Greetings Earthlings. Not long ago a fascinating video came our way titled "Old Growth Forests - Nature's Biotic Water Pump" that informed us in great detail yet another reason to protect, preserve and enable old-growth forests to flourish. One of the presenters, Anastassia Makarieva, theorist at the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute in Russia, joins us for the interview.

And our Enviro Show Quote of the Week:

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts ...There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”

—Rachel Carson

The Enviro Show on WXOJ-LP (103.3 fm) and streaming at www.ValleyFreeRadio.org from Florence, MA every other Tuesday, 6:00 to 7:00pm. rebroadcast Thursdays at 2pm. in MA. Also, we are on air at WMCB, (107.9fm) streaming at http://wmcb.net/Listen.html in Greenfield, Monday at 8am & Wednesday at 7am & Friday at 8am, and at WMNB-LP 107.1fm Wednesdays at 6pm. Also Tune-in at https://tunein.com/radio/Valley-Free-Radio-WXOJ-LP-1033-s50205/. > "The best antidote to despair is action!".

Greetings Earthlings. As the title says, we are still looking into all those rock formations out there, this time with Peter Waksman who blogs at https://rockpiles.blogspot.com/.

Our Critter of the Week segment has some good old news from David Foster: "Wolves are becoming well established across mainland Denmark, are reproducing, and are expected to increase substantially. Through ongoing immigration from Germany and native breeding since 2019, the population now stands around 78 animals, comprising at least eight breeding pairs, six packs, 23–28 wandering individuals, and 35 pups born in the country in 2024. What makes this phenomenon so astonishing is how ill suited this countryside appears for wolves. That is, unsuited by conventional thinking, the kind that suggests that moose could not adapt to southern New England; that bears would not situate around the cities of western Massachusetts; or that coyotes, beavers, and fishers would not saturate these same landscapes. As I explored the dynamics of wolves in Denmark, I reflected on the ongoing return of native wildlife to the much more heavily forested landscape of New England and asked—Why not here?" Glad you asked, David. One reason is the cowboy mentality from days of old. We've talked about that on the show for years, just recently Glen spoke of Aldo Leopold's "Sand County Almanac" and the author's epiphany regarding this keystone species.

And that brings us to our Quote of the Week:

The cowman who cleans his range of wolves does not realize that he is taking over the wolf’s job of trimming the herd to fit the range. He has not learned to think like a mountain. Hence we have dustbowls, and rivers washing the future into the sea.

- Aldo Leopold.

The Enviro Show on WXOJ-LP (103.3 fm) and streaming at www.ValleyFreeRadio.org from Florence, MA every other Tuesday, 6:00 to 7:00pm. rebroadcast Thursdays at 2pm. in MA. Also, we are on air at WMCB, (107.9fm) streaming at http://wmcb.net/Listen.html in Greenfield, Monday at 8am & Wednesday at 7am & Friday at 8am, and at WMNB-LP 107.1fm Wednesdays at 6pm. Also Tune-in at https://tunein.com/radio/Valley-Free-Radio-WXOJ-LP-1033-s50205/. > "The best antidote to despair is action!".

Greetings Earthlings. You may have heard stories about mysterious rock formations people come upon in the woods with seemingly no explanation as to their origin? Some appear to be actual shelters, others like intentional platforms or markers. There are a lot of theories about their origin but not much science. Mike Luoma author of "Ancient Stone Mysteries of New England" joins us to explore the unknown.

The Enviro Show Quote of the Week is...

"When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity."

John F. Kennedy

The Enviro Show on WXOJ-LP (103.3 fm) and streaming at www.ValleyFreeRadio.org from Florence, MA every other Tuesday, 6:00 to 7:00pm. rebroadcast Thursdays at 2pm. in MA. Also, we are on air at WMCB, (107.9fm) streaming at http://wmcb.net/Listen.html in Greenfield, Monday at 8am & Wednesday at 7am & Friday at 8am, and at WMNB-LP 107.1fm Wednesdays at 6pm. Also Tune-in at https://tunein.com/radio/Valley-Free-Radio-WXOJ-LP-1033-s50205/. > "The best antidote to despair is action!".

Greetings Earthlings. We are bringing in the New Year with news of yet another invasive species; no it's not the present gold obsessed occupants of the White House but rather invasive golden oyster mushrooms or GOM. A new study finds it "is changing native fungal biodiversity as it invades. GOM has spread rapidly in North America and will continue expanding its range." (unlike MAGA that is losing its range by the day). Aishwarya Veerabahu, lead author of the study joins us to forage the facts.

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week......

“The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.”

― Mark Twain

The Enviro Show on WXOJ-LP (103.3 fm) and streaming at www.ValleyFreeRadio.org from Florence, MA every other Tuesday, 6:00 to 7:00pm. rebroadcast Thursdays at 2pm. in MA. Also, we are on air at WMCB, (107.9fm) streaming at http://wmcb.net/Listen.html in Greenfield, Monday at 8am & Wednesday at 7am & Friday at 8am, and at WMNB-LP 107.1fm Wednesdays at 6pm. Also Tune-in at https://tunein.com/radio/Valley-Free-Radio-WXOJ-LP-1033-s50205/. > "The best antidote to despair is action!".

Winter Solstice Greetings Earthlings. The Return of the Light starts on December 21st at 4.02am here in the eastern U.S. You may not be up at that hour but we see there are celebrations at other times. Wiccan priestess, Laura Wildman-Hanlon returns to the show to share with us. Also, Cecelia Doucette, Director, Massachusetts for Safe Technology returns to discuss electromagnetic pollution and what that means to us and all the critters out there. Also, you can take action HERE in support of a bill on Beacon Hill to opt out on this in your home.

Our Enviro Show Quote of the Week:

“...This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight, the year’s threshold and unlocking, where the past lets go and becomes the future."

- Margaret Atwood

The Enviro Show on WXOJ-LP (103.3 fm) and streaming at www.ValleyFreeRadio.org from Florence, MA every other Tuesday, 6:00 to 7:00pm. rebroadcast Thursdays at 2pm. in MA. Also, we are on air at WMCB, (107.9fm) streaming at http://wmcb.net/Listen.html in Greenfield, Monday at 8am & Wednesday at 7am & Friday at 8am, and at WMNB-LP 107.1fm Wednesdays at 6pm. Also Tune-in at https://tunein.com/radio/Valley-Free-Radio-WXOJ-LP-1033-s50205/. > "The best antidote to despair is action!".

Greetings Earthlings. It's said that everyone loves a comeback story and we couldn't agree more when it comes to the American Chestnut Tree. Once a mainstay of life in New England forests and beyond it sadly fell victim to human ignorance and greed. Now, we are happy to report, after decades of failed attempts to overcome the blight, this amazing native tree has returned. Anne Petermann of the Global Justice Ecology Project returns to the show with the good news.

Our Quote of the Week is quite on target for this show...

“In some Native languages the term for plants translates to “those who take care of us.”

-Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

The Enviro Show on WXOJ-LP (103.3 fm) and streaming at www.ValleyFreeRadio.org from Florence, MA every other Tuesday, 6:00 to 7:00pm. rebroadcast Thursdays at 2pm. in MA. Also, we are on air at WMCB, (107.9fm) streaming at http://wmcb.net/Listen.html in Greenfield, Monday at 8am & Wednesday at 7am & Friday at 8am, and at WMNB-LP 107.1fm Wednesdays at 6pm. Also Tune-in at https://tunein.com/radio/Valley-Free-Radio-WXOJ-LP-1033-s50205/. > "The best antidote to despair is action!".

Greetings Earthlings. Along time ago we were advised to "Be Here Now" which is a Zen sort of thing. Where else would we be? With that in mind professor, naturalist, and Buddhist author Christopher Ives joins us for a look at ‘green mental states’.

Our Quote of the Week comes from this week's guest:

Simply put, this historical moment calls for lifestyle change at the individual level and structural change at the societal level. We need this dual focus, for to call only for a reduction of our personal carbon footprints is to lay responsibility for causing and solving the problem at the feet of individuals and thereby let our economic system and powerful players like the fossil fuel industry off the hook.

- Christopher Ives

The Enviro Show on WXOJ-LP (103.3 fm) and streaming at www.ValleyFreeRadio.org from Florence, MA every other Tuesday, 6:00 to 7:00pm. rebroadcast Thursdays at 2pm. in MA. Also, we are on air at WMCB, (107.9fm) streaming at http://wmcb.net/Listen.html in Greenfield, Monday at 8am & Wednesday at 7am & Friday at 8am, and at WMNB-LP 107.1fm Wednesdays at 6pm. Also Tune-in at https://tunein.com/radio/Valley-Free-Radio-WXOJ-LP-1033-s50205/. > "The best antidote to despair is action!".

Greetings Earthlings. Some good news from our friends at Kestral Trust: "2,000+ Acres of Forest in the West Quabbin Region [are now] Permanently Conserved...The land will be stewarded as “forever wild,” taking a passive management approach to the forest to encourage old growth conditions to develop." Presumably that means no destructive logging. Kristin DeBoer, Executive Director of Kestrel Land Trust joins us for the details.

The Enviro Show on WXOJ-LP (103.3 fm) and streaming at www.ValleyFreeRadio.org from Florence, MA every other Tuesday, 6:00 to 7:00pm. rebroadcast Thursdays at 2pm. in MA. Also, we are on air at WMCB, (107.9fm) streaming at http://wmcb.net/Listen.html in Greenfield, Monday at 8am & Wednesday at 7am & Friday at 8am, and at WMNB-LP 107.1fm Wednesdays at 6pm. Also Tune-in at https://tunein.com/radio/Valley-Free-Radio-WXOJ-LP-1033-s50205/. > "The best antidote to despair is action!".