Begins with a gentle, lyrical piano melody. I'm using the piano to warn us of climate change. Strings and horns help to conjure up images of our beautiful planet before the piano melody returns to sadly remind us of what we might lose if we don't act now.

Paradise Burning

Two landmark rulings on the urgent responsibility of states to address the climate crisis are issued—by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in a proceeding brought by Chile and Colombia, and by the World Court in a proceeding brought by the threatened Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu. Meanwhile in the USA, the Trump regime withdraws from the Paris Agreement, removes greenhouse gases from EPA oversight, drops subsidies for solar energy—and even destroys NASA's climate-monitoring satellites! This as receding Arctic ice sheets and sea ice begin to destabilize the climate-regulating Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), melting glaciers unleash deluges from the Swiss Alps to the Himalayas of Nepal, wildfires rage from Canada to California to the Mediterranean, and ocean acidification crosses a "'planetary boundary" that portends global biosphere collapse. In Episode 290 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg takes an unflinching look at the long odds for humanity's future—even if we manage to avoid nuclear war. 

Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.

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Production by Chris Rywalt

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Meanwhile, the planet is dying....

Several Republican Congressional reps took the Canadian government to task for failing to contain forest fires this summer.  As you might expect, the truth is more complicated.  We speak with Natural Resources Canada Wildfire Scientist Richard Carr.

Canadian Wildfires in Perspective

In this episode, host Zach Urness talks with an Oregon ranger that saved hundreds of people from the path of the deadly 2020 Labor Day Fires. 

Nikki Swanson, Sweet Home district ranger for Willamette National Forest, spurred a major evacuation and closure of the Mount Jefferson Wilderness just days before the Lionshead Fire burned the area and nearly 200,000 acres on Sept. 7-8, 2020. She is credited with saving a number of lives five years ago. 

“She is a hero, not properly thanked,” Linn County Commissioner Will Tucker said.

Untold: How an Oregon ranger saved hundreds from the 2020 Labor Day Fires

This week on Green Street, Patti and Doug talk about how plants take up plastic and what it means for agriculture (and your garden), how plastic dust from construction sites is a major source of worldwide pollution, and why the smoke from wildfires is much more hazardous and damaging than previously understood. Then Dr. Veena Singla from the National Resources Defense Council talks about the various ways in which plastic manufacturers are trying – so far unsuccessfully – to recycle their product and convince the public that our global plastic crisis can be easily solved. 

The Myth of Plastic Recycling podcast

"Donde hay fuego, hay humo"
Por Emily Dieckman
Publicado en Eos.org 16 septiembre 2025

Traducción de Daniela Navarro-Pérez
Grabación de audio de Chantal Segura Espinosa

Donde hay fuego, hay humo

While crews battle wildfires across Nova Scotia, a team out of a small rural airport has been taking to the sky to try to locate smoke and flames before they become a major problem.

Eyes in the sky: Patrols out of small rural airport help N.S. fire response

The Long Lake Wildfire started on Aug. 13 in West Dalhousie, N.S. and destroyed 20 homes and about a dozen other structures. Firefighters from across Nova Scotia, plus crews from Ontario and Quebec, have helped bring it under control.

Volunteers working hard to support Long Lake wildfire evacuees, fire crews

I love California. I have visited many times, up and down the West Coast. I think my favorite places are La Jolla ( San Diego), Laguna Beach, Manhattan Beach and  Santa Barbara. I have visited 23 of the 50 USA states and still like California the best.
The Golden State is the 3rd largest state after Texas and Alaska, with a population of 39m.It's the 5th largest economy in the world. The pacific coastline is 840 miles long - I've driven up and down many times. Key features include, a fertile central valley, The Sierra Nevada mountains, Death Valley and ancient forests. Silicon Valley is a global technology Centre, home to Apple, Goggle, Meta and Tesla. Hollywood is also the entertainment capital of the world. The Aerospace hub includes Space X ,NASA and Lockheed. The state is a car centric society, but also a center for counter culture activities like the hippy movement and the LGBT community. Of course, it's also the home of Disneyland. ‘Boys with Toys’ ( the name of my song) is part of the culture of high-tech gadgets, computers, venture capital wealth, private jets, helicopters, supercars and billion-dollar toys ( like flying cars and rockets).It’s also a land of surfers and adventure seekers, everything from mountain bikes to skate boarders. ‘Boys with toys’ stereo types depict awkward male programmers  who write algorithms and live in incubator houses. Generally, it's about the pursuit of wealth, and to be on the cutting edge.
The state also gets a bad wrap around the cost of living, the homeless, the housing crisis and disastrous liberal policies enabling tent encampments. It also has high taxes and gas priced and finally it has seen companies leaving for states like Texas e.g. Tesla and  Hewlett Packard. Crime and the nanny sate are common complaints, as are poorly thought through environmental polices. Some refer to it as a  ‘state pf managed decline’
The song is set up nicely with a fairly negative view of California , probably caused by me watching Elon Musk on CNN ! I spent a long time making my lyric video in order to get across the diversity of issues and views. For example, the lines in the song, ‘Rats feast on rubbish, roaming the streets. Stopping pool parties and condo treats. Militant guys are making it worse. May the Lord, have mercy on us. Called the Governor, ain ’t taking my call. Hippy dippy therapies in an urban sprawl  California is on fire, making a noise. The Valley, is run by boys with toys’ The rats in the street refers to San Franscico which suffered badly from the Opioid epidemic, but now seems to be getting its act together. Then the chorus kicks in with,’ California is on fire, making a noise. The Valley, is run by boys with toys. On fire refers to some of the chaos described but also the 9,000 wildfires every year with up to 4m acres burned. This is increasing every year as the fires get bigger and longer and temperatures get hotter, coupled with intense droughts, albeit 95% are human caused. For some its time to go !. The songs says, ‘Modern life, has stubbed out our fun. Mired in no man’s land, it’s time to run’ and then ‘Freedom is not for sale, gotta opt out’. At this point we meet a couple who are ready to move out, singing, ‘I wanna move way out of town Wanna keep three cats, slowdown’. The have a dream and it’s not California, ‘ Buying the farm was always our dream. That's the plan baby, to swim in a stream’ – there is no way they could afford a farm in this state. They are sick of debating liberal democrat versus staunch republican policies and principles, they sing, ‘No wrangling with Damm neighbours Just the wonder of woodland gazes. They conclude, ‘No need to combat an ugly autumn. Blueberry pancakes sound awesome’ They repeat their displeasure with ‘The Valley, is run by boys with toys’





 


Pod 33 Bunch of boys with toys

We explore a recent investigative story by the New York Times about how industry-favored loopholes crafted behind closed doors at the California Department of Insurance have undermined fire recovery, and how Los Angeles fire survivors are now calling on Governor Gavin Newsom to ask Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to resign. 

Smoke & Mirrors Episode 4 - How One Regulator Made California’s Fire Recovery Harder

Brady Kent is a  Song Lyricist 
Books. Songs. Podcasts. Working with Guest Muscians

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Everything to know about exploring Oregon's best outdoor destinations from the Statesman Journal including where to camp, hike, bike and more.

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New tracks tagged #wildfires