environmental policies – The Many Shades of Green

Climate Goodness, Earth Justice, Project 2025 and more with George Polisner Founder of Civ.Works

I have been thinking about songs that reflect my mood of late, and three songs came to mind. Two Beatles tunes and an amazing protest song by Tracy Chapman seem to spell things out.

Song number one is the Beatles song HELP

Help! I need somebody
(Help) not just anybody
(Help) you know I need someone, help

Chorus:

Help me if you can I’m feeling down

and I do appreciate you feeling ’round

Help me get my feet back on the ground

Won’t you please, please help me

The second tune is also from the Beatles Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Ob-La-Di, ob-la-da

Life goes on, brah

La, la, how the life goes on

It ends with:

And if you want to have some fun

Take Ob-la-di-bla-da

Thank you

and lastly a real protest song

Talkin’ Bout a Revolution (Tracy Chapman)

Don’t you know

They’re talking about a revolution?

It sounds like a whisper

Don’t you know you better run, run, run, run, run, run

‘Cause finally the tables are starting to turn

Talkin’ ’bout a revolution

The question now arises, which lyric would you choose to describe your state of mind? I said in a recent email to George Polisner, that I am pretty much a nervous wreck and I am falling down the rabbit hole. I feel like I have travelled through the looking glass into a bizzaro world, so my inclination is to go with the first lyric…HELP! The anger within me is Talkin’ Bout a Revolution, but the optimist inside is going with Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, as life will go on. Being a boomer, I have lived through the McCarthy Era, the Cuban Missile crisis, Duck and Cover, the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the Civil rights movement, violent protests, 9-11, the 2008 financial collapse, the pandemic and more, but what is going on in this current political climate is a nightmare that I cannot seem to wake up from. On TMSOG we try to inform our listeners about environmental and social justice issues, and we highlight the positive work people are doing. We also call out those who are trying to take America down and bring us back to a time when our freedoms were restricted. I had more rights over my own body in the 1970’s than I do now as a result of the recent SCOTUS decision overturning Roe v Wade, and I am afraid of what they are coming for next. According to Project 2025 by the Heritage Foundation, women should go back to being housewives, mothers and nothing more. Their mantra is “go make some babies and stay out of politics!” What kind of world are we leaving for our grandchildren? Loyalty to party over country will wipe us out!! We have a responsibility to current and future generations, and we must do better, we must do whatever it takes for the greater good to create a world that is respectful to all its inhabitants. Our resident environmentalist, political analyst and curmudgeon, George Polisner, founder of Civ.works, gives us some insight into environmental and political issues. We talk about some good environmental news, tangible actions people can take to make their voices heard and improve society, as well as Project 2025 and more. Find out more by going to civ.works/actions, earthjustice.org and votefwd.org

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to HudsonRiverRadio.com and Malcolmpresents.com. Follow The Many Shades of Green on Facebook, Instagram and Threads @tmshadesofgreen. Listen to TMSOG podcasts on all major podcast apps. #RaiseYourEcoConsciousness

TMSOG is proud to be on Feedspot’s list of the 50 Best Environmental Podcasts to follow in 2024: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/environmental_podcasts/

Heat Domes, Deepfakes, Disinformation-Plus History of Juneteenth and CEO’s choosing dollars over Democracy with George Polisner, Founder of Civ.Works

Yogi Berra quote: “It ain’t the heat it’s the humility.”

“When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat.” Ronald Reagan

Over half of the United States is currently sweltering under a heat dome making millions of people miserable. The song Summer Time written by George Gershwin, which has been covered by Ella Fitzgerald, Janis Joplin and others has the line “summer time, and the living is easy” but climate change is changing the tune. As weather becomes more extreme, heat waves, floods and wildfires are now the norm, and more and more people are living in conditions that are detrimental to their health and well being. The cries from the cult say it’s all a hoax, and it’s just the weather. Well, if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. The weather is so extreme, that insurance companies are no longer offering home insurance in many states which are more prone to hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and earthquakes. Deny, deny, deny and drill, drill, drill continue to be the mantras of a certain political party out of touch with the citizens who they represent who have been affected by extreme weather and cannot get their lives back. Disinformation is being used to divide the populous and create chaos. A government of the people, by the people and for the people cannot subsist when propaganda rules the news cycles. So what can we do to make things better and how can we shape policy and forge ahead in a more positive way? There are actions being taken to help the environment, such as the newly established American Climate Corps. The first class of ACC was recently sworn in to this federal program that is meant to place young people in the clean energy, conservation and climate resilience sectors. In addition, there are clean tech innovations being developed and environmental groups are working to protect the planet. In terms of what you can do to help, be active in your community and teach civility and civics to your kids. Also, please make sure you are registered to vote (go to voteamerica.com). On this episode of TMSOG podcast, our resident environmentalist, political analyst and curmudgeon, George Polisner, founder of Civ.works, gives us some insight into environmental and political issues. We discuss Juneteenth, deepfakes and disinformation, as well as what actions we can take before November 5th and much more. Visit civ.works for more info.

TMSOG is proud to be on Feedspot’s list of the 50 Best Environmental Podcasts to follow in 2024: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/environmental_podcasts/

Jeffrey Rissman author of ‘Zero-Carbon Industry: Transformative Technologies and Policies to Achieve Sustainable Prosperity’ discusses GHG Emissions in the Industrial Sector

“THE CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER OF CLIMATE CHANGE MEANS WE CANNOT BURN OUR WAY TO PROSPERITY. WE ALREADY RELY TOO HEAVILY ON FOSSIL FUELS. WE NEED TO FIND A NEW PATH TO THE FUTURE WE WANT. WE NEED A CLEAN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.” BAN KI MOON, FORMER SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Progress is defined as movement toward an improved or more developed state. The Industrial Revolution was a major period of industrialization, and a defining moment in the timeline of mankind’s accomplishments, but while it has it brought manufacturing to the forefront, as well as new ideas and technologies, it has also brought a depletion of natural resources, as factories continue to spew smog and soot into the air. The emissions and release of pollutants and chemicals into rivers and streams has resulted in increased air and water pollution. Fossil fuels, which include coal, oil, and fracked gas play a major role in the release of green house gas emissions into the atmosphere, but there are other high-emission sectors which need to cut emissions, specifically those which manufacture materials such as iron, steel, chemicals, cement, and concrete. Jeffrey Rissman discusses current technology and policies being put into place to combat greenhouse gas emissions in the industrial sector. Jeffrey is the Senior Director for Industry at Energy Innovation, where he leads the company’s work on technologies and policies to eliminate industrial greenhouse gas emissions. He is the author of Zero-Carbon Industry: Transformative Technologies and Policies to Achieve Sustainable Prosperity (2024) and coauthor of Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low-Carbon Energy (2018). In 2024, Jeffrey was appointed by Secretary Jennifer Granholm to serve on the Department of Energy’s Industrial Technology Innovation Advisory Committee. Jeffrey is also the creator of the Energy Policy Simulator, an open-source computer model that quantifies the effects of various energy and environmental policies in combination, predicting outputs such as fuel use, pollutant emissions, financial cost or savings, electric vehicle deployment, power sector structure, and more. For more information go to https://zerocarbonindustry.com/

TMSOG is proud to be on Feedspot’s list of the 50 Best Environmental Podcasts to follow in 2024: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/environmental_podcasts/