Greetings Earthlings. Isn’t this the right moment for us to take down the emperor one word at a time? Isn’t it us who really have the best words! An untold number of poets, wordsmiths and strolling troubadours call in with all that (we trust). As usual we’ll also treat you to visits with His Malignancy himself and our Fool-on-the-Hill as well as a visit to The Enviro Show Echo Chamber but first it’s time for………….Revenge of the Critters! King Alexander of Greece ruled from June 1917 until his untimely death at 27 in 1920. He was bit by a domestic Barbary macaque and died of an infection (et tu pet!).
This week’s Fool-on-the-Hill may have sponsored the shortest legislation in the history of the U.S. House of Reprehensibles. Florida Repugnican, Matt Gaetz introduced H.R. 861. This beyond sketchy bill reads: “The Environmental Protection Agency shall terminate on December 31, 2018.” Full stop. We’re thinking, given the state of education in the state of Florida, Matt may have decided not to go too much into detail.
We may have stumbled on the reason His Malignancy’s senior aide, Stephen Miller always seems to come across a bit off. First we thought he might actually be Pee Wee Herman’s evil twin BUT then this came along! Yes, Miller may well be one of those mind-controlled robots reported about recently on NPR. Now, just guess whose mind controls him! Hint: The KGB was always interested in psychics! On to His Malignancy’s troll in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who has just stuck his oily foot in his mouth again. You can hear Scott Pruitt state: “carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to global warming” HERE. Let’s move on to another of the emperor’s appointees, T Rex the man from Exxon/Mobil…..or is it “Wayne Tracker”? Whatever you call him it seems like obstruction of justice is the name of the crime! This one may qualify as Great Moments in Wasted Efforts: MIT profs are trying to lobby His Malignancy about one of his chief climate deniers. Good luck with that, professor! It seems the emperor’s Forest Service has changed its priorities……but actually they’ve just gotten worse than ever. Read all about it here. Getting back to the subject at hand, we would mostly like to see the emperor taken down by the peaceful machination of the state. If you’ve been following the Valley’s own Rachel Maddow these past few weeks you’re fully aware that the evidence for running His Malignancy out of town on a rail is building. Watch this space.
In The Enviro Show Echo Chamber our friends at Grist recently reported that the new and removed EPA has given Big Oil & Gas a pass on methane (so to speak). OK, that stinks, right? How about this: Antarctica sea ice has just hit its lowest level ever. No word on whether such levels are as low as the ones reached by the repugnicans in Washington. Here’s our Enviro Show blog Action Link for this week. Please do it for the bees! A few more repugnican assaults on life here on planet Earth to cover: Endangered species? Endangered species! We doin’ need no endangered species!!
We have an E-Vally-uation segment coming soon that should be of great interest. Sooooo, don’t just watch Rachel’s space as noted above, watch THIS SPACE as well, OK? And this: Our friend Karl Meyer has written a piece regarding the Connecticut River and pumped storage that puts new meaning to the term carrying water for the corporados. It’s a must read for anyone who loves the river that our valley embraces.
The Enviro Show Quote of the Week comes from Albert Hoffman via Glen:
In field and forest, and in the animal world sheltered therein, indeed in every garden, a reality is perceptible that is infinitely more real, older, deeper, and more wondrous than everything made by people, and that will yet endure, when the inanimate, mechanical, and concrete world again vanishes, becomes rusted and fallen into ruin.
After we take down the emperor it’s time for the Bus Stop Billboard:
Wednesday, March 22, 2:00 – 3:00 pm eastern. “Too Dirty, Too Dangerous: Why Health Professionals Reject Natural Gas”. Are you concerned about fracking and natural gas pipelines? Concerned about climate change? If you are—and you should be—you should join PSR for a webinar. Go to: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/255494997792545283
Wednesday, March 22, 6pm. Native American Ceremonial Landscapes – Otis State Forest. First Church, 27 East Street, Pittsfield, MA. 73 Ceremonial Stone Landscapes (CSLs) have been identified along the proposed route of the Kinder Morgan Ct. Expansion pipeline through a survey conducted by several Tribes in the second half of 2016. According to Mr. Harris, a full one-third of these CSLs will be disturbed or destroyed during the construction of this pipeline. To learn more go here.
Wednesday, March 22, 7:00pm. People’s Climate March Planning Meeting for Greenfield, 12 Federal St. Greenfield, MA 01301. Join our kick off planning meeting to be involved in all aspects of planning and organizing our community for the People’s Climate March! This is one of hundreds of planning meetings happening around the county dedicated to organizing, planning, and recruiting for the April 29th People’s Climate March in Washington D.C. Go HERE. Call: 413-320-7222.
Thursday, March 23, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Poetry reading and creative writing workshop featuring Don Ogden, author of Bad Atmosphere. A free copy of d.o.’s book will be given to the first 20 participants to arrive. Part of the Talking Truth: Finding Your Voice Around the Climate Crisis series. Room 2601, UMass Library , Amherst, MA. Contact: Madeleine Charney
Thursday, March 23, 6:00 – 9:00pm. VT Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel meting. Brattleboro Area Middle School Multi-Purpose Room, 109 Sunny Acres, Brattleboro, VT. Representatives from the Vermont Public Service Department, Agency of Natural Resources and Attorney General’s Office will provide the state’s overview of the Certificate of Public Good petition that Entergy and NorthStar have filed with the Vermont Public Service Board. Remote Access (via GoToWebinar) will be available for the March 23, 2017 meeting. Please email Tony Leshinskie, Vermont State Nuclear Engineer at anthony.leshinskie@vermont.gov or via PSD.NDCAP@vermont.gov to request a remote access connection. Remote access requests should be made no later than 12 noon on March 23, 2017.
Monday, March 27, 7:00 to 9:00pm. Climate Action Now! Monthly gathering. Unitarian Society of Amherst, 121 N Pleasant St, Amherst, MA. (Handicap accessible and on a bus line. Everyone is welcome!). Climate Action Now is a people powered, grassroots Western Massachusetts based organization dedicated to building a powerful, unstoppable climate justice movement. We work in our communities and in collaboration with diverse partners across the region to educate, advocate, and mobilize for climate action. Newcomers are welcome! Let’s work together to create an inclusive, unstoppable movement for climate justice! VISIT OUR WEBSITE!
Saturday, April 1, 9am. to 5pm. Sugar Shack Alliance Non-violent Direct Action Training. Mt. Toby Friends Meeting House, Rt. 63, Leverett, MA. Go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/1788344298150406/
Thursday, April 6 — doors open at 6:15 p.m. and show starts at 7 p.m. Earth2Trump Resistance Roadshow, an evening of music and activism. Academy of Music Theatre, 274 Main St., Northampton, MA . The Earth2Trump Resistance Roadshow is coming to Northampton on April 6.Featuring exciting musicians and speakers, the roadshow will entertain, inspire and provide opportunities for everyone to help fight Trump’s disastrous environmental policies and attacks on Native Americans, including the Dakota Access Pipeline. Go here: http://biologicaldiversity.salsalabs.com/o/2167/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=83085
Thursday April 6, 7pm. Vermont regulators want to hear what we think about Entergy selling VT Yankee to a new decommissioning company. An informational presentation by the Dept. of Public Service will be held at 6:00pm. The Public Service Board will begin hearing the people speak at 7:00pm. The hearing will be at Vernon Elementary School, on Governor Hunt Road (across the street from Vermont Yankee) in Vernon, VT. For details go to our Decommissioning Resources page and our news post here.
Wednesday, April 12, 7pm. Eversource Rate Case Hearing. Springfield City Hall, School Committee Meeting Room 220, 36 Court St., Springfied, MA. Eversource is proposing a bill increase to you that would increase their revenue by about $100 million dollars. Eversource is asking the Department of Public Utilities to give them a guaranteed return on equity of 10.5%, which would be among the highest rate of any utility in the country. There are many parts of this proposal that are bad for solar, including imposing “demand charges” on residential customers and higher “fixed customer charges”; which will both have the effect of lowering net metering credits. The proposal is also bad for low income households (western MA families could end up with an annual bill of $500 before they even turn on the lights!), and for energy conservation. Go to: http://www.massclimateaction.org/
Wednesday April 26, 7pm. Eversource Rate Case Hearing. Greenfield Middle School Auditorium, 195 Federal Street, Greenfield, MA. (see above).
Saturday, April 22, Noon to 5pm. March for Science – Boston Common. The March for Science champions publicly-funded and publicly-communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity. We unite as a diverse, non-partisan group to call for science that upholds the common good, and for political leaders and policy makers to enact evidence-based policies in the public interest. This group is inclusive of all individuals and types of science! Go to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1283459638410385/
Saturday, April 22, 10am. All day. March for Science – Washington, DC. In Washington DC, our march through the streets will culminate in a rally on the Washington Mall. Co-hosted with the Earth Day Network, the rally will be both a call for politicians to implement science based policies and a public celebration of science. The rally will feature main stage speakers and teach-in tents around the mall where scientists and science communicators from a wide variety of scientific fields will discuss their work and its impact on our everyday lives. Go to: https://www.marchforscience.com
Thursday & Friday April 27, 9am – April 28. Elders Climate Action Day. American University Washington College of Law & Capitol Hill, Washington DC, 4300 NW Nebraska Ave., Washington, DC Go to: http://www.eldersclimateactionday.org/
Saturday, April 29th, 2017. That’s the date of the People’s Climate Mobilization, a major march in Washington, D.C., when we will come together with hundreds of thousands of people to reject Trump’s attack on our communities and climate, and push forward with our vision of a clean energy economy that works for all. Go to: https://peoplesclimate.org/pledge/ MA bus sign-up HERE.
We are very much out of here now. Remember: Listen to your Mother, right?
The Enviro Show 