Greetings Earthlings. How can we stop thoughtless humans from trashing land all over the map? It all depends on who thinks they “own” the land. On public lands there are competing forces promoting their own concepts regarding what should be “protected”. Who knew it would be so hard? Randi Spivak from the Center for Biological Diversity joins us to look into the issues and the answers. Naturally, we’ll also take you see our Fool-on-the-Hill and to cast dispersions at His Malignancy The Mad King and his Court of Colluders as well as a bit of E-Valley-uation, but first it’s time for………..Revenge of the Critters! WARNING FISHERMEN: Don’t try this bait!!
National Geographic is hardly a bastion of tree-hugging hippies but even they are not pleased with The Mad King. They recently published a piece headlined “A Running List of How Trump Is Changing the Environment” and we’re pretty sure they don’t mean for the better! You’d think most folks with a pulse would have figured out by now that His Malignancy is fast at work ruining what’s left of the U.S. government, even many in the mainstream media have figured that out, but sadly they seem to be way behind the curve when it comes to The Mad King’s assault on the planet. We guess they haven’t been listening to this show, huh? Of course, part of that assault is on our public lands like Bear Ears National Monument and, of course Otis State Forest. Anyone who actually has been listening to the show however, knows we’ve spent plenty of time pointing out how Big Oil in the person of T Rex Tillerson took over the State Department for fun & profit, but don’t think for a minute Big Oil’s slimy influence stops there in His Malignancy’s court. According to Grist there was plenty of bling flowing into The Mad King’s campaign coffers from other enemies of the Earth last year during the so-called presidential campaign and now it’s payback time. Speaking of Grist and His Malignancy, here’s a double whamy for you, one that makes some folks literally sick. And here’s one that’s pretty certain to make folks sick in the future.
BREAKING NEWS: A sinkhole has opened up in front of Climate Criminal-in-Chief’s Winter White House. Draw your own conclusions! You can probably guess ours.
We have a brand new candidate this week for our Fool-on-the-Hill. Florida congressional Rep. Ted Yoho (Repugnican-FL) who recently said this about the Climate Crisis, “I think it’s a natural occurrence,” the Tea Party-aligned lawmaker said. When asked whether he even believes climate scientists, Yoho was disdainful, calling climate change “an agenda-driven science” that’s “not right.” What are they smoking at THAT Tea Party anyway??
Here’s our Enviro Show Quote of the Week:
“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”
– Aldo Leopold
Let’s get into some E-Valley-uation now. Our friends in the Sugar Shack Alliance are not going away as climate criminals from Kinder Morgan/TGP and their enablers from the Massachusetts Department of Cut & Run continue their destruction of Otis State Forest. Climate crime tree felling has been completed, and destructive stump removal and other prep work are underway for installation of the fracked gas storage pipeline. KM/TGP will be under observation from the Thoreau Cabin moved to the site from its original home, the path of KM’s failed NED fracked gas pipeline project. Sorry climate criminals, we’re not going away! If you’re not in an affinity group and haven’t done the Sugar Shack NV training to register go HERE. Also, Please help to educate and fundraise for the Narragansett Tribe’s legal effort to protect the Ceremonial Stone Landscape Features in Otis State Forest. Please attend the Climate Action Now meeting this Monday, May 22 at the Amherst Unitarian Society at 7 PM for our first planning meeting on this important aspect of the struggle. For more info contact: susantheberge@icloud.com .
In the Enviro Show Echo Chamber we pass on this sad and ironic piece from The Guardian: “Arctic stronghold of world’s seeds flooded after permafrost melts – No seeds were lost but the ability of the rock vault to provide failsafe protection against all disasters is now threatened by climate change”. What can we say?
After our conversation with Randi we head over to the Bus Stop Billboard:
Saturday & Sunday, June 3 & 4, 1 – 9pm, parade starts at 7pm. Double Edge Theater’s Ashfield Town Spectacle and Culture Fair explores how active participation defines the intersection of art, culture, and democracy. Grown directly from the theatre’s questions about the roots of identity, the Town Spectacle extends this search to include the whole community through a kaleidoscope of history, art, and spectacle. This performance will not take place in a theatre—the territories of the town will be the stage map—and the ensemble will be joined by all walks of the Ashfield, Hilltown, and western MA community. The event is free and open to the public, and spectators will be free to wander from venue to venue, with a map and schedule provided upon entry. The Spectacle Fair will take place each day from 1-7 with parade down Main Street at 7, leading to a finale at the Ashfield Lake. See: https://doubleedgetheatre.org/ashfield-town-spectacle
Sunday, June 4, 11:45am. “The State of Our Forests” at The Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence, 220 Main St Northampton, MA. Nationally-recognized tree expert Robert T. Leverett will give his perspective on the forests of Massachusetts – what they were like in pre-settlement times, what we need to protect, and what the future might hold. He will weigh in on carbon sequestration and forest management, and share his favorite places to see impressive trees and old growth. Bob’s many publications include “The Sierra Club Guide to Ancient Forests of the Northeast.” He is the co-founder and executive director of the Native Tree Society (ENTS), the co-founder, president, and principal old growth forest ecologist for Friends of Mohawk Trail State Forest, the Chair of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Forest Reserves Scientific Advisory Committee, and the co-founder of the American Forests National Cadre of Tree Measurers. Locally, Bob serves on the Smith College Campus Tree Advisory Committee.
Monday June 5, 4:30pm, 100% Renewable Towns – All Workgroups Meeting at the Unitarian Society of Amherst, 121 N. Pleasant St, Amherst (enter off Kellogg St). 6:00pm dinner at Pita Pockets. 7:00pm Climate Action Now Legislative Committee Meeting. [Be sure to remind everyone that biomass incineration is NOT truly renewable, OK?]
Saturday, June 10, 1 to 4:00pm. CET Speaker Forum: What Can You Do About Climate Change? The Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 845 West Street, Amherst, MA. This new event will feature three experts from our community, Ezra Markowitz, Nancy Nylen, and Solomon Goldstein-Rose, who will speak on locally relevant environmental issues. The speakers will discuss innovative and practical solutions to various challenges associated with climate change through psychological, political, and community-based strategies. This event is free and open to the public! Please click here to register. Call: 413-256-6006
Monday, June 12, 6pm. Place TBD. Mass Clean Energy Future Tour of Senators stop in Springfield at Western New England University’s School of Law — J. Pellegrini Moot Court Room, 1st floor, Springfield, MA The Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change is hosting hearings throughout the Commonwealth to get input from you on pressing issues in clean energy and climate. How do you think the legislature should keep our state healthy, sustainable and strong? Go to: https://malegislature.gov/cleanenergyfuture
TUESDAY June 13, (TBD). The Campaign for a Clean Energy Future is inviting you to participate in our first big lobby day of the year on at the Statehouse in Boston. We will meet at the CABA/CXC office at the Old West Church at 131 Cambridge Street in Boston. We will be looking to identify new supporters in the legislature and mobilize our current supporters to take action in advance of our eventual hearing date. To accomplish both goals, WE NEED YOU THERE! To train for the lobby day and set our strategic agenda for the rest of this year, we’ll be hosting our GRASSROOTS SUMMIT on SATURDAY, June 10th (location TBD). Fill out this form to sign up for these events! MCAN is proud to be a member of the campaign for a clean energy future and believes that putting a price on carbon is a key tool we have to cutting climate change impacts. If you have questions please contact Andrew Gordon (andrew@betterfutureproject.org) or Amenda Sebert (asebert@cleanwater.org).
Saturday, June 17th, 9am to 5pm. Direct Action Non-violence Training. The Sojourner Truth School for Social Change Leadership will be held at 40 Center St. Northampton. To register go to: www.truthschool.org. These are appropriate for Sugar Shack folks and others wishing to learn the skills and foundations of non-violence in order to consider taking arrest in non-violent actions. Paki Wieland and Jeff Napolitano are the trainers.
That’s all for now folks. Remember, when you’re out there defending the trees (or doing anything for that matter) listen to your Mother!
The Enviro Show 