We welcome Keith Voos to the show to talk about what you can do to be a climate activist and steward of the planet. Keith is a teacher, and he has been presenting workshops for Pachamama (which means Mother Earth) and Project Drawdown. We all need to become active and take steps to be better environmental citizens. For more information, go to pachamama.org and drawdown.org. Check out malcolmpresents.com and thegreendivias.com. Tweet us @tmshadesofgreen
The Many Shades of Green ZoomCast with Guest Monica Weiss of 350NYC.org
This is a new iteration of The Many Shades of Green . Our guest is Monica Weiss, who taught pubic school in NYC for many years, and always added environmental curriculum to hear teaching plan. She now is a climate activist and works with 350NYC.org and Project Drawdown. Tune in and #RaiseYourEcoConsciousness.
Food Systems, Community Gardens, and the pandemic
The current pandemic has highlighted problems with our food system, as food waste and food insecurity must be addressed more than ever. On this show Green Divas Meg, Max, Lisa and Elly delve into topics about food, how to get fresh food to communities in need, and how Community Gardens help in that area. We also discuss the need to build your immune system in the era of COVID, the Drawdown Project (drawdown.org), cows emitting methane (and no, it’s not cow farts), and the importance of growing your own food. Guest Dr. Susan Rubin talks about teaching children to garden, food pantries, gorilla gardens which helped start the Community Garden movement, and more. Check out the 50 Shades of Green Divas Podcast on Spotify, Buzzsprout, Stitcher, Apple Music, iHeart, and HudsonRiverRadio.com. Ask Alexa or Siri to play The Green Divas podcast, and check out the webpage thegreendivas.com
FEAR
FEAR by Mercy Faith (May 2020)
maybe we needed to slow down
maybe Mother Nature said enough is enough
humans are destroying the planet
by polluting the air, the land, the water
with plastics and toxic chemicals invading
our rivers, streams, oceans, lakes, mountain tops
jungles, beaches, farms and lawns
we infringed upon the habitats of other species
killing them or turning them into trophies
something had to give, so a virus transferred
by a bat sent a plague into the world
the ME had overtaken for too long, became dominant,
lost its way, and the WE had to take a back seat,
now the WE is what will save us,
as we retreat from the viral enemy
FEAR has a way to make people change their ways
yet the greed and stupidity is spreading,
we disregard death,
human life doesn’t count, you can be sacrificed
‘cause you’re old or you are a different color
yet you still bleed red, you still die
clearly shopping is more important than living
gotta go to the bar, gotta get a tattoo,
gotta go bowling for dollars, even though the
risk is great, only facts tell the truth
we can’t slow down, we have lost
our way, we need to respect each other
Mother Nature has taken charge,
she is delivering a message from the universe
she is screaming at us to clean up our room,
clean up our act and clean up the planet!
or she will send bigger things to FEAR,
as this is only the beginning
Earth Day at 50: what do we want Earth Day to look like on its 100th Anniversary in 2070?
This is a special addition of 50 Shades of Green Divas with Green Divas Meg, Lisa, Max and Elly. We have various special guests who answer the question: what actions can we take now to make the environment better in 2070, when the people of planet Earth celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Earth Day? Our guests include environmental activists in various fields including Ed Begley Jr., Raffi, Dayna Reggero, Harriet Shugarman, Seth Leitman, and more. We need to use our collective will to be active, in order to put measures in place to reduce carbon emissions. We are living in difficult times right now, but there are silver linings. Go to thegreendivas.com for more info.
SOME OF THE WORLD’S LOWLIGHTS IN MY LIFE – PHIL MARGO
I was born April 1st 1942 when World War II was almost 4 months old. My memory goes back as far as VJ Day, the victory over Japan. I remember the block party we had on Brighton 1st Street in Brooklyn in celebration of the end of the war in August of 1945. Since then I have witnessed the following evil shit:
The killing and crippling Polio Epidemic of the forties and early fifties until the Jonas Salk Vaccine was developed through SCIENCE.
Duck and cover drills in 1949 and 1950 in my first and second grades done to make us feel safe if a bomb that could wipe out an entire city should land on our doorstep. That’ll give 7 and 8 year old kids a boost of optimism for their future.
In June of 1950 the Korean War (deemed “a Police Action”) began and
resulted in 5 million deaths half of which were Korean civilians. Forty-thousand American soldiers were killed and 100,000 wounded until a truce was agreed to in 1953 but no peace treaty has ever been signed.
Also in 1950, to fuel his own sick ego and gain recognition for his reelection campaign in 1952, Senator Joseph McCarthy began his “Red Scare” trumped-up witch hunt for communists in and out of the US government. Thousands lost their jobs and careers and some their lives. In March of 1954 McCarthy was verbally vanquished by Edward R. Murrow on his on Morrow’s CBS program See It Now. Subsequently, public opinion turned against Senator McCarthy and following thirty-six days of public hearings the special counsel for the Army, Joseph Nye Welch was prompted to ask McCarthy, “Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?” That question is still pertinent of many today.
The Cuban missile crisis which had the world as close to World War III as it has ever been. It was avoided by a winning combination… diplomacy and reason.
The shocking assassination of President John F. Kennedy 57 years ago and we still do not know what really happened.
In 1967 an Arab – Israeli conflict known as the Six Day War.
In 1968 the assassination of the beloved and vaunted religious leader
Reverend Martin Luther King.
A second assassination in1968 of Presidential candidate and Former Senator and United States Attorney General Robert Kennedy
The Viet Nam War sanctioned by many administrations and eventually proven to be bullshit through and through
1973 another Arab Israeli war called the Yom Kippur War..
In 1973 – 1974 there was the impeachment inquiry and resignation in of the
Presidency by Richard M. Nixon who said “I am not a crook.” Sound familiar?
Three major space program accidents in which 17 American astronauts died. Three on the ground and 14 in flight.
In December of 1981 a documentary called Warming Warning was broadcast on the Thames TV channel in the United Kingdom. It warned of the negative planetary effect of fossil fuels and stated unequivocally their ongoing use would double the CO2 levels in the atmosphere. The poisoning of Earth, our only blue and green oasis in space, continues to occur with full awareness of those who are doing it.
Considering all of the above, the current coronavirus pandemic is the scariest of all. This so mainly because, and I am quoting the former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when he said about the current White House occupant, “he’s a fucking moron.”
Other Ways to Get Together by Maxine Margo (GD Max)
The more we get together
Together, together
The more we get together
The happier we’ll be
‘Cause your friends are my friends
And my friends are your friends
The more we get together
The happier we’ll be
I learned this song in kindergarten, and while the spirit of the song
still applies, the way we get together has changed. We used to dance
in a circle together, while singing the song. Today we Zoom, Skype or
FaceTime to help us connect to our friends, family and workplace.
We are living in uncharted waters, and very scary times, but we need to
power through the best that we can. The realities are stressful, and we have to
find time to take a breather. Even those told to shelter in place, (depends on the
rules of your city or town) can take a walk, as long as you socially distance
yourself from the person in front or behind you. The rule is to stay six feet apart.
We all need to be mindful, especially for the sake of our elders, and those
with medical issues, who are more vulnerable to COVID-19, heretofore I will call it IT.
No one wants to get IT, no one wants to give IT, so what can we do? I have seen
Public Service Announcements (PSAs) by health officials and some celebs which say,
If Sick Stay Home, If Not Sick Stay Home, with the hashtag #ALONE TOGETHER.
Other PSAs tell you to DO THE FIVE to help stop coronavirus:
1. HANDS Wash them often for 20 seconds
2 .ELBOW Cough into it
3. FACE Don’t touch it
4. FEET Stay more than 3-6ft apart
5. FEEL sick? Stay home, call your primary doctor
We all have to do our part. State and local governments are doing their best
to reduce contact of their citizens. In many areas restaurants, bars, gyms and other
non-essential businesses have been told to close. This is an unprecedented moment in
history, but we have to take this seriously. We will get through IT!
There is some good news within the context of IT. Mother Nature is getting a break of sorts.
Data obtained by the European Space Agency (ESA) gathered by the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite which tracks air pollution recorded a sharp decrease in emissions that coincides with the lockdowns in Italy and China. Earth Systems Professor at Stanford, Marshall
Burke stated that two months of pollution reduction “likely has saved the lives of 4,000 kids under 5 and 73,000 adults over 70 in China.
While the spread of Corona Virus is a top concern and a top priority, seeing the reduction in emissions indicates that people are taking steps to reduce their exposure. Another side story
is that the water in Venice, Italy is getting clearer, and dolphins have been spotted in the canals.
So now more than ever we need to take care of ourselves and take care of each other.
Seek out a walk in nature, take a forest bath, or a stroll by the water. Check on your neighbors and your loved ones. Be prudent, be calm, be mindful, so you don’t get IT! Right now the new norm is #ALONETOGETHER and if we follow that mantra the happier we will be.
REFERENCES
Hunkering Down in the time of Corona
Over 100 million people in the U.S. are hunkering down and staying in place during these unprecedented and scary times. This episode gives information to help you get through and be calmer, more balanced, greener and a bit more optimistic. We don’t have to panic or hoard toilet paper, we need to try to center our psyches. Mother Nature is a bit happier, as the CO2 emissions are dropping, as everyone stays homes. Dolphins have returned to the canals of Venice, Italy as the water is cleaner. We can only hope that there will be some more sliver linings beyond the clouds. We are all in this together. For more info go to thegreendivas.com. #STAYSAFE #KEEPYOURDISTANCE
Eco-travel, Eco-therapy and Sexy Tortoises… Go Diego!
Wonderful show from GD PonderRosa Studios as Green Divas Meg, Max and Lisa chat about Eco-tourism and why we should consider visiting places that have been hard hit by climate change. We also discuss various ways that eco-therapy can calm our jagged nerves. Tune in to hear Silly Science Facts and learn about Diego the tortoise, who single handedly brought his species back from extinction. For more info go to thegreendivas.com
New Season: Lucky 13 #SAVETHEGIRAFFES, Think Green for the Afterlife, Climate Optimism
\
Welcome to the GD PonderRosa
Vedat Gashi
In this episode of QuaCast we interview Vedat Gashi, who is running for Westchester County Legislator in District 4, which includes New Castle and portions of Somers and Yorktown. We discuss issues which touch on the Westchester County Airport Expansion, Con Ed’s storm responses, green space and development in the county, plus much more. We also find out what it was like for Vedat to run his first marathon and asked him to connect running a marathon to running for office. Tune in to find out the answers.
For more info go to QuaCast.net, themanyshadesofgreen.com. You can contact Vedat Gashi via Twitter@VoteGashi, or email him at [email protected]