The Climate Minute

Chairman Glick, in his own words

FERC has allowed ISO-NE to retain the damaging Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR.) However, FERC’s Chairman Richard Glick issued a statement agreeing to  the rule extension, but with good arguments AGAINST the rule! Listen in as we do a close reading of what he said.

The Bottleneck

The unifying problem behind the stalemate on climate action, gun reform, bodily rights and a functioning government is the filibuster. If you are distressed by lack of action on any of these issues, reforming the filibuster is the path forward. 

Ten towns want to lead the way. The MA Legislature should let them.

Section 65 of the latest climate bill would allow up to 10 towns in MA to experiment with making new construction greener by eliminating the use of natural gas. Listen to activists make the case, then call your legislator.

Assembling the puzzle pieces for green and reliable electricity

Our electrical grid is a complex puzzle, built from ‘resources’ like wind turbines solar power, gas plants, batteries and potentially our homes. It turns our that renewable energy resources are both green and help solve the puzzle of  grid reliability.  Listen as we talk to an expert on how these pieces interact.

Making Sense of Climate-Episode 5

Recently, I have had the pleasure of being a guest on someone else's podcast! This is the 5th  of several episodes of The Climate Minute that will be cross postings from a digital media site called Franklin Matters.  Since the impacts of climate change go from the global to the very local, he and I have been trying to make sense of what is happening here in MA, especially as it pertains to the state's Climate Roadmap. This show considers the alignment of the states bueaurcarcy toward the road map goal. The roadmap is now enshrined in law, and as a state we need to implement policies to achieve the goals. Our conversations are mostly about the ups and downs of that process.

Making Sense of Climate-Episode 2

Recently, I have had the pleasure of being a guest on someone else's podcast! This is the second of several episodes of The Climate Minute that will be cross postings from a digital media site called Franklin Matters. In this show we review additional elements of the roadmap.  Since the impacts of climate change go from the global to the very local, he and I have been trying to make sense of what is happening here in MA, especially as it pertains to the state's Climate Roadmap. The roadmap is now enshrined in law, and as a state we need to implement policies to achieve the goals. Our conversations are mostly about the ups and downs of that process.

Making Sense of Climate-Episode 1

Recently, I have had the pleasure of being a guest on someone else's podcast! The next several episodes of The Climate Minute will be cross postings from a digital media site called Franklin Matters. Specifically, I have been talking with Steve Sherlock. He uses blogs and podcasts to help people in the small MA town -that we both live in- to learn about town meetings and community events. In an age where small town newspapers are dying, this is a great model.  Since the impacts of climate change go from the global to the very local, he and I have been trying to make sense of what is happening here in MA, especially as it pertains to the state's Climate Roadmap. The roadmap is now enshrined in law, and as a state we need to implement policies to achieve the goals. Our conversations are mostly about the ups and downs of that process.

MCAN’s new report on the MLP energy mix

MCAN released a report on energy mix of the states Municipal Light Plants. The bottom line is that while municipal utilities know how to be leaders in combating the climate crisis, they are still well behind the rest of the state.  

Pineapples to politics- a path to climate activism

A young town councilman found himself in the vanguard of a grassroots uprising against fracking in New York State. How did that happen? What life experiences helped him answer the call of history? Listen in.

How to tell FERC you want clean energy now, not in 2025

You can send a comment to demand that the Federal Government allow a rapid transition to clean energy. Until April 21, FERC is accepting public comments about the MOPR rule. The extension of the rule to 2025 delays implementation of clean energy. The rule should just be eliminated. Listen in to hear an expert explain the issue and what you can do. Go to bit.ly/FERC-toolkit to get help: talking points, sample letters, guides to the FERC process and more.