The Climate Minute

The Obama’s seemingly small step to require the inclusion of climate considerations in the planning of Federal projects is, in fact, a big deal! That, coupled with the success of RGGI make for a good week in climate news- except for the anthrax. Listen in!Download Enhanced Podcast

The Massachusetts legislature passed an energy policy bill with a solid requirement to build lots of wind power. We discuss the implications of that, plus what else was put in , and what was left out. Listen here! Download Enhanced Podcast

Why we believe what we believe is an important question to consider. Are we driven by facts or allegiance? It more than a hundred Nobel prize winners say GMO’s are OK, should we believe it?  At the end of the day, no matter where we stand, we are better off for having considered all the possibilities. Listen in! Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.org/blog. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre Download Enhanced Podcast

A heat wave across the USA gives us all a taste of things to com. On the good news side, the EPA will regulate airline emissions and super greenhouse gases will come under control soon. Listen in! Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.org/blog. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre Download Enhanced Podcast

A massive gas compression and storage facility has been proposed for the small town of Acushnet Massachusetts. In protest, local residents, lead by South Coast Neighbors United marched between two schools that would be close to the facility.  Listen in as we hear voices from the march. (Special bonus: some whaling and literary history!) Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.org/blog. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre Download Enhanced Podcast

The Climate Action Business Association’s (CABA’s) summer campaign is called Businesses Acting on Rising Seas (BARS2016). For eight weeks, the CABA team will be educating local small businesses across the coastal region of Massachusetts about the impacts of sea level rise. BARS2016 campaign leaders engage into face-to-face conversations with business owners and managers providing small business resilience guides that outline a quick-and-dirty, 8-step approach to resilience. CABA believes that resilience is a crucial aspect to conducting business when it comes to sustaining long-term economic growth, vitality and business continuity in the region with the threats of climate change looming. The ultimate goal of BARS campaign is to prevent the loss of locally-owned businesses and support a secure economy for Massachusetts in the event of a natural disaster. Moreover, the BARS team seeks to build a better understanding of climate resilience and a sense of community both within the City of Boston and in coastal Massachusetts. Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.org/blog. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre Download Enhanced Podcast

Recent events reveal large differences in the worldview of Americans. Are Climate Hawks in an epistemological bubble? How can we stay out? We discuss. Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre Download Enhanced Podcast

Pipeline protests gain strength even as the State Legislature considers a new Omnibus Energy bill. A key provision denies the utilities a ‘pipeline tax’ to fund the construction. A match to the Statehouse this weekend will send a clear message- see below for the route and timing. Here is some background and advice on what to do, even if you can’t get to the statehouse this weekend. Both the House and Senate have heard that you want a bolder clean energy vision, please thank your senator for their leadership and ask them to support a few key amendments. The current bill includes these clean energy pieces: - A commitment to offshore wind of 2000 megawatts
- An annual increase from one to two percent in the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard
- A mandate for a home energy audit to be made available when homes are listed for sale.
- Incentives for energy storage BUT, the Senate bill could include key provisions: 
- Ban the pipeline tax 
- Protect low-income solar
- Accelerate gas leak repairs. Without an outright ban on the pipeline tax, the Baker administration and the utility companies could still find for ratepayers to bear the cost of building massive fracked gas pipelines. Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre Download Enhanced Podcast

A recent report shows that the famed ‘hole in the ozone’ is showing slow signs of healing. This is good news in its own right, but is more heartening since the improvements are entirely due to an international treaty- the Montreal Protocol. The Montreal Protocol was a market based, ‘cap and trade’ style system to limit the emission of CFC gases. The parallels to modern day efforts to limit carbon pollution through international agreements such as the Paris Agreement are obvious.  The slow recovery of the ozone layer should give hope to Climate Hawks that success is possible Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre Download Enhanced Podcast

The recent shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota are troubling. There are many American citizens dedicated to the work of eliminating racial bias.  Those activists face similar challenges as Climate Hawks, from institutionally powerful adversaries to unthinking ideological opposition. Indeed, in the area of environmental justice, the goals and challenges overlap. Climate Hawks and activists such as the “Black Lives Matter” movement are natural allies, and can support each other in many ways. The easiest way is to recognize each other’s efforts, since both racism and climate change are often difficult topics to inject into the public discussion. The open discussion of either systemic racism or global warming (with it’s systemic abusive pollution) can advance both topics. Listen in as we discuss this important topic. Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre Download Enhanced Podcast

What are the implications for climate progress of the UK’s decision to leave the EU? As with any profound historical event, there are already contradictory ideas. We discuss. Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre Download Enhanced Podcast

The Massachusetts Senate passed an Omnibus Energy bill that mandates 2GW of wind power, increases the use of renewables by 2% a year and bans the ‘pipeline tax.’ This is good news!  Next comes joint work between the House and Senate to reconcile the two different versions of the bill passed by each body.  Climate Hawks should urge their legislators to put the Senate’s vision into the final bill. Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre Download Enhanced Podcast

Both security and sustainability can be defined many ways and there are many organizations that address each. How can these groups make the connections between the underlying common issues they face? In this show we explore the concept of a Global Security and Sustainability Guide with Michael Sales, one of the leaders of the project. He says: We believe that mapping the system will change it by demonstrating how vast the effort is to address two of the key drivers of the world meta-system: sustainability issues are creating conflicts of all sorts and the need for security so that people have the mental bandwidth to make strategic sustainability choices.  Seeing the whole system more clearly will empower actors who care about it to take more creative, informed and high-leverage initiatives and to lend support to one another.  We have already identified 1,400 organizations active in these increasingly overlapping domains, and anticipate that we will discover many hundreds more as we continue digging.   Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre Download Enhanced Podcast

A new report says that Boston is at greater risk of sea level rise than previously thought, with the possibility that places like Faneuil Hall could go below sea level.  Even with that looming possibility, Exxon is contesting the subpoena issued by the MA Attorney General. Locally, there were new arrests at the West Roxbury pipeline site, and our Senators sent a letter to FERC.  On top of all that, you can RSVP to the MCAN’s really cool tour of the Deer Island renewable energy installations at the link below. Listen in! Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre Download Enhanced Podcast

In this episode, we meet a young Climate Hawk who is just beginning her journey of activism. Rachel Geiger is committed to fighting climate change, and her story is both a template and inspiration for others.  Listen in! Rachel’s – and other’s -work with the Mount Holyoke College's Climate Justice Coalition and Fossil Fuel Divest campaign can be tracked at this link to the Facebook page, Instagram, tumblr, and  twitter! As usual, the Facebook page is a good place to start. Rachel gives this recommendation: Advice to fellow activists, especially youth and young adults, since the young tend to think we are invincible. Find any way you can to get involved, but also, take care of yourself. Take breaks when needed and do not take on too much, so you do not burn out. Look out for each other and connect as people, not just activists. We need to build networks of people, because no one can do this alone-we need a society shift! We need to build these networks based on care and love for the earth, the people who inhabit it, and each other. If you want to   get involved: •    If you are looking to start a divest campaign, Divest Student Networkcan be immensely helpful, and 350.org. So can http://gofossilfree.org/, which has a handbook on how to start a Divest Campaign (attached). •    In the Northeast, some organizations that help students with Divestment campaigns are Responsible Endowments Coalition (REC) and Better Future Project (BFP). BFP works on an assortment of climate justice issues and is currently most focused on stopping natural gas pipelines from entering MA, while REC focuses on pressuring institutions to invest responsibly, including fossil fuel divestment campaigns, other kinds of divestment campaigns, and reinvestment.   As for other links to include, Rachel talked a bit about •    Do The Math. Here's the video that inspired Rachel and here's the article from Rolling Stone. •    Here is the link to the new Bill McKibbon article about methane, Global Warming’s Terrifying New Chemistry. Many listeners are probably already aware that methane is not the bridge to the future many have claimed it to be, and that reports show that MA does not need it to power itself on renewable energy. Other great resources are Naomi Klein's  Capitlism vs the Climate and The story of stuff f by Annie Leopold who provides a great explanation of capitalism as inherently impossible because it is a system that assumes infinite growth, but the earth is a closed system. Rachel’s work is funded by other Climate Hawks, so you can help. Here is the link for how to donate to better Future Project's Climate Justice Fellowship. As for those who do not do online banking:  One can write a check to Better Future Project, and specify Climate Justice Fellowship in the check's memo. They can be sent to Better Future Project at 30 Bow St. Cambridge, MA 02138. If someone is donating by check, that can include their email address and phone number if they want occasional updates about the fellowship and Better Future Project from BFP. They should also include who solicited the donation. BFP says "Donations to Better Future Project and its programs are tax-deductible. All donors who give online receive a receipt automatically. Please note that the receipt refers to donations to “Better Future Project, 350 Massachusetts for a Better Future (350 Mass), the Climate Justice Fellowship, and other programs of Better Future Project.” They will send receipts either electronically or via mail to donors who give via check." Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog. Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. Thanks for listening. …Ted McIntyre Download Enhanced Podcast