Post-Election Conversations: What Now?

Election Fallout: What Now?

Take a breath. Scream and cry. Hug each other. Hug a tree. Hug the women, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color in your life. Take another breath.

On a national scale:
- Waging Nonviolence compiled an excellent list of strategies to fight Trump’s fascist regime.
- WhatIfTrumpWins also has skills-based trainings for surviving another Trump presidency.
- Axios summarizes what a Trump presidency means for climate change policy.
- On Democracy Now!, Ari Berman discusses the racist history of the Electoral College.
In Massachusetts:
- Democrats James McGovern and Richard Neal won their re-election campaigns. Elizabeth Warren did too.
- Democrats also maintained control of the state legislature.
- Massachusetts residents voted yes on Questions 1 and 2, and no on Questions 4 and 5. Question 3 also passed.
- WBUR has municipality tallies for all key races.

General Assembly

Sunday, November 17 · 2-4 p.m.
Guiding Star Grange
401 Chapman St., Greenfield

Join Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution in discussing the national and local election results, ways to fight fascism, and next steps to protect residents’ rights.

Learn More

Upcoming Events

JFK’s Dream of Peace and its Lessons for Today

Sunday, October 10 · 7 p.m. · Zoom Webinar

Elizabeth Murray had 27-year career in the US government, specializing in Middle Eastern political and media analysis. She campaigned against the US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria and worked for the release of WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange, whom she visited personally while he was in London’s Ecuadorian Embassy. Learn more about the event.

If you can’t attend, register to receive a link to the recording!

Register Here

Film Screening:
Do I Need This?

Thursday, December 5 · 5 p.m.
All Souls Church
399 Main St., Greenfield

Save the date for the inaugural screening in Greening Greenfield’s new film series! First up is an award-winning documentary exploring American consumerism and what it means to be happy. Right in time for the holiday season!

About the Film Series

Exploring Wissatinnewag

On November 4, members of local forest and water protection groups enjoyed a thought-provoking walk in an area of Greenfield known as Wissatinnewag. For thousands of years, this area held great spiritual value to the many tribes who lived in or traveled here. It served as a pilgrimage destination where people could gather in a “place of peace.”

Our guides for this walk were David Brule, president of the Nolumbeka Project, and Brent Pitcher, a volunteer who stewards the gardens on the site. David explained that Wissatinnewag means “Glistening Hill,” for the mist-coated basalt rocks above the thundering Great Falls. The advent of King Phillip’s War in 1675 began the changes that caused many of the Indigenous inhabitants to leave. In the mid-twentieth century, the site was bought by a sand and gravel operation that removed untold tons of sand, disturbing the land and unearthing artifacts and human remains. Through many concerted efforts, Wissitinnewag was purchased and protected.

What appeared as a moonscape after the sand mining is now land healing itself. We learned, also, that the sand deposits there were created when the retreating glaciers created Lake Hitchcock. We walked on the bottom of that ancient lake. For more information and a short video about Wissatinnewag, visit the Nolumbeka Project.

—Lynn Waldron, Wendell State Forest Alliance

Regional Roundup

Mass Audubon received a $25 million federal grant to conserve 10,000 acres of the Connecticut River watershed. (limited paywall)
UMass Amherst spent over $100,000 breaking up pro-Palestinian student encampments.
The Communities that Care Coalition recently published its results on local student health surveys.
Franklin Regional Transit Authority will continue providing fare-free transportation under a new statewide grant. (limited paywall)
Debates over BlueWave Solar in Northfield rage on. (limited paywall)
A union battle with national ramifications is waging among Trader Joe’s workers in Hadley.

Spotlight on New England Wildlands

In October, the Regenerative Farming, Forests, and Food Systems (RF3) committee of Climate Action Now Western Mass (CAN) introduced its new initiative to protect Wildlands in New England. This campaign grew from the groundbreaking report Wildlands in New England: Past, Present, and Future and a presentation given by Dr. Susan A. Masino at CAN’s April meeting.

Learn More

Other Upcoming Events

Global Climate Conversations

The 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29) begins on November 11 in Baku, Azerbaijan. See Democracy Now! for full coverage.
Radio program Living on Earthreported on the recently concluded World Biodiversity Summit in Colombia.
A new report by the World Meteorological Organization found that greenhouse gases are accumulating in the atmosphere at all-time highs.
The 2024 Global Tree Assessment revealed that 1 in 3 species face extinction.