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The Democracy Gone Wild Enviro Show

Enviro Show — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:22:54 +0000

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! And this 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

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

Enviro Show — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:07:55 +0000

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, Tues., 1/3/2012, 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:05:14 +0000

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

That about does it for the New Year. How about a REAL resolution, like listen to your Mother?
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The Tortured Brook Enviro Show, Tues. 12/6, 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 13:58:35 +0000

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

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

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, Tues., 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:15:00 +0000

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 joins us to talk about that turkey by Mt. Tom. 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

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.

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

That Fracking Enviro Show! Tues. 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 11:05:50 +0000

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. 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. 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:

Everyday: Occupy Northampton. General assembly Tuesday-Thursday 8pm, Friday-Monday 4pm. Protesting on Main Street EVERY DAY from 5pm-8pm. Go to: http://www.occupynorthampton.com/ Email: sethn91184@yahoo.com

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

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

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!

Another Very Scary Enviro Show, Tues. Oct.25, 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:48:29 +0000

Greetings Earthlings. Are we ready for All Hallows Eve, the Pagan Festival of Samhain? Our dearest house witch, Michelle returns to set the stage. Also, we get a scary call from our favorite Nukebuster, Deb Katz on that very spooky nuclear power plant looming just over the border in Vermont. We’ll take you trick or treating into The Enviro Echo Chamber and drag you kicking and screaming to Meet the New Boss, but first it’;s time for…Revenge of the Critters! Beware of Sharks….on the links? No, not those golfing politicians, REAL sharks!

Following our All Hallows Eve celebration we move over to the Enviro Show Echo Chamber where you might want to get into the swing of things and Occupy some boardrooms. We also have a list of ways to support the Occupy movement from YES Magazine. Also this from PETA: the recent wholesale slaughter of escaped exotic (AND highly endangered) species in Ohio puts a spotlight on that state’s lack of regulation. You can take action here. And, a Halloween trick from MassPirg on the Bottle Bill. Finally, a treat! Corporados frightened of scary protesters!

In our E-Valley-uation segment the BIG news is that old frightening coal-burning power plant by Mt. Tom may be headed for the dustbin of history……or at least retooled for a less noxious fuel source. The folks at Toxics Action Center tell us “the Holyoke City Council adopted a resolution to do a reuse study and engage the public in how to reuse the plant in an environmentally friendly way once it closes.” OK, how about we install treadmills and put some of those criminal banksters in them? Good idea?

Then it’s time to Meet the New Boss and his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton who seems to have some…umm…special relationship? with TransCanada and their bogus Keystone pipeline. Check the blog for all those treats! As for her boss: how about his old campaign promise to have genetically engineered food labeled? What? Campaign promises don’t mean a thing? Who knew! More coming up.

After Deb scares the tar out of us we move on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, October 26, 7-9 p.m. STUDYING MOUNTAIN LIONS WITH MARK ELBROCH . Sliding scale fee. Location to be determined. Pre-registration at Hitchcock Center for the Environment required; please call 413-256-6006.

Friday, October 28, 7:30 pm. The Echo Lake Coffeehouse presents WOOL&GRANT with special guest, Arjuna Greist. Town Hall, 9 Montague Rd., Leverett, MA. Email: diacrowe@yahoo.com

Sunday, Oct 30, noon. Call to Action: Rally at the Gates of the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor. 546 Governor Hunt Rd. Vernon, VT. We will not allow this reactor to operate beyond its scheduled closure date. It is time to close up and clean up. Go to: http://safeandgreenenergyalliance.org/

Sat, Nov 5, 8:30a-4:30p?m. Creating Greenfield’s Future: Our Food, Economy, and Community. Greenfield Community College, Main Campus??. Greening Greenfield Energy Committee. Call: 413-773-7004

Saturday, November 5 · 9:00am – 5:00pm. Bank Transfer Day! Go to: http://facebook.com/nov.fifth

Sunday, November 6, Noon. Occupy Amherst. To get in contact call Dylan, at 339 364 4154 or email at dylanrk22@gmail.com

Sunday, November 6. All day. Encircle the White House in opposition to the proposed Keystone Tar Sands Pipeline. Go to: www.350.org/occupy

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

OK, time to turn out the lights, pull down the shades,and refuse to answer the door. This place is way too scary. O, one more thing: listen to your Mother!

The Occupy Everywhere Enviro Show, Thursday, 2pm

Enviro Show — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 22:32:54 +0000

Greetings Earthlings. We are fresh back from the front in the non-violent struggle against the corporados. D.O. & Jean will report back on their trip to both the #OccupyWallStreet and #OccupyBoston. Also, our roving reporter, Tom Neilson will report back from the DC Occupation of Freedom Plaza, then we remind everyone that the rape of the forests and the fouling of the biosphere is all about Corporate America with Chris Matera of Mass Forest Watch who joins us once again to connect the dots. As always we venture into our E-Valley-uation segment, the Enviro Show Echo Chamber and visit the Fool-on-the-hill, but first it’s time for…Revenge of the Critters! Human rights? How about bats rights!

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we note The New York Times has discovered the importance of forests. How’s that for hard-nosed reporting! Of course, we have to give them some credit for their front page, above the fold coverage of the Wall Street Occupation….but only some. And speaking of New York, how about YOU send Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly a note reminding them about the First Amendment? And this from Grist: UK activist denied entry into The States due to super glue attack on Obama!

In our E-Valley-uation segment we send out kudos to the folks who Occupied Northampton and Occupied Amherst. Who knows, maybe we’ll even consider OccupiedQuabbin!

This week’s Fool-on-the-Hill goes plural. GOP members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee get to wear the Fool’s cap for their opposition to a proposed regulation that would restrict the transportation and importation of nine types of snakes, including the Burmese Python, that are invasive and threatening to wildlife. Apparently, exotic invasives are job creators! Who knew! We thought all the snakes in the grass lying about job creation were Repugnican congressmen.

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week comes from Anonymous:

“We are legion. We are everywhere!” Well…..yeah!

After our interview with Chris we head over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, October 12, 5:30pm. Join Jobs with Justice, Occupy Boston, IBEW 2222, and CWA for a day of action for working people, against the wealthy 1% that holds our government and our country hostage. We are joining forces to march from OccupiedBoston at Dewey Square to Verizon and demand that the company accept the union’s contract proposal. Verizon must not cut health care, pensions, wages, and security for the workers who keep Verizon running. Contact Jobs With Justice at 617-524-8778

Saturday, October 15, 1:00 pm. March & Rally to Stop Wars Home & Abroad. Park Street Station at Boston Common (Park & Tremont), Boston. Call: 781-285-8622

Monday, October 17, 8:30am – 6:00pm. Occupy Springfield! Court Sq, Springfield. If your incensed about being economically marginalized and angry about the democratic process being usurped by big business and corporations — meet at Court Sq. in Springfield on October 17th at 8:30 a.m. Bring your signs and defiance to this event. Let the world know that you aren’t going to remain silent and complacent. Be angry — it’s all that you have left.

Sunday, Oct 30, noon. Call to Action: Rally at the Gates of the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor. 546 Governor Hunt Rd. Vernon, VT.
We will not allow this reactor to operate beyond its scheduled closure date. It is time to close up and clean up. Go to: http://safeandgreenenergyalliance.org/

There. We’ve occupied your time long enough….’til next time, that is. There is however one more thing we must add: LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!!

The Shut it Down NOW! Enviro Show, Sept. 13, 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:39:12 +0000

Greetings Earthlings. Continuing our monitoring of that radioactive ticking time bomb just over the border in Vermont we welcome Deb Katz of the Citizens Awareness Network back on the show to talk about all the recent events up there as well as the resurgence of the Clamshell Alliance and other protest activities. Like always we entertain you with our Foool-on-the-Hill and have you Meet the New Boss, as well as a trip to the E-Valley-uation segment and more, but first it’s time for….Revenge of the Critters! Fox in the UK is feeling at home!

This week’s Fool-on-the-Hill goes easily to Repugnican Rep. Eric Cantor who called for no funding for recent disaster relief unless funds are cut for…..are you ready?….first responders! Sounds like this guy is smokin’ waayyyy too much tea! For what it’s worth you can add your name to a petition for this fool.

Time to Meet the New Boss (have you noticed some similarity to the old boss lately?). Take a deep breath now: Obama caves on better air quality. And here’s another take on this move by the Prez written by Massachusetts anti-corporado crusader, Jeff Clements. You can take him to the woodshed here.

In the E-Valley-uation segment six of the usual Massachusetts suspects were arrested on August 30th after citing Vermont Yankee for polluting. No word on Entergy’s response to the citation. And this Enviro Show Blog Bonus: GCC gets down and goes geothermal!

And, in our Enviro Show Echo Chamber we learn that the Japanese nuke industry dropped about 168 atomic bombs on their own country (OK, so the equivalent of 168 A-bombs). And this on the biomess from The Boston Phoenix: The Gov’s Green Blues. You can send your protestations here: and here: . Also, from our friends at Climate Connections: Hurricane Irene worse cuz’ of climate change. Did we say climate? How about this final wrap on “part one” of the Tar Sands Pipeline protest at the White House. If you want to take part in Part Two go here.

After our interview with Deb we swing over to a well-stocked Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, September 14 at 8:00pm – September 15 at 9:00pm. 24 Hours of Reality is a worldwide event that will share the reality of the climate crisis. From Tonga to Cape Verde, Mexico City to Alaska, Jakarta to London, people living with the impacts of climate change every day will tell their story. The event features a new multimedia presentation created by Al Gore and delivered once per hour for 24 hours, in every time zone around the globe. Go to: http://climaterealityproje?ct.org/the-event/

Saturday, September 17 at 6:00am. Occupy Wall Street! On September 17, we want to see 20,000 people flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months. Once there, we shall incessantly repeat one simple demand in a plurality of voices. It’s time for DEMOCRACY NOT CORPORATOCRACY! Go to: http://www.adbusters.org/b?logs/adbusters-blog/occupy?wallstreet.html

Sunday, September 18, 2011: 10:00 am 4:00 pm. Rescheduled meeting to organize VT. Yankee NV Direct Action Campaign. Bugbee Senior Center, 262 North Main Street, White River Jct., VT. Respond by email confirming you will come by emailing to either: Randy Kehler rkehler@crocker.com or Bob Bady bobbady@gmail.com

Saturday, September 24. It’s the Moving Planet Big Freeze and Fossil Fuel Funeral in Northampton. 11:30 Spread out around town. 12:00 noon – Strike a pose and freeze for five minutes! Be creative! Do not block people or traffic. Northampton sidewalks have a band of pink brick which is fine to use. FOSSIL FUEL FUNERAL – Wear a costume, improvise, dress in black, bring an umbrella, dance, sing, skateboard, bike! 12:05 Join the parade which starts on Main Street adjacent to Pulaski Park. We will march down Main Street, take a right on Pleasant St, right on Armory St., and congregate behind Thorne’s Market where the Tuesday Farmer’s Market is. Contact Director Jill Turner. jillturnerbigfreeze@gmail. com or 413 306 4813

Saturday, September 24. Bikers will assemble at Mt Tom Power Plant on Rte 5 in Holyoke at 10 a.m. and move “en masse” up Rte 5, across the bridge, along Rte 9 in Hadley to the center of Amherst. Another group of walkers, skateboarders, dancers, stroller-pushers etc will assemble (10 a.m.) at the proposed solar array location at the old Amherst landfill on Rte 9 and head toward the center of Amherst. The two groups will converge for a rally calling for a move from dirty to clean energy. Contact:

Sunday, Sept. 25, 1-5pm. Chill-Out the Climate Rally! 1pm: Gather at Bridge Street School park next to Route 9 in Northampton, 1/2 mile east of downtown. Come by bike, skateboard, skates, feet, bus, car, carpool.
Parking on side streets nearby. 2pm: Cross the bridge to a safe climate/clean energy future. March one mile east on Rt. 9 sidewalk to Coolidge Bridge. Cross over using walkway on north side. With hundreds on bridge
walkway, 20 people in the middle hold big block letter signs saying: CHILL THE CLIMATE! 350.org. Photo will be taken for local media, and for 350.org to share online worldwide. Parade then connects with Bike Path/Rail
Trail in Hadley, goes back across river, and back to Bridge St. School. 3:30-5pm: Rally.

Wednesday, September 28, 11am. Green Economy Principles meeting at the Central Labor Council Hall, 640 Page Blvd, Springfield. This meeting will be followed by the return of our regular public “roundtable” discussions,
brown bag lunch at noon, roundtable 12:30-2pm

October 2, Jones Library, Amherst 2-4 PM; October 3, Art Space, Greenfield, 7-9 PM; October 4, Jones Library, Amherst, 7-9 PM. Auditions for RADIUM GIRLS, a play that takes an unflinching look at the peculiarly American obsession with health, wealth, and the commercialization of science as one lone woman battles a corporation, her own family, and friends to seek justice in the story of a landmark case in occupational safety and the environment. Large cast, multiple roles. Men and women, 17-70. Actresses 17-30 a necessity. Details: Robert Freedman, director, 413-586-6095, rpaulfre@gis.net.

Thursday, Oct. 6 – We call on people of conscience and courage—all who seek peace, economic justice, human rights and a healthy environment to join together in Washington, D.C., beginning on Oct. 6, 2011, in nonviolent resistance similar to the Arab Spring and the Midwest awakening. A concert, rally and protest will kick off a powerful and sustained nonviolent resistance to the corporate criminals that dominate our government. “Stop the Machine! • Create a New World!” is a clarion call for all who are deeply concerned with injustice, militarism and environmental destruction to join in ending concentrated corporate power and taking direct control of a real participatory democracy. Go to: http://october2011.org. Regional contact: deross2@yahoo.com, tel: 802-922-4029

Whoa! Lots going on, yes? That’s it for us but remember: listen to your Mother!

The Enviro Justice Show

Enviro Show — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:42:05 +0000

Greetings Earthlings. Guess who suffers more than most from pollution and environmental degradation? OK, probably the critters, but next in line are low-income communities and people of color. Surprise! Some of this may become obvious as class warfare makes itself at home in the UK. The poor get dumped on amidst the plenty. Aron Goldman of The Springfield Institute’s Environmental Justice Bike Tour joins us for the virtual tour. As always we take YOU for a tour in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber, our E-Valley-uation segment, a visit with the Fool-on-the-Hill among other familiar stops, but first it’s time for…. Revenge of the Critters! Raccoon battles woman over turf!

In our E-Valley-uation segment we find radioactive Strontium in fish taken from the Connecticut River. The Union of Concerned Scientists wants the NRC to investigate Entergy Nuclear officials for lying to the public. What? Entergy lying? Can’t be! And btw, why are fish being taken from their river anyway??

We have a two for the price of one BIG Fool-on-the-Hill. It’s none other than Repugnican Rep. Bachman “solving” the energy problem and vowing to shut down the EPA!

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber you can join Public Citizen and Friends of the Earth in calling on President Obama to reject the proposed tar sands pipeline and focus on clean, safe energy alternatives OR you can go right down to the White House on August 20th with a bunch of well-dressed protesters and make your voice heard! And this: Anonymous hacks corporados here. Also: Friends of the Earth on what the debt deal means to the planet and the poor.

Then it’s time to Meet the New Boss again and it’s a sad state of affairs. We meld in our Quote of the Week from a New York Times op-ed by Drew Weston with the New Boss’s latest cave-in to the Repugs:

“The president is fond of referring to “the arc of history,” paraphrasing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous statement that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” But with his deep-seated aversion to conflict and his profound failure to understand bully dynamics — in which conciliation is always the wrong course of action, because bullies perceive it as weakness and just punch harder the next time — he has broken that arc and has likely bent it backward for at least a generation.”

On the up side you can always sign on to the Contract for the American Dream, but we’d be negligent in our duty here if we didn’t point out that much of that “dream” is a nightmare for the planet. After all, so much of prosperity involves over-consumption and waste. Hey, how about a NEW American Dream (this time we could include all of America!).

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

Friday/Satruday August 19-20. Boston Greenfest. See: http://bostongreenfest.org/

Saturday, August 20th – September 3rd. Protest tar sands mining and the proposed Keystone pipeline! With people power and time-tested tactics of civil disobedience – join thousands of people from across the continent in a wave of sustained sit-ins at the White House. Together we’ll amplify our voices and escalate the movement and stop the Keystone XL pipeline to the Canadian tar sands. Go to:
http://www.tarsandsaction.org/ or Contact tarsandsaction@gmail.com

Saturday, August 27,1-4pm. Western Mass Green Consortium’s annual BBQ & Clambake: “Celebrate Sustainable Living” . Come have learn about projects, have fun, eat great food, dance to live music!! If you plan on attending, please register at www.westernmassgreenconsor?tium.org

Sunday, August 28, 11:30 am – 5:30 pm. JOIN THE ORGANIZING OF A REGIONAL CAMPAIGN OF NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION TO SHUT DOWN VERMONT YANKEE at the Norwich Congregational Church, 15 Church St, Norwich, VT. Informational sessions about Vermont Yankee and nonviolence training workshops will be scheduled for later dates, including a VT Yankee Action Camp at Wheelock Mountain Farm, in Wheelock, VT, on Friday evening Sept 9th – Saturday evening, Sept 10th – for info call Robin at 802-533-2296.

Saturday, September 24, 11:40 Gather at Pulaski Park for this year’s 350.org parade in Northampton. It’s the Moving Planet Big Freeze and Fossil Fuel Funeral. Go to: http://www.moving-planet.org/events/us/downtown-northampton/613

There. You are rid of us ’til next time, but remember: listen to your Mother!

Bee with The Enviro Show, Tues., 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 09:50:57 +0000

Greetings Earthlings. Do you think bees are just nasty little critters out to ruin your picnic? (What? that sweet critter pictured here by our friends at the Beehive Design Collective?) Suppose we told you there would bee no fruit in your bowl or veggies on your plate without them? Dan Conlon of Warm Colors Apiary in South Deerfield gives us the latest buzz on the dreaded Colony Collapse Disorder and other issues facing our winged companions. As always, we visit the Enviro Show Echo Chamber, The Quote of the Week, Meet the New Boss and the week’s Fool-on-the-Hill, but first it’s time for….
Revenge of the Critters! Golfers beware! There’s a fox guarding the links!

In our Enviro Show Echo Chamber we find Smokey the Bear getting a clue about carbon sequestering trees. And on the subject of trees: the EPA needs to hear from You about its decision not to regulate biomass carbon emissions. Also this: the WWF’s greenwashing timber scheme! Did someone say scheme? We checkout Bobby Kennedy’s piece on the Cape Wind rip-off. Finally, wonder what you can do at home to help stem the climate crisis besides changing light bulbs and your lifestyle? How about painting your roof white?

Our Fool-on-the-Hill, Republican Rep. Sandy Adams (Repugnican-Fla.) wants to limit funding for Department of Energy websites that educate kids about efficiency. Way to go smarty-pants Sandy. Maybe we can put those kids to work in the coal mines while we’re at it.

Then it’s time to Meet the New Boss, who still hasn’t got it right on mileage standards for all that 19th century technology jamming our roads and highways out there. We think he needs to hear from Enviro Show listeners like You ‘cuz he won’t listen to us at all!

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week is attributed to both Mark Twain and Robert Heinlein. Take your pick.

“Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get.”

We move into our interview with Dan Conlon with a clip from the film, “Queen of the Sun”. Like the guy in the film says, without bees we’d all be eating oatmeal and a few nuts. Borrrrring! But hey, what’s happening to the bees is no laughing matter. In China things are so bad that people have to hand pollinate fruit trees! And now we learn that even the bumblebees are dying off.

Finally, over at the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, August 3,7pm. Charlie King & Karen Brandow in concert with special guest Leon Rosselson. Unity Church, 6 Arch St., Greenfield. Call Charlie and Karen 413-625-8115 for advance tickets.

Thursday, August 4th, 3 pm, the Climate Reality Check coalition will hold the latest in our series of national conference calls to help strengthen community organizing on climate, entitled: The Labor Movement and Climate Change Organizing. If you have any questions please contact Rose Braz, Center for Biological Diversity:rbraz@biologicaldiveristy.org

Monday-Friday, August 15-19, 8:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. LATE SUMMER NATURE DISCOVERY DAYS (AGES 6-8). Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 525 South Pleasant Street, Amherst. Pre-registration required; please call 256-6006.

August 20th – September 3rd. Protest tar sands mining and the proposed Keystone pipeline! With people power and time-tested tactics of civil disobedience – join thousands of people from across the continent in a wave of sustained sit-ins at the White House. Together we’ll amplify our voices and escalate the movement and stop the Keystone XL pipeline to the Canadian tar sands. Go to: http://www.tarsandsaction.org/ or Contact tarsandsaction@gmail.com

Saturday, September 17 at 6:00am. Occupy Wall Street! On September 17, we want to see 20,000 people flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months. Once there, we shall incessantly repeat one simple demand in a plurality of voices. It’s time for DEMOCRACY NOT CORPORATOCRACY!
Go to: http://www.adbusters.org/b?logs/adbusters-blog/occupy?wallstreet.html

That is all. Next time it’s The Enviro Justice Show with Aron Goldman of The Springfield Institute. Until then, remember…..listen to your Mother!

The Revenge of the Critters Enviro Show, Tuesday 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 21:35:00 +0000

Greetings Earthlings. In the wake of the UN’s World Population Day we’ve turned our favorite segment into an entire show. Guess what happens to the critters and their habitats when the human population hits 7 billion. Jason Hribal, author of Fear of the Animal Planet – The Hidden History of Animal Resistance” calls in to share tales of four legged revenge. We’ll see who this week’s Fool-on-the-Hill might be, checkout The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and our E-Valley-uation segment, but first it’s time for… Revenge of the Critters – The Segment! It’s News of the Weird’s Least Competent Do-it-yourself exterminators. Don’t try this at home!

The Fool-on-the-Hill meets the Revenge of The Critters! Not sure if algae blooms qualify as critters but they sure took a piece out of this arch enemy of the Earth! There are plenty of actual critters out there that could use your help. Be good to them, maybe they’ll reciprocate!

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber: We have some fishy Blog Bonus Take Actionlinks. And, Common Dreams discovers direct action. Sounds like Great White Sharks are looking for some direct action out by the Cape! It’s said they’re looking for Grey Seals for lunch, but hey, look at all those slow swimmers! About those seals? They sure could use your help. You know what other critters need your help? Bats!

In our E-Valley-uation segment we ask the disturbing question: Is toxic Giant Hogweed invading this Valley…….yet? So, the EPA issued tougher rules for power plants but not in Massachusetts? What’s that about?? Power plants like those proposed biomass incinerators? We don’t think so! Notify the Gov here not to cave in to biomass boosters.

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week here: “For the animal shall not be measured by man.In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not bretheren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the Earth” — Henry Beston

After our interview with Jason Hribal, author of Fear of the Animal Planet” we move on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Friday, July 22 through Sunday, July 24. Clamshell Alliance reunion & resurgence:For rooms, tenting and dining, the World Fellowship can accommodate up to 150 overnight, so reserve soon (www.worldfellowship.org) if you plan to stay over. For information, connection and conversation, join clamshellalliance@yahoo.com, visit the www.clamshellalliance.org website and Facebook at http://facebook.com/ClamshellAlliance.

Saturday, July 23, 10am-6pm. The Worcester Green Jobs Coalition and the Making a Green Solidarity Economy Planning Committee invites Organizers, Activists, Academics, Media, and Community Members to participate in workshops, discussions, music and fun. Worcester Youth Center, 326 Chandler St., Worcester. Contact: Lazri DiSalvoPhone: (860) 309-5690

Wednesday, August 3,7pm. Charlie King & Karen Brandow in concert with special guest Leon Rosselson. Unity Church, 6 Arch St., Greenfield. Call Charlie and Karen 413-625-8115 for advance tickets.

We are out of here! Until next time remember: Listen to your Mother

The Troubled Atmosphere Enviro Show; Tuesday, 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 16:19:21 +0000

Greetings Earthlings. Noticed how hard it is to breath easy here in the Valley, especially in the summer? Sylvia Brandt, Associate Professor at UMass in the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics joins us to talk air quality, asthma, biomass incineration, maybe we’ll even get to her work on the effects of climate change on Mid-Atlantic fisheries (or is that another show?). We’ll do the Enviro Show Echo Chamber, Meet the New Boss, the Enviro Show Quote of the Week, and our E-Valley-uation thingy, but first it’s time for…Revenge of the Critters! Macho “sports” fisherman gets caught! Sorry, you’ll have to see it to believe it.

In our E-Valley-uation segment guess who got busted again at the Vermont Yankee nuke? That would be our own Jean (she’s the shifty looking one in the back row with the shades on). Hey, they’re just a bit concerned about nuclear safety, aren’t you too? And, in keeping with the show’s theme: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Rejection…err…that’s Protection issues a new air pollution permit! Timing is everything! And, time for some good news (albeit a bit dated): 335 acres saved from McMansions in B-town!

Speaking of getting busted, in the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we note that Bill McKibben (of all people!) is inviting YOU to get busted in DC in a protest against tar sands and the proposed Keystone Pipeline. Protest….in DC….in August! Eeeww! Go ahead, you can tell your grandchildren between backstrokes that you actually tried to save the planet.

Then it’s time to Meet the New boss again! Looks like one of the old bosses (Al Gore in this case) has taken a piece out of the New Boss on confronting, or NOT, the climate crisis. So what do you think, has O lost your vote?

In case you missed it the first time around, our Quote of the Week is an instant replay (above) from the winner of the 2000 Presidential election:

“Here is the core of it: we are destroying the climate balance that is essential to the survival of our civilization. This is not a distant or abstract threat; it is happening now. The United States is the only nation that can rally a global effort to save our future.” – Al Gore

“Fable” by Medollic takes us to our interview with Sylvia Brandt. Then it’s on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Friday July 8, 2011, deadline for submissions to The Healthy Environment/Healthy Springfield CARE Project. HEHS calls on Springfield’s organizations, churches and groups to submit ideas for an environmental education event that they would be willing to host. The proposed event may be a forum, community dialogue or specific educational presentation. Call 413-794-1803 for application for and guidance.

July 9-10, TRAINING for TRANSITION. The Transition movement in the U.K. ignited a global conversation and sharing about positive, creative actions to build community resilience in the face of economic instability, energy cost increases, worsening social inequity, and environmental crisis. Hefty fee. Info: www.TransitionUS.org or TinaClarke@TransitionNetwork.org, 413-658-8165

Sunday, July 10, 11am to 7pm, the first-ever Common Good Festival. Amherst Common. Award-winning activist songwriters Tom Neilson, Emma’s Revolution and Appleseed recording artists Kim and Reggie Harris headline a star-studded lineup. In addition, the festival will feature local sustainability and social justice activist groups and businesses, craft vendors, cooperative games, children’s activities, a magician and more. For more information call (413) 628-3336 (9 AM to 7:30 PM)

Saturday, July 16, 2011, 2-5pm. Festival for a Nuclear Free Future. Copley Square, Boston. The “nuclear age” began on this date 66 years ago – July 16, 1945 – with the Trinity atomic bomb test in the New Mexico desert. After a string of nuclear disaters, it’s time for the nuclear age to end. Let’s begin to end it in Copley Square on July 16, 2011! Co-sponsored by the Sierra Club. Go to: nukefreefest.org or Call 617-354-2169

Monday, July 18 to August 6. Walk for a Nuclear Free World. Starting at the Leverett Peace Pagoda, the walk goes to both Vermont Yankee and the Pilgrim nuke in Plymouth, MA ending at the Grafton, NY pagoda. Call: (413)485-8469.

Done. Next time: the Revenge of the Critters Enviro Show. Author Jason Hribal joins us to talk about one of our favorite subjects! Until then remember…..listen to your Mother.

The Summer Solstice ’11 Enviro Show, Tuesday, 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:51:40 +0000

Solstice Greetings Earthlings. It’s the longest day and time once again to honor the Earth with a Summer Solstice celebration! We visit the Enviro Show Echo Chamber, revisit the Fool-on-the-Hill and re-meet The New Boss, but first it’s time for…Revenge of the Critters! Boating on the Thames this summer? Keep your hands inside the rails!

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we find Sea Shepherd freed illegally caught Bluefin Tuna….off the coast of Libya no less! Arab Spring? Spring the Tuna! On the down side, someone on the Cape is shooting listed gray seals. What kind of person does that?? Also: Take Action to save the horseshoe crabs (who aren’t crabs at all). And this: Ken has a hissy fit over rainforest destruction. That’s an Enviro Show Video Blog Bonus and so is THIS! How about one of the Ten Worst Ideas of 2011: Auzzies kill camels to save the planet? BUT, in our Ten BEST Ideas Dept.: reboot the CCC! Remember our past shows on floating isles of garbage? Will you take the pledge to be part of the solution? Since we’re on the Oceana page here, how about speaking up against offshore drilling? Finally, down in South America it’s dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t!

In our E-Valley-uation segment we ask the musical question: Is the creaky old Vermont Yankee nuke shut down yet? No? But isn’t it the same type of nuke as the ones still melting down in Fukushima? While everyone was fixated on Rep. Weiner’s weiner, TEPCO announced that the meltdowns probably released more radioactive material into the environment than Chernobyl, making it the worst nuclear accident on record (just like D.O. said it would be). What? You haven’t heard about that announcement in the news recently? Gosh, maybe it’s not really happening! We checkout Vermont’s legal struggle with the Entergy corporados. And, this update on the struggle in Wendell to live off the grid legally (why are we even having that conversation?).

In our Meet the New Boss segment we direct Enviro Show blog readers to Bill McKibben’s “Obama Strikes Out on Global Warming” at Mother Jones AND his thoughts on the abusive relationship between O & the enviros at Grist. Goodness gracious, when former nice guy Sunday School teachers like Bill become disillusioned with the Prez….what can we say other than: say hello to the new boss! Why not call Obama to say hello and ask about putting those solar panels back on the White House? While you’re at it, why not tell him to STOP SHILLING FOR THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY!!

This week’s Fool-on-the-Hill is House Natural Resources Committee Chair Doc Hastings (a Repugnican, of course). Apparently the doctor is out. He thinks the discovery of one months worth of oil proves we have abundant oil reserves!
Wait, don’t you have to go to college for years and years to be a doc?

The King’s Drummers at the Stonehenge Summer Solstice event takes us to our Solstice celebration. Then it’s off to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday June 22,6:30 p.m. to 9:00 P.M. Annual Assessment of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet with the public to discuss the NRC’s assessment of safety performance at Brattleboro Union High School, 131 Fairground Road, Brattleboro, VT. Meeting contact: Donald E. Jackson , chief, Projects Branch 5, NRC. (610)337-5306

June 23-24, 9am. US District Court Hearing – Entergy vs Peter Shumlin et al. US District Court, Brattleboro, VT. Contact CAN: (413) 339-5781 Email: can@nukebusters.org

Saturday, June 25, 1 to 8pm. No Nukes Party! (And discuss non-violent action plans 3-5:30pm) Sponsored by: Wendell Conservation Commission. Co-sponsors: Clamshell Legacy and Antinuclear Mobilization; Citizens Awareness Network ; Safe & Green Campaign; Green Mtn. Post Films; W. MA AFSC; Traprock Center for Peace and Justice and the Solar Rollers. More information, call Sharon (978) 544-8822 or Tom (978) 544-3911

Sunday, July 10, 11am to 7pm, the first-ever Common Good Festival. Amherst Common. Award-winning activist songwriters Emma’s Revolution and Appleseed recording artists Kim and Reggie Harris headline a star-studded lineup. In addition, the festival will feature local sustainability and social justice activist groups and businesses, craft vendors, cooperative games, children’s activities, a magician and more. For more information call (413) 628-3336 (9 AM to 7:30 PM)

We go out with “Litha – (Summer Solstice Song)” by Lisa Thiel. It’s the Summer Solstice, what better time to listen to your Mother, right?

The Little Green Schoolhouse Enviro Show, Tuesday 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Fri, 20 May 2011 20:27:08 +0000

Greetings Earthlings. With the Five College Area headed for summer break and young kids thinking about anything but school, we have a look at green education (what? contrary?). Abbie Jenks, founder of the Peace, Justice and Environmental Studies program at Greenfield Community College calls in. Also joining us in the studio, Marcy Gregoire, founder and proud member of Under the Tree Music Company where they practice “kidTunage to Love Up the Earth Mamacita” (sounds like we’re on the same page, yes?). As usual, we see who this week’s Fool-on-the-Hill might be, checkout our E-Valley-uation segment, as well as The Enviro Show Echo Chamber, but first it’s time for……Revenge of the Critters! Since owls seem to be associated with wisdom, and since we’re talking education here, did these guys score some smarts?

It’s E-Vally-uation time: Does Springfield really need fewer trees? We don’t think so! And while we’re in Springfield we report back on last week’s Rally and City Council Meeting on the Springfield biomass incinerator that threatens Western Mass air, forests and communities! Meanwhile, up the river by Turners Falls we get an update from Karl Meyer on fixing the ocean connection on the Connecticut River. Karl is asking Enviro Show fans to notify their MA state reps and State Senator Stan Rosenberg about the need to “Build the long-overdue fish lift at the dam and return regulated spring flows to the crippled dead reach of the river below the dam”. Save the shad! And a follow-up on Mass. Sierra Club’s Elisa Campbell and her winning The Enviro Show Big Green Clearcutters Award. We can’t get pro-clearcutting Campbell to pick-up the award no matter how hard we try, even offering it to her on the Mass. Sierra Facebook page (said offer vanished soon after posting….what’s that about?).

We get in the Wayback Machine for our Enviro Quote of the Week which comes from Chief Luther Standing Bear of the Lakota Sioux:

“I am going to venture that the man who sat on the ground in his tipi meditating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures, and acknowledging unity with the universe of things, was infusing into his being the true essence of civilization.”

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we can only wish we were echoing the corporate media about the ongoing multiple radioactive meltdowns at Fukushima but hey, that story is so last month! Not here though, we spotlight nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen who says that the containment vessels for reactors 1, 2 and 3 are all leaking. This is not good news, but here is something to cheer you up: direct action against the biomess in the UK (we celebrate where we can!). Our Enviro Show Blog Bonus is this Greenpeace action link. Stop whaling! Also: everyone loses on the Upper Big Branch mine disaster. And finally (and we really mean finally): Mickey & Minnie busted for tree-hugging!

This week’s Fool-on-the-hill? Utah Rep. Rob Bishop who wants you to believe, “There are no special subsidies or tax breaks for oil companies, period.” We used to call that lying, these days it’s called…..messaging? How about a gaggle of fools: Senate wimps out on oil subsidies bill.

“Earth” by The Green Rockers takes us to our interviews. Then we’re on to the Bus Stop Billboard (look at all these post-End of the World events!):

Wednesday May 25, 12:30pm (brown bag lunch at noon). Green Works meeting. Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council, 640 Page Boulevard, Springfield. Call: (413) 827-0301, Email: jon@wmjwj.org.

Friday, May 27, 10:30 to 11:30am. Fourth Friday Young Children’s Story Hour explores Fish (especially for children ages 3-6). After the story, you can join us for an age appropriate activity. Great Falls Discovery Center, Avenue A, Turners Falls. Call: (413)863-3221

Friday, May 27, 7pm. Screening of A Killer Bargain The work that globalization offers often comes with pollution and life-threatening working conditions. Media Education Foundation, 60 Masonic Street in Northampton. Enter via Woodstar Cafe, at the front of the building. The venue is accessible. The screenings are free unless otherwise noted. Discussion follows.

Tuesday, May 31, 5:30pm. Citizens Action Network organizing meeting. Solar Store of Greenfield, 2 Fiske Ave, Greenfield. Come and get the latest info on ENVY, Entergy’s lawsuit, Fukushima catastrophe. Come with ideas for possible actions. Come and help determine the next steps for CAN

Saturday, June 4, 10am to 2pm. Fort River Celebration Day in Amherst. Please visit www.fortriverdiscovery.org for more information and further program and event listings.

Sunday, June 5, 2011, 4-5:30, potluck at 5:30. 7:00pm, meeting. Green-Rainbow Party – Pioneer Valley Chapter. Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 525 South Pleasant Street, Amherst. Call: 413-320-3747.

On June 6, environmental groups, labor unions and other activists and organizations will unite for the March on Blair Mountain, a five-day trek merged with workshops, cultural festivities and music. On the sixth day, a large rally will be held in Blair, followed by a march to the crest of Blair Mountain. MA contact: barefootreehugger@gmail.com or call (304)854-0390

Thursday, June 9, 8pm? War criminal Karl Rove will be Keynote speaker for the 2011 Annual Landmen (Big Oil businessmen) Meeting at the The Boston Park Plaza Hotel (50 Park Plaza At Arlington Street, Boston). Rove is scheduled to speak at 9 AM. Bring handcuffs! Email: neimpeach@gmail.com

Saturday, June 11, 9am to Noon. Geo Plus River Walk. Steve Winters, now working as Holyoke Community College’s first full-time Earth Science instructor, will again make the geologic rounds in Turners. Great Falls Discovery Center, Avenue A, Turners Falls. Call: (413)863-3221

Saturday, June 11, 3:00 p.m.: 250th Shutesbury Anniversary Parade, hopefully featuring our friends the trees. Parade from elementary school to town common along Leverett Road., after the parade: Festivities at Shutesbury Athletic Club! 5:30 p.m. barbecue; 7:00 – 10:00 p.m., performance by Briefcase Full of Blues. See: http://www.shutesbury.org/250th

Friday, July 22 through Sunday, July 24. Clamshell Alliance reunion & resurgence:For rooms, tenting and dining, the World Fellowship can accommodate up to 150 overnight, so reserve soon (www.worldfellowship.org) if you plan to stay over. This is a link to organizing materials on the Clamshell Alliance website: http://clamshellalliance.org/?page_id=58. For information, connection and conversation, join clamshellalliance@yahoo.com, visit the www.clamshellalliance.org website and Facebook at http://facebook.com/ClamshellAlliance.

Lots to do, yes? We go out with “Teach your children well” by Crosby, Stills & Nash (not sure if Neil Young is in there). In any case, remember to listen to your Mother, ok?

The Roadkill Enviro Show, 4/26, 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:22:33 +0000

Greetings Earthlings. In the wake of Earth Day we take a deep breath and checkout the damage from the wake of all those motor vehicles out there. Derek Yorks of the Linking Landscapes turtle mortality study joins us in the studio to talk roadkill mitigation. Of course, we revisit the multiple meltdowns in Fukushima in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber as well as some direct action down in DC. Back here at home we get a local response to Entergy’s lawsuit against the state of Vermont in our E-Valley-uation segment and find out who this week’s Fool-on-the-Hill might be, and who knows, maybe we’ll even get to The Quote of the Week, but first it’s time for…Revenge of the Critters! THE best squirrel attack ever! Tooooooo long for The Enviro Show, but we’ll give you the Cliff Notes version. No roadkill for this squirrel. Instead, this squirrel kills…..well, actually, just wounds.

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber Bill McKibben rallies the troops at Powershift ’11 in the belly of the beast but quite frankly we were more impressed with Rising Tide DC taking it to the Dept. of Interior. Speaking of government agencies that don’t function so well, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) certainly qualifies! Finally, BP’s 10 BILLION dollar tax break? Give us an f’ing break!

This weeks Fool-on-the-Hill is our own Repugnican, Sen. Scott Brown. The League of Conservation Voters notes: “The good news is that all four reckless anti-clean air amendments failed to get a majority of the vote in the U.S. Senate. The bad news is that Senator Brown chose to stand with big polluters -voting to protect polluter profits and weaken public health protections.” Perhaps Scotty isn’t aware of Western Mass’ infamous air pollution? Does he really care? Run Elizabeth Warren, run!

The Enviro Show Quote of the Week is from Alice Walker: “The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men.”

In our E-Valley-uation segment we checkout both the New England Coalition’s and the Vermont Gov’s response to Entergy’s lawsuit against Vermont regarding the proposed re-licensing of the Vermont Yankee nuke. Also this: the NRC sucks! Who knew! Beyond Nuclear knows, but they’re petitioning the NRC anyway!

“We’ve got ourselves (a roadkill)” by Colleen Kattau takes us to our interview with Derek Yorks of the Linking Landscapes turtle mortality study. Then it’s on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Thursday, April 28, 6:30, YMCA Community Room, Main Street, Greenfield. Follow-up panel discussion with co-sponsoring groups to share ideas on how we can all be involved in moving Greenfield and our region toward more sustainable energy use and food security. Part of Spring Film Series of Greening Greenfield and Friends.

Friday April 29, Noon-1:30. Takaaki Morikawa, a survivor of the Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima, will share his personal history of the event using a power point presentation and a film dramatically illustrating the devastating effects of the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the Sloan Theater Greenfield Community College.

Saturday, April 30, 7 – 9pm. “Bhopal….BP……Fukushima…..Should Corporations Get Away with Murder and Ecocide?” A conversation with Ward Moorehouse. Cohousing Common House is located at 24 Mountain Laurel Path in Florence.

Monday, May 2, 7-9:30pm. “Earth Day ’11: Facing our Present and Future through Eco-poetry, Prose, and Song”. Second Congregational Church, Court Square, Greenfield. Donation requested to cover costs. Contact: 413-625-6374 or johnpberk@gmail.com

Monday, May 2, 7:30pm Vandana Shiva: The Rights on Mother Earth. Paino Lecture Hall, Earth Sciences Building, Free and Open to the Public. Wheelchair Accessible

Saturday May 7, 10:00am -1:00pm. The City of Holyoke is hosting a City Wide Clean Up Day. SEIU Local 888 rep Scott Burns says: This is an excellent
and fun opportunity for us to give back to the community. The city will provide pizza and refreshments afterward at Heritage State Park. Contact: sburns9960@aim.com

Saturday, May 21, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. From the Grassroots Up: Stop Incentives for Incinerators. A strategy meeting for activists working to stop biomass and waste burners. Doyle Center, Leominster MA. RSVP: Biomass Accountability Project at 800-729-1363 or stopbiomassburning@gmail.com

Sunday, Sunday, May 22, 10am. Manhan Rail Trail Grand Opening Ceremony and Rolling Party. Bike riders and walkers are invited to explore the new rail trail and art spots along the way. Riders can meet at 10am at Millside Park in Easthampton for bagels and musical performances, and then at 11 ride to the Route 10 Bridge. At 12, Mayor Higgins and Mayor Tautznik will cut the ribbon on the Bridge, and afterwards the procession will make its way to a concluding lunch at Veteran’s Field in Northampton.

Next time it’s Barking Up The Enviro Show with Michael Wojtech. Until then remember: LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER! (sorry, didn’t mean to yell).

A River Runs Through The Enviro Show, 4/12, 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 01:34:30 +0000

Greetings Earthlings. Those sketchy old nukes in Japan, the same kind as the Vermont Yankee reactor just up river from us, continue melting down. But, let’s practice some of that good old fashioned all-American media denial for a spell and focus on the Connecticut River as it exists before Entergy utterly destroys it. Karl Meyer of “Shad for a Brighter Future” finally joins us to talk about our finned relations and the Connecticut. We visit our E-Valley-uation and Meet the New Boss segments, The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and ,who knows, maybe even our Fool-on-the-Hill offering, but first it’s time for…. Revenge of the Critters! Don’t pee in this river. The fish do not like it, guys.

In our E-Valley-uation segment we find that the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, which sits on the banks of the Connecticut River, has been operating under the terms of a zombie discharge permit that expired five years ago. The Connecticut River Watershed Council petitioned Vermont to conduct a review in order to protect the Connecticut River from the thermal discharge from the plant. BTW, here’s an Enviro Show Blog Bonus about Vermont Yankee as well as a story about some of their non-submersible electrical cables discovered underwater! Gosh, electricity & water…..together! Also this: American Rivers is partnering with the Town of Greenfield, Connecticut River Watershed Council, Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, NOAA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Deerfield Watershed Association on a Green River Ecosystem Restoration Project. They’re talking dam removal here, folks, once considered a radical idea only promoted by the likes of your friends…(ahem!) at Earth First! Meanwhile over in Amherst, the Fort River is in the news for having no dams! O, and this: Cowls goes for big solar in the woods?

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber let’s repeat Environmental Action’s call to action for Congress to defund nukes! AND Beyond Nuclear.org’s petition to Obama to build a nuclear-free future for our children NOW! Maybe your thinking we don’t need a nuke-free future ‘cuz TEPCO, the NRC & the nuclear industry are leading you to believe everything is under control at Fukushima? Silly human.

On that note, it’s time to Meet the New Boss……again. Obama’s recent energy speech finds him continuing to keep the bed warm for the nuclear industry and Big Oil. However, given the ongoing multiple meltdowns at Fukushima his nuke boosts are really scary and…um…tone deaf? Do you think this is no laughing matter?

This week’s Fool-on-the-Hill is Michigan Dem Debbie Stabenow who seems to have hitched a ride on the Repugnican crazy train going off the rails on the climate crisis. Jump Deb!

“Head of the River”by Elliot Bronson from ’101 Subtle Ways’ takes us to our interview with Karl Meyer. Then it’s on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, April 13, 4:30 p.m. Northampton Cheers to Clean Air. The Sierra Club and the Western Mass Green Consortium invite you to raise a glass for clean air at the Northampton Brewery, 11 Brewster Ct, Northampton. Contact: peter@petervickery.com

Thursday April 21st,11:00 AM – 2:00 PM (2nd floor), The State House, Boston. Earth Day celebration, environmental fair, and lobby day, The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow is teaming up with environmental groups in Massachusetts this Earth Day. Every person that comes to Earth Day 2011 will be asked to visit their legislators and urge them to support funding in the state budget for environmental programs and the pro-environment bill(s) of their choice. Please come and ask your legislators to support the Safer Alternatives Bill (H-1136 & S-397) to protect our health from toxic chemicals in our workplaces, consumer products, homes and communities. Call 617-338-8131

Thursday 4/21, 7:30, Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall, Smith College Barry Sanders speaks on The Environmental Costs of Militarism.

Friday, April 22, 6:30 – 9:30pm. “Earth Day ’11: Facing our Present and Future through Eco-poetry, Prose, and Song”. Unitarian Universalist Society, 220 Main St., Northampton in the wheelchair-accessible Social Hall downstairs (b.y.o. pillows for plastic chairs. Donation requested to cover costs). D.O. will be reading. Contact: 413-625-6374 johnpberk@gmail.com

Saturday, April 23, 10a.m.-4:00pm Northampton’s Earth Day celebration in Pulaski Park. Look for the giant Earth Ball made by students out of single use plastic bags. Also, an Earth Day film festival next door at the Academy of Music with special episodes of “Martha Speaks” at 11:30 am, “Nova-Power Surge”, Now’s David Brancaccio’s fiim, ?Fixing The Future”, and a special screening of “Carbon Nation” at 7:30 pm. Call: 413 584 3237

Saturday, April 23, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 2nd Annual Amherst Sustainability Festival. Held on the Amherst Town Common and around town. The festival combines The Renewable Energy Fair, Amherst Grows Green, and Arbor Day. There will be tree pruning and tree climbing demonstrations. Sustainable product suppliers, local artisans, consumer information regarding energy efficiency, and renewable energy providers will be on hand on the Town Common.

Monday, April 25, 7pm. “Voices of Chernobyl” Reading performance. Grace Church Parish Hall, Spring Street, Amherst. Call: (978)249-9400

Tuesday, April 26, 7pm. Same event at the Unitarian Society, 220 Main Street, Northampton. Call: (978)249-9400

Thursday 4/28, 6:30, YMCA Community Room, Main Street, Greenfield. Follow-up panel discussion with co-sponsoring groups to share ideas on how we can all be involved in moving Greenfield and our region toward more sustainable energy use and food security. Part of Spring Film Series of Greening Greenfield and Friends.

Saturday, April 30th, from 9:00a.m. to noon the Northampton Tree Committee in recognition of Arbor Day, will distribute approximately 120 street trees to Northampton residents at Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School, located at 80 Locust Street. The goal of the program is to have the trees planted near the public way or within public view. It is essential that trees not be planted under utility wires. Twelve different species—all on the NTC’s pre-approved species list—will be available. The trees will be in large seven to ten gallon containers. To receive a free tree, individuals and families must register by April 20 at www.ntcfreetree.eventbrite.com. Questions about the program can be e-mailed to nohotrees@gmail.com

Time to flow on out of here ’til next time. Until then remember: listen to your Mother, OK?

Meltdown with The Enviro Show, Tues. 3/29, 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:07:54 +0000

Greetings Earthlings. On Tuesday it’s day 18 of the Fukushima nuke disaster and a day after the 32nd anniversary of the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown. Why are we boiling water with deadly radioactive material we don’t know how to dispose? This is the real March Madness, yes? Former Valley resident and nuclear activist, Harvey Wasserman calls in with updates and Citizens Awareness Network‘s Deb Katz returns to connect the dots to Vermont Yankee. D.O. waxes poetic with his take on Pluto Rising and we report back on the recent Vermont Yankee action in our E-Valley-uation segment. Time permitting we’ll also have a peak into The Enviro Show Echo Chamber and over at the Fool-on-the-Hill, but first it’s time for…Revenge of the Critters! Whale commandeers yacht, demand passage to new planet! (OK, so we lied about that last part).

“Shut ‘em Down” means it’s time for another E-Valley-uation: was last week’s anti-nuke vigil at Vermont Yankee effective? When will the state shut it down? Post your thoughts on the blog.

This week’s Fool-on-the-Hill is Congressman Ron Paul,(Repugnican,TX), who seems to feel that much of the reaction to the nuclear power crisis in Japan is “overblown”. Paul stated: “Nuclear power is very dangerous, but it is also the safest form of energy we have.” Say what?? Maybe Ron worships the Invisible Hand of the Free Market. That might explain his….er..incongruity?

D.O. is all freaked out about plutonium these days. Just because it’s THE most toxic substance known to the human race and may be escaping into the atmosphere from Japan, why get all worked up about it?? Anyway, he does the spoken word on it.

In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we bring you a Blog Bonus: Vermont Yankee license renewal? No way! Seabrooke renewal? HA!. So, why is no one talking about how bad Fukushima could be? Also this: Beyond Nuclear asks YOU to act now, but just signing a petition is not enough. Everyone needs to get active. Remember the old saw: “Better active today than radioactive tomorrow”. It looks like Physicians for Social Responsibility is active: they just called for a nationwide moratorium on “new nuclear reactors in the United States and a suspension of operations at the nuclear reactors with a similar design as those involved in the disaster in Japan”. And, get this: Germany set to abandon nuclear energy. Macht den Menschen!

Following our interviews with Harvey & Deb it’s on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Friday, April 1, 2011 at 7:00 pm. The Committee for the Leverett Peace Commission sponsors a Community Talk, “Fear or Consciousness: Dare We Change?” with Penny Gill, Professor of Politics, Dean of the College at Mount Holyoke at Leverett Town Hall. In her talk, Penny will address some of the obstacles we have inherited from the post-industrial capitalist structures of our world. These barriers inhibit our confidence in our ability to create the changes we all so long for – a peaceful world, a sustainable economy, and stable climate. Call: (413)367-9520

April 4, 2011, a day to stand in solidarity with working people in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and dozens of other states where well-funded, right-wing corporate politicians are trying to take away the rights Dr. King gave his life for. It’s a day to show movement. A day to be creative, but clear: We Are One! Call: (413)732-7970

Tuesday, April 5, 6:30 PM plan to attend the public hearing at Duggan Middle School, 1015 Wilbraham Road, where the state will present its draft air permit for the PRE biomass incinerator proposed for Page Boulevard in Springfield. This is the final permit the developers need before they can put a shovel in the ground. Please prepare to speak, submit written comments or just come and show support with your presence which really does matter! Call 455-3829 or 734-4948.

Friday, April 8th. PENTAGON ACTION FOR PEACE “DISARMAGEDDON”. Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia Metro entrance Arlington, VA. Local contact: (413)522-7505

Saturday, April 9, 2011, 12:00 pm “Bring the Troops Home Now!” Union Sq. to Foley Sq./ Broadway and 14th St. New York, NY. Call: 518-227-6947

Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 6-8pm. Bi-monthly meeting of the Springfield-Area Sustainable Energy Association. Topic: Organic Landcare. Hear about a how to care for your lawn and garden using anon pesticide, petro chemical fertilizer approach. Help learn how you can stop the pollution of our waterways and still have a healthy vibrant green space. Western New England College (WNEC), Sleith Hall, Rm S101, 1215 Wilbraham Rd, Springfield. Call: (413) 883-3144

OK then, next time we get back to that canceled on acount a’ snow show: “Shad for a Brighter Future” with Karl Meyer. Until then remember: Listen to your Mother!

The Real Ides of March Enviro Show, Tuesday 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 03:25:15 +0000

Greetings Earthlings. The Earth has shifted on its’ axis, Japan is not where it used to be, and nukes are melting down. Japan’s NHK broadcaster reports that the cooling issue at Fukushima Unit 2 could lead to the same type of explosion that occurred at Unit 3 on Monday and Unit 1 on Saturday. We think that qualifies for the Ides of March, no? The sins of Old King Coal was to be the theme of this show but life got in the way. Deb Katz from the Citizen Awareness Network calls-in with the latest on nuclear meltdown, radioactive exposure and official obfuscation. The Fukishima Nuclear Power Plant is a General Electric (GE) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) with a Mark 1 containment, the same type of creaky old nuke as Vermont Yankee. Did we mention that the Nuclear Recommendation…err…Regulatory Commission just granted VY another 20 year opportunity to meltdown right here in the Valley? In any case, we’ll truly have a full house ‘cuz: Jeff Biggers, activist and author of Reckoning at Eagle Creek also calls in from Coal Country while here in the not-so-large studio Peter Vickery joins D.O., Glen & Jean to tie-in that funky old Mt. Tom coal burner looming over the Valley. Peter has been working with Mass Sierra Club in an effort to get Mt. Tom to switch to cleaner burning natural gas. Of course gas drilling comes with its’ own host of ills and in our Enviro Show perfect world we’d rather see corporados in treadmills producing power, but hey, it’s not exactly the 19th century, right? If time allows we’ll tumble into some of our usual segments like The Enviro Show Echo Chamber, the Quote of the Week, Fool-on-the-Hill and whatever, but first it’s time for…..Revenge of the Critters! Yellow sack spiders driving people crazy!

Our Fool-on-the-Hill this week is Rep. John Shimkus, Repugnican chair of the House Subcommittee on Environment and Economy who actually believes the climate crisis exists but that there’s no reason to worry, since God promised Noah after the great flood that he wouldn’t deluge the world again. “I do believe in the Bible as the final word of God,” he said. “And I do believe that God said the Earth would not be destroyed by a flood.” Whew! That was a close one.
Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week is way on theme: “Football is a game designed to keep coal miners off the streets”. – Jimmy Breslin
In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we checkout the biomess over in the UK where some would have you think biomass incineration as an answer to the ills of burning coal for power. Also, Chris Hedges takes the long view regarding empires and the environment. Is there hope that enviros will get it together and have the kind of mass action we’ve been talking about for years now? Rainforest Action Network, 350.org and others FINALLY take the plunge! And this: March on Blair Mountain! Witch side are you on? (sorry). A march to preserve Blair Mountain, abolish mountaintop removal in Appalachia, strengthen labor rights, and invest in sustainable job creation for all Appalachian communities, June 6 to 11. Some good news here: the proposed biomass incinerator for Pownal, VT just over the border has been put on hold. Finally this: a list of Koch Industry products to boycott.

“Which side are you on” that old-time union coal workers tune sung by Natalie Merchant takes us to our interviews. Then it’s on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Saturday March 19 from 9 AM – 10PM. Equinox and the Making of a Sacred Landscape. At the University of the Wild’s Center, Earthlands There is a deposit for Saturday’s programs, please make reservations to assure your place and meal, at office@earthlands.org

Monday evening, March 21, at 7:00 pm, “COUTDOWN TO CLOSURE and a Green, Nuclear-Free Future” will take place on at the Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main St. in downtown Brattleboro. March 21 is exactly one year before the scheduled shutdown of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. All are welcome. Call: (413) 624-8858

March 22, 2011 is World Water Day. Declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993

Next time: Amherst’s proposed Gateway Project with Mary Wentworth, Until then remember: Listen to your Mother!

Restore the North Woods Enviro Show….really! Tuesday, 6:30pm

Enviro Show — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 01:53:15 +0000

Greetings Earthlings. Did you miss us or didn’t you even know we were missing? We’ve run out of snow days and lame excuses about driving in from the eastern hills in bad weather. Time for Mother to listen to us: the show must go on! We’ll talk four-leggeds with Michael Kellett of Restore the North Woods just like we said we would last time (only this time we REALLY mean it!). We’ll discuss their North Woods Wolf Recovery Project as well as issues regarding the Canada lynx and Atlantic Salmon. In case you’ve forgotten the drill, we will also visit the action packed Enviro Show Echo Chamber, our Quote of the Week, our Meet the New Boss and Fool-on-the-Hill segments, but first it’s time to FINALLY air that fox story on…Revenge of the Critters!

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we’ve got a two-fer from the Center for Biological diversity. First, the effort to save Grey Wolf from us two-leggeds, then an Enviro Show Blog Bonus. It’s a regular potpourri of actions you can take to help save endangered species and wild places. Also, the dreaded White-nose Syndrome continues taking out bats. Now there are reports of it reaching North Carolina and 15 other states from New Hampshire to Oklahoma, and two Canadian provinces. Despite the overwhelming threat to bats from people entering caves, federal land managers across much of the West have failed to enact closures of caves and abandoned mines. Please Take Action to help save the bats. And these reruns: lame-ass Nantucket man busted for dealing in endangered whale parts. And Candy Dynamics of Indianapolis is issuing a recall of all Toxic Waste® brand Nuclear Sludge® Chew Bars,all flavors. Sorry once again kids.

This week’s Fool on the Hill is Rep. Denny Rehberg, Repugnican from Montana who has introduced bills that would allow states to eliminate all wolves in the Northern Rockies, Great Lakes and Southwest, including the 50 Mexican wolves struggling for survival in New Mexico and Arizona. How about we sink our teeth into this action, huh?

Our recycled Quote of the Week comes from Obama’s State of the Union address in case you missed it: “I’m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re doing just fine on their own. So instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s”

OK, that’s the good news from Obama, on to more bad news in our Meet the New Boss segment: Over the past few weeks, the Obama administration has chosen to approve two biotech crops, Monsanto’s Roundup Ready genetically modified alfalfa and Roundup Ready GMO sugar beets. To add insult to injury, the outgoing David Axelrod layed a little pun on his White House cohorts urging everyone to “plow forward” on GE alfalfa. Well, don’t just sit there….DO SOMETHING!.

“Smells Like Genocide” by CMOR takes us to our interview with Michael Kellett of Restore the North Woods

Then it’s on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Wednesday, Feb. 16, 6:00-7:30 p.m., MASSPIRG Public Transportation Roundtable will be discussing transit needs in Amherst and the surrounding communities. Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk, Amherst. For more information contact Micaela Preskill: mpreskill@masspirg.org, (617) 747-4374

Thursday, February 17, 7 – 9pm. Climate change and water resources: expectations and uncertainties in natural systems. Join Timothy Randhir, Associate Professor of Watershed Management and Water Quality at the University of Massachusetts, to learn about the relationships between climate change and the hydrologic cycle. Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A., Turners Falls, MA 01376, Call: (413)863-3221

Friday, February 18, 6:30pm. On Top of Old Northfield. Navigate the night. Group & solo snowshoe two-mile walk with readings & navigational tips. Northfield Mountain, 99 Millers Falls Road (Rt.63),Northfield. Registration required. Call: (800)859-2960.

Tuesday, February 22, 6 pm. Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel meeting. Vernon Elementary School, Vernon, VT, Contact cchang@nukebusters.org The new commissioner of Vermont’s Department of Public Service is promising that future meetings of the Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel will be “more collegial” than in the past.

Saturday, February 26, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Snow date: Saturday, March 12). WINTER TRACKING EXPEDITION . Alan Emond, Little Cree Spy Excursions. Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 525 South Pleasant Street, Amherst, Pre-registration required; please call 413-256-6006.

Sat, March 5, 1:00 PM. : Intro to Animal Tracks. Introduction to Animal Tracks and Signs with Naturalist Dawn Ward. Aimed at novice trackers (adults and families with kids age 8 and over), the program will be both indoors at the Leverett Library (exploring Dawn’s extensive collection of animal skulls, etc.) and outdoors, weather permitting, searching for tracks and signs. Supported by a grant from the Leverett Cultural Council. Call: (413)548-9343

Wednesday, March 9, 6:30pm. Greening Greenfield’s next Monthly meeting. NESEA offices on Miles St, Greenfield. Call: 413-773-7004

Soooo, according to this year’s imprisoned groundhog hype we’re in for an early spring, but you may want to put in a request anyway while you are listening to your Mother, right?

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