The Stop Shopping Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings. The unique plague of rampant U.S. consumerism returns to the show to remind us……this is not life!  Rev. Billy calls in to confirm and Robin Jaffin of Buy Nothing Amherst/Northampton joins us in the studio to make the case.  As in the past and so into the future we take you on a journey to meet The-Fool-on-the-Hill as well as a trip to The Enviro Show Echo Chamber, but fist it’s time for……..Revenge of the Critters! Warning dog people: toooo many K9s taking up space. Snowy Owl hopes for a taste.

It’s time to visit this week’s fool, Rep. Chris Stewart  (R-UT) who is the sponsor of HR1422 – EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2014. The anti-science bill places restrictions on pesky EPA scientists and their crazy climate crisis claims while making room for experts with overt financial ties to the industries affected by EPA regulations. We ask you: where’s the conflict there??

How about a little E-Valley-uation? Are you up for a 29% rate hike in your WEMECO electric bill? No? But your Department of PUBLIC Utilities gave it the go ahead without comment. It must be OK, yes? How about Big Gas, the Utilities and the so-called regulators scaring the beejesus out of ratepayers with dire tales of potential blackouts in mid-winter if a new fracked gas pipeline isn’t built? You believe them right? You’ve never heard of Enron right?

In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we return to the sea with this brief but enlightening op-ed from the NY Times. Another one from The Paper of Record we just could not resist. The headline says it all: “Grain Piles Up, Waiting for a Ride, as Trains Move North Dakota Oil”. Priorities, people!  And speaking of: Grist had a piece after the elections that pretty well covers the far-right’s plans for destroying the planet. Read it and weep. But wait! All is not lost. YOU can do something here!  Wait, there’s more! FERC is contemplating (along with their friends from Big Petro) not only charging YOU for new fracked gas pipelines but for repairing existing ones. Why should pipeline owners have to pay, right?

Our Quote of the Week is a super segway into our conversations with the Rev and Robin:

“The situation the Earth is in today has been created by unmindful production and unmindful consumption. We consume to forget our worries and our anxieties. Tranquilising ourselves with over-consumption is not the way.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

OK, after our conversation with the Rev and Robin it’s on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Thursday, December 4, 11am – 12pm. Protest at New England ISO Meeting at The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave, Boston. Rally at ISO New England. ISO New England, the entity responsible for keeping the lights on in New England, is not doing its job.  By leaving renewables out of their equation for our future energy needs, they caused rate hikes this winter which are costing us millions of dollars, and they are propping up the false perception that we need new gas pipelines.  Gather with other activists from across New England to send ISO the message that we already have too much gas, we need more solar and wind now, and they need to rise to the challenge of building our energy future, not destroying it!

Thursday, December 4, 9:30 AM  — 3:45 PM. Mass. DOER Low Gas Demand Modeling Analysis Stakeholder Meeting. Final meeting to review Low Demand Scenario Study. Free to public, lunch provided. Please register here. Mass. DPU Offices, One South Station, Hearing Room A
Boston, MA

Thursday, December 4, 7pm. Hadley Senior Center. Mark Stinson, the Western Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Circuit Rider, will be giving a presentation about the recent changes to the Wetlands Protection Act Regulations.

Tuesday, December 9, 6:15-8:15pm. Selectman meeting regarding the FRTA and Gas Pipeline. Montague Town Hall, Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA

Saturday, December 13, 1 to 4:30pm at Collective Copies in Amherst. Collective Copies would like you to join us for a celebration of Levellers Press Fifth Anniversary. We’ll have author readings starting at 1 p.m. with a reception and featured readers at 3 p.m. Big Holiday discounts on locally authored and published works such as “Bad Atmosphere – A Collection of Poetry & Prose on the Climate Crisis” by some guy from The Enviro Show.

December 27, 7:30pm. Memorial Hall, Shelburne Falls, Concert Benefiting the Franklin Land Trust‘s efforts against the proposed Kinder Morgan Pipeline to carry fracked gas across the wild lands and rivers of western Massachusetts. Featuring Jeffrey Foucault, Kris Delmhorst, Rusty Belle and Abe Loomis. Tickets available at World Eye Books, Greenfield and Boswell’s Books, Shelburne Falls.

 

OK, we are out of here. Next time it’s Winter Solstice with the Good Green Witch and more. Remember to…..what? LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!

The Vandana Tapes Enviro Show

Greetings Earthlings.  We’ve been trying to get Jean’s friend and longtime activist for the planet, Vandana Shiva into the studio for years now but given that Vandana is seemingly in constant motion around the globe all we’ve ever been able to do is get the recorded version. With that in mind, we roll the tapes! Naturally, we will also send you over for a visit with the Fool-on-the-Hill and with the New Boss and deep into The Enviro Show Echo Chamber, but first it’s time for……Revenge of the Critters! Another loyal listener recommended story, this one held back just for this occasion: our first snowfall of the season.  Tables turned on loud snowmobile enthusiasts chasing moose in Maine. Their claim not to be chasing the critter is trumped by their urge to be on TV. Stupid human motorized recreation freaks! Roll their tape.

This week we go plural yet again as 31 Dems and 221 Repugs vote in the U.S. House of Reprehensibles to go full bore on the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline from Hell. Of course, it’s yet another Repugnican inspired act of futility given that The New Boss has indicated he will veto the bill [See New Boss below], but these Fools simply can’t resist making asses of themselves. It’s just what they do!

And here he is! The New Boss is finally doing what he’s supposed to do: Save the Planet!  It’s reported that the bogus KXL bill will garner a big fat veto when it reaches Obama’s desk. It’s legacy time in the White House nowadays and we can expect to see some more backbone than we have in the past. That’s a good thing and we think he should be encouraged to do more. Can he arrest the Enemies of the Planet in DC and send them to Gitmo? No? Why not?? Anyway, those climate criminals are freaked out about the climate deal The Boss cut with China. Our take? Meh!

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week comes from none other than our recorded guest:

“Nature shrinks as capital grows. The growth of the market cannot solve the very crisis it creates.” – Vandana Shiva

In our Enviro Show Echo Chamber we have a full……well, chamber! Funny that the New Boss should be speaking about the climate at the G20 just days after we read that “G20 Countries Spending 88 Billion a Year to Subsidize Climate Disaster” Maybe his new legacy schtick will rub off on the other capitalists, no? This seems like a good time to rerun this story from RT that ties together trashing the planet with the fracked gas boom (pun intended) in the U.S., our regional gas pipeline struggles, and the growing talk of a trade war with Russia. Dare we say “think globally act locally”? Or regionally for that matter: here’s a pretty fascinating reportback on that direct action at FERC in DC.  And speaking of FERC get this juicy quote: “FERC isn’t responsible for gauging projects’ impact on warming” — FERC Chairwoman Cheryl LaFleur. You’re on your own citizen!  We hope forest activists in Peru won’t be on there own. They need international support because they are being killed by enemies of the planet. Last Saturday’s New York Times had a disturbing piece on amphibians around the world threatened by two pathogenic fungus, one called Bs for short. No surprise that the fungus is spreading rampantly via the pet trade (which we’ve always thought was bs anyway). And finally, here’s our Enviro Show Blog Action Bonus: We need more solar in the Commonwealth! When you go to the form here you can boost the % up above the weak 20% indicated. We’re thinking we’ll double and raise them.

After we run the Vandana tapes by you we head over to the Bus Stop Billboard:

November 17^th – 21^st, Monday through Friday, at 12:00 – 1:00PM . Mothers out Front “Power Up at the Statehouse – Stand Up and be Counted”. The time is now for Governor Patrick, with the power mandated under the Global Warming Solutions Act, to make Massachusetts the first state in the country to draw the line against fossil fuels for its new energy needs, and make a better, more just, choice for everyone. Friday is the “Final Power Rally”. Go to: http://www.mothersoutfront.org/

Tuesday, November 18, 6:30pm – 8:30pm. Cowspiracy Screening at Cinemark at Hampshire Mall and XD, 367 Russell St, Hadley.

Monday, November 24, 7:00pm – 9:00pm. Climate Action Now / 350MA Node Meeting. The Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, 121 North Pleasant St., Amherst

 

Friday, November 28 Black Friday at Walmart events:

Orange ~ 11:00pm-Midnight Thanksgiving Night 11/27

Westfield ~ 10:00-11:00am

Chicopee ~ 11:30am-12:30pm

Pittsfield ~ Noon-1:00pm

North Adams ~ 1:00-2:00pm

Northampton ~ 1:15-2:15pm

East Windsor ~ 1:30-2:30pm

Ware ~ 1:30-2:30pm

Hadley ~ 1:30-2:15pm

Bus from Hadley to Springfield ~ 2:15pm

Springfield Rally ~ 3:00-4:00pm ~ Pioneer Valley stores are scheduled so that everyone can come to Springfield.

 

Thursday, December 4, 11:30am to 4pm. ISO New England – Consumer Liaison Group Meeting. Stakeholder forum between ISO New England and regional consumer organizations and advocates to exchange information about the economic impacts of New England’s bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets. A FERC rep may be there along with other fracked as pipeline proponents…..opps! FERC is supposed to be unbiased. Sorry. The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA.

 

That is all. Next time it’s Buy Nothing Amherst/Northampton with Robin Jaffee and Rev. Billy calling in from the Church of Stop Shopping. We go out with Tom Neilson‘s “Something you ate” from the “It’s a Crime to Tell the Truth” album.

 

 

 

The End of the World Enviro Book Show

Greetings Earthlings. Tired of reading Harry Potter stories or the latest in vampires or magical dragons? How about a love story in the time of climate chaos or maybe the Climate Crisis in verse? Brian Adams, Professor of Environmental Science at Greenfield Community College and author of “Love in the Time of Climate Change”, a cli-fi activist romantic comedy about global warming, joins us in the studio along with our own d.o. whose book “Bad Atmosphere – A Collection of Poetry & Prose on the Climate Crisis” is being launched on November 15. Extra! Extra! Read all about it! (sorry). As always we will also beguile you with tales of daring do by our Fool-on-the-Hill and a visit to The Enviro Show Echo Chamber, but first it’s time for…….Revenge of the Critters! Hawk takes out drone!!

Our Fool-on-the-Hill goes plural yet again. You may want to save this one, it’s a side-splitting video cluster of far-right climate change denial. You can hand this one down to your grandchildren when times come to prosecution. Ready? Set….WATCH!

Out front in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we find the Pope making it absolutely clear it is a “grave sin against God the creator” to destroy the environment. We don’t know much about God but we’ve always said “No compromise in defense of Mother Earth!” and it sounds like His Holiness has come around too.  We know Halloween is over but how can we possibly not pass on the hair-raising news?? “Fukushima Radiation Nearing West Coast” That’s not some flaky tree-hugger making the case, it comes from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, OK? And this: Remember “peak oil”? We are already there when Big Oil has to resort to fracking in order to pull their product out of the planet. Now, the folks at Post Carbon Institute present us with peak gas. Check out the report here. Speaking of gas, here’s our Enviro Show Blog Bonus Action Link on the bogus electrical rate hikes that keep reminding us of something from the recent past, something about…..what was the name?……O, right! Enron.  Here’s a PDF with some background on those rate hikes. How about some electricity without the fossil fools! Watch THIS. Finally, almost breaking news! Humanity’s suicide pact is progressing nicely.

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week requires no trip to the Wayback Machine:

“In reality, climate change is actually the biggest thing that’s going on every single day.” – Bill McKibben

Time for some E-Valley-uation. Next month the corporados at Kinder Morgan (did we mention KM is a spin-off of Enron?) will be holding “Open House” at various locations in Massachusetts including Greenfield and Athol. We imagine there will be some major spin taking place in these venues. We get dizzy just thinking about it. If you would like to dance with them in an organized sort of way go to the Mass Plan page here.  Also, have you been to the NoFrackedGasinMass site recently? They have a new video and the “Burden of Proof” paper up for your edification (not to mention stimulation of yur’ righteous outrage organ).

After our conversation with Brian and that other guy we move on to the Bus Stop Billboard:

Saturday, November 8 to 11. Grassroots organizers are planning nature walks along the KM pipeline route this November. Naturalists and biologists will be leading walks on Veterans Day weekend.  They seek to highlight the land that would destroyed if the pipeline were built.  Information at www.nofrackedgasinmass.org/november-nature-walks.  Contact Julia Blyth at 413-225-3196

Saturday, November 8th, 1:00-4:00 pm. Fossil Fuel Divestment for Individuals.  Come listen to our panel of experts explain how to get it done! Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, 121 North Pleasant Street, Amherst. Pre-registration not required but helpful.  Contact Darcy Dumont, dumont140@yahoo.com.

Saturday, November 15, 8:30am to 12:30pm. Stop the Pipeline Statewide Summit. Montachusett Regional Vocational School, 1050 Westminster St., Fitchburg, MA. Go to: StopNED.org

Saturday, November 15, 4pm. Book launch & reading by d.o. from his magnum opus, “Bad Atmosphere – a Collection of Poetry & Prose on the Climate Crisis” published by Levellers Press at Collective Copies, North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA See: https://enviroshow.wordpress.com/bad-atmosphere/

Tuesday, December 2, 6pm. Kinder Morgan Open House on the fracked gas pipeline. Orange Innovation Center; 131 West Main St., Orange, MA

Wednesday, December 3, 6pm. KM Open House. Greenfield Community College; One College Drive, Greenfield, MA

Wednesday, December 10, 6pm. KM Open House. Mohawk Trail Regional High School; 24 Ashfield Rd., Shelburne Falls, MA

 

That’s all folks! Did you forget anything? How about you listen to your Mother!