Save the Pollinators Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Have you noticed fewer bees, moths and butterflies this summer? Did you know the flowers you bought at the garden center might be part of the reason? Peggy MacLeod from Western Mass Pollinator Network and

-->Kelsey Whiting-Jones, Community Organizer for Western Massachusetts and Connecticut at Toxics Action Center join us to help connect the dots. [Archived interview here]Also, David Detmold calls in from the road once again on the Bike for Standing Rock! As always, we will also take you to visit this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to confront His Malignancy The Mad King as well as a trip to The Enviro Show Echo Chamber but first it's time for..........Revenge of the Critters! This one gives new meaning to the term "moth eaten"!

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is back for yet another stint. Yes, it's Congressman Lamar Smith, repugnican from Texas (of course!) who penned an editorial in some random rightwing rag titled:

"Don’t Believe the Hysteria Over Carbon Dioxide". The fool opens with this whopper: "The benefits of a changing climate are often ignored and under-researched. Our climate is too complex and the consequences of misguided policies too harsh to discount the positive effects of carbon enrichment." Carbon enrichment! Who knew!!

Are you ready for His Malignancy The Mad King? Fear not, Earthlings: The emperor has no clothes (Eeeuuu! Sorry.)  There. We said it. And his new....er....now former mouthpiece, Anthony Scaramucci sure had changed his wardrobe since ascending to the throne. This guy came straight out of Central Casting ready to sell you the worst used beater ever. Tony gives new meaning to the term "fake news". So long, Mooch! Another lawsuit for His Malignancy and his court of fools: this time it's the group Food and Water challenging his secret advisors plan to sell off our infrastructure. Like the bumper sticker says: "The Road to hell is Paved with Republicans". Wait, there actually is some pushback from both parties on The Mad King's proposed budget cuts for the Environmental Protection Agency. Sooooo, instead of eviscerating the EPA they're just going to torture it.

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we come upon a piece in New York Magazine that could impress even the classic unmovable New Yorker. So, steel your nerves for "The Uninhabitable Earth". BTW: Grist has an update on the lawsuit(s) those feisty kids at Our Children's Trust initiated. Now there's a court challenge in all 50 states! Here in the Commonwealth they've already claimed a victory. Speaking of good news, the Brits will ban gas and diesel vehicles after 2040. We can hardly wait to see that. Finally, here's our Enviro Show Blog Action Bonus. Rise your voice: Save the pollinators!

Time for some E-Valley-uation and an excellent column by Katy Eiseman in the Daily Hampshire Gazette that may still have ears burning over at Berk Gas. This is a must see for anyone concerned about Kinder Morgan/TGP's assault upon the Commonwealth and their "open season" on our communities. And regarding KM/TGP's assault on our public lands in Otis State Forest, a recent Sugar Shack Alliance action appears to have been yet another demonstration of resolve. Onward!

On to the Bus Stop Billboard also:



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Tuesday August1, 2017, Noon to 1pm. Weekly TD BANK Vigil to pressure TD to divest from Dakota Access Pipeline. 324 Main St., (near Federal St corner)

Greenfield, MA

Friday, August 11, 7pm. Screening of "An Inconvenient Sequel", Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity Street, Amherst, MA. A decade after AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH brought climate change into the heart of popular culture comes the riveting and rousing follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution.Vice President Al Gore continues his tireless fight, traveling around the world training an army of climate champions and influencing international climate policy.Join Climate Action Now at the Amhert Cinema opening for "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power"

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August 6, 7:00 – 8:30 pm. The World We Want - Hiroshima & Nagasaki -

Never Again!  Nashawannuck Pond, Easthampton, MA. Go to: http://masspeaceaction.org/event/the-world-we-want-hiroshima-nagasaki-never-again/

Monday August 7, 10am. to 12pm. Public Hearing. Your comments badly needed. Holyoke Community College, Kittredge Center, 303 Homestead Avenue, Holyoke, MA 01404. The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) is proposing changes in the Massachusetts Alternative Portfolio Standards (APS). The APS would encourage and subsidize large-scale industrial cutting and burning of trees for heat. This would increase the immediate release of carbon, which would worsen climate change. It would also increase toxic air pollution, which would harm public health. Finally, it would promote intensified logging, which would degrade New England forest ecosystems and undermine their capacity to store carbon.

DOER requests that written comments be submitted as attached pdf files to emails addressed to , with the word APS COMMENTS in the subject line. Alternatively, comments can be submitted at the hearing or via mail to Samantha Meserve at the Department of Energy Resources, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 1020, Boston, MA 02114. 

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August 11-13, All Day. Annual NOFA Conference. This summer Dr. Don Huber, a world renowned scientist in the study of how genetically engineered (GMO) foods and the herbicide glyphosate (the main ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup) are affecting our livestock and soil, will be speaking at the 43rd annual NOFA Summer Conference taking place at Hampshire College.  Go to: www.nofasummerconference.org


That's it for this week. Remember to listen to your Mother, OK?

The MA Dept. of Cut & Run Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Are you ready for a Summer activity in the forest? How about Bureau of Forestry Pre-Harvest Forest Tours in Townsend State Forest and October Mountain State Forest? The Massachusetts Department of Cut and Run (DCR) would be more than happy to show you their plans to trash our public forests AND increase CO2 emissions to add to the worsening Climate Crisis. That's right citizen, it's your tax dollars at work making the Commonwealth less livable for future generations! Michael Kellett of Restore the North Woods returns to shed more light on what the DCR is doing in the woods. Also, David Detmold calls in from the Bike for Standing Rock. It's "From Plymouth Rock to Standing Rock" without all that Puritan baggage.  As usual we'll also take you by the hand and guide you to this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to the presence of His Malignancy The Mad King, maybe to The Enviro Show Echo Chamber as well, but first it's time for......Revenge of the Critters! Wasps bothering you? Don't try this at home!

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill actually dwells on another hill way out in Utah where the State Capitol sits, but given his recent comments we can't resist the trip west. Our friends at Grist note "Republican State Rep. Mike Noel said... that “tree huggers” were to blame for a major blaze that broke out in southern Utah on June 17 and continues to burn 11 days later." This fool is laboring under the delusion that the USFS is actually peopled with tree huggers! "When we turn the Forest Service over to the bird and bunny lovers and the tree huggers and the rock lickers, we’ve turned our history over".  OK Mike, but we think you may have just turned reality over.

Speaking of messing with reality, it's time to visit His Malignancy The Mad King. Let's start with a "Jaw-Dropping List of All the Terrible Things Trump Has done to Mother Earth" as told by Mother Jones. One of those terrible things is the resuscitation of last year's failed dirty energy bill. Of course, His Malignancy supports all things dirty so he's going for it. You? Probably not. Speak out HERE! Here's one of The Mad King's things that didn't make the list but one that will also trash the planet: selling off some of our national monuments! We actually have some good news here. The LA Times headline screams:  "Federal appeals court orders the EPA to move ahead with Obama-era methane rule" (our headline would have been more like "Court Gets in Mad King's Face on Methane"). Celebrate where you can!

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber the big news last week should have been the massive collapse of another part of Antarctica's Larsen Ice Shelf but even as most of the major news outlets reported it the tsunami of bullshit emanating from The Big White House of Lies stole the show. Too bad we can't pin collapsing ice shelves on the present occupants in that place (they're busy collapsing on other fronts). In any case, some UN climate folks say we have 3 years left before we are doomed, got it? Finally, Glen's come up with a WBUR report on ticks that could be a second Revenge of the Critters piece this week. In short, it's an epidemic. 

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week is for His Malignancy The Mad King. We don't know if Mark Twain was a prophet but this one seems to fit....

"You take the lies out of him, and he'll shrink to the size of your hat; you take the malice out of him, and he'll disappear."

After hanging out with Michael and David we'll take you over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Saturday, July 29, 10 AM - 2 PM. Join The Sugar Shack Alliance, for a public rally and picnic to raise collective concerns and awareness on the continued resistance to the Kinder Morgan/TCG CT Expansion Pipeline in the Otis State Forest! Meet at Lower Spectacle Pond  in Otis State Forest for musical guests and speakers from across the movement and from all corners of the northeast! That's from 10am to noon! Then, at 12:30pm, a potluck picnic lunch at 12:30pm, followed by an informal gathering of musicians improvising together at our staging area at just north of the pond at Sue Baxter's Barn, 250 Cold Spring Rd., Sandisfield, MA. Go to: http://sugarshackalliance.org/ 

Friday, August 4 at 7 - 9:30 PM. Screening of "An Inconvenient Sequel", Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity Street, Amherst, MA. A decade after AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH brought climate change into the heart of popular culture comes the riveting and rousing follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution.Vice President Al Gore continues his tireless fight, traveling around the world training an army of climate champions and influencing international climate policy.Join Climate Action Now at the Amhert Cinema opening for "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power"

Monday August 7, 10am. to 12pm. Public Hearing. Your comments badly needed. Holyoke Community College, Kittredge Center, 303 Homestead Avenue, Holyoke, MA 01404. The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) is proposing changes in the Massachusetts Alternative Portfolio Standards (APS). The APS would encourage and subsidize large-scale industrial cutting and burning of trees for heat. This would increase the immediate release of carbon, which would worsen climate change. It would also increase toxic air pollution, which would harm public health. Finally, it would promote intensified logging, which would degrade New England forest ecosystems and undermine their capacity to store carbon.

DOER requests that written comments be submitted as attached pdf files to emails addressed to , with the word APS COMMENTS in the subject line. Alternatively, comments can be submitted at the hearing or via mail to Samantha Meserve at the Department of Energy Resources, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 1020, Boston, MA 02114. 

That's all for now. Remember to listen to your Mother, OK?

The Annual Summer Solstice Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. It's that time of year again and The Good Green Witch returns to tell us why. Also, Lena Entin from Toxic Action joins us in the studio to talk about their latest campaigns.  As always we will take you to meet our Fool-on-the-Hill and, if you dare, to confront His Malignancy, The Mad King. Also, a side trip to The Enviro Show Echo Chamber may be in order as well as a little E-Valley-uation, but first it's time for...........Revenge of the Critters! Wild elephants return to the show, this time for lunch!

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), who was elected to Congress this past fall. Banks recently stated: "“I believe that climate change in this country is largely leftist propaganda to change the way Americans live and create more government obstruction and intrusion in our lives”. Actually Jim, us North Americans could use a little lifestyle change, you especially! As for "obstruction", isn't that your party's specialty??

On to the Kingdom of the Grotesque! This week Dems in the House of Reprehensibles are circulating Articles of Impeachment for His Malignancy, The Mad King. Not surprisingly other Dems like corporate queen Nancy Pelosi are clutching their pearls in consternation. Watch this space! Meanwhile, out in the real world his Malignancy's Treasury Department is busy giving new meaning to the term "Wall Street reform". Does business-as-usual ring a bell? We mentioned previously how the present occupant in the White House has managed to move the Doomsday clock closer to midnight but we never documented that until now (who says bad news travels fast?). Now for the good news: "Over 11 States Sue [The Mad King] Over Energy Standards"  Like our own AG Healey (making it 12 states) said back in January: "See you in court!" Finally, Corporate America's fossil fools are feeling fully empowered by the present occupants in the White House to export fracked gas for fun & profits! Hear all about it Here and Now.

How about some E-Valley-uation? The Springfield Climate Justice Coalition has just met to review the first draft of the Springfield Climate Action Plan. There's still time for you to weigh in on this. For more information contact Jesse Lederman at 413-351-6785. Also, over in the far southwestern reaches of the Berks YOU are needed any day you can make it to monitor Kinder Morgan's trashing of Otis Sate Forest. Contact Priscilla at 413-522-5224. 

Our Quote of the Week calls for another journey in the old Wayback Machine:

"Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood."
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Here in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we FINALLY find some of the usual suspects in the Flint, Michigan water crisis getting busted for manslaughter. Unfortunately the lead suspect is still at large in the Governor's office. "In a statement, Gov. Rick Snyder (R).... defended Lyon and Wells, saying they have his full confidence and would remain employed at the health department." We're thinking it's more than the water that needs cleaning up in Michigan. Meanwhile, climate criminals over at the far-right "Heartland" Institute are trying to brainwash your children with fake science. We're pretty sure that institute needs a heart transplant. Finally, our Enviro Show Blog Action link. This week: We thought Canadians and Japanese were painfully nice? Stop torturing horses! OK?


After our conversation with The Good Green Witch it's over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Saturday, July 1, 2 to 4pm.  The 2nd Annual Inter-Dependence Day Celebration World We Love Giant Puppet Parade performance and direct action. The Pachamama Puppets, Expandable Brass Band, Stephen Katz, Climate Action Now and Mother's Out Front and more invite you and your friends to gather in 4 locations in Noho at 1pm and then at 2pm to parade to the lawn of Memorial Hall near Pulaski Park for a performance by children and adults of the World We Love-It's in Our Hands! Go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/443760142658523/

Monday, July 10, 7 - 9pm. Nerd Night July - Water Quality & Marijuana. The Deuce (World War II Club),  50 Conz St, Northampton, MA. Go to: https://www.facebook.com/NerdNiteNoHo/

Saturday, July 22 at 9:30am - 5 pm.  Non-Violent Direct Action Training. Considering participating an an action that could involve risking arrest? Interested in finding out about Sugar Shack Alliance and possibly joining an Affinity Group so that you could participate with us in an action that could involve arrest? Interested in deepening your understanding of what non-violence is and what makes an effective action? Interested in examining how privilege intersects with the decision to offer oneself for arrest? Interested in learning about consensus decision making and quick decision making? Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScY_fH4_e6ZqNl1rT9UvTlEkANOzmrngpUYh1icsYSiLLDynw/viewform?c=0&w=1
NOTE: REGISTRATION CLOSES JULY 18 AND IS LIMITED TO 35 PEOPLE.

 Monday, July 24, 7 to 9pm. Climate Action Now! WMass meeting. Amherst gatherings take place at the Unitarian Meetinghouse on North Pleasant St (downtown). Go to: http://climateactionnowma.org

 

OK, have an excellent Summer Solstice and until next time remember: Listen to your Mother!

The Old Growth/New Climate Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. We've returned the Enviro Show blog to our old Blogspot space due to new problems over at Wordpress. Soooo, it's up with old growth and hope the new climate gets fixed! Old Growth guru, Bob Leverett returns to the show in the wake of his "State of Our Forests" presentation in Northampton. As always we will also take you to meet this week's Fool-on-the-Hill and to cast more aspersions at His Malignancy The Mad King. Of course, we'll still allow you into The Enviro Show Echo Chamber as well but be warned: It's not pretty in there. However, first its time for...........Revenge of the Critters! Another trophy hunter taken out. Elephant gives her life so that others may live!

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is Rep. Bob Gibbs, a Repugnican from Ohio. Gibbs sponsored a "measure reversing an Environmental Protection Agency requirement that those spraying pesticides on or near rivers and lakes file for a permit." The fool claimed "the permit requirement places an unnecessary burden on farmers and local health officials fighting mosquito-borne diseases." We're not exactly sure what the burden is but our own Rep. Jim McGovern certainly knew where Gibbs b.s. beholden is: "Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said in a floor speech that pesticide-maker Dow Chemical wrote a $1 million check to help support President Donald Trump's inaugural festivities. The company's chairman and CEO, Andrew Liveris, has been a staunch Trump supporter who now heads a White House working group on aiding manufacturing." We guess Gibbs is just another Trump Chump doing his best to do the worst.

On to His Malignancy, The Mad King! This week we find His Malignancy bailing from the Paris Climate Accord, allegedly so he can negotiate a better deal for our Great Nation. Of course, we all know the real reason is he wants to ramp up his cred as the Climate Criminal-in-Chief. His Malignancy's move prompted his own ambassador to China to quit (why would anyone sign-on in the first place??). On the other hand there's his cohort climate criminal, Scotty over at the EPA taking The Mad King's move for a.....spin! Meanwhile, the Veep is baffled about all the concern! We are, however, glad to repeat the refrain: The World Will Fight Back! And it seems our Gov has thrown in with others to go our own way with the U.S. Climate Alliance. And here's another piece on The Mad King's Budget from Hell. This one scorches the planet. This next one comes as no surprise given it comes straight out of Smokey the Bear's butt: His Malignancy's U.S. Forest Service denies climate change. Surprise!

Here's our Enviro Show Quote of the Week. It takes only a brief hop in the Wayback Machine:

"A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people."      - FDR

Time to check out the Echo Chamber! Finally there's a petition that actually counts. It's right HERE as our Enviro Show Blog Action. And this! News from the Future.

After our conversation with Bob we head over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

 

Friday, June 9, 7pm. (Community Potluck Dinner at 6pm). “POWER STRUGGLE”

Film Screening and Discussion with Harvey Wasserman. Wendell Town Hall

6 Center Street (on the Wendell Common), Wendell, MA.

 

Saturday, June 10, 11:00AM. Join us on June 10th to demand that our local elected officials #ActOnClimate. We will join those who are already taking climate action seriously and push those who aren't, to do more. Together, we have an opportunity to drive our collective outrage into local action, and show the world a unified national response to Trump’s dangerous decision to reject the Paris agreement.

 Location: Great Barrington Ma Town Hall corner of Main and Castle Streets, Great Barrington, MA 01230 Go HERE.

  Saturday, June 10, 1 to 4:00pm. CET Speaker Forum: What Can You Do About Climate Change? The Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 845 West Street, Amherst, MA. This new event will feature three experts from our community, Ezra Markowitz, Nancy Nylen, and Solomon Goldstein-Rose, who will speak on locally relevant environmental issues. The speakers will discuss innovative and practical solutions to various challenges associated with climate change through psychological, political, and community-based strategies. This event is free and open to the public! Please click here to register. Call: 413-256-6006

Monday, June 12, 6pm. Place TBD. Mass Clean Energy Future Tour of Senators stop in Springfield at Western New England University’s School of Law — J. Pellegrini Moot Court Room, 1st floor, Springfield, MA The Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change is hosting hearings throughout the Commonwealth to get input from you on pressing issues in clean energy and climate. How do you think the legislature should keep our state healthy, sustainable and strong? Go to: https://malegislature.gov/cleanenergyfuture


TUESDAY June 13, (TBD). The Campaign for a Clean Energy Future is inviting you to participate in our first big lobby day of the year on  at the Statehouse in Boston. We will meet at the CABA/CXC office at the Old West Church at 131 Cambridge Street in Boston.  We will be looking to identify new supporters in the legislature and mobilize our current supporters to take action in advance of our eventual hearing date.  To accomplish both goals, WE NEED YOU THERE!  To train for the lobby day and set our strategic agenda for the rest of this year, we’ll be hosting our GRASSROOTS SUMMIT on SATURDAY, June 10th (location TBD). Fill out this form to sign up for these events! MCAN is proud to be a member of the campaign for a clean energy future and believes that putting a price on carbon is a key tool we have to cutting climate change impacts.  If you have questions please contact Andrew Gordon (andrew@betterfutureproject.org) or Amenda Sebert (asebert@cleanwater.org).

Saturday, June 17th, 9am to 5pm. Direct Action Non-violence Training. The Sojourner Truth School for Social Change Leadership will be held at 40 Center St. Northampton. To register go to: www.truthschool.org. These are appropriate for Sugar Shack folks and others wishing to learn the skills and foundations of non-violence in order to consider taking arrest in non-violent actions. Paki Wieland and Jeff Napolitano are the trainers.

Saturday, June 17, 9 pm – late night.  6th Annual Moth Ball!  Join ABNC president Dave Small and naturalist Lula Field at Dave and Shelley’s house, 1542 Pleasant St., Athol, to search for Lunas, underwings, silkmoths and other night flying insects. Participants are invited to bring their tents, snacks to share and favorite moth baits. (Don’t know what those are? You’ll find out!) Info: Dave Small, 978-413-1772 or Dave@dhsmall.net.

Saturday, July 1, 2 to 4pm.  The 2nd Annual Inter-Dependence Day Celebration World We Love Giant Puppet Parade performance and direct action. The Pachamama Puppets, Expandable Brass Band, Stephen Katz, Climate Action Now and Mother's Out Front and more invite you and your friends to gather in 4 locations in Noho at 1pm and then at 2pm to parade to the lawn of Memorial Hall near Pulaski Park for a performance by children and adults of the World We Love-It's in Our Hands! Go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/443760142658523/

That's all folks! Next time the Good Green Witch returns  for our annual Summer Soltice Enviro Show. Until then remember.........Listen To Your Mother!


 

HEY! OVER HERE.....

Due to ongoing problems we've had using the new Blogspot format we've pretty much given up and moved over HERE

Dear Angry White Guys,

Now that the presidential election is behind us and all the obscene amounts of corporate money was needlessly spent and all the energy that could have been used to rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges has been wasted, can we come together and clean this place up?  We truly hope you don't continue to carry on about so-called socialists and "apology tours" when we need your help putting the country back together (the country you love so much). We all have been looking at the God-awful pictures of devastation on the east coast, right? How about we roll up our sleeves together and pitch-in? We know you still may think that the Climate Crisis isn't real or that it isn't human-caused, but the mega-storm that destroyed so much of New York and New Jersey was very real and we need to deal with the results, together.  Maybe after we've done all we can to repair the damage we can sit down and have a reasonable discussion about who exactly is promoting the idea that climate change doesn't exist and why they are spending so much more money to spread their highly compromised information. Hey, we'll even pick-up the bar tab!

We're done with celebrating this election now. It's time to get on with the business of putting things back together. We hope you'll join us.

Sincerely,

The Enviro Show

The Vote for the Earth Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. Here in the Northeastern U.S. we're just catching our breath after yet another "hundred year storm" (with yet another on the way?) and now it's almost Election Day. Of course, on the national level we get to choose between the Green who'll never be elected, the Dem who plays the game to pretty much stay the same, and the Repugnican corporado who will do all he can to destroy the planet once and for all. Great choices, huh? We do have some state and local issues that are interesting.  Johanna Neumann, Regional Director for New England Environment America fills us in. Our roving reporter and strolling troubadour, Tom Neilson also joins us to discuss that and more. As always, we check into The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and our E-Valley-uation segment. We'll see who this week's Fool-on-the-Hill is and maybe Meet the New Boss, but first it's time for...Revenge of the Critters! It's a post-Halloween Revenge from a loyal listener: Bees return awful candy to the humans!

If the polls are still open (or soon to be) when you read this, we may as well do some E-Valley-uation on a few of the ballot questions (that is if we can figure them out). In it's eternal wisdom, the state has taken a page from Kafka and made sure that the referendum numbers change in various Valley towns, as well as making it illegal to name some of the questions. Have fun with that! One of the referendum we call the "Move to Amend" question, says: "Shall the state senator be instructed to vote in favor a  resolution calling upon Congress to propose an amendment to the US Constitution affirming that corporations are not entitled to the constitutional rights of human beings [and that] both Congress and the states may place limits on political contributions and political spending.” Well.......yeah. What have we been talking about here for......ever! Another ballot question may be called the "Budget for All" referendum that you can read about here. It's all about redirecting our tax dollars to sane things like education, health care, renewable energy and transportation, not that too many pols in DC really care about such things. A ballot measure that actually has a name is The Massachusetts "Death with Dignity" Initiative which would establish an "Act Relative to Death with Dignity".  The human-life-is-oh-so-sacred crowd (as opposed to other life forms) is out in the streets about this one. They want us all to hang on to the bitter end no matter the pain and degradation (and maybe give them time to baptize or convert us or God knows what?).  Given that there are far toooooo many people on the planet, we say go for it! Besides, who runs your life anyway??  We'll get into some of the candidates and there positions on the environment as well when we talk with Tom and Johanna.

We're devoting our entire Enviro Show Echo Chamber to the Climate Crisis and it's effect on the Northeast in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  First, the relief effort. Besides the usual Red Cross and other mainstream groups listed here, there are grassroots efforts like Occupy Sandy, Food Not Bombs, and Sandy's List that are on the ground in the New York metro area providing food, warm clothing and other needs. By now you've all probably seen the photos of the devastation to the infrastructure and people of New York City. This catastrophe, though it is not nearly as devastating as the mega-monsoon flood in Pakistan in 2010 or Katrina's devastation in New Orleans, may well be a, dare we say, bellwether in the desperate need for responding to climate change. Seeing as New York City is the capitol of finance and media for most of the nation, and that the timing of this particular crisis on the eve of a presidential election adds long awaited emphasis to the greater issue of climate, there's an outside chance that climate crisis deniers and the Repugnicans will become as irrelevant as skate keys. In the days following the disaster the corporate media has rediscovered the climate crisis without the obligatory spotlight on flat-earth climate change deniers. Meanwhile, the environment as a whole in the Metro region has been impacted by Sandy as well as various species. They need help too.  A sidebar here: interestingly, part of all that flooding can be attributed to long-ago filled-in swamps, (there were once 300,000 acres of absorbent wetlands, now only 15,500) sort of a Halloween Revenge of the Swamp Thing! Finally, here's our Enviro Show Blog Bonus Special: tell the corporados to pony up for the mega-storm they created.

Our Quote of the Week comes from none other than the Rombot himself: "President Obama promised to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet. My promise is to help you and your family." Sooooo, our family isn't involved in the planet?

Time to visit the Fool-on-the-Hill and guess who's baaaaack? Yes, appropriately it's the chief flat-earth climate crisis denier, Sen. James Inhofe who, upon receiving the Rubber Dodo Award from the Center for Biological Diversity used the occasion to continue his anti-science odyssey into oblivion (but not soon enough for us!). While we're here we have an interesting No Fool: New York City Mayor Bloomberg endorses Obama as the one who can deal best with the Climate Crisis (that is, unless Jill Stein or the Batman are actually available)

Let's Meet the New Boss, whomever that may be. We're praying to the Goddess that it's not the Rombot (who will drive the last few nails into the biosphere's coffin) and since it won't be Jill Stein we are stuck with the present boss who at least has returned to using the C-word (no, not that) and may well set in place some more planet saving programs to...um...stem the tide? Sooo, we're not big fans of The One but we'll fight like hell to keep the Repugs from stealing another election. With that in mind we direct you to No More Stolen Elections where you can join  such eminent progressives as Noam Chomsky, Jill Stein, Thom Hartmann and a whole host of others in pledging to act in the event of another stolen election. FIGHT!

After our interviews it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Thursday, November 8, 7 to 8:30pm. Quebec’s Plan Nord: Towards a New Global Model for Sustainable Development.  Mat Jacobson presents Plan Nord, covering 1.2 million square kilometers of the boreal region of Quebec, the concept has brought together aboriginal and other government leaders, industries, and conservationists to balance economic development with conservation.  Small fee. To register for a current program, contact Jessica Schultz, Center Coordinator, at (413) 256-6006 or jessica@hitchcockcenter.org.

Saturday, November 10, 6pm. Arise for Social Justice 25th Anniversary Celebration & Reunion. Panache Ballroom, 827 State Street, Springfield. Call: (413)734-4948

Sunday, November 11, 3pm. Tom Neilson in concert. RSVP (413) 253-7934. Small entry charge. 185 Middle Street, Amherst.

Tuesday, November 13, 7-9 pm.  VERMONT YANKEE MELTDOWN? MORE LESSONS FROM FUKUSHIMA. The third in a series of Community Forums presented by Citizens for Emergency Preparedness.  Speaker:  Arnie Gundersen, a nuclear engineer with 40 years experience who has coordinated safety projects at 70 nuclear power plants.  He has recently returned from Japan with lessons from Fukushima.  Discussion to follow. Contact: Marian Kelner  413-773-8401. All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, corner of Main and Hope, Greenfield, MA 

Friday, November 16, 10:30 to 11:30am. "Gobble, gobble". Have you ever wondered about wild turkeys? Just how did they get associated with Thanksgiving? What do they look like? Where do they spend their winter? What unique behaviors do they have? Young children 3-6 and their parents are invited to explore these questions through story, crafts and games.Great Falls Discovery Center, Avenue A, Turners Falls. Call: (413)863-3221

Saturday, November 17th Our Energy Future is Vermont's Choice march and rally. 12:30 pm: Gather at Montpelier city hall; 1 pm: March to the VT Statehouse; 1:30 pm: Rally at the VT Statehouse. Organized by the Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance (VYDA) and Citizens Action Network (CAN), Co-sponsored by Safe and Green Campaign, SAGE Alliance and others. Contacts: Deb Katz 413 339-5781, Chris Williams 802 767-9131

Now we elect to sign off. Be sure to remember to do what? Right! Listen to your Mother.

A Rather Haunting Enviro Show

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Greetings Earthlings. All Hallow's Eve is nearly upon us so it's time to bring Michelle, our favorite house witch, back to remind us what it's all about. Also, given that spirits of the departed may be lurking upon the Earth and its environs, we hear from Tania and Brenda of Chicopee Paranormal Investigators, the Valley's own ghost busters. This and more scary stuff in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber, our Fool-on-the-Hill and New Boss segments and who knows what all, but first it's time for...Revenge of the Critters!  Squeamish about cockroaches? Not this guy (but maybe he should have been!)

Speaking of fools let's do as promised on the last show and go straight to Rachel's gallery of Fools-on-the-Hill: Would you believe these guys are on the House Science Committee? Yes, it is truly scary..........but surprising? Nah! Not on THAT Hill!

Did someone say science? In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we get the Union of Concerned Scientists take on Faux News' war on science!  And this: it's not just the far-right propaganda machine that's dumb as a post, checkout these....err...sorry excuses for humans? Here's our Enviro Show Blog Bonus: some Federal agencies are still censoring scientists. Tell them to back off!

Our E-Valley-uation segment gets off the ground with our house witch, Michelle followed later by a call-in from the Chicopee Paranormal Investigators. Witches! Ghosts! What's Halloween without them??

Meet the New Boss here: Whomever the New Boss will be, neither seems to think the climate crisis is a big issue. What were we saying about science now?

"All you Zombies", by the Climate Change Zombies takes us to our interview with Chicopee Paranormal Investigators. Then we close with a walk in the dark of night to the presumed safety of the Bus Stop Billboard:


Tuesday, October 23rd through Tuesday, October 30th. The Vigil to End Climate Silence at Government Center in Boston.  It's time to break the silence on climate in the Massachusetts Senate race. We ask that candidates for federal office in Massachusetts spell out their positions on climate change between now and the election, particularly at the October 30th debate. We need to know whether the candidates acknowledge the climate crisis as the biggest issue of our time. Contact: team@350actionfund.org

Wednesday, October 24, 11:00 a.m. Please join Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine members to help end Hartford Hospital’s use of live pigs in trauma training courses. The entrance of Hartford Hospital between Jefferson St. and Zwieback St. at 80 Seymour St., Hartford, CT  Contact: gmazur@pcrm.org

Wednesday, October 24,12 pm - 1:30 pm. GreenWork Roundtable - Creating a Sustainable Public Transit System. Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council, 640 Page Boulevard, Springfield. Bring a brown bag lunch and join the conversation. GreenWork consists of advocates for a Green Economy which serves local communities; guarantees workers' rights to organize; and promotes community-owned sustainable projects. Call: (413)565-2381 

The Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation is offering weekly drop-in autumn nature classes for preschoolers at its Sheep Hill property on Monday afternoons beginning Oct. 15th. The weekly classes will include nature explorations focusing on how nature prepares for winter. Come to all or just a single class. 

Sunday, October 28, 8:30am-11:30am. Field Walk Series: Bear Swamp. Join John Green for an autumn exploration of this cool rocky habitat circling a pond with diverse plants and wildlife. FREE • Space is limited • Registration required at The Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 525 South Pleasant Street Amherst, MA. Call (413) 256-6006

Monday, October 29, 6 to 8pm. SAGE Alliance dinner & forum. at the Congregational Church on Main Street in Brattleboro. The purpose of the forum is twofold:  to help us all prepare comments on Entergy Vermont Yankee's license extension for two November public hearings by the Vermont Public Service Board. We have invited speakers from groups that are parties to the license extension application to speak on the issues the PSB will be considering. And to organize volunteers to make phone calls to get people out to the public hearings. Contact safeandgreencampaign@gmail.com

OK, we hope none of this keeps you up at night (what was that noise?). All that's left to say is....remember to listen to your MOTHER!

The Occupy Monsanto Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. It's time to revisit the genetically engineered insanity of Monsanto. Adam Eidinger of Occupy Monsanto checks in with news of the "Call to Action for a Non-Hierarchical Occupation of Monsanto Everywhere"!  Also, we get a rewind of the Indigenous Peoples' Day weekend banner drop actions here over I-91 about shutting down that frightening old nuke up the river in Vernon, Vermont.  If that's not scary enough for you, we'll also visit The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and the Fool-on-the-Hill amongst other things, but first it's time for.......Revenge of the Critters! Warning: something's fishy about farmed salmon! 

In our E-Valley-uation segment  we review the hundred mile long anti-nuke banner drop sponsored by the SAGE Alliance during the Indigenous Peoples' Day weekend (you know, the one we used to call Columbus Day?). And this: though we're sure we can do waaaaayy better, it seems Massachusetts scores numero uno on energy efficiency, two years in a row.  Finally, since we're focused on Monsanto here, lets have a look at genetically modified organisms (GMOs) over at Whole Foods! O wait, we can't have a look, Whole Foods had YouTube take down the video! 

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber there's some....um...interesting news? Would you believe the folks at Grist if they told you there might be....LIFE ON MARS!!  Then (after we calm down)  we refer you to Vandana Shiva's Seed Freedom site. It's a place Monsanto would just as soon you didn't visit. Speaking of places, checkout this killer lake.......really! And, speaking of killing, can you believe they're still out there looking to turn polar bears into rugs? (Yes, you can believe it, right?). Well, how about we try and do something about it!  And this pre-Halloween Special: Entergy isn't just a scary threat to our bucolic Valley, how about to the entire New York Metro region! We close with this tidbit from Grist: you think Weyerhaeuser or the U.S. Forest Service were bad players in the woods? How about actual gangsters? 

This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is making a return visit after a year and a half hiatus. It's not that Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown has been making nice with the planet all that time, it's just that we think the present moment is appropriate for pointing out that Scotty is....well...not only into posing in the buff, but also in bed with Big Oil and ol' King Coal!  Hell, even Mass Sierra Club is done with him!

Time for our Quote of the Week. This one from one of our most favorite enviros:
"It is absolutely imperative that we protect, preserve and pass on this genetic heritage for man and every other living thing in as good a condition as we received it."    -  David R. Brower

After our interview with Adam Eidinger we move on to the Bus stop Billboard:

Wednesday, October 10, 6-8pm. MassDOT Kicks Off Statewide Transportation Conversation Meetings to be Held to Help Determine Future of Transportation in MA. Final meeting to be held at UMass Amherst Campus Center -Room 168C, 1 Campus Center Way, Amherst. Those who are unable to attend the meetings but wish to submit comments can do so at yourvisionourfuture@dot.state.ma.us

 Monday, October 15, 7 pm. Do you want a federal budget that meets our country’s needs, that supports the 99% instead of the 1%? Come hear Congressman James McGovern, National Priorities Project Executive Director Jo Comerford, and State Representatives Peter Kocot and Ellen Story discuss the Budget For All, which puts Americans back to work in green jobs and so much more?. Join us in the Northampton High School Auditorium. For more information, contact Western Massachusetts AFSC at 413-584-8975. 

Friday and Saturday, October 19 & 20, 5-8:30pm. Enchanted Forest. This popular two-night event comes alive with five characters performing skits along pumpkin lit trails. Each year a theme is chosen to focus on a particular habitat or animal adaptation or characteristic. The Enchanted Forest’s theme this year is “50 Something” in honor of our 50th Anniversary. You may meet a spotted salamander with 50 spots or a 50-year old Eastern Box Turtle.  Fun for all ages. Games, activities, and a fortune-teller are provided indoors while walks are held every 15 minutes. Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 525 South Pleasant Street Amherst, MA. Call: (413) 256-6006

October 24,12:00 pm - 1:30 pm. GreenWork Roundtable - Creating a Sustainable Public Transit System. Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council, 640 Page Boulevard, Springfield

Bring a brown bag lunch and join the conversation. GreenWork consists of advocates for a Green Economy which serves local communities; guarantees workers' rights to organize; and promotes community-owned sustainable projects. Call: (413)565-2381  

That's about it for now. Remember: while you're out there reveling in the glory of Autumn.....listen to your Mother.

Greetings Earthlings. This week it's one of those rare occasions we pre-record so we can be two places at once (it's like a parallel universe!). You do the Fukushima with Daria Fisk and Dr. Ira Helfand and we go see Tom Wessels on the forested landscape, Tuesday at the Leverett Library. Something for everyone in the wake of the Autumnal Equinox!  Even if we don't come to you live this Tuesday evening, we can still visit The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and The Fool-on-the-Hill, right? How about an Enviro Show Quote of the Week? The E-Valley-uation segment? It's all below, but first it's time for.....Revenge of the Critters! Attention developers: Swimming with Otters is good for business!

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we ask the musical question: are we ready to Occupy Monsanto now? Also this novel idea: how about asking Jim Lehrer to ask Obama and Romney about the climate crisis during their debate? What? it's not as important as Obama's birth certificate? Also this: here's the must-see video of the month with Bill Nye the Science Guy!

Guess which fool-on-the-Hill gets an instant replay? Paul Ryan! Surprise! We failed to mention last time that, according to Grist: "Ryan is a leading critic of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, and also has called for cuts to farm programs more than twice as large as those contained in the Senate and House Committee-passed bills". Farms.....where food comes from!

Time to Meet the New Boss again! Remember in the last show we took Obama to task for encouraging Shell to drill for oil in the fragile Arctic? Well......(get it?), they've backed off for a year or so due to safety equipment failure. Obama? Still wants them to drill, baby drill!

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week for the Autumn Equinox puts us back into the Wayback Machine and this time we go waaaayyy back!

"The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us.  If you can do that, and live that way, you are really wise."
-   Euripides (484 BC - 406 BC) 

In our E-Valley-uation segment the Shut it Down Affinity Group is at it yet again! This time Brat's Chamber of Commerce gets dragged through the radioactive mud for it's support of Entergy's bullshit law suit opposing State of Vermont legislation to shut down the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon (you know, the same type of old sketchy nuke that's melting down in Fukushima?). Anyway, those good ol' gals showed up in the Chamber's chamber in their scary death masks. Checkout the photo: the Chamber guy won't even look at them!

After we run Daria's interview with Dr. Helfand and play some appropriate tunes for you, we close with a visit to the bus stop billboard:

Friday, September 28 - 30. Move to Amend  Workshops to End Corporate Personhood. First Churches of Northampton, 29 Main Street, Northampton, MA Go to: movetoamend.org/contact-us

Saturday, September 29, 10am. Protest Monsanto at the Big E. In order to convince America’s hardworking farmers that Monsanto’s patented genes & toxic chemicals are safe, Monsanto has created a mobile advertising “Unit” that will be spreading lies & pro-GMO propaganda around the United States this year. They will be at State Fairs all across the US, let's make sure we are there to greet them! 1305 Memorial Avenue • West Springfield, MA

Saturday, September 29, 10am.  Mt Holyoke Hike vs. Coal Power. We’ll go to the summit of Mt Holyoke to picnic and discuss the impacts of the Mt Tom coal plant. Meet at 10am at the entrance to the Mt Holyoke Range and Skinner State Park off Route 47 in Hadley. Call: (617) 302-6257 or email: drew.grande@sierraclub.org

Tuesday October 2, 4-7pm. "To the Village Square: An Experiment in American Democracy" A discussion on nuclear power and political activism with Lionel Delevingne and Anna Gyorgy.  Lower Level of Du Bois Library at UMass Amherst. Delevingne will discuss the mass media’s role in the nuclear power issue and his own responsibility before and after the Three Mile Island accident and Chernobyl disaster.  Anna Gyorgy will discuss citizen action and democracy, with international examples based on her work with the Clamshell Alliance, and, more recently, with the strong German anti-nuclear/pro-solar movement.  For more information, contact Kirstin Kay (413) -545-6843, kay@library.umass.edu).

October 5 - 8. SAGE Affinity groups will blanket the highway bridges from Northampton to Burlington with messages on Friday and Monday of Indigenous Peoples' Day (formerly Columbus Day) Weekend, educating tourists and reminding neighbors that there is an old nuclear reactor in our midst. Go to: http://sagealliance.net/event/banner-drop-10-05-12

Tuesday, October 9, 10:30 to 11:30am. Kidleidoscope Bears! is a kid-friendly, hands-on environmental experience for very young children. Event includes a story, interactive games and activities, and a craft to help you and your child understand the world around us. Programming recommended for ages 3-6 with a parent or guardian.Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA. Call: (413) 863-3221

October 10, 6-8pm. MassDOT Kicks Off Statewide Transportation Conversation Meetings to be Held to Help Determine Future of Transportation in MA. Final meeting to be held at UMass Amherst Campus Center -Room 168C, 1 Campus Center Way, Amherst. Those who are unable to attend the meetings but wish to submit comments can do so at yourvisionourfuture@dot.state.ma.us

That does it for us this first week of Autumn.  One last thing: remember to......listen to your Mother!

Yet Another Climate Crisis Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. As much as far-right, flat-Earth Repugnicans would like you to believe otherwise, the science is in and human caused climate disruption is in our collective face. Glen interviews climate activist, Bill McKibben during his recent engagement at Amherst College. We also do the climate crisis in both our Enviro Show Echo Chamber and with this week's Fool-on-the-Hill. And, we Meet the New Boss signing off on oil drilling in the Arctic. What a world......but first it's time for.....Revenge of the Critters! Speaking of the Arctic: Stupid humans gets too close to Binky the Polar Bear.

 In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we find that "parts of the Arctic have become like a giant slushie".  Now that's something Mayor Bloomberg should really ban! The Center for Biological Diversity has good page here on Arctic Oil Development.....or is that Duh....velopment?  Of course, Big Oil is all about the climate crisis. Here's a global analysis of why climate negotiations are locked in a stalemate. Could it have something to do with the U.S. and China? Well.......yeah! And this: did you think the meltdowns at Fukushima are over? Silly human, think again!

Our Fool-on-the-Hill this week has been much in the news lately. It's none other than Repugnican  Congressman Paul Ryan, the GOP's VP hopeful and consummate Enemy of the Planet.  Slate has the story here. We, quite frankly, would rather stick pins in our eyes than speak his name further.

Moving on to our E-Valley-uation segment, we'll do an update on the rescheduled Flotilla action at Vermont Yankee for next Saturday. The theme of that action? "Our River Runs Through It": Entergy's pollution of the Connecticut River.  Meanwhile, over at Entergy's Pilgrim nuke folks are focusing on that scary reactor's pollution in Cape Cod Bay. Also, we revisit that clunky old coal burner by Mt. Tom.  How about a coal-free Massachusetts? After Gov. Patrick's fiery speech at the Dem's National Convention maybe he's ready to fire up the Global Warming Solutions Act? Ask him!

It's growing harder to bash Obama given the alternatives, but it really is time we revisited our Meet the New Boss segment given that the Boss has signed off on Shell Oil drilling in the Arctic. However, he did at least give the climate crisis a plug at the DNC (talk about working at cross purposes!). Of course, The Boss could back off on nukes and dirty coal if he'd just put more emphasis on energy conservation & efficiency. Our Enviro Show Blog Bonus leans hard on Obama's Federal Housing Finance Authority that recently killed the national energy-efficient homes program. Add your voice here!

Our Enviro Show Quote of the week comes from an unlikely source: 

"Preservation of our environment is not a liberal or conservative challenge, it's common sense." 

- Ronald Reagan, State of the Union address, Jan. 25, 1984

After Glen's interview with Bill McKibben we head over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Saturday, September 15, 11:00am to 5:00pm. Our River Runs Through It: Flotilla & Rally to Stop VT Yankee Pollution on the Connecticut River. More info at: http://sagealliance.net/

Sunday, September 16, 3pm. Genetic Decontamination Event and Music Video Shoot - Downtown Northampton. Part of a Global Week of Action against Genetic Biohazards: #S17 Occupy Monsanto
Info: http://occupy-monsanto.com/    Contact: gcu_northampton@occupy-monsanto.com

Thurs. Sept 20 - Sat. Sept.22 Washington DC NUCLEAR FREE CONVERGENCE ON OUR NATION’S CAPITOL  Details:http://coalitionagainstnukes.org/no-nukes-rally-in-d-c/
 
Friday, September 21, 9am. Occupy Wall Street Environmental Solidarity, in cahoots with our friends at Shut Down Indian Point Now!, will be riding to Washington on Friday September 21 to Occupy the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Our message is simple, No Nukes, Renewable Energy for the 99% Now. Our bus will be departing from Union Square at 9am on Friday.  Please RSVP to this address: tomsiracuse@hotmail.com and please provide your phone #.

Saturday, September 22, 10 am to 4pm. Occupy Western Mass General Assembly. Arts Space, 15 Mill Street, Greenfield, MA. If you have any questions, or still want to make suggestions regarding stories, poems, and discussion topics, please contact/send these to Joshua Epstein at Joshepst@yahoo.com

Friday, September 28 - 30. Move to Amend  Workshops to End Corporate Personhood. First Churches of Northampton, 29 Main Street, Northampton, MA Go to: movetoamend.org/contact-us

Saturday, September 29, 10am. Protest Monsanto at the Big E. In order to convince America’s hardworking farmers that Monsanto’s patented genes & toxic chemicals are safe, Monsanto has created a mobile advertising “Unit” that will be spreading lies & pro-GMO propaganda around the United States this year. They will be at State Fairs all across the US, let's make sure we are there to greet them! 1305 Memorial Avenue • West Springfield, MA

Saturday, September 29, 10am.  Mt Holyoke Hike vs. Coal Power. We’ll go to the summit of Mt Holyoke to picnic and discuss the impacts of the Mt Tom coal plant. Meet at 10am at the entrance to the Mt Holyoke Range and Skinner State Park off Route 47 in Hadley. Call: (617) 302-6257 or email: drew.grande@sierraclub.org

That's it for this week. Remember this however: listen to your Mother!!