The Many Shades of Green

09/25/2026

Super El Nino v The Penguins with George Polisner, Founder of Civ.Works
Penguins by Lyle Lovett starts off the podcast. It was a tune on his fifth album, I Love Everybody, which was released in 1994. The album consists of Lovett’s early songs penned prior to the recording of his first album, Lyle Lovett (1986). Lovett uses the flightless, tuxedo-clad bird as the ultimate deadpan counterpoint to glamorous or complicated human relationships—representing an uncomplicated, reliable, and amusingly absurd ideal of a companion. Lovett has explained in interviews that he originally wrote the song just to make fun of a penguin-loving college acquaintance.

Gotta love penguins! Just knowing that penguins are fun loving creatures makes the current world chaos slightly more tolerable. One of my favorite things to do at the Central Park Zoo is to go to the penguin house and watch their antics as they dash around https://centralparkzoo.com/things-to-do/exhibits/polar-circle Penguins are really cool and cute arctic critters. They are flightless, they slide on their bellies, and they literally fly through the ocean at high speeds. They also play a role in helping reduce climate change. Did you know that Penguin guano a/k/a penguin p**p can help offset the warming of the planet? In a paper by Matthew Boyer published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, he described how ammonia wafting off the droppings of 60,000 birds contributed to the formation of clouds that might be insulating Antarctica, helping cool down an otherwise rapidly warming continent. This could help some penguin populations which are under serious threat because of climate change. If we don’t protect them and their guano, fewer clouds would be produced, and more heating would occur in an already fragile ecosystem, which is so full of ice that it will significantly raise sea levels worldwide as it melts. Boyer said “There is a deep connection between these ecosystem processes, between penguins and phytoplankton at the ocean surface, and their gas is all interacting to form these particles and clouds.” So hail the mighty penguins who are an important piece of reducing green house gas emissions, pun intended. Penguins are also connected to politics, yes, if you go back in time a bit, you will remember that the the current administration’s trade tariffs targeted the remote Antarctic territories, the Heard and McDonald Islands, which are populated exclusively by penguins and seals. The tariff sparked satirical media coverage and conservation awareness campaigns, particularly the spoof protest march by Penguins International (https://www.penguinsinternational.org/). So on this episode of TMSOG we chat about penguins, politics, the Godzilla El Nino, silencing the press and much more with George Polisner, founder of Civ.works, who is our resident curmudgeon in chief, political analyst, and environmental activist. For more information go to https://civ.works/ and Election Protection https://866ourvote.org/ and https://civixthread.com/

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/

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 and on Blue Sky .bsky.social. Listen to TMSOG podcasts on all major podcast apps. &SocialConsciousness.

A big shout out to Neil for all his engineering wizardry!
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/super-el-nino-vs-the-penguins-w-george-polisner--75339372

www.electionprotection.org 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683), English, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682), Spanish and Engl

09/18/2026

Squirrels are Super + Tips to Prepare Your Yard for Fall with Victoria Alzapiedi Co-Founder of New Castle Healthy Yards and Environmental Consultant at My Native Garden Oasis
The podcast starts off with the Squirrel Song (a parody of the Beastie Boys’ song “Girls” often featured on The Dr. Demento Show). It was written and performed by the comedy group The Beastly Boys (Ron Friedman, Chip Craig, and Steve Bencich) using the instrumental music of the Beastie Boys. The song lyrics find Squirrels complaining about cars, fur coats, hunting, and being cute and harmless. Squirrels are amazing animals, and are kinda cute. The squirrel family is one of the most widespread creatures on Earth. There are almost 300 species of squirrels that can glide through the air, outwit rattlesnakes, and survive the coldest temperatures of any mammal. As we approach Fall, they are very busy gathering acorns and winterizing their homes. They store food, build insulated nests and eat extra food to build body fat. When we cut trees, replace native habitat with lawns and and put up parking lots we reduce their ability to survive. Humans have built neighborhoods across wildlife corridors and fragmented the places where animals once moved freely. It’s important to think before we destroy areas where wildlife live and survive.
Here is an interesting squirrel fact. Squirrels are so agile that they are being used as a model organism to understand the biological limits of balance and agility. Former UC Berkeley doctoral student Nathaniel Hunt, now an assistant professor of biomechanics at the University of Nebraska stated that “I would argue that squirrels are second to none. If we try to understand how squirrels do this, then we may discover general principles of high performance locomotion in the canopy and other complex terrains that apply to the movements of other animals and robots.” In essence, Squirrels are amazing creatures. They help create forests and now they are helping scientists learn more about mobility. On this episode of TMSOG podcast, our resident gardener, conservationist and environmental activist Victoria Alzapiedi joins us to talk about preparing our yards for the Fall, what native plants are best for planting, how to keep our property safe for wildlife and migrating birds, leaving leaves alone, and skipping pesticides.
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 member of Friends of Buttonhook Forest which is working to save a 20.3 acre forest in the Town of New Castle. In addition, she is the co-founder of the New Castle Pollinator Pathways Coalition, and started the Facebook group “The Nature of Westchester” an active community of nature lovers which now has more than 5000 members. Victoria is also a Native plant gardening consultant and coach providing eco-friendly recommendations https://www.mynativegardenoasis.com/
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/s-o-s-save-our-squirrels-plus-fall-yard-tips-w-victoria-alzapiedi--75196720

Victoria Alzapiedi is the Founder of New Castle Healthy Yards. For more info go to https://www.mynativegardenoasis.com

09/11/2026

What are the Environmental Costs of 99 Red Balloons?
On this episode of The Many Shades of Green podcast Charlotte Ghiorse our resident eco-activist, artist, writer, comedian and super mom joins us. We focus on the environmental cost of balloons, how we can educate people about alternatives so that we can celebrate without turning a moment of joy into an environmental hazard. We talk about California’s proposal to become the first state to make fashion brands, manufacturers and retailers pick up the tab for textile waste, some good environmental stories, the floating single red heart balloon floating above Grand Central Station, astrology and more.
For more information go to https://www.houseofchoclet.com/
To help protect the environment visit and if you can, please donate to https://earthjustice.org and https://action.nrdc.org/ Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/
Please make sure you are registered to vote! For more info go to https://civ.works/

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/up-up-and-away-in-my-recyclable-balloon-w-charlotte-ghiorse--75057833

For more info about Charlotte Ghiorse go to: https://www.houseofchoclet.com

09/04/2026

Green My Power with Tom Watson Executive Director of Sustainable Westchester
The Joni Mitchell’s tune “Big Yellow Taxi” is a 1970 folk-pop protest song in which Joni warns against environmental destruction and taking nature for granted. The inspiration came to Joni Mitchell after taking her first trip to Hawaii, where she looked out her hotel window and saw a gorgeous mountain view ruined by a massive, sprawling parking lot. The lyric “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,” critiques unchecked urban development and the replacement of green spaces with concrete. The song calls out the commercialization of nature, referencing a “tree museum” where people pay to see trees, and criticizes industrial agriculture by asking a farmer to put away the pesticide DDT. The lyrics are as apropos today as they were in 1970.
Pave paradise and put up a parking lot. While we don’t want to pave paradise, we can do something to make parking lots more sustainable. There is a push in Westchester to put solar canopies in parking areas, and there is already a solar canopy system in place at the Metro North train station in Croton Harmon. One of the most powerful things we can do is make climate action visible. When people see that municipalities are taking action, the idea of change becomes less intimidating, and eventually, it becomes part of the culture of a community. Sustainable Westchester’s current 2026 solar and clean-energy initiatives, include Community Solar, Green My Power, Solarize, Grid Rewards, MOVE systems, Workforce Development and the organization’s newly announced solar expansion strategy to put solar solutions front and center. Sustainable Westchester’s multiple Solarize campaigns have resulted in 601 solar installations across more than 20 municipalities, totaling 5.7 MW, and it is now pursuing a strategy to triple rooftop solar and increase parking-lot solar canopies tenfold.

Climate change is not a hoax, as we are seeing more extreme weather, rising temperatures, more intense storms, and wildfires. Mother Earth is trying to tell us something, and we have to start listening. We have to take action and be open to solutions to prevent carbon emissions by using renewable energy, and taking simple actions like switching to LED lighting, recycling, composting and more.
How do we accomplish being more sustainable? Tom Watson, the Executive Director of Sustainable Westchester joins us on this episode of TMSOG to talk about what programs are available to help us reduce our carbon footprint and reduce CO2 emissions by following the sun. Tom worked as a journalist for LoHud, Hudson Valley magazine, The New York Times, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Wired and many other publications. He was an early dot-com digital entrepreneur before co-founding a major nonprofit consulting firm, and later creating his own practice CauseWired, named for his best-selling book about the rise of digital activism. Tom serves on the Board of the Westchester Human Rights Commission, and is a professor in the Nonprofit Management masters program at Columbia University. He is a deeply committed native plant gardener who loves a good compost pile. He is also the guitar player for the Westchester band Retro-North.
For more information about Sustainable Westchester go to https://sustainablewestchester.org/ for questions about Solar and other programs email: [email protected]
To help protect the environment visit and if you can please donate to https://earthjustice.org and https://action.nrdc.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 and on Blue Sky .bsky.social. Listen to TMSOG podcasts on all major podcast apps. &SocialConsciousness.
A big shout out to Neil for all his engineering wizardry!

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/tom-watson-executive-director-of-sustainable-westchester--74879395

For More Information Go To: https://www.sustainablewestchester.org

08/31/2026

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/election-protection-get-out-the-vote-w-george-polisner--74726209

Election Protection: Rock the Vote!

We started off the podcast with Dolly Parton’s song “9 to 5” which is an anthem about the daily grind, economic frustration, and the exploitation of working-class employees by wealthy bosses. The tune was written as the theme song for the 1980 movie 9 to 5 (starring Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin). The song specifically highlights the struggles of working women facing sexual harassment, gender inequality, disrespect, and unequal pay compared to men. The lyrics criticize corporate systems where workers give everything (“it’s all taking and no giving”) while rich bosses get richer off the backs of the poor (“they just use your mind and they never give you credit”). Dolly was an advocate for women’s rights, gay rights and personal freedom. She advocated for equal pay for women in the workplace and better working conditions.
Dolly was an amazing woman, writer, musician, actor and philanthropist who donated a million dollars to help develop the Covid vaccine, and gave away millions of books to children through her Imagination Library foundation. She was a talent, a mensch and a beautiful soul. She will be sorely missed.
Women’s rights have experienced a major setback as Roe v Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court, and women’s health and rights have been greatly affected. SCOTUS has recently gone rogue again, as the Court decided to unblock the lower court injunction that tried to block the Executive order of DJT to restrict mail in ballots. The order was lifted by the Roberts court ruling (6-3), in an unsigned opinion. The majority said the states challenging the order had brought their lawsuit too early. The order directed federal agencies to develop systems identifying eligible voters and instructed the U.S. Postal Service to establish rules concerning the delivery of mail-in ballots. The administration argues that these measures are about election security and ensuring that only eligible voters receive ballots. But critics, including states, voting-rights organizations and election officials, argue that the president is attempting to exert federal control over an area traditionally administered by the states. It greatly affects older voters, people with disabilities, people who work long hours, military and overseas voters, rural residents and people who may have difficulty getting to a polling place on Election Day. George Polisner, founder of Civ.works joined us on the podcast. He is our curmudgeon in chief, political analyst, and environmental activist. We delved into Election Subversion, as SCOTUS strikes again, this time regarding restricting mail-in voting. We also talked about Liberal tears, fires affecting Reno, Nevada, wild horses being dragged away from land where they roam free, and much more. For more information go to: https://civ.works/ and https://civixthread.com/

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/election-protection-get-out-the-vote-w-george-polisner--74726209

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08/14/2026

If you are in the vicinity of Beverly Hills and want a fun evening check out The Tokens next Thursday, August 20th. Happy Days and Wimowehs!

08/14/2026

The Spirit of Doves with Poet, Artist Attorney and Renaissance Woman Susan L. Pollet

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-spirit-of-doves-w-susan-pollet--73939083

We need connectedness and peace more than ever, as we live in a world which is teetering on the brink of moral and ethical collapse. Wars continue to be fought between countries and the environment is being decimated by human behavior. While I truly believe that most people want to do good things, it seems like the evil empire is holding us hostage, and we need to fight the powers that be who are bent on destroying the earth so they can rule the world. We don’t want war, we want peace, clean air, clean water, untainted food, good medical care, a living wage and a better life for our children. We need to take a stand and fight for our rights, and so we bring out our symbols to try to counter the madness. While those who resist and protest dress up as frogs or unicorns, the ultimate symbol of peace are doves. Doves are gentle, quiet, and non-aggressive. The nature of doves makes them a natural visual metaphor for harmony. Ancient Mediterranean cultures used harvested olive branches as an offering to signal peaceful intent to end hostilities. The white dove carrying an olive branch is a universal symbol of peace and renewal, deeply rooted in ancient traditions, biblical stories and modern art popularized by Pablo Picasso. With the world in dire need of peace, we are lucky to have poets, artists and musicians to help us get through tough times, and fill our need for joy. I am delighted to have Susan Pollet on this episode to talk about the relationship between poetry and art and how these two forms of creativity speak to each other, inspire each other, and connect in many ways. Susan is a poet, an artist, published author and an attorney. Her poetry and artwork have been featured in many publications, and she created the cover art for her latest poetry collection, Deep Diving. Other recent collections are Managerie of Musings, Palpable Ponderings and Susiku And More which was her first collection of poetry. In addition to writing poetry, Susan is an attorney who has practiced law for for over 40 years, primarily in the area of family law. She has published over 60 articles on a variety of legal topics. Susan is a published author, poet and artist, and truly is a Renaissance woman. So let’s read some poems and explore the mindset of my friend Susan Pollet. Check out her poem The Spirit of Doves and others by going to https://susanpollet.com/ and https://susanpollet.substack.com/

Susan Pollet is a poet, artist, author and attorney. For More Information go to: https://susanpollet.com https://susanpollet.substack.com