Opinion – The Many Shades of Green

TMSOG Goes Bananas! Plus Food Waste, Banana Bacon Challenge and ‘Greenhushing’ with Charlotte Ghiorse

We start off the podcast with the song Yes, We Have No Bananas, covered by Louis Prima, which was recorded and released in 1949 on Mercury Records. The Song was originally published in 1923 and was written by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn. Frank Silver would stop on his way to a gig at a fruit stand owned by a Greek gentleman, who began every sentence with ‘Yes’. The jingle of his idiom haunted Silver and his friend Cohn. The man at the fruit stand who said “Yes! We Have No Bananas” and inspired the song, never gave a reason as to why he had no bananas, as he probably did not know why bananas were in short supply. But there was in fact a worldwide decline in the banana crop caused by Panama disease, which develops from a fungus that lives in the soil. So, I can see why the fruit vendor did not have bananas to sell, and yes, Yes, We Have No Bananas had an interesting back story.

We are almost halfway through 2026 and bananas are in the news making headlines for transforming agricultural waste into eco-friendly products, including biodegradable plastic alternatives, sustainable fashion textiles, and renewable energy. Researchers and companies are converting banana peel extracts and fibrous stems (pseudostems) into durable materials, aiming to replace petro-chemical plastics and reduce agricultural waste. Food waste is a growing problem. Food systems are responsible for one-third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Within that, food loss and waste alone account for an estimated 8-10% of global emissions which is roughly equal to the carbon footprint of the entire tourism industry. Agricultural and corporate food waste has a ripple effect within the populace. According to a recent article in earth.org, food waste from restaurants and business accounts for 28% of all the food wasted globally. Businesses that implement innovative solutions to reduce food waste can make a profit no ‘greenhushing’ needed. Companies can redirect excess food to communities that need it, which will save money and reduce their methane emissions simultaneously. Individuals also have to rethink their perception of food and change their habits. Eating smaller portions, composting scraps from veggies, fruits and bones and using leftovers can also make a difference. We are a throw away society, and as food gets over produced, it often winds up in land fills polluting the land, air and water. Educating the public about small changes in their habits can lead to both businesses and consumers monitoring their waste more closely, driving a more comprehensive and impactful change. In a world where food insecurity remains a daily reality for millions, the disposal of perfectly edible food is a profound moral failure. Consumer education and awareness about the food system and food waste is encouraged and necessary to reduce waste.

On this episode of TMSOG podcast we discuss how bananas can be used to reduce food waste and pollution. We chat with our resident eco activist, artist, astrologer, comic, marvelous mom and founder of House of Chochlet, Charlotte Ghiorse about Banana Bacon, ‘greenhushing’, Astrology and God’s Love We Deliver, a NYC non-profit that provides nutritious meals to people living with severe illnesses (https://www.glwd.org/). For more info about Charlotte, House of Choclet and Sexy Astrology go to https://www.houseofchoclet.com and Sexy Astrology on Facebook. It might be time to start a Banana Bacon Challenge!

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/

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.

Sedges Have Edges-Green Garden Tips with Victoria Alzapiedi

This episode of TMSOG starts with the song “Green Garden” by Laura Mvula. It was inspired by her joy of having a real garden when she moved into a house in her early years. The song symbolizes escape, familial warmth, and finding sanctuary in nature during childhood summers. The lyrics evoke a need to escape to a natural space, “taking shoes off” and stepping on a “green velvet” carpet (grass), representing a return to a grounded, peaceful state. It emphasizes a sense of community and the importance of nurturing relationships, as well as the need to adapt and grow in life.

It’s Spring time, and trees are coming to life, as they sprout leaves in many shades of green, making their entrance to Mother Nature’s grand show. I am truly in awe of the beauty of the cherry blossoms, ornamental pear and apple trees, and flowers of all colors, especially the tulips, lilacs, peonies, irises, violets and more. But, as Spring arrives, so do the landscapers who mow the lawns, blow the leaves and start their war on weeds, as they wipe out dandelions which bring a sprinkle of color to the manicured lawns, and are food for pollinators. Pesticides are generously applied, and while ticks are a problem, the chemicals kill essential insects, which include key pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, fireflies, and wasps. There are over 4,000 species of native bees which are the primary drivers of pollination. The use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer also affects birds, wildlife, our pets and yes, humans. Yellow signs on lawns have replaced the yellow dandelions with the warning DO NOT ENTER FOR 24 HOURS, basically shouting at me to stay off my neighbor’s lawn. The most popular weed killer is Roundup, which is considered harmful primarily due to its active ingredient, glyphosate, being linked to cancer—specifically non-Hodgkin lymphoma. According to studies and findings (IARC) glyphosate is classified as a probable human carcinogen. It also poses risks to environmental health by polluting water, persisting in soil, and damaging essential soil microorganisms. Another problem chemical is found in rodenticides which kills rodents. Rodenticides contain anticoagulants, bromethalin and other chemicals which kill wildlife and pets. We need to educate people of the consequences of these pesticides, and they should be banned from sale in the US just as they are in the EU. Let’s all be proactive in creating lawns and gardens that are less toxic and more benficial to wildlife, pets and humans.

On this week’s podcast we have Victoria Alzapiedi, our resident garden, wildlife and healthy yards guru and we discuss Spring gardens, alternative lawns (sedges), reducing pesticides to create a chemical free habitats, and the problem with Roundup and rodenticides. 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 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.

There’s Too Much Chaos, So Let’s Get Smart with George Polisner

We open with the song: They Own the Media written and performed by Van Morrison, which was released May 7, 2021

In the song, Morrison critiques what he perceives as a lack of independent thought and the manipulation of information. Key lyrics from the track include:

“They tell us that ignorance is bliss. I guess for those that control the media it is”.
“They own the media, they control the stories we are told”.
“They control the narrative, they perpetuate the myth“.

The mainstream media is now Meet De-press. We are witnessing the news media in the US being turned into State News, as the oligarchs control mainstream and social media. Facebook has 3 billion users, and Zuckerberg is controlling what we see and read on the platforms within the Meta Universe—Facebook, Instagram and Threads.

The Ellisons via Skydance Media own Paramount and CBS, and just recently, shareholders of Warner Brothers approved to combine with Paramount. Skydance will own more than 50% of the media in the US if that merger goes through. Last I checked, that is a monopoly. In addition to all of this, Musk owns X, formally know as Twitter, Bezos owns The Washington Post, and of course the king of all conspiratorial media, there is Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News. We are being controlled by oligarchs who are kowtowing to a corrupt regime in charge of all three branches of government. We are watching and witnessing the Fourth Estate, the press, dissolve into news for conspiracy groups and an out of control Executive branch. Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow must be turning in their graves. The the press in 2026 is being assaulted, and independent, trustworthy outlets are being quashed by propagandistic media. Local newspapers are shutting down as costs rise, and CBS News has become State news, as it boosters the Trump administration’s messaging. FBI agents have raided the homes of Washington Post and New York Times reporters and the Pentagon Press corp has been dismissed only to sue and come back, but with reduced access. There is a war on independent media which is doing the bulk of reporting on important issues, as mainstream media, especially on the broadcast side, has fallen into a dumpster. Late Night TV has more genuine content than mainstream media, and CBS fired Stephen Colbert in a move that seems ripped out of the blacklist playbook of the McCarthy era, thus wiping out an important voice. Don Lemon was arrested and is now in court defending his right to report current events as a member of the independent press. There is some good news as various outlets such as Substack, where you can find Heather Cox Richardson and our own George Polisner is giving journalists a place to report the all consuming chaos we are all living through. Other good independent sources include ProPublica, The Guardian, The Associated Press, Reuters, PBS/NPR and more.

On this week’s TMSOG podcast George Polisner, our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, and founder of Civ.works joins us to discuss de-press, media consolidation, eco news, Earth Day and the current chaos of the day. In the words of Van Morrison, “they” control everything you own, they control the media! My guess is that he is referring to the oligarchs as the most likely “they“. For more info from George Polisner go to https://civ.works/defend

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/

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

The Fools on “The Hill” with George Polisner, Founder of Civ.Works

Opening Song: The Fool on the Hill by The Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney but attributed to the Lennon/McCartney songwriting duo, appearing in their 1967 album, Magical Mystery Tour. The song has different interpretations, but for me, it describes a person who sees what he wants to see, and lives in a bubble, as he differentiates himself from the world at large, and stays within his own circle.

Day after Day, alone on a hill.

The man with a foolish grin is keeping perfectly still.

But nobody wants to know him.

They can see that he’s just a fool,

And he doesn’t give an answer!

But the Fool on the hill sees the sun going down,

and the eyes in his head see the world spinning round!

The fool on the hill could be a single person or perhaps there are many fools on the hill. It is interesting to note that the term “The Hill” is used as a nickname for Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. where the U.S. Congress meets. Getting Congress to do its job has not been an easy task, as the current Speaker of the House has constantly put Congress in recess and nothing of substance seems to be getting done. The institution was designed to debate, compromise, and pass laws that address the nation’s problems. But increasingly, Americans are watching something else unfold. The House of Representatives through October 2025 had only met and voted on 87 days. They broke for holidays in November and December, which led to little being accomplished. There are fools on The Hill, and the song is quite apropos, as to the current workings of our representatives in the House and Senate, as they are not doing their jobs. There is a growing frustration with what many Americans are calling a “do-nothing Congress” which is now comprised of fools, as the members seem to be detached from reality. In these difficult times it is hard not to think about the song when looking at what is happening on The Hill-Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
While the country faces real challenges, war, rising costs, climate disasters, political division, infrastructure needs, pedophiles and global instability, the people elected to govern often appear locked in a different game entirely. A game of messaging, fundraising, and partisan theater. Citizens of the U.S. do not want war. What happened to the President’s promise of no wars and affordability so that we can all live a decent life? We want action on climate resilience, action on healthcare costs, action on housing shortages, action on immigration reform and the return of decency, empathy and morality.
On this episode of TMSOG we talk with George Polisner. George is our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, and is the founder of Civ.works. He gives us information regarding what’s happening or not happening on The Hill. We delve into how increased renewable energy could have staved off the dependence of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. We will also talk about Cuba, the lifting of Russian sanctions and more. For additional information go to https://civ.works/defend

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/

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

Are We Living In A Cartoon?

South Park Theme Song (Opens the program)

I’m goin’ down to South Park, gonna have myself a time.

Friendly faces everywhere, humble folks without temptation.

Goin’ down to South Park, gonna leave my woes behind.

Ample parking day or night, people spouting: “Howdy, neighbor!”

Headin’ on up to South Park gonna see if I can’t unwind.

Has any series ever had a more fitting theme song than “South Park”? The “South Park Theme” by funk metal group Primus, later reworked by projects led by Les Claypool, is a twanging, frenetic jingle that quite deliberately fails to convince the viewer that its monotone lyrics about the titular small town’s idyllic nature hit their mark. It’s a perfect way to set the stage for the absurdities that invariably follow. The whole thing was carefully planned out and arranged, but as “South Park” co-creator Matt Stone said back in 2010, “the whole thing took just one incredibly lucky cold call to pull off. “

So the question is, are we living in a cartoon?

In a cartoon, characters exaggerate everything: emotions, reactions, conflicts. Sometimes I feel that we are living in an episode of South Park which just keeps rotating day in and day out, sort of like the plot in the movie Groundhog Day. If you’ve ever watched South Park, you know the formula. Something ridiculous happens in the news. The characters react in completely over-the-top ways. Everyone argues, chaos spreads, hypocrisy gets exposed, and by the end of the episode you’re laughing… but also slightly uncomfortable because the satire feels a little too real. The creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, built their reputation on one simple idea: take the most outrageous thing happening in society and push it just a little further until the absurdity becomes obvious. At its core, animation is a form of storytelling, and stories are an essential part of the human experience. From the earliest days of human history, people have used stories to make sense of the world around them, pass on knowledge and wisdom, and connect with others.

Animation takes this storytelling to a new level, using visuals and sound to create a rich and immersive experience that can transport us to new places and introduce us to new characters.

In a cartoon, a character falls off a cliff and pops back up unharmed, in real life, when systems break, people get hurt. In the current moment in the United States, sometimes reality seems to be moving faster than the satire. It feels like we are living in an alternate universe and we are being governed by what resembles a reality show. Even if politics feels like a cartoon, the consequences are very real. Policies affect healthcare, schools, immigration, climate policy, and civil rights. Trust in elections are declining, environmental protections are being dismantled and economic inequality is widening. We are now at war with Iran, and we have not received a credible explanation as to why. Every day there is chaos and people are suffering and are stressed. Prices for oil, gas, food, rent and more are rising daily, and we the people are not being heard. When will the madness end? It’s no wonder that Americans are moving to Europe and other places globally, but we need to stay and we must continue to fight, protest, and bring our collective will together to fix this mess. Actions speak louder than words, and we need to take action, so in the words of Bob Marley, “Get up stand up, stand Up For Your Rights!“

On this episode of TMSOG podcast, Charlotte Ghiorse joins me as we delve into the question: are we living in a cartoon? Charlotte is our resident eco activist, artist, astrologer, comic, marvelous mom and founder of House of Choclet. We talk about the environmentally conscious ten your old fashion designer Max Alexander, and what he is doing to reduce fashion waste. We also touch on politics, astrology, eco and social issues and more. For more info about Charlotte, House of Choclet and Sexy Astrology go to https://www.houseofchoclet.com

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.

Keep Hope Alive, We Are NOT Afraid with George Polisner, Founder of Civ.works

This week’s TMSOG podcast opens with a beautiful rendition of We Shall Overcome performed by the Morehouse College Glee Club

We Shall Overcome and other protest songs provided the soundtrack to the Civil Rights Movement. The period saw the U.S. confront one of the most complex and controversial issues in its history-race relations. The origins of the song are unclear, as it was thought to have descended from “I’ll Overcome Some Day,” a hymn by Charles Albert Tindley, while the modern version of the song was first said to have been sung by tobacco workers led by Lucille Simmons during the 1945-1946 Charleston Cigar Factory Strike in Charleston, South Carolina. The most famous version is the Pete Seeger rendition. In August 1963, 22-year old folksinger Joan Baez, led thousands of people in singing “We Shall Overcome” at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, where the famous “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Reverend Jesse Jackson was part of the inner circle of Dr. King and was in attendance. Reverend Jackson recently passed away at the age of 84, and he always stood up for social justice and was a powerful voice for civil rights, voting rights, labor protections, anti-poverty initiatives, and peace. His speeches, organizing strategies, and coalition-building fundamentally shaped modern progressive politics.

Reverend Jackson said: “Hold your head high, stick your chest out. You can make it. It gets dark sometimes, but morning comes. Keep hope alive.”

I grew up in the 1960s and 70s and lived through and felt the pain of the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, the Civil Rights riots and uprisings between 1964 and 1969 in New York, Newark, LA, Detroit, Chicago and other cities across the US. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated two months apart in 1968. Protestors filled the streets in opposition to the Vietnam War. Police brutality, systematic racism and inequality impacted American life, and citizens were on edge, as chaos reigned throughout the nation. While there were peaceful demonstrations, there was also intense civil unrest. During the “Long, Hot Summer of 1967,” more than 150 race riots erupted in cities across the country — fueled by deep frustration over police brutality, segregation, poverty, and systemic inequality. Flash forward to this current moment in history and we are again in perilous times, as democracy is being dismantled from within. In early 2026, Minnesota became a focal point for protests tied to federal immigration enforcement actions undertaken by Operation Metro Surge, where a significant number of federal agents by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been deployed. Outrage grew especially after fatal shootings and the use of force on immigrants and US citizens. These actions ignited statewide demonstrations, general strikes, and large public mobilizations calling for ICE to leave Minnesota and for accountability. In Minneapolis, tens of thousands of people participated in protests and a coordinated “shutdown” to oppose aggressive immigration raids and demand policy changes. People have the power and are standing up and are becoming leaders, as actual leaders seem to be MIA. Past leaders like the Reverend Jesse Jackson, as well as John Lewis, who spoke of the need to cause good trouble, have left a void which has not been filled. There is a leadership vacuum, and as our young nation enters its 250th year, we are underestimating the danger of the current administration’s autocratic behavior. What can we do to get the nation back on course? Will we overcome some day?

George Polisner joins us on this episode of TMSOG podcast. George is our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, and is the founder of Civ.works. He gives us information regarding the EPA eliminating core climate protection, Reverend Jesse Jackson’s passing, CBS and the FCC pressuring Stephen Colbert regarding the Equal Time Rule, plus the death of The Washington Post, the Orwellian “Board of Peace” and more. For more information go to https://civ.works/defend

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/

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

What Say the EPA About What Your Life is Worth, plus Green Day says “Know Your Enemy” with George Polisner Founder of Civ.works

The song Know Your Enemy by Green Day which was released in 2009, is about questioning authority, societal control, self-destructive tendencies, and encouraging listeners to identify the real sources of oppression, whether external (government, elites) or internal (personal beliefs, bad habits).
Green Day has many successful titles including American Idiot, and they will be the opening act for Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl halftime show. I cannot wait to see what Green Day has in store for us. It’s going to be an epic ride!

Do we know who the enemy is now? The state of Minnesota, which has far less immigrants than Texas and Florida now seems to be the enemy of the current administration, and Federal troops might be sent to the state to quell the current protests which are peaceful. ICE is using tactics to intimidate the populace of Minneapolis and St.Paul, two cities with peaceful residents trying not to be dragged out of their cars, homes, and taken from their schools. Many of those taken into custody are American citizens with no criminal records and who are legal citizens. We are now told by ICE via the Department of Homeland Security to “carry” our papers. Check out the history of Germany in the 1930s and you will see the similarities to today’s USA. This isn’t dysfunction, it’s political choice, and it’s a nightmare. ICE continues operating with enormous budgets, limited oversight, minimal accountability, and devastating human consequences. Where is Congress, where is the Supreme Court, where is the Press, and where are the checks and balances? Who is going to uphold the Constitution to stop the madness? On this episode of TMSOG our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, George Polisner, founder of Civ.works, joins us and gives us some insight into the why checks and balances are not working, as well as why the EPA is rolling back regulations and has determined that the value of a life is zero. Why has Congress not stopped the current administration from dismantling democracy? The powers that be are truly intent on destroying life as we know it, using violence while they disregard the law. Who is really is the enemy and who is really in charge? Who is pulling the puppet strings?

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.

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/

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.

Courage and High Hopes with Yolanda Nava, Tina Flores and George Polisner

This week’s podcast started with the song “High Hopes” sung by Frank Sinatra, which is an anthem about optimism, perseverance, and overcoming impossible odds by believing in yourself. The song ends with the phrase “Oops, there goes another problem, ker-plop.” It became a signature tune for its uplifting message, and was even adopted by John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign. Some of the lyrics are about overcoming obstacles which represent challenges that seem insurmountable but are overcome with “high hopes”. The tune encourages listeners to not give up when things seem impossible and for people to have a positive “can-do” attitude.

I started the New Year with high hopes, only to have those hopes dashed by the current regime starting a war with Venezuela, thus continuing the chaos of 2025. Hope seems elusive now, but it is crucial that we continue to fight and resist. I don’t have high apple pie in the sky hopes, as the song lyric says, but again, we cannot give up, as there are more of us. So where can we find hope? Is it something that is achievable in these difficult times? There are good things happening, but it is mostly under the radar, as mainstream media has been reduced to regurgitating the lies and misinformation being planted in the press daily. On the environmental front, 2025 marked the first year in which renewable energy generated more electricity than coal. Regarding social justice issues, people are mobilizing and taking to the streets to protest the demise of democracy and to protect their civil rights.

People are mobilizing by staying informed, by showing up to local meetings, school boards and town halls. We must support independent journalists, organizers, and watchdog groups and call our representatives—and not just during election season. Our right to protest must be protected. Democracy must remain participatory—or it disappears. We must unite and use our power as citizens. So it’s good to see that millions of people are taking to the streets to protest war, ICE and the rise of fascism. We must continue to raise our voices, protect one another and fight for truth, justice and our fundamental rights under the Constitution. We need to continue to find space for hope, as we cannot let fear overtake us. Yolanda Nava, Tina Flores and George Polisner give us great information, stories, life experience and wisdom on social justice, environmental issues and more.

For more information 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/

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.

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/

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

The Worlds Gone Wrong with George Polisner Founder of Civ.Works

The phrase “the world’s gone wrong” is the title song from Lucinda Williams’ most recent album of the same name, and it refers to the turbulent socio-political landscape of modern America, reflecting division and hardship. The meaning is a call for resilience and strength in a world that feels chaotic and challenging. The title track which was played on this episode of TMSOG, specifically addresses the plight of the working class. There are so many issues to deal with and as the holidays near, how are we going to get through without having a nervous breakdown? Thanksgiving is a holiday built on gratitude, togetherness and reflection. It is very hard right now to focus on the goodness around us, as chaos is reigning in America from sea to shining sea. Economic pressures, political polarization and personal challenges seem to put a damper on the holiday spirit. We have a lot to think about during these trying times and we are experiencing a high toll on our mental health. We are all anxious, exhausted and on edge, as we deal with the fear of how every decision of the Executive branch, the Federal and State government, and the Supreme Court will impact our daily lives. We worry about the affordability of food, housing, and all basic needs. There are thousands of layoffs, and people are worrying if they will have job in the new year. Will there be a war with Venezuela, and how will extreme storms due to climate change affect us? How do we deal with ICE and the mistreatment of immigrants as well as American citizens? Can we trust anything the courts or government does? Maybe we can hit a pause button on the world gone wrong. Perhaps we can sit around the table on Thanksgiving and take a moment to breathe and regroup, and remember the parts of life that are still steady and meaningful. On this week’s podcast our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, George Polisner, founder of Civ.works, gives us some insight into what is going wrong in America. We touch on the status of COP30 Climate Conference, the affordability of basic needs, women journalists standing up and doing their job, and so much more. For additional 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.democracydocket.com/ https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/

If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org and 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.

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.