Earth – The Many Shades of Green

Feng Shui in the Fire Horse Year with Anjie Cho

I’m just here to mess with your feng shui

Rearrange the room in a new way

Get you back to feelin’ like yourself

Again, again, again

We start off the podcast with Philadelphia artist John Faye’s song Feng Shui, which uses the ancient Chinese philosophy of space and energy as metaphor of rearranging home energy to find emotional balance. The track is a standout single from his 2024 album, The Long Game, and is often celebrated as an anthem for resilience and personal renewal.

On this episode of The Many Shades of Green, we explore something ancient that feels surprisingly urgent-how feng shui connects to sustainability and environmental responsibility, as well as personal balance. Feng Shui is rooted in Taoism and Chinese philosophy, which teaches us that humans are inseparable from the natural world. The goal is balance between light and dark, activity and rest, people and planet. That’s also the foundation of sustainability. Imagine if environmental responsibility began with the energy in our bedrooms, kitchens, and gardens. Imagine if climate action wasn’t just about policy, but about how we arrange our living rooms. Maybe sustainability isn’t only about sacrifice, but about aligning your space with nature’s rhythms. We need to be intentional about what we bring into our homes. In feng shui, clutter blocks energy, as it creates stagnation. In environmental terms, clutter often represents overconsumption as we tend to buy fast furniture and disposable decor. Sustainability asks us to buy less, choose well, and keep things longer. Minimalism, when done thoughtfully, aligns with feng shui’s emphasis on intentional placement and meaningful objects. Instead of filling space, we curate it. It’s important to look at the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water) through a sustainability lens, wind, energy, water and flow. Our homes can be sanctuaries, not just for us, but for the planet. Decluttering allows energy to flow and feng shui encourages natural materials, indoor plants, and connection to sunlight. It is important to align your space with nature’s rhythms and being intentional about what you bring into your home and your office. Organizations like the U.S. Green Building Council promotes LEED-certified buildings that optimize sunlight, airflow, and water efficiency — principles that mirror feng shui’s ancient guidelines. Feng Shui connects us to being more sustainable, as it helps us design spaces that heal us and the planet.

Our guest on this episode of TMSOG is Anjie Cho, who helps us understand how feng shui can give us balance, and how it helps us consume with intention. We touch on the importance of the Five Elements, as well as the current Lunar Year of the Fire Horse. Anjie is a feng shui guru, and is a New York-based architect, author, certified feng shui consultant, and teacher of mindful, holistic design. As the owner of Anjie Cho Architect PLLC and co-founder of the Mindful Design Feng Shui School, she focuses on creating nourishing environments through feng shui, ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement), and sustainable design. Anjie hosts the Holistic Spaces podcast, runs a blog at HolisticSpaces.com, and has written books including Holistic Spaces and Mindful Homes.

We are living in a world that needs balance and needs us to take action to reduce chaos and create peace through understanding. To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/ https://libertyjusticecenter.org/

To help protect the environment visit and please donate to https://earthjustice.org and https://action.nrdc.org/ Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/ Follow The Many Shades of Green on FB, Threads and Instagram @tmshadesofgreen and on Blue Sky @tmshadesofgreen.bsky.social. Listen to TMSOG podcasts on all major podcast apps.#RaiseYourEco&SocialConsciousness.

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Help Birds and Wildlife Snuggle and Survive the Winter with Victoria Alzapiedi Co-Founder of New Castle Healthy Yards

We start the podcast with the song Little Bird by Annie Lennox.

Annie Lennox released Little Bird as part of her debut solo album Diva, it might be one of the best songs ever to reference birds and it quickly became one of her signature songs. The track reached number three on the UK charts and became a number one hit on the U.S. dance charts. At its heart, though, the song is about Annie watching a bird in flight and longing for that same freedom, finally declaring: “this little bird’s fallen out of that nest now, so I’ve just got to put these wings to test.” For anyone who has ever wished they could spread their wings and take flight, this song remains a reminder that sometimes you just have to test those wings and soar. (The Birding Life-songs about birds)

It’s been a long, cold, snowy winter and we all want Spring to come, as there is only so much cabin fever one can take. After the recent blizzard which dumped over 20 inches of snow on my property, I kept looking out my window and did not see birds or other animals for a couple of days. Where did they all go? How do they survive? When a blizzard hits, most of us hunker down inside, dress in layers, turn up the heat, and drink hot chocolate, and keep that cup of coffee or shot of whiskey within reach. But outside, in the howling wind and blowing snow, birds and other critters are doing something extraordinary, they are surviving. While we cancel plans and complain about snow, tiny birds, each weighing less than a deck of cards are enduring the same storm with no walls, no heaters, no guarantees. Small birds will often roost alone or in groups, minimizing exposure to wind. The key enemy in a blizzard isn’t cold—it’s wind and wetness. Birds survive winter storms largely because of feathers, which are remarkably engineered insulation. Before a storm, birds fluff up, trapping pockets of warm air close to their bodies. Cold is survivable, but starvation is the real threat. Birds respond by gorging before storms, building fat reserves—sometimes increasing body weight by up to 10% in a single day. After the storm, it’s a race against time. A small songbird may only survive one winter night without food. This is why backyard feeders matter most during and immediately after storms, not just on calm winter days. Animals survive blizzards by finding shelter to escape wind and cold, such as tree cavities, thickets, underground burrows, or under structures like sheds,according to wildlife reports. They often hunker down and snuggle curling into balls to conserve body heat, or, in the case of small mammals like mice, burrow into insulating snowdrifts. In a way, birds and other wildlife surviving blizzards are reminding us resilience is about adaptation.
On this episode we have Victoria Alzapiedi, our resident garden, wildlife and healthy yards guru who discusses wildlife surviving in winter. We talk about how birds (and other species) endure brutal winter storms—blizzards, ice, white-out conditions—and what their survival can teach us about resilience, adaptation, and even how we can help. We also discuss the importance of planting trees to provide resources for wildlife. Victoria is a co-founder of New Castle Healthy Yards and Chair of the Town of New Castle Conservation Board. In addition she is the co-founder of the New Castle Pollinator Pathways Coalition, and started the Facebook group “The Nature of Westchester” an active community of nature lovers which now has more than 5000 members. Victoria is also a Native plant gardening consultant and coach providing eco-friendly planting recommendations (mynativegardenoasis.com). For more information go to New Castle Healthy Yards and The Nature of Westchester on Facebook. Check out the Audubon Society @ https://act.audubon.org and https://www.nwf.org/ National Wildlife Federation.

To help protect the environment visit and please donate to https://earthjustice.org Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/

Follow The Many Shades of Green on FB, Threads and Instagram @tmshadesofgreen and on Blue Sky @tmshadesofgreen.bsky.social. Listen to TMSOG podcasts on all major podcast apps.#RaiseYourEco&SocialConsciousness.

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

The Winter Irruption of the Red-breasted Nuthatch and Helping Wildlife Survive in the Cold with Environmental Guru Victoria Alzapiedi

We start the podcast with the song “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” by Frank Zappa, which is the opening track of a surreal, satirical suite about an Eskimo named Nanook dreaming of a journey where his mother warns him to avoid yellow, husky-contaminated snow. The track is from his fifth solo album Apostrophe (‘) released in (1974), and was inspired by a conversation about Eskimo language. The song serves as a whimsical, cautionary tale against eating polluted snow.

Winter is now upon on in full force. We recently had a historic snow storm in the northeast and other parts of the country. We have to think about what a difficult time it is for the birds, insects, and small animals around us. Winter is a season of survival. So what do we need to do to prepare our yards and landscapes to become true winter habitats? Life-saving ecosystem are crucial in making survival of wildlife possible and the way we landscape our yards plays a big role in that process. For decades, we’ve been taught that a “good yard” is neat, tidy, trimmed, and clean. But nature doesn’t work that way. In fact, many of the things we are encouraged to remove in fall — leaves, seed heads, fallen branches, dead stems — are exactly what wildlife depends on to survive winter.

When we build landscapes that support life, even in the coldest months, we are choosing connection over control, care over convenience and stewardship over aesthetics, which is crucial in the colder seasons. Good gardening is key to survival of wildlife. We must assist Mother Nature in helping creatures live through the harder winter months. Winters today are more unpredictable than they used to be as freeze-thaw cycles, sudden deep freezes, and erratic storms are becoming more common with climate change, which makes resilient landscaping more important than ever. Diverse plantings, native species, layered habitats — trees, shrubs, perennials, ground cover — all work together to create stability.
We are joined on this episode by Victoria Alzapiedi, our resident garden, wildlife and healthy yards guru who gives us great info about putting a winter plan in place to support habitat in freezing weather, snow and ice. We talk about birds and small mammals, especially the Red-breasted Nuthatch. Victoria is a co-founder of New Castle Healthy Yards, and is the chair of the Town of New Castle Conservation Board, as well as a member of the Westchester Climate Smart Communities Task Force. She is also a member of Friends of Buttonhook, which is working to save a 20.3 acre forrest in the Town of New Castle. In addition, she is the co-founder of the New Castle Pollinator Pathways Coalition, and started the Facebook group “The Nature of Westchester” an active community of nature lovers which now has more than 5300 members. So again, in the words of Frank Zappa, don’t eat the yellow snow. Only your doggies know what’s in there. For more information go to New Castle Healthy Yards and The Nature of Westchester on Facebook. Check out the Audubon Society @ https://act.audubon.org and https://www.nwf.org/ National Wildlife Federation.

To help protect the environment visit and please donate to https://earthjustice.org Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Hail Sweden’s Second Hand Mall, plus good environmental news about the Amazon Rainforest, and some Astrology with Charlotte Ghiorse, Founder of House of Choclet

I’m wearing second-hand hats
Second-hand clothes
That’s why the call me Second Hand Rose
Even our piano in the parlor
Father bought for ten cents on the dollar
Second-hand pearls
I’m wearing second-hand curls
I never get a single thing that’s new

The aforementioned lyrics are from the song Second Hand Rose as performed by Barbara Streisand. The song is apropos to the topic we discuss in this week’s TMSOG podcast, which is about the need to reduce waste by recycling, reusing clothes and other items.
I used to shop with my mom, QOFE Ruthie at second hand and antique stores in Brooklyn and NYC, especially Greenwich Village. I loved wandering around checking out cool hats, clothes, costume jewelry, dishes from England and sometimes vinyl records, 33s, 45s, and 78s mostly from the 40s,50s and early 60’s. People would sometimes look down upon those of us who shopped at stores with gently used items, but secondhand stores are no longer a stigma. We can make smarter choices, take action on the climate and show creative expression. People are selling and buying secondhand for so many reasons. Many folks want to save money, reduce waste, avoid fast fashion, find unique, one-of-a-kind pieces and make extra income from selling items they no longer use. Resale apps like Depop, Vinted, ThredUp, Poshmark, and eBay have made it easy. But Sweden took the idea even further — and turned secondhand into an actual mall experience. In Eskilstuna, Sweden, there’s something called ReTuna Återbruksgalleria, often known as the world’s first secondhand mall. It’s a full shopping mall where everything sold is reused, repaired, upcycled, or secondhand. We are a throw away society, so maybe it’s time to consider selling old clothes, and swapping them for other items, donating them, and to reimagine what you can do with older items to reduce waste. It is highly possible that somewhere out there, someone else might need exactly what you no longer use. So this week we discuss the second hand mall in Sweden, a Swedish billionaire who is helping to save the Amazon Rainforest, Octlantis where Octopuses thrive, plus Astrology, and other eco and social issues with our resident eco activist, artist, astrologer, comic, marvelous mom and founder of House of Choclet, Charlotte Ghiorse- https://www.houseofchoclet.com/

For more information on civic action go to https://civ.works/ To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/

To help protect the environment visit and please donate to https://earthjustice.org Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

The Environmental Cost of War, Wave Browser, December Astrology and more with Charlotte Ghiorse

The opening song of this episode is Some People Sleep, by The Tokens, which was written by my Token Bro, Mitch Margo. The last line of the lyric, sung in three part harmony is “some people sleep to the sound of the falling bombs… and some people don’t sleep at all.” The tune was written during the Vietnam War, and Mitch wrote it to bring out his opposition, but in beautiful way with music. War is horrific, and mankind continues to wage wars through the centuries, with little end in sight. People lose their lives fighting each other, and innocent lives perish as collateral damage. There is also another area of collateral damage, which seems to fall under the radar, and that is the destruction of the land where conflicts occur. When we think of war, we think of human loss, destruction, migration, trauma. But with every bomb that drops and every military convoy that rolls through a landscape, nature absorbs a blow too. War doesn’t just change borders. It reshapes ecosystems.

There is an environmental impact of war which includes air, water, and soil pollution, habitat destruction, and a significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Conflicts lead to deforestation, biodiversity loss, and long-lasting contamination from chemical weapons, landmines, and military waste. Warfare also causes long-term damage to ecosystems and natural resources, affecting everything from food security to the availability of clean water.

According to the Conflict and Environment Observatory in an article dated May 5, 2025, the environmental impact of wars begins long before they start. Building and sustaining military forces consumes vast quantities of resources which includes metals or rare earth elements and critical minerals, water or hydrocarbons. Control over militarily relevant critical minerals is becoming an increasingly important strategic consideration for militaries, as evidenced by policies towards Ukraine and the DRC. The CO2 emissions of the largest militaries are greater than many of the world’s countries combined. It is estimated that militaries are responsible for 5.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally, however military emissions reporting to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is poor and not all of the information gets out. So, war, what is it good for, absolutely nothing! Charlotte Ghiorse is on this episode of TMSOG. Charlotte is our resident eco activist, artist, astrologer, comic, marvelous mom and founder of House of Chochlet. We talk about the environmental effects of war, as well as some eco-innovations (Wave Browser), plus an homage to a cat that lived to be 38, fake vs real Christmas trees, some Astrology, and other things. For more info about Charlotte go to https://www.houseofchoclet.com/ and https://www.houseofchoclet.com/sexy-astrologyflkx9h8uma0

To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/ https://www.democracydocket.com/ and if you want to take more effective civic action visit https://civ.works/ To help protect the environment visit and please donate to https://earthjustice.org Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ and https://malcolmpresents.com Follow The Many Shades of Green on FB, Threads and Instagram @tmshadesofgreen and on Blue Sky @tmshadesofgreen.bsky.social. Listen to TMSOG podcasts on all major podcast apps.#RaiseYourEco&SocialConsciousness.

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Help Save Buttonhook Forest (savebuttonhook.org) with Victoria Alzapiedi and Stacy Morgan

We have an interesting song to start the podcast entitled Plantasia.

Plantasia was recorded by Mort Garson on his Moog synthesizer in 1976. The album was created for houseplants to grow, but I am sure the trees would also love it, and your doggies will too. It is quite incredible that the composer created this music for growing plants. The album cover’s tagline reads “warm earth music for plants… and the people who love them.”

On this episode we discuss saving Buttonhook Forest, which is in a suburban area about 45 minutes from NYC. Forests are one of our most critical natural pathways for absorbing and storing excess carbon to fight climate change. For millennia, trees have pulled carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and turned it into their bark, wood and leaves through the oldest carbon-capture technology on Earth: photosynthesis. Trees and plants communicate with each other through underground fungal networks and by releasing airborne chemical signals. These networks allow plants to share nutrients, water, and alarm signals, while chemical signals can warn nearby plants of threats like insect attacks.

The “Wood Wide Web”: A vast network of mycorrhizal fungi connects the roots of trees and plants, enabling them to exchange resources. Plants and trees can share vital resources like carbon, water, and nutrients through these fungal links. For example, a shaded sapling may receive carbon from a nearby tree. When a plant is under attack from pests, it can send warning signals through the network to alert its neighbors. When we protect existing forests, we avoid and reduce deforestation which contributes to climate change and biodiversity loss. Forests are one of the most important ecosystems on Earth. They provide habitat to 80% of the world’s land-dwelling species. They help keep our water clean by naturally filtering out pollution. They provide sustenance and offer refuge as well as recreation to billions of people around the planet. A forest isn’t just a patch of trees, it’s a living archive. It’s ecological history. And it’s a space with deep cultural, spiritual, and even ancestral importance.

Indigenous communities relate to forests socially, economically, politically and spiritually. They use traditional knowledge and sustainable agriculture and resource management to ensure their forests’ survival. It’s hard to overemphasize the importance of forests. The story of saving Buttonhook Forest in is a powerful one as it touches on ecology, water, land, heritage, and a community fighting to protect something irreplaceable. The journey to save this magical forest has taken the core members of the non-profit, Friends of Buttonhook Forest on quite a ride. Joining us to discuss the forest is Victoria Alzapiedi, our resident garden, wildlife and healthy yards guru. She is a board member of Friends of Buttonhook Forest and is a co-founder of New Castle Healthy Yards. She is the chair of the Town of New Castle Conservation Board. In addition, we have Stacy Morgan, a core member of Friends of Buttonhook Forest. Stacy is an organic chemist, and she became interested in climate science while working at the National Physical Laboratory in London. Stacy is working hard to save this diverse and important carbon sink and she continues to educate and engage the community in protecting this amazing land. For more information go to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/ and if you can donate, please check out the website and find the Go Fund Me link. Follow the forest on Facebook via Friends of Buttonhook Forest and Instagram @SaveButonhook.

If you want to help protect the environment go to https://earthjustice.org and https://www.nrdc.org/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ and https://malcolmpresents.com as well as https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/ Follow The Many Shades of Green on FB, Threads and Instagram @tmshadesofgreen and on Blue Sky @tmshadesofgreen.bsky.social. Listen to TMSOG podcasts on all major podcast apps.#RaiseYourEco&SocialConsciousness

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Save the Planet: Eat Less Meat, Boring Tunnels, COP30 and Astrology with Charlotte Ghiorse

The tune Mother Nature’s Son is about a deep, simple connection to nature, written by Paul McCartney with inspiration from his childhood love for the countryside and a lecture by the Maharishi.

Paul is a vegetarian and is very outspoken on the affect that raising meat and eating meat is having on the planet. He adopted the lifestyle for compassionate and ethical reasons and worked on the Best Free Monday campaign. Paul and his late wife Linda McCartney stopped eating meat in 1975 after watching lambs play outside their farm while they were eating lamb chops, which appeared to be quite the conundrum indeed. After that experience, Paul said that he would never go back to eating meat.

Paul McCartney stated that serving meat at a climate conference is like “handing out cigarettes at a cancer-prevention conference”. He issued this statement in a letter to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) organizers, urging them to make the event’s menu entirely vegetarian to align it with its mission to combat the climate crisis. His letter, shared by PETA, highlighted the significant environmental impact of the meat industry. The food we consume has an impact on the climate, as what we grow, how we grow it, what chemicals and fertilizers enter the foods we eat, and the methane that is produced by cattle are all having a detrimental impact on the climate and our well being.

According to a recent Associated Press article, about 15 million deaths could be avoided each year and agricultural emissions could drop by 15% if people worldwide shift to healthier, predominantly plant-based diets, The EAT-Lancet Commmission brought together scientists worldwide to review the latest data on food’s role in human health, climate change, biodiversity and people’s working and living conditions. Their conclusion was that without substantial changes to the food system, the worst effects of climate change will be unavoidable, even if humans successfully switch to cleaner energy. “If we do not transition away from the unsustainable food path we’re on today, we will fail on the climate agenda. We will fail on the biodiversity agenda. We will fail on food security. We’ll fail on so many pathways,” said study co-author Johan Rockström, who leads the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. We are what we eat, and we need to start to consider how our food is grown. Meatless Monday is a good starting point for a more plant based diet. We must consider our own health as well as the health of Mother Earth. On this episode of TMSOG podcast, we delve into the effects of climate change on the food system and the need to reduce meat consumption. We also discuss COP30, Boring Tunnels in Nevada, some Astrology, and other issues with our resident eco activist, artist, astrologer, comic, marvelous mom and founder of House of Chochlet, Charlotte Ghiorse. For more info about Charlotte go to https://www.houseofchoclet.com/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Bridges Over Generations with Yolanda Nava, Tina Flores and George Polisner

This episode opens with the song “Get Up, Stand Up” by Bob Marley and the Wailers which is an anthem for those fighting for one’s rights and resisting oppression. It was inspired by Marley’s visit to Haiti, where he witnessed poverty, and it has become a global rallying cry for human rights and a symbol for movements and protests worldwide. It is a call for people to action, to rise up and demand their rights instead of giving up. The song touches on unity and the lyric of the chorus has become universal for those facing injustice. Communities must stand up and be one!

At its core, community means connection—people recognizing that their futures are linked. When one person is isolated, change feels impossible. But when neighbors, friends, or even strangers come together around a shared cause—something shifts. Standing up for your rights doesn’t begin with confrontation—it begins with visibility. When one person speaks up publicly, they open a doorway for others to join. And once people connect, they start to build power. When we come together, we don’t just protect our freedoms—we protect one another. And that is where real power lives. When a community speaks—officials listen, institutions shift, and policies evolve. People feel braver when they know they’re not alone. People felt a sense of community during the recent No Kings Rallies. There is power in numbers and it builds resilience!

I am happy to introduce Yolanda Nava and Tina Flores to the TMSOG family. Both amazing ladies will be joining us every other month to give us great information, stories, life experiences and wisdom on social justice issues and more. Yolanda Nava, is an activist, Emmy award winning journalist, and award-winning author. She is a Mexican American pioneer renowned for her contributions to media and civil rights. Yolanda is on the Editorial Board and is a contributor for Mujures de las Americas. She is the spokeswoman for “Salt of the Earth” Anniversary Commemoration, and creator and host of “Do You See What I See” on You Tube. She was the first Latina on KNBC/TV and won an Emmy Award for her reporting. Yolanda shattered barriers and illuminates stories and her career is a testament to her unwavering commitment to justice and empowerment.
Tina Flores is an educator and activist who grew up taking social action. Tina is the West Coast Coordinator for Peace and Dignity, and is the President of a World Wide Medical Relief Organization during a Disaster. She is a Teacher for Caregivers for Health and Safety, and she values life highly, in any form, both 2 legged and 4 legged. Tina organized the High school student involvement for Ethnic Studies Fight at UC Berkeley, SF State, Merritt College on Chicano Power for the Chicano Moratorium. She attended rallies, and boycotts from a young age, and continues on that path today. Both Tina and Yolanda work together on important projects related to education, history, and community organizing. George Polisner, founder of Civ.works also joined us on this episode and for more info go to https://civ.works/ To help defend democracy, please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/

Also please support https://www.democracydocket.com/ If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org Also follow https://nokingsday.org/

Dancing Frogs and Musical Mushrooms with Charlotte Ghiorse

“I’ve lived 82 years on this earth, and this is the first time ever I’ve witnessed people delighting in the suffering of others so openly, so proudly, and even recording it for the world to see.” Mick Jagger

You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Jagger and Richards 1969)

And I went down to the demonstration

To get my fair share of abuse

Singing, “We’re gonna vent our frustration

If we don’t we’re gonna blow a fifty-amp fuse”

Sing it to me, honey

You can’t always get what you want

But if you try sometimes, well, you just might find

You get what you need

The Rolling Stones got it right, and the words and music of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger written back in 1969 reflect how I have been feeling of late. The state of things are, to say the least, quite depressing, but there are cracks in the wall that might eventually turn things around. I think people are energized and are fighting back. There are hundreds of No Kings rallies set for this coming Saturday 10.18.25 (go to nokings.org for more info), not only in the US, but worldwide, as people in foreign countries are supporting those in America who are peacefully protesting. We are at an inflection point, and it seems clear that things have to change, and a new scenario has to be put into place, because what we have now is not working. Yes, the Rolling Stones put it best, “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well you just might find, you get what you need.” We need to take action and I am asking our listeners to be proactive, and to dump the tea into the harbor, as we are not a nation of Kings! On this week’s episode we delve into politics a bit and we talk about topics that affect us. Micro plastics are in our bodies and we have to reduce single use plastic. Behavioral + small interventions (boiling water, avoiding plastic packaging / utensils, using natural fiber clothing) are helpful, especially while larger systems scale up. We also touch on nuclear waste being dumped into the Hudson River, plus musical mushrooms, October Astrology and more. We delve into these subjects with our resident eco activist, artist, astrologer, comic, marvelous mom and founder of House of Chochlet, Charlotte Ghiorse. For more info about Charlotte go to https://www.houseofchoclet.com/

To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/ https://www.democracydocket.com/ and if you want to take more effective civic action visit https://civ.works/ If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Pragmatic Environmental Stewardship with Rand Manasse, Board President of Federated Conservationists of Westchester County (FCWC)

We recently lost a truly great human, Jane Goodall. She was a steward of the Earth in so many ways, was a true conservationist and a mensch. She will be missed. This is one of her many wonderful and insightful quotes:

“We face the sixth extinction, climate change, loss of forests, poverty. But hope is about taking action in spite of it all. It’s about saying: I will do my bit. And when we join together, those bits become a movement.”

When we think of Mother Earth we think of conservation. We might envision beautiful national parks, forests full of wildlife, or the ocean’s coral reefs. We must all take action to conserve the land, and be more resilient and sustainable. Conservation is about the daily choices we make — at home, in our neighborhoods, and in our communities. We all need a sense of community to help us get through our daily lives. People have to come together to work on projects that affect their lives. Whether it’s joining an organization to clean up a river or save a forest, or building a relationship with a favorite farmer to support your local farmers market, we must work together to make things better. There are many organizations which work to make an impact on their communities which range from issues on sustainability, as well as supporting local businesses, and educating the citizenry on matters affecting their everyday lives. One of the best examples of community-driven environmental work in Westchester is the Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, known as FCWC, which has been uniting local groups, schools, and municipalities to protect our natural resources for over 60 years. They advocate for clean water, open space preservation, and sustainable development — but more than that, they connect people who care.
On this episode of TMSOG we are joined by Rand Manasse who is the Board President of the Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, which has been at the heart of environmental advocacy, education, and action in Westchester County New York. For more information and to donate, go to https://www.fcwc.org/ Also please visit other environmental organizations to help protect the environment: https://earthjustice.org and https://www.nrdc.org/ and https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

To help defend democracy and to help lawyers defend our constitution check out: https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/ as well as https://www.democracydocket.com/ If you want to take more effective civic action visit https://civ.works/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Know Your Pokeweed, Plant Trees, and Leave Leaves Alone + Sun, Flood or Drought with Victoria Alzapiedi

The realities of climate change are happening in plain sight. Many parts of the Northeast are experiencing drought conditions, which is more than just dry soil—it’s a stressor that cascades through plants, pollinators, ecosystems, and agriculture. Droughts are becoming more frequent/intense with climate change, even in regions previously thought relatively water-secure. During a drought the soil cracks under the heat. Streams run low. Gardens wilt. And overhead, bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds search for nectar that just isn’t there. Pollinators are essential: they enable reproduction of many wild plants, support ecosystems, and are vital for food crops. While challenges are real, there are many practices, from the backyard to policy level, that can make a difference. Pollinators have survived through great adversity; with awareness and action, people can help them thrive even under changing climate. We also need to pay more attention to the importance of trees. Trees are vital because they produce the oxygen we breathe, absorb carbon dioxide to combat climate change and filter the air, improving air quality. They provide food and shelter for wildlife, prevent soil erosion with their roots, regulate water cycles, and cool urban areas by providing shade. On this episode Victoria Alzapiedi, our resident garden, wildlife and healthy yards guru joins us to discuss current drought conditions on the East Coast which affect our gardens.Our hotter and drier conditions are a result of climate change and global warming. We need to educate people to be more proactive in their behavior to become more attuned to Mother Earth.

We talk about pokeweed, the need to plant trees and native plants. Victoria is a co-founder of New Castle Healthy Yards, and is the chair of the Town of New Castle Conservation Board, as well as a member of the Westchester Climate Smart Communities Task Force. She is also a member of Friends of Buttonhook, which is working to save a 20.3 acre forest in the Town of New Castle https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/ In addition, Victoria is the co-founder of the New Castle Pollinator Pathways Coalition, and started the Facebook group “The Nature of Westchester” an active community of nature lovers which now has more than 5000 members. She is also a Native plant gardening consultant and coach providing eco-friendly planting recommendations (mynativegardenoasis.com). Check out New Castle Healthy Yards on Facebook as well as Doug Tallamy, Entomologist, Conservationist, Author and Professor at University of Delaware who will be giving a lecture at CPAC in Chappaqua on November 2nd. https://homegrownnationalpark.org/doug-tallamy/

To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/ and

https://www.democracydocket.com/ If you want to take more effective civic action visit https://civ.works/ If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org and https://www.nrdc.org/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Remembering our 9/11 experiences, Should we be Talkin’ About A Revolution? Plus Eco Talk and Astrology with Charlotte Ghiorse (House of Choclet)

We opened this episode of TMSOG podcast with Tracy Chapman’s song “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” which she wrote when she was 16 years old. It was inspired by her experiences and anger about the socioeconomic disparities she witnessed in school during her teen years. We are still mired in a socioeconomic and racial quagmire, and things are not getting better. The song rings true today, as we are still experiencing racism rearing its ugly head as SCOTUS, the highest court in the land, tramples our constitutional rights. We are witnessing and watching the dismantling of democracy in plain sight. I believe that we must take action to fight the current dive into authoritarian rule. So it might be time to start talking about a revolution. It is time to rise up, protest, take action, call out your elected officials and make some noise! There is much work to be done to keep our republic from collapsing. Elections must be fair, voting rights are crucial, as are equal rights. Checks and balances are slipping away and must be put into place to keep the government running. The rounding up of immigrants is tearing families and the citizenry apart, as people are being taken off the streets with little or no due process, and they are being detained in facilities with little regard to their health, safety and welfare. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is rolling back a generation’s worth of rules meant to keep the air, land and water clean. If we don’t take care of the environment, then nothing else will really matter, as breathing is fundamental. There are many environmental issues that need to be addressed, and because of the rollback of EPA rules, there has been an increase in greenhouse gases and carbon emissions. Climate change is affecting temperatures, which are heating up the oceans and land masses causing more extreme weather and fires. We are a single use, throwaway society and we need to reduce, reuse and recycle. More personal responsibility is needed and a good place to start is what is in your closet, as clothing that is thrown out takes years to decompose in landfills. We delve into the topic of textile/clothing recycling, as well as other issues with our resident eco activist, artist, astrologer, comic, marvelous mom and founder of House of Choclet, Charlotte Ghiorse. For more info about Charlotte go to https://www.houseofchoclet.com/ You can catch her comedy stylings on September 13th at the Broadway Comedy Club located at 318 W. 53rd St, New York City at 4pm.

To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/ and if you want to take more effective civic action visit https://civ.works/ If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org and FABSCRAP at https://fabscrap.org/fabric-recycling

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.