Valley Free Radio | WXOJ-LP | 103.3 FM | Northampton, Massachusetts

Greetings Earthlings. So, we supposedly have “The Rights of Man”, “Women’s Rights”, and “Civil Rights” (ok, ok, it’s a work in progress), how about The Rights of Nature? Ecuador wrote them into their constitution; in the U.S.? Not so much. Jeff Conant, Media Coordinator for Global Justice Ecology and author of “A Poetics of Resistance: The Revolutionary Public Relations of the Zapatista Insurgency” published by AK Press joins us to talk about it. We return once again to Meet the New Boss and scope out the Enviro Show Echo Chamber, as well as get to that George Carlin quote we dumped last time around, but first it’s time for….Revenge of the Critters! Toilet snake terrorizes Brits! (these things wouldn’t happen if they used composting toilets).

In our Meet the New Boss segment we find the Obama Administration playing fast & loose with the facts on the BP disaster. Also we checkout White House spokes, Robert Gibbs and the view from behind his rose colored glasses! O, don’t forget EPA’s Carol Browner (that’s not Greener is it?) doing the talk show rounds with news of “Mother Nature doing her part” to clean the Gulf! Thanks, Mom. Sorry about that f’ing mess.

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber, Spike Lee weighs-in on BP. But hey, forget the “stars”, checkout the common folk at a town hall meeting near the Gulf. Sooo, where’s the oil that magically disappeared from the Gulf? All one has to do to find it is dig a little deeper! And this eye-opener from Mother Jones: BP Ocean Cover-up.

About that Enviro Show Quote of the Week: this time George Carlin REALLY returns from the grave to remind us:

“I look at it this way… For centuries now, man has done everything he can to destroy, defile, and interfere with nature: clear-cutting forests, strip-mining mountains, poisoning the atmosphere, over-fishing the oceans, polluting the rivers and lakes, destroying wetlands and aquifers… so when nature strikes back, and smacks him on the head and kicks him in the nuts, I enjoy that. I have absolutely no sympathy for human beings whatsoever. None. And no matter what kind of problem humans are facing, whether it’s natural or man-made, I always hope it gets worse.”

In our E-Valley-uation segment we find Eight local women being arrested at Vermont Yankee….again! And this: Biodiesel plant breaks ground in Greenfield (we’ll have excerpts from the Montague Reporter version of the story).

Following our interview with Jeff Conant we wander off to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Friday, August 20, 8:00 – 9:30 am. Early Morning Nature Walk. Participants will meet outside the main entrance to the Great Falls Discovery Center in Turners Falls at 8 a.m. Learn about plants, animals, and mill town history along the Bike Path of Turners Falls. Please wear appropriate footwear, bring water, bug repellant, and sun screen. For more information, call 413.863.3221.

Sunday, August 22, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm. Great Falls Birding Trip. 1st Local Birding Trip with Mark Fairbrother! Depending on weather will cover Gill-Montague area. Meet at the GFDC. Call 413.863.3221

Wednesday, August 25, 6:30pm. IN MORTAL HANDS: A CAUTIONARY HISTORY OF THE NUCLEAR AGE. Talk and Book signing with author Stephanie Cooke. Centre Congregational Church, Main Street, Brattleboro, VT Call: Nancy Braus 802-254-8160 (work) or 802-380-3363 (cell).

Thursday, Sept 9. Franklin County Fair Parade. No Nukes contingent. Biomess contingent? Downtown Greenfield, MA

September 25-27. Appalachia Rising in Washington DC. A national response to the poisoning of America’s water supply, the destruction of Appalachia’s mountains, head water source streams, and communities through mountaintop removal coal mining. Email: Massachusetts Contact: Rana Xavier at shoot.rana.x@gmail.com or appalachiarising092710@gmail.com. Go to: http://appalachiarising.org/

That should keep you busy, but remember to take time to listen to your Mother. Next time it’s our Birthday Party and YOU are invited. Cake & ice cream for everyone!