squarely inside the Wayback Machine for a visit with Henry David Thoreau:

"One farmer says to me, "You cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make the bones with;" and so he religiously devotes a part of his day to supplying himself with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plow along in spite of every obstacle."

In our Echo Chamber we have a timely piece from Grist on Big Ag getting its shorts all up in a knot over a pending EPA assessment on dioxins. Also this disturbing update on Fukushima from Arnie Gunderson. Here's our Enviro Show Blog Bonus: an action link demanding that subsidies for biomass incineration expire. Finally, in our Anything Worth Doing is Worth Overdoing Department it's last week's Action Link!

It's another plural edition of our Fool-on-the-Hill with a whole pathetic parcel of Repugnicans pimping for Big Oil and working hard to destroy the planet....fools that they are.

In the E-Valley-uation segment we take a peek at an interesting proposal for a Greenfield Food Hub. Of course, the CDC already has a food processing plant in Greenfield to give real meaning to the term "eat local". Given the need to avoid tainted corporate food, shipped in from Goddess knows where with a giant carbon footprint, the more local the better, yes?.

"Beef Jerky" by Cibo Matto takes us to our interview with Dr. Popper, then we saunter over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Thursday January 19, 6-8pm. Brownfield Forum at the UMass Design Center, 3 Elm St/Court Square, across the street from Springfield City Hall. What do we do with our abandoned factories? What are the risks for our health and our communities? How can I get involved? To address these questions and many more, the Healthy Environment/Healthy Springfield CARE Project invites you to attend Cleaning Up Springfield: A Community Discussion about Brownfield and Hazardous Waste Sites. Call 413-794-1803


Friday, January 20, 11:00 am–1:00 pm. Occupy the Courts! U.S. District Court, 300 State Street, Springfield, MA. Join us on the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's infamous "Citizens United" decision to protest that decision and the concept of corporate personhood. For more information go to: movetoamend.org/occupythecourts or email: danielwmcleod@gmail.com

Jan 20, 7pm Screening of Maquilopolis. One of the ways NAFTA was supposed to help Mexicans was by creating a factory zone at the U.S.-Mexico border. How is that working out? Frances Crowe Community Room, 60 Masonic Street in Northampton. Enter via Woodstar Cafe, at the front of the building. The venue is accessible. Email: info@northamptoncommittee.org

January 25 at 6:00 pm in room 220 of Springfield City Hall.Attend the ZBA Hearing to Stop this Incinerator from Being Built City Council and several Springfield residents will appeal the building permit issued
to Palmer Renewable Energy to build a biomass incinerator in the heart of Springfield. It is crucial that you show your support to the councilors and residents who are fighting to help protect the health and well being of all the
residents of Springfield. PRE will not have the necessary city permit to build its incinerator if this appeal is won!

January 25, 6:30 pm. Greening Greenfield Energy Committee presents: "A SEA CHANGE" This film is both a personal journey and a scientifically rigorous, sometimes humorous, unflinchingly honest look at the reality we have created in our oceans. It conveys the urgent steps we need to make to reduce the severity of the chemistry of our oceans. Greenfield Public Library, Greenfield.

Jan 27, 7pm. Screening of Blood in the Mobile. A visit to a tin mine in Congo, where profits fund the Bloodiest War on Earth - and to the headquarters of Nokia, to talk about where they get tin for cell phones. Frances Crowe Community Room, 60 Masonic Street in Northampton. Enter via Woodstar Cafe, at the front of the building. The venue is accessible. Email: info@northamptoncommittee.org

Wednesday, February 1, All Day. The Occupy Wall Street Bio-Bus will be making an outreach trip in a couple of weeks making 14 stops including Northampton on Feb 1! Here’s the trip itinerary: http://bit.ly/y8DrM0. There will be 17 Wall Street Occupiers on the bus. The objective of this trip is to strengthen the OWS network by deepening relationships between occupiers, increase OWS’s capacity through mutual transfer of skills and knowledge, and clarify OWS’s narrative by deepening its commitment to listening. The proposal was approved by OWS GA last year and was prepared by the Direct Action Working Group in consultation with others. Email: geogruven@gmail.com

Saturday, Feb. 4,2 pm—9pm. No Nukes Benefit Concert and Speak Out. Sponsored by The Quahogs Affinity Group to benefit the SAGE Alliance. Leverett Town Hall, 9 Montague Rd., Leverett. Food and refreshments will be available free, with a sliding scale for admission. Contact: Ann Ferguson ferguson3636@gmail.com. Call: 413-367-2310

That's it for this week. Tune-in next time for democracy in the animal kingdom. If they can do it, why not us?? Until then remember......listen to your Mother!

The Immeasurably Diminished Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Another year gone by, another lost opportunity to save the planet. On our very first show, over six years ago, we read excerpts from the 1992 World Scientists' Warning to Humanity which said in part: "No more than one or a few decades remain before the chance to avert the threats we now confront will be lost and the prospects for humanity immeasurably diminished." In case you missed that from the 1992 Warning, we repeat: "No more than one or a few decades". It's 2012. Happy New Year? Brenda Ekwurzel calls in. Brenda is Assistant Director of Climate Research and Analysis for the Union of Concerned Scientists. The World Scientists' Warning was spearheaded by the late Henry Kendall, former chair of UCS's board of directors. If all that is way too much doom & gloom for you, we'll bury our collective heads in the sand looking for the Fool-on-the-Hill and the Quote of the YEAR!, as well as search for some good news in our Enviro Show Echo Chamber and maybe the E-Valley-uation segment, but first it's time for... Revenge of the Critters! A classic for the New Year: Elephant vs. Big Oil!

The big news in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber was last week's EPA announcement that it has finalized The Mercury Rule, one of the most important updates to the Clean Air Act in the Act's 40 year history. That's the good news, OK? (You see, it's not all doom & gloom here, no matter what people say). You've no doubt heard that the zombie Keystone Pipeline may rise from the dead in two months, yes? Well, for what it's worth, here's an action link requesting Obama to put that monster out of its misery. Did we say action? Here's our Enviro Show Blog Bonus: tell Montana Gov. Schweitzer to Stop Shooting Wolves! Meanwhile, it's mixed messages for wolves closer to home. Wolves in the Great Lakes region have been stripped of protection, though a proposal to remove protections for wolves in Northeast is delayed and likely dead.

In our E-Valley-uation segment we hinted at good news, and here it is: Cinda Jones of Cowls Lumber & Kristin DeBoer, executive director of Kestrel Land Trust have saved Brushy Mountain in Leverett and 666 adjacent acres, much of it in Shutesbury from development forever. It's the biggest conservation deal on a block of privately owned land in Massachusetts history. Congrats to all involved! Of course, there is some bad news: this from Westborough regarding highly questionable logging practices.One hand giveth/one taketh away....like they say!

The second (or is it third?) time candidate for Fool-on-the-Hill has gone so far off the rails that we hesitate to trash her once again and risk being accused of making fun of the mentally challenged. Be that as it may, Rep. Michele Bachmann takes the cake for her recent comment on the science of climate change: "I think all these issues have to be settled on the base of real science, not manufactured science.” Manufactured, we assume, by the vast, vast majority of the world's senior scientists?

The Enviro Show Quote of the Week is from (surprise!) the 1992 World Scientists' Warning to Humanity!

After our interview with Brenda Ekwurzel we amble on over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, January 4th, 7:00-9:00pm. Occupy Franklin County meets at the Second Congregational Church, Court Square, Greenfield. Email: davidjc@comcast.net

Friday, January 6th,7:30 AM - 10:00 AM. Environmental Business Council of New England Breakfast Meeting with Mark Sylvia, Commissioner, Department of Energy Resources. ML Strategies, LLC. One Financial Center, Boston. Commissioner Sylvia will discuss the status and near- term goals of Massachusetts energy programs, as well as their ramification for businesses and communities in the Commonwealth. Hefty entrance fee. Call: (617)505-1818

Tuesday, January 10th and Tuesday January 24th, 6 to 8pm. Community Action for a Renewed Environment in Springfield meetings at Springfield Technical Community College, One Armory Square, Springfield; Scibelli Hall, 7th Floor. Call: (413)794-1454

Wednesday, January 11, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Green Drinks Northampton is at the Northampton Brewery. If you have any materials to swap, please bring them: books, cds, dvds event announcements -- anything of Green or Sustainable interest. GD will start at 5:30 pm and will overlap with the end of Western Mass Green Consortium meeting which begins at 4pm. Call: (413) 586-7350 ext. 28

Tuesday, January 17. All Day +. Occupy Congress! The U.S. House of Representatives convenes for the first time in 2012 on January 17th, and they will be welcomed by the largest national unification of Occupiers to date. This grassroots assembly of nationwide occupations will be a peaceful and non-violent demonstration against our corrupted political system, aiming to further the movement’s success at shifting the political discourse towards real issues that matter to the people of America. Email: occupycongressj17@gmail.com Go to: http://www.occupyyourcongress.info/

Thursday, January 19, 7 to 8:30pm. How much wood do we use? Where does our wood come from? How do our local forests fit into the picture? Can wood be “better?” Join Outreach Service Forester Peter Grima from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation to learn about the local and global consequences of our wood consumption, and take away some bits of knowledge that may enable you to make better wood purchases. Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A., Turners Falls, Call: (413) 863-3221

January 25, 6:30 pm. Greening Greenfield Energy Committee presents: "A SEA CHANGE" This film is both a personal journey and a scientifically rigorous, sometimes humorous, unflinchingly honest look at the reality we have created in our oceans. It conveys the urgent steps we need to make to reduce the severity of the chemistry of our oceans. Greenfield Public Library, Greenfield.

That about does it for the New Year. How about a REAL resolution, like listen to your Mother?
--

And Another Winter Solstice Enviro Show!

Solstice Greetings Earthlings! Here it is, another Winter Solstice, another Enviro Show to make you wonder why you're not dancing naked around the Solstice Bonfire. Our favorite house witch, Michelle returns to tell us why we might be doing that and Mark Serreze, Director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (and brother to Mary, we might add) calls in with news from the North Pole. If that sounds a little frosty we have some hot news that may warm your heart in our E-Valley-uation segment regarding the scary Vermont Yankee nuke. Also, news all the way from South Africa, Japan and closer to home in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber, as well as a peek at this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and more, but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters!Another Reindeer attack!

Since we're getting into the warm glow of the season with Michelle, let's move our attention toward that radioactive hot spot just over the border in Vermont. It's our E-Valley-uation segment featuring our own Jean, busted yet again at Vermont Yankee along with the Shut it Down Affinity Group! Also this: nuke safety experts disturbed by operator errors. Come on! What's the worst that could happen anyway??

Did someone say Fukushima? In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we have dueling opinions on the chances of a China Syndrome event at Reactor #1. This audio interview with Keven Kamps of Beyond Nuclear on the Thom Hartmann Show is flat-out bad news for anyone even remotely close to Northern Japan, but the folks over at Nuclear Information and Resource Service see it differently. Will someone please make-up their mind. If nuclear meltdown isn't of much interest to you, how about complete ecological collapse! The news from the COP17 climate summit in South Africa? COP17 fails, world melts down. We should add however, that at least The Rights of Nature were introduced at this press conference. How about something a bit more positive, OK? The next generation's response: sue the bastards! Finally, our Enviro Show Blog Bonus: will you help Stop Biomass Incineration Subsidies?

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Texas Rep. Ralph Hall, the chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. We're wondering if the Space might be in Hall's head, underneath that tinfoil hat. He has launched a probe of NOAA, claiming that the agency was conducting "a shadow climate service operation". Ooooooo! Science geeks plotting for the end of America! If you'd like to send Hall and his nutjob climate crisis denier friends some actual tin foil hats for the Holidays go here!

Tim Story's "In the Winter's Pale" takes us to our interview with Mark Serreze, then it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard (thanks to Hilltown Families):


Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

6-8:30pm – SOLSTICE FIRE & SONG: Celebrate the solstice with a bonfire and music! Aracadia Wildlife Sanctuary hosts a solstice celebration for families tonight- bring a nonperishable food item to donate to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. 413-584-3009. 127 Coombs Road. Easthampton, MA.

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

7am and 3pm – SOLSTICE SUNWHEEL: Watch the sunrise or sunset at the UMass Sunwheel. There will be a presentation on the significance of the solstices and equinoxes, phases of the moon, and other sunwheels around the world. Learn about the cultural significance of the solstice worldwide! Rocky Hill Road. Amherst, MA.

5-8pm – SOLSTICE STORIES & SONGS: Celebrate the winter solstice at a community event on the Shutesbury town common. Bring your own light source to light up the circle, and share stories and songs. Town Common Road. Shutebury, MA.

6-9pm – SOLSTICE HIKE: Hike with a headlamp tonight at Northfield Mountain! Celebrate the solstice by enjoying nature- especially the stars and moon. Ages 12+, registration requested.. 800-859-2960. 99 Millers Falls Road. Northfield, MA.

7-9pm – SOLSTICE PAGENT: Celebrate the solstice with students from the Hartsbrook School! They’ll be performing seasonal music and songs, as well as sharing stories, at the Northampton Center for the Arts. 413-584-7327. 17 New South Street. Northampton, MA.


A new coalition of regional anti-nuclear groups, is planning non-violent direct actions to stop the re-licensing and continued operation of Vermont Yankee. The court case between the State of Vermont and Entergy is still pending. However, we know that Entergy will try everything it can to keep the reactor open past March 21 2012 - its scheduled shut down date. It's time to get involved! Nonviolence trainings are about to begin and March 21 is not far away. But we need you to get in touch with us, even if you're part of a longstanding group that is reviving. Once we know where you are, we can plug you into the local organizing, training and affinity group formation. We also hope you will spread the word to friends and co-workers so they'll join us as well. Even if civil disobedience is impossible for you, support people who do not risk arrest are vital affinity groups members. And nonviolent training is necessary for all action participants. Please go to the SAGE website and fill out your contact info at http://sagealliance.net/contact/join_us or email the Convener of the SAGE Affinity Group Committee, David Detmold at reporter@montaguema.net

Christmas Bird Count. From December 14 through January 5 tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas take part in an adventure that has become a family tradition among generations. Families and students, birders and scientists, armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists go out on an annual mission - often before dawn. For over one hundred years, the desire to both make a difference and to experience the beauty of nature has driven dedicated people to leave the comfort of a warm house during the Holiday season. Contact: Greenfield: Mark Fairbrother 413-367-2695; Southern Berkshire: René Laubach 413-637-0320 x8351

Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary. Nature Center/Trail Hours: Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. - noon, Friday 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Sunday and most holidays except Christmas, noon - 3:30 p.m. 127 Combs Road, Easthampton. Call: 413-584-3009

Friday, January 13,7pm. "What Pentagon Spending Means to Your Community: What is Behind the Numbers?" Chris Hellman, the Senior Research Analyst at the National Priorities Project will be speaking at the Leverett Town Hall Friday evening followed by a community discussion led by Chris and the Leverett Peace Commission
on: "Building a Community Peace Budget in Leverett". Call: Tom Wolff 367 0239 or Jim Perkins at 367 9520.

January 25, 6:30 pm. Greening Greenfield Energy Committee presents: "A SEA CHANGE" This film is both a personal journey and a scientifically rigorous, sometimes humorous, unflinchingly honest look at the reality we have created in our oceans. It conveys the urgent steps we need to make to reduce the severity of the chemistry of our oceans. Greenfield Public Library, Greenfield.

We go out with "The Christians & the Pagans" by Dar Williams and some holiday advice: Listen to your Mother!

The Tortured Brook Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Recovered from tropical storm Irene yet? The Chickley Brook hasn't. It's gotten trashed by some engineers who should probably be working for the Once-lers. Andrea Donlon, River Steward for the Connecticut River Watershed Council joins us for some river talk and some serious E-Valley-uation. Then it's on to the Enviro Show Echo Chamber and a meet-up with the Fool-on-the-Hill, as well as treating you to our Quote of the Week, but first it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! Otters may be feed up with humans!

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we applaud Bolivia on recognizing The Rights of Nature. You may recall Ecuador did this as well. Hey, we've got nature in the U.S. also........well, at least some, but no rights, right? Remember 'The Story of Stuff?' Now, we've got The Story of Broke. It's not about the 1%....no broke there. Our friends at The Global Justice Ecology Project are doing report-backs from the COP17 climate talks in Durban, South Africa. If you want to know what the actual grassroots are up to over there, follow their Climate Connections blog. And this: you want jobs? How about 1.5 million jobs? It's here. Finally, a follow-up on our last coal show: Coal exports bigger climate threat than the Keystone pipeline!.

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is actually not on the Hill anymore BUT he's truly still a GIGANTIC fool! It's none other than former Rep. Newt Gingrich who once believed the science of the climate crisis so much he did this video with Nancy Pelosi. Now that he's trying to be the Repugnican candidate for prez he's trying to explain his old position......and not very well....actually, kinda' pathetic...he is..

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week is all about rivers. "What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn't have any doubt it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn't want to go anywhere else." - Hal Boyle

Our interview is THE heart of our E-Valley-uation segment, but before we go there we'd like to read an excerpt of a Letter to the Editor of The Montague Reporter concerning the use of live pigs in trauma training at Baystate Medical Center which eventually leads to their untimely, and perhaps painful death. We will read it and weep. Also we look into the windpower controversy that's picking up......wind? in Franklin County.


Following our interview with Andrea Donlon we move on to the Bus Stop Billboard:


Wednesday, December 7, 6pm. Green Speaker Series at GCC - Deb Katz, Act Today to Change Tomorrow. Room C208, (Second Floor Core Building), GCC, Greenfield. For more information you can email us at renewable@gcc.mass.edu or call (413) 775-1472.

Thursday, December 8th, from 6:00 to 8:30 pm VT Yankee Supper/Briefing session.at the Center Congregational Church in Brattleboro VT (193 Main Street, in the basement). The briefing will include the status of the federal court case (Entergy v. State of Vermont), preparations for non-violent direct action if Vermont Yankee is still operating on March 21st, and the many important ways you can participate in and/or support such action. Contact: safeandgreencampaign@gmail.com

Saturday, December 10, 10:30am to 2pm. Second Saturday Children's Nature Series. Daily activities may include crafts, games, investigations, or outdoor adventures. Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A., Turners Falls, MA 01376, Call: 413.863.3221

Saturday, December 10, 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM. Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts Annual Convention. Unity Hall, First Unitarian Church, 90 Main Street, Worcester, MA. Contact:
Dick Vaillette · rvaillette@gmail.com

Thursday, December 15, 7 PM. Western Mass Fund Our Communities Not War gathering at Open Square in Holyoke (UAW office). What local actions can we actively support and mobilize for in the near future? What are your ideas for building sustainable community? Call: 413-253-2161

Whoa! That went fast. Maybe it's the 60 minute news cycle? In any case, did we remind you to listen to your mother yet?

The Down with King Coal Enviro Show, Part III

Greetings Earthlings. About had it with having some of the worst air quality in the region? How about the Mt. Tom coal-burning power plant? Do you think it's part of the problem....'ya think?? Claire B. W. Miller, Community Organizer for Toxics Action Center calls in to talk about that turkey by Mt. Tom and local activist, Jane Andresen joins us in the studio.. We'll also be giving some thanks in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber while our Fool-on-the-Hill gets the stuffing knocked out him. Tired of the seasonal puns yet? You may find some relief in our E-Valley-uation segment. First though, it's time for....Revenge of the Critters! Turf war with Turkeys!

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber Grist finds a green Occupy Wall Street right down to the pedal power. Then we give thanks that at least some justice is being served down in coal country. We all look forward to the day Don Blankenship serves some time too! Here's an Enviro Show Blog Bonus Action Link to help stop one particularly ugly mountain top removal project. On the down side (you knew we'd go there, right?), it looks like New England forests will be shipped off to Europe in countless tiny pieces. Since we're talking trash on King Coal here, how about that coal ash spill in Lake Michigan earlier this month? Talk about dirt bags!

Our Fool-on-the-Hill would like to gut the Cross State Air Pollution Rule, you know the one that applies to all that bad air wafting into the Valley from Mid-west mega coal-burning power plants? Yes, and none other than arch Repugnican teabagger Senator Rand Paul, carving knife in hand, is poised to cut away. We're thinking he should be excused from the table.......sorry.....can't resist those T-Day puns.

In our E-Valley-uation segment we're asking you to take action against corporate welfare for biomass incinerators, OK? If you've been paying attention here to the show you know those biomonsters have their beady eyes set on Western Mass forests. Now, about that old coal-burning clunker by Mt. Tom: did you know about the Greening of Mt. Tom? Hmm......well, we wish it was reforestation, but.... Finally, it seems the FBI is all over Northampton looking for Daniel Andreas San Diego, the alleged "eco-terrorist" they put way up on top of their most wanted list. Of course, San Diego is only accused of property destruction but since it was corporate property he must be part of "the number one domestic terrorist threat" in the nation, right? OK, so he's not armed to the teeth like all those far-right militia freaks, and he didn't rip us all off for billions of dollars, throwing many of us into the streets, like the banksters & corporados, he's still a terrorist, right? right? no?...

Tom Neilson's "Corporations are Human" takes us to our interview with Claire Miller. Then we adjourn to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Monday, November 21, 11:00am. March & Rally on Wall Street Banks. Meet behind Dunkin Donuts on Corner of Morris & Central Sts., Springfield, Mass. THIS IS THE BIG ONE! Join hundreds of residents fighting back against banks who are foreclosing and evicting our families for the biggest action yet against the banksters! More information, press releases, flyers will be available at www.springfieldnooneleaves.org

Friday, November 25, All day is BUY NOTHING DAY! Go to: http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd

Tuesday, November 29th, 7:00 PM, Dr. Penny Gill - “Reclaiming Politics: Thinking About “Occupy Wall Street” Leverett Library, Montague Road, Leverett. “Occupy Wall Street” is a struggle to recreate an independent public space, and in so doing to invigorate local and national political life. Contact: Barbara Tiner - Barbara@wetlanded.com

Wednesday, November 30, 6:30 pm. Screening of "Gasland" at St. James Church, Greenfield. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of “fracking” or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a “Saudi Arabia of natural gas”, but is it safe? This film follows a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination.Call: 413-773-7004

Dec. 2-4. Non-violence Training for trainers. The people's campaign of nonviolent direct action to shut down Vermont Yankee on schedule - by March 21st, is looking for experienced nonviolence trainers as well as people who have experience in nonviolent direct action want to become trainers to help to prepare the people for this action. Contact VY-NVTraining@riseup.net

Tuesday, December 6, 6:30pm. LIFE AFTER VERMONT YANKEE. Forum with Panel discussion and Q&A to address what will happen when Vermont Yankee shutters in 2012. A three-person panel will talk about transition, clean-up, long-term waste storage and what role citizens can play in the process. Bangs Center Amherst. This event is co-sponsored by the Safe & Green Campaign, New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution and Nuclear Free Vermont by 2012. Refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Deb Katz 413.339.5781.

Saturday, December 10, 10:30am to 2pm. Second Saturday Children's Nature Series. Daily activities may include crafts, games, investigations, or outdoor adventures. Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A., Turners Falls, MA 01376, Ph 413.863.3221

That does it for us. Be thankful to your Mother....and listen to her!

That Fracking Enviro Show!

Greetings Earthlings. Recovered from the latest natural disaster yet? What makes you think it's natural? Do we need still more anecdotal evidence that humanity is hard at work destroying the ecosphere? No? How about some overwhelming scientific evidence?? We'll get to that and a call-in from fracking expert, Jessica Ennis of EarthJustice. Now is a critical moment in the anti-fracking movement here in the Northeast. Checkout this crucial demonstration set for November 21st. Also, if a snowbound Halloween wasn't scary enough for you, how about a visit to our Fool-on-the-Hill? No? The Enviro Show Horror....er...i mean Echo Chamber is always open for business. We'll lay the Quote of the week on you and maybe some other stuff but first it's time for...
Revenge of the Critters! Gator Gobbles Georgia Granny. Lawyers in hot pursuit!

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber you'll find the NPR story that inspired this week's show. Almost everyone knows about fracking for gas and its associated pollution, but did you know about fracking for oil? How about a GIGANTIC fracking for oil BOOM? And, how about communities coming together and saying: No fracking way! Meanwhile, across the border in New York, citizens are jumping into the fray, as well. Since we're in NY State, check this out: Occupy Wall Street says What the Frack! (Their not stopping there however, it looks like every Sunday may be Environmentalist Solidarity Day at OWS). What? You don't believe fracking is perfectly safe? Well now, back in August this Haliburton CEO had his taster drink their new, improved fracking fluid on stage! No word yet on the underling's status. Here's that climate crisis science we were talking about at the top of the show. Finally this: Chomsky on the Occupation movement.

Guess who's back! "In 2005, at the urging of Vice President Dick Cheney, Congress created the so-called "Halliburton loophole" to clean water protections in federal law to prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from regulating the fracking process, despite serious concerns that were raised about the chemicals used in the process and its demonstrated spoiling and contamination of drinking water. In 2001, Cheney's "energy task force" had touted the benefits of hydrofracking, while redacting references to human health hazards associated with hydrofracking. Halliburton, which was previously led by Cheney, reportedly earns $1.5 billion a year from its energy operations, which rely substantially on its hydrofracking business." That's from the Los Angeles Times, October 14, 2004.

"My Water's on Fire Tonight" by David Holmes takes us to our E-Valley-uation segment where YOUR favorite enviro radio show gets a nod on Grist (blush).

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) who is targeting the Environmental Protection Agency’s nonexistent farm dust regulations......yes, we said non-existent. Like our own MA Rep. Ed Markey said: "There is no plan to regulate farm dust, any more than there is to regulate fairy dust". Leave it to the Repugnicans to come up empty as the nation goes down the tubes.

The Enviro Show quote of the Week puts us once again into the Wayback Machine, and speaking of machines: "Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine" - Henry David Thoreau

Following our interview with Jessica Ennis of EarthJustice we head over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Occupy UMass. General Assembly Wednesdays from 1 to 3pm, and will begin a second meeting starting this week on Fridays starting at 5 PM. Wednesday meetings are held in front of the WEB Dubois library on the cement platform, and the Friday meetings are held on the steps in front of the Student Union. Email: shavahnbest@gmail.com Subscribe to list here: occupyumassamherst@googlegroups.com

Occupy Greenfield rallies on the Common on Saturdays 10am-Noon and Mondays 5-6pm.

Friday, November 11 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm. Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence. Author Christian Parenti will discuss the connection between climate change and increased social and political conflict. Join us as we discuss why climate change is fundamentally a political problem that requires political solutions in order to prevent climate-change driven violence and increased global disparity. Food for Thought Books, N. Pleasant Street, Amherst.

Saturday, November 12th, 1:00pm. Occupy Wall Street Teach-In at Smith College, Stoddard Hall

Sunday, November 13 · 11:00am - 2:00pm, Occupy New England Solidarity March! Worcester, MA. Occupy Worcester, recognizing the need for solidarity between various Occupations, seeks to organize a march with any and all who would share our company. Worcester has a central location in relation to other major cities, we've got a good rapport with the police and city hall, so no major opposition is expected. Schedule: 11AM: Gather in the Commons behind city hall, open forum for inter- city cooperation and solidarity, shared DA's, and idle chit-chat.11:45: March begins! Go to: http://OccupyWorcester.com

Sunday November 13, 7pm. Screenimng of "Farmageddon; The Unseen War on American Family Farms" at the Academy of Music, Northampton. CONTACT: Grow Food Northampton, 413-584-0081,or email: info@growfoodnorthampton.com

Thursday, November 17, 9:30a.m. Meeting of Nuclear free Future in the AFSC office, 2 Conz Street, Suite 2B, Northampton. Call: (413) 584-8975

Friday, November 18, 7-9pm. "It's Our Future! Youth Speak Out to Save the Environment & the Earth". Northampton Center for the Arts, 17 New South Street--across from Academy of Music. Using poetry, prose, hip-hop rhyming, music, dance, art, video, sculpture, skits, and stand-up comedy, young people between the ages of 8 and 25 are invited to speak out about climate change and other environmental threats, and express their hope and vision for a sustainable valley, nation, and planet. Contact: johnpberk@gmail.com

Monday, November 21, 8am. No fracking in the Delaware River Basin! Demonstration before crucial vote by The Delaware River Basin Commission. Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive Trenton, N.J. Email: savethedelawareriver@gmail.com or go to: http://savethedelaware.wordpress.com/

November 30, 6:30 pm. Screening of "Gasland" at St. James Church, Greenfield. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of “fracking” or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a “Saudi Arabia of natural gas”, but is it safe? This film follows a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination.Call: 413-773-7004

There. Another Enviro Show come and gone. There's just one more thing: Listen to your Mother!