Another Biomass is a Biomess Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. On our last show we had a look at some forest related bills on Beacon Hill. This week we drill down into some biomass bills like S.2197/H.3333  "An Act to prevent biomass energy to protect the air we breathe" and S.2186/H.3362  "An Act ensuring a healthy future for environmental justice communities".  James McCaffrey, New England Legislative Director of The Partnership for Policy Integrity joins us. Jay leads PFPI’s activities in the MA legislature to remove biomass from the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard and the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard. As always we will also take you along to meet this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to see if we are still Backslidin' with Biden, as well as giving you our Enviro Show Quote of the week and more, but first it's time for.........Revenge of the Critters! Predatory arachnids unleashed by climate chaos!

She's baaaaack! Yahoo news reports: "Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Saturday slapped down colleague Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), reminding her that federal infrastructure funds she called “communist” built the nation’s highway system. Greene viciously slammed the 13 House Republicans (including Kinzinger) who voted to pass the Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion Infrastructure and Jobs Act on Friday. She claimed in a tweet late Friday after the vote that they “handed over their voting cards ... to pass Joe Biden’s Communist takeover of America via infrastructure.”   😏

 While Backslidin' with Biden we gladly give you this report: "A federal court on Wednesday rejected the Biden administration’s effort to dismiss a lawsuit aimed at protecting critically endangered right whales from being run over and killed by ships and boats in U.S. waters." But can anyone tell us why on Earth Biden's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is on the wrong side of history here? Recently scientists announced that the Right Whale population had dropped to only 336 individuals in 2020 — an 8% decline from 2019 and the lowest population number for the species in nearly 20 years. “At this juncture, the fact NMFS hasn’t already addressed deaths due to vessel collisions is beyond incomprehensible,” said Erica Fuller, a senior attorney at Conservation Law Foundation. “We hope this [ruling] will force the agency to take emergency action rather than wait until next spring to start a new rule-making process. That kind of delay does little to protect the [whales] traveling up and down the coast now.”  However, on the bright side: "After the Center for Biological Diversity and our allies went to court, some of the world’s rarest whales have been granted a reprieve from the torment of getting tangled up — and often killed — in fishing gear. A judge has reinstated federal restrictions on lobstering in 997 square miles of the Gulf of Maine to save North Atlantic Right Whales from buoy lines."

 

It looks like it's time to remind The Prez that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!"  Professor William Moomaw and colleagues remind us: "The UN climate summit in Glasgow ended with more words than actions as global emissions are the second-highest on record and the world is on track for an increase of another 16 percent by 2030. Alarmingly, global deforestation is occurring at a rate of 27 football fields every minute of each day. Recognizing this loss, President Biden pledged that the United States will “help the world halt natural forest loss and restore at least an additional 494 million acres by the year 2030.” As it stands, the Biden administration’s climate plans say nothing about ending forest losses right here at home by protecting climate-saving older forests and trees on federal lands. It’s a glaring omission that needs to be fixed. As scientists who have been studying forests and the climate for, collectively, more than a century, we urge Biden to safeguard mature and old-growth forests on federal lands as part of the United States’ commitment to tackling the climate crisis." 

How about another visit to The Enviro Show Echo Chamber?  This week Mongabay caught our attention with this headline: "New meteorological theory argues that the world’s forests are rainmakers" wherein we are told,  "..the still little-known biotic pump theory postulates that forests are the driving force behind precipitation over land masses." Perhaps that seems intuitive but according to the article "it has faced stiff resistance from some meteorologists and journals. " Here's is a short video from The Dogwood Alliance you might want to share with anyone who thinks industrial logging is a good thing.   

 

Time for our Enviro Show Quote of the Week:

“Cutting down forests to burn to generate electricity is not in any way ‘green’ or carbon neutral – and in fact, creates a large amount of air pollution. Even if the trees are replanted, not all survive – and those that do will take decades or centuries to grow to the same size, and therefore the same carbon dioxide absorbing potential of the trees that were eliminated.”

-  Patrick Anderson, co-author of  “Dirty Deception."

After our conversation with Jay we move over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

December. Phone calls make a difference. Officials pay special attention because phone calls indicate commitment by their constituents. Call the Chairs and Vice Chairs of ENRA and say (to a staff person or in a voice message):  "I’m a MA resident and I’ve written my state legislators to let them know I support H.912 and H.1002. These bills will protect MA forests and help reduce climate change. I’m calling to urge you to report these bills favorably out of your ENRA joint committee."

• Becca Rausch, Senate Chair: (617) 722-1555         @BeccaRauschMA
• Jamie Eldridge, Senate Vice Chair:  (617) 722-1120         @JamieEldridgeMA
• Carolyn Dykema, House Chair: (617) 722-2680         @CarolynDykema
• Mindy Domb, House Vice Chair:  (617) 722-2400         @MindyForMA

Friday December 10,  2:30 to 3:30pm. Springfield Standout “No” to proposed Eversource pipeline.  A brand new gas pipeline Right under our street? Oh come on, Eversource,

Gas is so obsolete!  NO PIPELINE!  Parking directions here. Contact Verne for more info: 413-439-3324   vernemca@gmail.com

Sunday December 12,  7:15pm.  Protecting Shutesbury Land & Water While Building Solar. Trees & Solar, We Need Both! Forum on Shutesbury Industrial Solar . Register HERE.  

Monday, December 13, 11am.  Please sign up for a district lobbying meeting to help remove biomass from Massachusetts' ratepayer funded clean energy programs!  If you live in Springfield, Chicopee, or Longmeadow, please join a strategy meeting to discuss upcoming district meetings with your legislators. Email katyeiseman@gmail.com for a Zoom link.

Tuesday December 14, 2 to 3pm MA Demands EIS for Line 3!U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742. Host Contact Info: Noteaparty@gmail.com   The fight continues to Stop Line 3! On December 14th, marking the 1-year anniversary of the start of construction and direct actions to stop it, we are renewing our calls to the US Army Corps of Engineers to order a federal Environmental Impact Statement. 

Wednesday  December 15, 7-7:45pm. Climate Caroling. Rehearsal on December 15th ~ 7-7:45PM ~ Zoom.  Event on December 31st ~ 5:30-6:45PM ~ Northampton.  As we work for a better future in the new year, let's take to the streets and fill the air with our climate caroling voices! We'll spread cheer the only way we know how: enlightening people to the climate crisis with fun and flash. We'll meet at Pulaski Park in Northampton where people will be gathering to see the fireworks that start at 6:15. (Bring a blanket if you'd like to stay to watch them!) Please sign up here so we know how many folks are coming. If you want to practice beforehand, we'll be having a rehearsal over Zoom on 12/15, and you can check out the song sheets here in advance.

Thursday, December 16, 7:00pm.  No Coal/No Gas Mass Call. We’ll be talking about action planning and wrapping up 2021 together!  Go HERE.   

Wednesday, January 5, 7:30-9:00pm.  Extinction Rebellion WMass Zoom General Meeting. Mark your calendars for our next general meeting to start planning a new year of actions! Go to: https://www.facebook.com/XRwmass/ 

Until next time remember.........Listen to your Mother, OK? 

 

The Trees on Beacon Hill Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. The official Tour of the Massachusetts State House only mentions "a line of poplars was planted along the west property line", all the rest of the site is only devoted to statues, plaques and the building itself. There may be some other internet site or brochure out there that deals with the landscaping of Beacon Hill but what about the business of legislating in relation to trees? There are a host of bills that address just that. Massachusetts forest protection bill H.912  "... would designate all 412,000 acres of park, forest, and watershed lands administered by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation as parks or reserves", while H.1002 "..would expand and make permanent the existing system of reserves on public Wildlife Management Areas administered by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife."  Also, with regard to dirty biomass H.3333 An Act to prevent biomass energy to protect the air we breathe. Janet Sinclair of Save Massachusetts Forests & David Meshoulam, Executive Director & Co-Founder of Speak for the Trees Boston  supporting H.905 /S. 504 An Act establishing the municipal reforestation program join us to see the forest for the trees. [UPDATE! Interviews HERE] As always, we will also take you to witness this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to remind everyone "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!". Also, it's that time of year again for Valley Free Radio's Fall Fund Drive, that important moment when Enviro Show fans step up and support the show. Sooooo, Go HERE and THANKS very much! Now it's time for..........Revenge of the Critters!  Turkeys know about Thanksgiving and they are not pleased.

Another dangerous Fool-on-the-Hill this week because....well, Repugnicans we guess. We've had Repugnican Rep. and well known bobble head, Paul Gosar on before but this time he has stepped way over the line and was foolish enough to send up an animae of himself killing AOC and threatening The Prez? HuffPo reports: "In the video, Gosar is depicted fighting the animation’s “Titans” with far-right Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.). In one scene, Ocasio-Cortez’s face is superimposed on one of the Titans. Gosar slashes its neck and kills it. In another scene, Gosar swings two swords at an enemy with Biden’s face edited onto it."  Child's play or terrorism against a federal official? You decide! 

Apparently, more than a few attendees to the recent COP 26 Climate Meeting are actually unaware that "It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!"  While more than 100 countries pledged to halt deforestation by 2030, as part of an agreement at COP26, the United Nations climate summit that took place in Glasgow, Scotland, there's no enforcement to back it up and it has a fatal flaw. That lack of accountability is one of the many complaints lodged at the summit as an estimated 100,000 protesters took to the streets in Glasgow to demand world leaders  take stronger action to curb the global crisis. Maybe those protesters are upset that attendees only came up with  a draft agreement late Wednesday that countries will use as a template for a global agreement on stronger action against global warming at some unspecified time in the future? Ya' think?? And this: "After nearly two weeks of negotiations, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland was expected to extend into the weekend Friday as policymakers missed the evening deadline for finalizing their deal on how countries will combat the climate crisis—with leaders unable to come to an agreement thus far regarding financial support for the Global South, fossil fuel subsidies, and other key issues" reports Common Dreams. Late Saturday the Globe reported: "Government negotiators from nearly 200 countries have adopted a new deal on climate action after a last-minute intervention by India to water down the language on cutting emissions from coal. Several countries including small island states said they were deeply disappointed by the move to “phase down,” rather than “phase out” coal power, the single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions." And this from XR: " After all the fanfare, COP26 has failed. Not one of the G20 nations, the richest and most culpable for this crisis, will cut emissions to keep global heating even close to 1.5C. Global South nations have not been given the promised funds to rebuild from and defend against the extreme weather that already devastates their lands and people. Fossil fuel infrastructure will continue to expand and governments will continue to rig markets to encourage it. On all fronts, yet again, the can has been kicked down the road."  There will be, of course, some rosier takes on the end of COP-26. We will post them if they aren't just more Blaa Blaa Blaa.  

We guess we'll be Backslidin' with Biden on Wednesday when "The Biden administration will be holding the oil and gas lease auction on Nov. 17, 2021. On Aug. 31, Earthjustice filed a lawsuit in federal court in the District of Columbia against Interior and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on behalf of Healthy Gulf, Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, and the Center for Biological Diversity challenging Interior’s decision to hold lease sale 257. The lawsuit argues that the 2017 environmental analysis the Biden administration is relying on to hold the sale is outdated. Among other things, it ignores new information showing the rising dangers from pipeline leaks." That from Earth Justice.   And here's an update from Politico : "Since leaving the U.N. climate summit, Biden has jawboned OPEC to boost oil production, a plea that was rebuffed. He’s considering tapping the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He’s calculating whether closing a Michigan oil pipeline would lead to fuel price shocks. And on Nov. 17, just days after the COP26 summit wraps up, his administration will hold a court-ordered sale of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico, an auction that environmental groups say he has the power to delay or even stop."  Will he? Stay tuned! 

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber the The Partnership for Policy Integrity has created a sign-up form for joining a new statewide listserv to focus on ending Massachusetts subsidies for woody biomass energy and protecting our forests. And this: An Enviro Show Action Link to end offshore drilling  

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week calls for a brief hop in the Wayback Machine:

"Revolution is about the need to re-evolve political, economic and social justice and power back into the hands of the people, preferably through legislation and policies that make human sense. That's what revolution is about. Revolution is not about shootouts."

 Bobby Seale

 After our guests have had their say it's on to The Bus stop Billboard: 

December 4 & 5, All Day.Massachusetts progressives are well aware of the crises we face. Climate catastrophes and COVID-19 ravage communities across the country, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and the poor always suffering most. The risk of nuclear war is as close as we have ever been.  In Massachusetts, the growing incidence of the diseases of despair; addiction, ODs, and suicide reflect the worsening misery of much of our population while Trumpism threatens our political will to make change happen.Come to our online Fall 2021 conference, Coming Together: Building Progressive Political Power, on Dec 4-5, where we will explore how we can move our programs forward with maximum impact, strategizing how to engage, unite and build the power needed to reverse the destructive policies of our current governmental structures. We acknowledge the urgency to center those whose lived experiences of resistance to oppression and injustice form the scaffold for our agenda. Go HERE.  

Wednesday December 8, 2:30-4pm. Stop the Money Pipeline action co-sponsored by XR WMass, CAN, Mothers Out Front, and ARHS Sunrise! STMP aims targets banks financing pipelines, like Line 3, demanding that they stop funding fossil fuel projects that destroy our planet. We'll be delivering letters to the mangers of TD Bank and Bank of America and voicing our demands loud and clear outside, with a festive march from TD Bank to BoA in-between. It's a half-day for Amherst schools so the high schoolers can make it! 

Please spread the word and hope to see you there!  Check out Climate Action Now's new "Stop the Money Pipeline" group.  Email Sue at susalson@gmail.com  for details.

Sunday December 12,  7:15pm.  Protecting Shutesbury Land & Water While Building Solar. Trees & Solar, We Need Both! Forum on Shutesbury Industrial Solar . Register HERE.   

That's all for now folks but do remember to.......LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!  

 

 

 

 

 

Still Another Scary Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Once again Halloween is upon us, or as the ancients might say, Samhain where "in addition to being a time to honor family members, friends and pets who have passed away, Samhain is the final harvest holiday and marks the end—and therefore beginning—of a new cycle on the Wheel." That's a quote from Pagans of the present and speaking of the present, how about that scary Climate Crisis! Yes, it comes complete with ghoulish corporados and their enablers who feed on the planet and its inhabitants like vampires, thinking only of themselves and who or what their next victim might be. We are however, glad to report vampire slayers are hard at work driving a stake through the heart of business-as-usual and sounding the alarm to alert the townsfolk of the impending doom. Montserrat Archbald of Exticntion Rebellion WMass joins us to stir the pot and talk about the group's past and upcoming events Read Out/Die In   which includes dramatic readings from the IPCC Climate Report.  And, as usual, we will also drag you along kicking and screaming to see this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to witness all the dread in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber. That and more, but first it's time for........Revenge of the Critters!  Beware Elephant poachers, you may become the prey! 

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is a repeat. He just keeps outdoing himself. It's North Carolina’s Repugnican representative Madison Cawthorn, who this time claimed society is trying to “de-masculate young men” and Cawthorn urged mothers to raise their sons to be “monsters,” in a blatant display of toxic masculinity. Wait, don't we have enough monsters out there already? 

Let's see what The Enviro Show Echo Chamber has in store for us this Halloween. National Geographic perhaps wins the prize for the most timely bit of news. "The discovery set [a researcher] off on a search for more examples of face-down, or prone, burials in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria....They are often compared to other practices, such as mutilation or weighing bodies down with stones, that were believed to thwart vampires and the undead by preventing them from escaping their graves." Here's one for kids of all ages, a page to help people overcome their needless fear of bats, especially at this time of year when these critters become tokens of fear. It's Mass Audubon's Bat Respect Activity Page. Since we're talking critters in terms of Halloween how about the ones who take black & orange to heart? 

Halloween or no, we fear there will always be those who need the reminder that......"It's the Climate Crisis, Stupid!"  And, speaking of stupid: "Fossil fuel production planned by the world’s governments “vastly exceeds” the limit needed to keep the rise in global heating to 1.5C and avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis a report, produced by the UN Environment Programme has found. Despite increasing pledges of action from many nations, governments have not yet made plans to wind down fossil fuel production, the report said." And this: One of the dystopian aspects of climate chaos is the breakdown of societal norms and security. This is happening increasingly here at home and around the planet. It is manifested in political breakdown such as hatred, insurrections and mob violence (sound familiar?), mass immigration, food and energy shortages and more. It's scary, once the stuff of fiction and Hollywood disaster films come to life in the here & now and intrinsically tied to the Climate Crisis. Think about it!

 The Enviro Show Quote of the Week is right on target for this show:

“Adults keep saying we owe it to the young people, to give them hope, but I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is.”

                                                               -  Greta Thunberg

After our interview we move on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Sunday November 14, 10am to Noon. Climate Disruptions and Dinner: How is climate change impacting our food systems? Food is a basic human need that is not equitably accessed across the United States and globally. As a threat multiplier, climate change will touch every aspect of the way we feed ourselves and our families, from challenges in food production, to supply chain disruptions, to exacerbating our existing food inequalities. This means our food system–from soil and seed to table–needs to become more resilient. Join us to learn more about current threats and solutions at different scales and intervention points.  Go HERE. 

Sunday, November 14, 1:00 p.m. March to ISO HQ to Fix the Grid.  Crosier Field (off MacKintosh Terrace), Holyoke, MA 01040.  We deserve an energy grid that is responsive to the needs of ratepayers and the people living with climate catastrophe and pollution, not fossil fuel executives and utilities.  Join us to march to ISO's doorstep and ask for an actual action plan to adopt our vision for a just and democratic energy grid that phases out fossil fuels and brings clean, renewable energy for all.   Go HERE.

Sunday, November 14,  3:00 pm. H.1003 Teach-In.  Wendell State Forest Alliance (WSFA) has submitted Bill H.1003 (An Act to Ensure Accountability and Public Rights Regarding Commercial Tree Harvesting on Commonwealth-owned Lands) in order to solidify the rights of public participation in decisions concerning our public lands, and to hold our agencies accountable to existing laws designed to minimize climate disruption and environmental damage. Why is this necessary?  DCR claims that these laws don't apply to their commercial logging contracting activities, and a Superior Court judge told us we could do nothing about it because there is no legislation establishing a mechanism for people of the Commonwealth to intervene.  The bill establishes how We the People may exercise our right to a substantial voice regarding whether and how we take care of the public forestslands that take care of us.  Access the language here:  https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H1003 Join us at this link:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82671880461?pwd=cER0d2g5R0NMTW1PbTVlTUxqVlhWZz09
or go to this link and plug in Meeting ID: 826 7188 0461 and Passcode: 705369
Or call in from any phone by dialing +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)Or find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcdOqdlaH6   

Sunday November 14, 7pm. Livable Future -How Can Massachusetts Lead on Climate?  Bill McKibben, Cabell Eames, Rev. Vernon Walker introduced by Sen. Ed Markey Register HERE.  

Monday November 15, 3pm.  COP will fail. Biden has failed. The people must rise up. Boston will be underwater. Boston XR action. JFK Federal Building, Boston, MA. Go HERE.  

Monday November 15, 7pm. Fair Share Ammendment - Investing in Our Communities asnd Ensuring the Ultra-rich Pay Their Fair Share. Prof. Richard Wolf, Merrie Najimy & Max Page. We’ll dive into the inequities of our current tax system that put disproportionate burden on working people, and why the passage of the Fair Share Amendment is a once in a generation opportunity to invest in our communities. Register HERE.  

Wednesday, November 17, 12:00 – 1:00pm. Ask Me Anything about Recycling in MA.   Ever wonder what we really mean when we say “clean and dry?”  Unsure about that bottle cap?  Have a burning question about a specific type of plastic bag?  This is the webinar for you!  The team at Recycle Smart MA are excited to host an hour of Ask Me Anything about Recycling in MA.  We’ll briefly discuss the history behind RSMA, our mission, some of our resources, and then we’ll get right into the Q&A.  Join by registering at the link below.  Space is limited for this lunch and learn session!  https://www.thebeatnews.org/BeatTeam/event/ask-me-anything-about-recycling-in-ma-2/ 

Sunday November 21, 3:30 to 4:30pm.  Karl Meyer :Living Rivers Run Downstream" presentation at Wilbraham Public Library, 25 Crane Park Dr., Wilbraham, MA 01095. Lectures will be streamed on the big screen in the Brooks Room.  People may also view from home by going to bit.ly/RCLSlivestream.

Contact:   rootcauselectureseries@gmail.com

Monday November 22, 7pm. Climate Action Now Virtual General Meeting. Special guest State Rep. Paul Mark introduced by State Rep. Linsay Sabadoza. Register HERE.  

OK, we're out of here but please remember to listen to your Mother.

 

Another CT River Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. We return to our beloved and beleaguered Connecticut River again with environmental journalist and river champion, Karl Meyer who points out in a recent blog post:
"For 49 years the Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Station has been the number # 1 ecosystem disruptor and fish predator in the 4-state river system comprising today’s S.O. Conte Connecticut River US Fish and Wildlife Refuge." Not much refuge there we guess. As usual we will also introduce you to this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and see if there's been any Backslidin' With Biden (or just some Ridin' with Biden). Also we'll bring you The Enviro Show Quote of the Week and who knows what all, but first it's time for.........Revenge of the Critters! Neither cartoon magpies Heckle nor Jeckle had an attitude like this bird Down Under. 

Another dangerous Fool-on-the-Hill who we should have trashed months ago is Rep."Mo" Brooks Jr., Repugnican from Alabama's 5th congressional district. Brooks was one of the instigators who spoke at the infamous "Stop the Steal" rally at the White House just prior to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th by fascist thugs and followers of His Malignancy The Mad King. “Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass,” barked Mr. Brooks from the podium, mistaking domestic terrorists for patriots. “Are you willing to do what it takes to fight for America? Louder! Will you fight for America?” If that sounds like incitement to riot well, ......yeah! 

It looks like a good week for the Prez and not much Backslidin' with Biden. That said, according to Earth Justice's Biden Climate Scorecard  he's not ending new coal, oil, and gas leasing on federal lands or stopping new fossil fuel infrastructure, exports, and pipelines like Dakota Access and Line 3. On the other hand "President Biden announced that he will restore protections to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a nearly 5,000-square-mile area southeast of Cape Cod, and signed proclamations restoring full protections to Bears Ears and Grand-Staircase Escalante national monuments in Utah. And the New York Times tells us "The Biden administration will lift travel restrictions at the borders with Canada and Mexico starting in November for fully vaccinated travelers, reopening the doors of the United States to tourists and separated family members who have been sealed out of the country during the pandemic." O wait, didn't Faux "News" say unvaccinated immigrants were pouring across the border??  And, that Biden has secured a historic agreement with nearly 140 countries to create a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%, which will help shut down the use of offshore tax havens. Finally, the League of Conservation Voters points out: "The White House has just announced a proposal to revoke parts of a [Mad King]-era rule that completely gutted the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), one of the most damaging and far-reaching environmental decisions of [His Malignancy's] years."

Time for another Enviro Show Quote of the Week:

“We must begin thinking like a river if we are to leave a legacy of beauty and life for future generations.”  

- David Brower

 After our conversation with Karl we go over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Thursday October 28, 11am.  Up in Smoke: How incinerators pollute MA and should scare all of us! You’ll hear stories from community leaders on the frontlines of the fight against the trash incinerator in Saugus, learn from experts in the field how incineration harms all of us, and get plugged into actions you can take to fight back. Go HERE. 

Friday October 29, 3pm. Fossil Free Future event. young people are rising up across the world to demand an immediate end to the funding of fossil fuel expansion. 425 Washington St, Boston, MA 02108  More here: info@futurecoalition.org.   Register   HERE.

Sunday  October 31, 1 to 2:30pm. Read Out/Die In in Pulaski Park, Northampton. See Above. Wear black. It's Halloween! Over the next two weekends, Extinction Rebellion WMass be hosting public dramatic readings of the latest IPCC report in local Valley towns. These events are designed to draw in passersby, let them know about COP 26, and emphasize the urgency of climate action. At each READ OUT/DIE IN, a small group of rebels and friends will take turns reading a page or two from the IPCC report with all the emotion it stirs up, then lying down on the grass to "die." We encourage participants to wear black or costumes of mourning. The Red Brigade may make an appearance, too! Sign up HERE.  . More info https://www.xrwesternmass.org/cop26  

Wednesday, November 3, 11am. and Thursday, November 4, 11am. 5th International Rights of Nature Tribunal to be held alongside the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26). Due to COVID and traveling restrictions, this Tribunal will be a hybrid event – online through Zoom and in person at the Auditorium of Strathclyde University in Glasgow.

Saturday November 6,  11am to 12:30pm.  Read Out/Die In on the Greenfield Town Common. Over the next two weekends, Extinction Rebellion WMass be hosting  public dramatic readings of the latest IPCC report in local Valley towns. These events are designed to draw in passersby, let them know about COP 26, and emphasize the urgency of climate action. At each READ OUT/DIE IN, a small group of rebels and friends will take turns reading a page or two from the IPCC report with all the emotion it stirs up, then lying down on the grass to "die." We encourage participants to wear black or costumes of mourning. The Red Brigade may make an appearance, too! Sign up HERE.  . More info https://www.xrwesternmass.org/cop26

Monday November 15, 3pm.  COP will fail. Biden has failed. The people must rise up. Boston will be underwater. Boston XR action. JFK Federal Building, Boston, MA. Go HERE. 

OK, we're out of here but please remember to listen to your Mother.