Earth Day 2026 is depressing

exemption from Clean Air Act

I can’t be the only one who believes Earth Day 2026 is depressing. This year alone, the regime has repealed the 2009 endangerment finding on greenhouse gases, eliminating the foundation of much of U.S. climate policy.
The LA Times noted: “The decision reverses decades of environmental progress despite overwhelming scientific evidence and opposition from health experts, environmental groups, 50 cities and 17 states. Experts warn the repeal will increase pollution, respiratory disease, and planet-warming emissions over the coming decades…

“The repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding — a conclusion based on decades of science that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare — represents one of the biggest environmental rollbacks in U.S. history, and the latest in a series of actions by [FOTUS] to scrap policies and regulations designed to curb the use of fossil fuels and accelerate the transition to clean energy.

“The administration… also dismantled all federal emissions regulations governing vehicle models and engines between 2012 and 2027 and beyond.”

Profit over people

Daily Kos: FOTUS is forcing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to abandon its legal obligation to protect human health and the environment – by granting more than one-third of the nearly 550 polluting facilities nationwide a two-year exemption from Clean Air Act rules, allowing dangerous air pollution to go unchecked.

“The Clean Air Act exists to protect people from harmful pollutants—such as ethylene oxide, mercury, and lead—known to cause cancer and other serious health harms. But instead of enforcing the law, Trump is siding with corporate polluters and putting our communities at risk.

“So far, 188 exemptions have already been granted to coal power plants, chemical manufacturers, commercial sterilizers, and other polluters. Another 366 are eligible for the same two-year exemption.

We don’t need no stinkin’ research

MoveOn: As we mark Earth Month this April, the [regime] is quietly making yet another catastrophic attack on our environment.

“The U.S. Forest Service, housed under the Department of Agriculture (USDA), has announced plans to shutter a staggering 57 of its 77 research facilities across 31 states—that’s almost 75%.1 These are the labs and scientists tracking how wildfires spread, how droughts are deepening, and how the climate crisis is reshaping 193 million acres of American forests and grasslands.

“This is all part of a deliberate, sweeping attack on climate science through defunding research, silencing scientists, and prioritizing corporate interests over the health of our public lands.”

Thus, last month was the hottest March on record for the continental U.S.,  federal data shows.” 

Here are the Executive Orders on energy and the environment, 2025-2026. They include “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry,” and a bunch of other groanworthy titles .

At a point where the US should do more to try a Project Hail Mary to slow the impending ecological chaos, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and others are actively working to make things worse.

Happy Earth Day. 

 

National Library Week 2026: Find Your Joy

APL survey

Since it’s National Library Week 2026, I am required by my vows as a Master of Library Science to celebrate. Find your joy!

ITEM: Albany city residents go to the polls on Tuesday, May 19, to vote on the library’s 2026-2027 operating budget tax levy. Voters will also elect three new library trustees. Note that the poll locations may vary from the primary and general election locations. 

ITEM: Albany Public Library is currently developing a Strategic Plan with the help of Library Strategies to guide its priorities over the next three years. In order to craft this long-range roadmap, the Library must determine what residents need, want, and expect from their libraries – now and into the future. For that reason, this survey was developed to collect your valuable input.

On average, it takes just 8-10 minutes to complete the survey. The information you provide will help the Library and its consultants scope and prioritize areas of focus that maximize the Library’s return on investment. You will remain anonymous unless you actively choose to self-identify.

ALA

ITEM: From the American Library Association-

This month, ALA prevailed in our lawsuit against the government to protect the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The settlement, alongside our co-plaintiff AFSCME and represented by Democracy Forward, ensures that the only federal agency dedicated to library services will continue to carry out its critical work.

ALA has been showing up for libraries on fronts beyond the IMLS lawsuit and Fund Libraries campaign:

NYSWI

ITEM: Join New York State Writers Institute on Wednesday, April 22, at 4:30 p.m. at Page Hall, UAlbany for a conversation with Heidi Boghosian, lawyer, podcast host, writer, and surveillance and privacy expert, and the author of Cyber Citizens: Saving Democracy with Digital Literacy (2025), which argues that our best chance of thriving in the digital era lies in taking care of our “smart” selves as diligently as we maintain our “smart” devices.

​She will also discuss the looming challenges to democracy posed by AI and other emerging technologies.

Boghosian is executive director of the A.J. Muste Foundation for Peace and Justice, a charitable organization providing support to activist organizations, and the former executive director of the National Lawyers Guild.

FFAPL

ITEM: The Friends of Albany Public Library and, later, the Friends and Foundation of Albany Public Library, have sponsored free Tuesday Book Talks almost every week of the year at the Washington Avenue branch at 2 pm. 

April 21 | Book Review | The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics by Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, & Mark Olshaker.  Reviewer:  Bryon Backenson, Director, Bureau of Communicable Disease Control, NYS Dept. of Health.

​April 28 | Author Talk | David Ricci, from the Berkshires, discusses & reads from his book of photographs, Hunter Gatherer: Salvaged Stories of American Culture, with text by Cheryl Finley.

​May 5 | Author Talk | Jessica Treadway, Albany native & child patron of the Pine Hills Branch, discusses & reads from her short story collection, I Felt My Life with Both My Hands.

May 12 | Book Review | The World’s Strongest Librarian: A Book Lover’s Adventures by Josh Hanagarne.  Reviewer:  John Edvalson, APL librarian.

May 19| Book Review | The Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology by Chris Miller.  Reviewer:  Charles Hailer, Empire State Fellow with the NYS Urban Development Corporation.

May 26 | Book Review | The Fear and the Fury: Bernie Goetz, the Reagan ‘80s, and the Rebirth of White Rage by Heather Ann Thompson.  Reviewer: James Collins, PhD, Prof. emeritus, Anthropology Dept, Program in Linguistics & Cognitive Science, U at Albany, SUNY.

Photos

ITEM: Locally, the show of FFAPL treasurer David Brickman, Neighborhood Abstracts, has been extended through mid-May at McGreevy ProLab and ProPress in Albany (link here for hours and address). 

And David and McGreevy are producing a 30-page book of the show, with all the pictures and a little bit of text. The book will be available in two sizes: 8″x8″ signed, limited-edition softcover ($35, tax included, shipping extra if needed; limited to 40 numbered copies plus 10 artist proofs); and deluxe 12″x12″ hardcover ($100 plus tax and shipping if needed). Write to David: dbgetvisual[at]gmail[dot]com 

America Sings: one of my origin stories

Arthur, that dude from New Zealand via Illinois, wrote a post recently titled “One of my origin stories.” He noted, “’There was also a cookbook for kids in our house’, and that cookbook, first published in 1957, was called Betty Crocker’s Cookbook for Boys and Girls.”

Moreover, he was motivated to “buy an authorised ‘facsimile edition’ that was a faithful reproduction of the original.” I recall that book, and we may have even owned it.

However, my wife DEFINITELY owned and owns it. She even imagined being in the cover tableau. In fact, she may want a new one because the original has grease and other stains. Maybe a gift idea? 

Music

This story reminded me of a similar item. From this blog in 2006: “At school, we had music class every day with Mrs. Joseph, starting in 4th grade. We used what I knew then was an ancient music book.” I do not recall the title. (Any of you, Daniel Dickinson school chums from Binghamton, NY, remember?)

I wrote: ” I wish I could find a copy of that book; I really liked most of the songs.” At some point in the past half-decade, I found a reasonable facsimile. America Sings Community Song Book from 1935. It has many of the same songs: Americana, religious, et al. It’s even in the same font. The fact that we were using a 30-year-old book absolutely tracks. I even sent a copy of America Sings to my sister Leslie, who would have used the same item. 

Actually, several similar books were published. A Capital Ship, the first song alphabetically, which I well recall, was in:

Songbooks:
Camp-Fire Choruses (1917)
Boy Scout Song Book (1920)
The Golden Book of Favorite Songs (1923)
Twice 55 Plus Community Songs (The New Brown Book) (1930)
The “Everybody Sing” Book, Revised Edition (1932)
America Sings Community Song Book (1935)
The Golden Book of Favorite Songs (1946)

The book didn’t have Shortnin’ Bread, which I didn’t particularly like. (I can’t find a book with both A Capital Ship and Shortnin’ Bread.)

THAT song

But it did have another song. As I wrote:

One day, when I was in the 5th grade, Mrs. Joseph announced that we could sing anything we wanted. One kid asked for an unfamiliar page. I turned to it, and, of course, it was that Stephen Foster classic, Old Black Joe. I had no idea the piece was in the book! What would Mrs. Joseph do? What would I do?

Quickly, I decided that if we sang the song, I would walk out of the room. (To go where, I had no idea.) Mrs. Joseph gets to the page, and she says, “Hmm, let’s sing something else.” Walkout averted.

That said, I loved that book. It reminds me of a specific timeframe and place, and having a great deal of affection for it.

Sunday Stealing with Steph

Communion

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

This week, we’re once again stealing from Steph, aka Cry Baby. She loves Taco Bell and asking questions like these.

More Questions from Steph

1) Are you the sort of person who can nap or sleep anywhere, any time?
No. But I could take a nap about three days a week. When I do nap, it’s usually once a week for between 45 and 75 minutes.
2) Have you ever walked in your sleep?
Yes, as a child, my mother told me. I usually spoke and, reportedly, occasionally even went to the bathroom.
3) Do you chat with your Uber/Lyft/taxi driver?
I’ve been taking an Uber about once a month, usually the return trip of some medical appointment. I could get home otherwise, but I’ve decided that taking two buses back home over two hours isn’t worth it. I’m too old for that.
As for conversation, it depends very much on the driver. Some have their music on and want to listen to their country/gospel/top 40 tunes. Some are more chatty, and I’m okay with that.
 One guy was playing sports radio, and he was bemoaning the poor start by his team, the Baltimore Ravens. I can be conversational, even though I rarely watch many early-season NFL games.
February 14
4) Do you remember what you did on Valentine’s Day?
Not specifically. But it’s likely we went somewhere not too expensive to eat. This past Feb 14 was on a Saturday, and usually we have a date night once a month on our lunaversary, which is the 15th of the month.
5) How many laptops have you owned over your lifetime?
I don’t know. For the longest time, I had a desktop. My current laptop may have been my third, which I purchased only because my previous one fell to the ground and was irreparable. I’ve bought one since then as a backup.
6) How many countries have you visited?
Four: Canada, Mexico, Barbados, and France.
7) Did you/will you go to work today?
Unless you count going to church to prepare Communion, serve it during the service, and then clean up afterward, I’ll go with no.
Just because: What Does ‘Roger That’ Mean?

 

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Why I liked early Three Dog Night

Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, Danny Hutton, and four instrumentalists 

I liked early Three Dog Night. And I enjoyed them even more when I discovered they were providing visibility for songs and artists that would become more prominent. At the same time, they highlighted songs that were overlooked or forgotten. TDN was a gateway drug. 

They were vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton,  augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass guitar), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sneed (drums).  All except Hutton and Allsup are deceased. 

Here is the song link code: the title is the TDN version, while the mentions of other artists direct you to their versions.

The album also known as One

One was recorded by Harry Nilsson on his third studio album Aerial Ballet (1968).  “The original issue of the TDN single version fades out about ten seconds before the final notes heard on the album version.” Since the album version is clearly better, it has been used in subsequent compilations.

It’s For You was a Lennon-McCartney song! It was a UK hit for Cilla Black in 1964, but it only reached #79 in the US.

Chest Fever is a song recorded by The Band on its 1968 debut, Music from Big Pink. But I didn’t buy Big Pink until after I had purchased The Band’s eponymous second album (the brown one) in 1969.

Bet No One Ever This Bad was on Randy Newman‘s first, eponymous album, which I never owned until my COVID music splurge. But I did not know this: the Alan Price Set issued recordings of the song (as “No One Ever Hurt So Bad”) and two other Newman songs on their 1967 album A Price On His Head.

The Loner was on the eponymous first album of Neil Young. Wasn’t he the guy from Buffalo Springfield? However, I never owned that album until I had purchased Neil’s 2nd, 3rd, and 4th albums, and CSNY’s Deja Vu.

The second album

Feelin’ Alright was written by Dave Mason for Traffic‘s first, eponymous album. (How many times will I write “eponymous” in this post?)  Joe Cocker, among others, also recorded it.

Lady Samantha was an early Elton John song, written by John and Bernie Taupin, that failed to chart. I had a college friend who seemed to heavily identify with this song.

Eli’s Comin’ was written and recorded in 1967 by Laura Nyro. It was first released in 1968 on her album, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession.

A live album after only two studio albums? They were very popular.

Third studio album

Cowboy was on that first Randy Newman album.

It Ain’t Easy, written by Ron Davies, was a hit for him in Canada in 1970. It was subsequently recorded by several others, including David Bowie.

Out In The Country is a song written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols. Williams recorded his for his 1972 album, Life Goes On.

Mama Told Me Not To Come by Randy Newman was written for Eric Burdon and the Animals and appeared on a French EP in 1966, then on the album Eric Is Here in 1967, if I understand this correctly. Newman recorded it for his second album, 12 Songs (1970). I also own the Tom Jones and Stereophonics version on Jones’ 34th album, Reload, in 1999.

Your Song, written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, has a compelling story. “John was an opening act for the band at the time and allowed them to record it. They did not release it as a single because they wanted to let John, then an up-and-coming artist, have a go with it.” It was a hit.

Liar “is a song written by Russ Ballard of Argent from their 1970 self-titled debut album. It was released as the band’s first single, but did not chart.”

Joy To The World is a song written by Hoyt Axton

That’s enough for now. TDN continued recording songs by other artists, including (again) Axton, Newman, and Williams, as well as John Hiatt and Toussaint, while also leaning into songs by band members.

Ramblin' with Roger
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