The Climate Minute

The Climate Minute: Spring Forward!

Did you know today was the start of Spring?  Well, it is.  Spring is here, budding trees, blooming flowers, the whole shebang.  That snow out there?  Pay no attention... it's spring I tell you... As always, click on the “MCAN Climate Minute” picture to the right to start the recording in a new window. Yes, March 1st is the start of meteorological spring, which runs from March 1st to June 1st.  The meteorological seasons correspond to temperature norms, where the more recognized astrological seasons (in which springs begins with the vernal equinox on March 20th) are based on the planet's position relative to the sun. Actually to us the beginning of meteorological spring means it's nine days to the the MCAN conference.   That's right, the annual MCAN conference is Sunday, March 10th, at Northeastern University.  We're thrilled to have Mayor John Fetterman of Braddock Pennsylvania as our keynote speaker.  Mayor John is on the cutting edge of creative thinking about urban communities and epitomizes the determination to improve those places around us that motivate MCAN activists. Here are some links to go along with our talk this morning. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar was in town at the offshore wind conference and reaffirmed that the Interior Department was set to auction offshore wind leases along the Atlantic seaboard.  Administration officials  believe there may be up to 1 million megawatts of capacity offshore.   The bad news in Secretary Salazar's speech was that the sequester could delay permitting of renewable facilities by the Interior department.  As you know, March 1st brings not only spring, but the onset of the federal budget sequester.  Barring a last minute deal, the budget sequester will go into effect at or near midnight tonight. The sequester, the across the board arbitrary verying percentage (generally 8.2% for discretionary spending and around 9% for military spending) cut in all federal programs, will hit everything from the military to state and federal environmental programs. The sequester will not impact the MCAN conference however.  You have heard we're having a conference, right?  There's still time to register for the conference here.  And hey, its Daylight Savings Time again -- so remember to set your clocks ahead Saturday night ("spring ahead, fall back") or you'll be late to the conference! It's been a pleasure sharing climate news and views with you as always.  You know, you can subscribe to our iTunes feed and get our podcasts automatically here.  Feel free to give us your thoughts on our Facebook page, or through old-fashioned email. Remember, for climate activities near you check out our MCAN climate action calendar.  You can enter events as well as browse for interesting things to do. As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.  See you next week.

The MCAN Climate Minute - Protests and protestations.

Well, the Keystone protest in Washington is over and Rob and Ted are back at the pink and orange coffeehouse to compare notes about the march and try to figure out what's next. The protest created an interesting back-and-forth between several observers as to the most effective path forward for the climate movement, and we give our two cents. Also, some breaking news coming out of DC (well, breaking rumor) about the next EPA director has Massachusetts environmentalists a-flutter. As always, click on the “MCAN Climate Minute” picture to the right to start the recording in a new window. Here are some links to go along with our talk this morning. We've cobbled together some clips from the speeches and march. Forgive the amateur video, but, hey, we're amateurs at this... [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ_tp7RKJnY] The march caused a some folks to question the approaches required to fight climate change.  Apparently, Andy Revkin of the NY Times Dot.Earth blog was engaging in a little twitter back and forth during the march with Phil Aroneau of 350.org about the value of protesting Keystone, among other things, which naturally got some folks fairly ticked off. Revkin is more inclined not to draw a line in the sand on Keystone, as too much of a focus on Keystone hurts efforts to secure other carbon-reducing policies.  In crude terms, and as this little dust-up has been summed up by Dave Roberts of Grist, this is a fight between the Radicals and the Very Serious People (VSP). For my part, I believe Roberts is right when he states that protesting Keystone is not going to hurt any other action, why would it?  This isn't a zero sum game in which my marching around the White House precludes me from fighting for renewable energy in my town.... Rivken's piece got me thinking about the "grand bargain" that has been floated in certain quarters; would the community accept Keystone if it was paired with a carbon tax, but that seems to be a meme spouted mostly by people on the outside looking in, and not a serious discussion. Beyond Dave Robert's analysis that activism on Keystone doesn't preclude other solutions though is discussion of a clash of cultures in the climate movement.  Susan Cagle wrote a piece titled "At climate rally, some signs of fraying in a movement’s big tent" which played up VSP vs. Radical divide within the climate movement itself.  Cagle presented a vignette of a young person climbing a tree and being scolded by an older marcher for damaging the tree as well as the climate movement itself. She went on in the piece to interview a couple of the younger protesters who thought many of the Keystone marchers were being too passive, and that the climate movement has to move outside of the "mainstream" -- we can't be concerned about trees, or niceties  while the planet burns. Wen Stepehenson echoes this call in a recent Boston Pheonix piece exhorting climate change activists to be the new abolitionists, that the time to be reasonable is long since passed. For my part I believe the movement has to have many faces, from angry to hopeful, to be successful.  If we are to move the mass of people we have to present both the problem (Keystone) and the solutions (clean energy, energy efficiency, better zoning, local food etc etc etc). The young man interviewed in the Cagle piece was very frustrated, I understand that.  But there's useful frustration and there's wasted frustration.  When you say that you'd like to tell the President:

‘You fucking start this change or we’re going to do it ourselves,’” said Max. “We’re going to take over and cross this fence and walk over to that White House.”

Well.  Frankly, that's wasted frustration.  I'm sorry, but climate change cannot be solved by jumping the White House fence, swearing at the President, and getting shot by the Secret Service.  Our government may be made up of pandering captives of special interests, but it's the only government we got.  We're not going to solve this problem without government action, and that means getting political leaders on board.  And political leaders are notorious for finding the middle ground. Until we fix our government (through campaign finance reform, among other things), we're going to have to work within its limits. (Of course, it doesn't help that the President was golfing with Big Oil executives while the march was going on.) By the way, Roberts has a very good piece up this morning about "what's next" after the Keyston decision.  Take a gander at it here. Secretary of State Kerry made his first major foreign policy speech, and climate change featured prominently:

"So let’s commit ourselves to doing the smart thing and the right thing and truly commit to tackling this challenge," he said. "Because if we don’t rise to meet it, rising temperatures and rising sea levels will surely lead to rising costs down the road. If we waste this opportunity, it may be the only thing our generations are remembered for. We need to find the courage to leave a far different legacy."

Word coming out of DC has local hero Gina McCarthy will very soon be nominated for EPA Administrator.  The Washington Post thinks the nomination could come as soon as this Wednesday.  Having had the pleasure of working with Gina in two of her Massachusetts positions, I think she'd make an excellent Administrator, and has a wonderful ability to work with all parties to achieve significant environmental successes. Plus it's great having someone else with that accent in a position of power!  ("Cahhs in the market today...") In other cabinet news, many believe departing Sec. of Energy Stephen Chu will be replaced by MIT Professor Ernest Moniz.  Word of his potential nomination has some environmentalists concerned, as in the past Professor Moniz has supported fracking as a "bridge to a low carbon future."  Stay tuned... Remember - our annual conference is coming up March 10th at Northeastern University. You can read about the panels we're offering and the speakers who will be there here. Finally, Ted was smitten with Beasts of the Southern Wild.  For a deep read on its sociological and environmental importance, check out this article in the journal Southern Spaces. As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.

MCAN Climate Minute - On Our Way to DC

Life is back to normal in New England after last weekend's snowstorm dumped about 24 inches or more on parts of the region.  Ted and Rob are getting ready to go to Washington for this weekend's Keystone XL protest, but there is other news, so settle in and let's talk about what's happening in Massachusetts and beyond relative to climate change this week. As always, click on the “MCAN Climate Minute” picture to the right to start the recording in a new window. Here are some links to go along with our talk this morning. The President laid down the law at the State of the Union this week; if congress doesn't act to pass a market-based carbon reduction program, he will use the power of his administration to act. Derrick Jackson of the Boston Globe opines that the President's threat of increased regulation will drive legislators to embrace cap-and-trade programs, like the successful RGGI program.  You can read his editorial here, grab it before it goes behind the paywall. The President's speech ignited another round of supposition about a possible Carbon Tax-for-Keystone trade, in US as well as in Canada.  Would the President try and appease both the fossil fuel lobby and the environmental lobby by offering a deal on both issues?  Or would that just create two unhappy camps? In the midst of this discussion, Senators Barbara Boxer and Bernard Sanders have filed a "cap and dividend" bill to impose a carbon tax, and disperse (much) of the proceeds to taxpayers. The coming abdication of Pope Benedict presents a possibility for a new vigor about climate change from the Catholic Church.  A non-European pope, particularly a southern-hemisphere pope, may redirect Rome's attention on the planetary suffering that will ensue from Climate Change.  While the primary experience of climate conscious Catholics has been one of deafening silence, there are groups within the church paying attention to Climate Change. In other meteorlogical news (har har, couldn't resist) later today asteroid 2012DA14 will come as close to Earth as we're likely comfortable with.  2012DA14 will actually pass closer to the planet than the orbit of several satellites, and yesterday a meteor streaked across the sky in Russia, causing injuries to hundreds and causing quite a commotion. We mention this, not because unlike certain newsreaders on CNN we're trying to tie these events to climate change, but to point out that this is the "bright shiny object" syndrome that drives news coverage and media attention, while the inexorable march of climate change caused by human emissions of greenhouse gasses, goes if not mocked than underreported -- and has consequences orders of magnitude larger than 2012DA14 or that meteor over Russia! Fortunately there are some weather people paying attention.  Kudos to Boston's own Channel 5 meteorologist Harvey Leonard who explained very clearly and calmly that while you can't go and pin the development of a winter storm on climate change, the trend toward larger and larger storms is very clearly due to climate change and associated warming.  Good on 'ya Harvey -- we loved you when you were announcing school was out when we were kids, and we love you now. Thanks for listening, and here's a little gift.  Here's NPR's Bands that Should Be Bigger podcast with some links to great artists you should be listening to, particulary Adam Arcugai and Seryn. Remember - our annual conference is coming up March 10th at Northeastern University.  Register today to get the early bird rate! Well we'll see you in Washington, and as always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.

The MCAN Climate Minute – Snow Day Edition

Oh my goodness it's snowing!  Winter Storm Nemo is barreling down on New England bringing giddy weathermen (I swear I heard one giggling during his forecast) and between two and three feet of snow.  Being the good New Englanders that we are, Ted and I have stocked up on bread and milk, and are settling in to a leisurely MCAN Climate Minute for February 8, 2012.  As everything is closed and the Governor has practically ordered us to stay home from work today, we had some extra time to chat.  Get a coffee, toast up that bagel, and buckle in for a half-hour of local, state, and national climate talk on this week's MCAN Climate Minute. As always, click on the “MCAN Climate Minute” picture to the right to start the recording in a new window. Here are some links to go along with our talk this morning. The RGGI states have agreed to a new, lower carbon caps bringing the regional cap on emissions from stationary sources (read: power plants) from 165 million tons to 91 million tons in 2014 and 2.5% lower each successive year.  MCAN supported this lower number in our comments to RGGI, which you can see here. This of course isn't the final word, as the proposal has to be accepted by each state. We talked about new proposals to fund transportation infrastructure through various vehicle miles traveled (VMT) proposals.  Politico has a story about the bi-partisan discussions going on in Washington over the need to find new revenue sources for transportation funding.  For an interesting read on "pay as you drive" insurance, a related concept to VMT charges, and their potential impact on miles driven and thus climate impacts, check out this MIT and Conservation Law Foundation report. For an update about what's going on in Falmouth, there are several stories up on the net.  Here's a story that says the cost of removing the turbines could be as high as $11 million!  This story suggests that the average homeowner would face a tax increase of $53 to $66 per month.  Of course, there would ongoing costs to the town in terms of the lost revenue from electricity production.  Interestingly a cross section of responses on the Cape Cod Times facebook page show strong support for keeping the turbines. As I said on the podcast, I was at a meeting where some testimony was read from a Board of Health hearing in Cape Cod.  One person was recorded as saying the her sleep disturbances continued, even after the turbines had been shut off during the night time hours.  To paraphrase, "even the fact that they're there is enough to keep me awake."  In my humble, non-medical opinion -- that's not the fault of the turbines, and that doesn't seem to be a problem just taking down the turbines will solve... For information on buses available to DC for next weekend check out 350ma.org, and stay tuned to our Facebook page for any updates on where we'll be on Sunday the 17th. Well, I'm off to enjoy the snow.  We'll have a separate post up regarding our annual conference (with our announced Keynote speaker -- sorry, gotta listen to the podcast for that little tidbit) and another one about last night's presentation on the Waste-Climate Connection later in the day. Here's a little something to keep you chuckling though the shoveling... [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR7A7KRpMe8?rel=0] As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.

Forward on Climate - the MCAN Climate Minute

Good morning from the pink and orange coffeehouse.  Certainly a heady week for climate activists; both the President and his designee for Secretary of State mentioning climate change as a compelling and high-level problem our government needs to address. These statements come mere weeks before the expected decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, fueling hope among the faithful that the President will do the right thing on the pipeline. In today's conversation Ted and I discuss Keystone, the some of the pressures on the President, and what we can do.  Click on the “MCAN Climate Minute” picture to the right to start the recording in a new window. Here's some further reading on some of the issues we touch upon in this week's Climate Minute. Darren Samuelsohn argues in Politico that the President will focus on smaller profile, administrative actions fully within his control instead of engaging a large-scale battle with Congress over new legislation. Comedian Jim Meyer has a deliciously sarcastic piece in Grist outlining the true story of how tar sands become usable oil and gasoline.  The facts are true, and the tone may be just the right thing to have it impact your favorite climate skeptic/denialist. ThinkProgress has the data, and wind beat everything else last year in terms of new installed capacity.  Your humble commentator must mea culpa though, I was off on the number of natural gas facilities represented by 8,700 MW of capacity -- it's really 94 (I thought it was more 10-15!), which means the average is 92 MW, which is a fairly small gas plant.  Most likely there were a large number of smaller "peaker" units sited, which may actually play an important role in our future energy mix as we rely more heavily on intermittant renewable sources like wind and solar. (And you'd much rather have natural gas peakers than diesel fuel peakers...) Keep an eye out for the Sierra Club's "100 Days of Activism."  You can follow their plans for events here.  For an interesting interview with Michael Brune, Sierra's national Executive Director, check out this NPR story. And this weekend is the Portland, Maine protests against Tar Sands pipelines through New England.  For more information on the events scheduled, check out 350MA.org. Tomorrow kicks off Brookline's 2013 Climate Week, and MCAN will have a speaker about the Waste and Climate connection at our next Climate Education meeting on February 7th in Lexington.  More information on the Lexington meeting, or our March 10th conference at Northeastern can be found on the MCAN Climate Action Calendar.  To register for the conference, go to the registration site here. For videos of the Northeastern University "open classroom" discussions on climate and energy, go here.  Next week's discussion in on mitigation and features MIT Sloan School professor Henry "Jake" Jacoby. For information about getting your town in the Solarize Mass program, check out their website.  The first deadline (for a submission of community interest) is Feburary 6th. Here's a non-podcast bonus (think of it as a Jon Stewart-esque "Moment of Zen"), check out this story about the gas flaring from North Dakota oil wells being seen from space. The story itself is an awful testament to waste, greed, and disregard for environmental consequences, but contains the following incredible video of the Earth as seen from the International Space Station. My, my does it look lovely from a distance. Too bad we get the up close view... As always remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.  Have a great weekend. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip2ZGND1I9Q?rel=0]

Fresh Starts, the Presidential Inauguration

Good morning from the pink and orange coffeehouse. Today is a day of new beginnings and fresh starts. President Obama takes oath of office (well, an ersatz oath, the Constitution requires the president to be sworn in on the 20th of January*) and a new two-year session of congress begins. Today Ted and I talk about our hopes and dreams on this day which is uniquely suited for that. This is a day to press the "reset" button and start fresh. Will the folks in Washington be able to put this contentious campaign season behind them and move forward in the best interest of the nation? Click on the “MCAN Climate Minute” picture to the right to start the recording in a new window. There's plenty of reading you can do while waiting for the pomp and circumstance, here are a few things we've been reading over the past couple of days. A concerned grandmother has rewritten the President's Newtown speech to orient it toward climate change. This is a speech we'd love to hear the President make. The National Journal puts high stakes on this year's State of the State speech, scheduled for February 12th. Will he draw a line in the sand on climate, or miss the opportunity? Politico has a nice collection of opinions on what the President might say (or not) or do (or not) on climate change. Rachel Maddow talks about "Organizing for Action," the reboot of Obama for America as an issues-based non-profit. Well, that's it for this week. Grab the kids, sit them down in front of the TV or radio and let yourself get goosebumps as the Brookline Tabernacle Choir performs the Battle Hymn of the Republic. This is a day for all Americans -- let's see how long we can stay "Americans" before we start falling back into division... As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon. * Well, specifically the 12th Amendment. Here's a little inaugural trivia for you: the last two Presidents to be inaugurated on a Monday after a private swearing-in on a Sunday were Ronald Reagan and Dwight Eisenhower in 1981 and 1953, respectively. The next "fake" swearing in will be in 2041.

The MCAN Climate Minute - What lies ahead in 2013?

Well, it's our final MCAN Climate Minute of the year.  It's been a great experience, from our early (and horribly sounding) efforts in June, to getting onto iTunes this month.  In this final installment Click on the “MCAN Climate Minute” picture to the right to start the recording in a new window. Here’s more information about some of the things we talked about in this edition of the Climate Minute: American Electric Power announced the retirement of their "Big Sandy" powerplant in eastern Kentucky in 2015, as the cost of pollution control equipment made the plant uneconomical. "The Prize" is a 2008 book by Daniel Yergin which offers a wonderful look at the world of oil, money, and power. NRDC has an excellent webpage discussing the issues with fracking. For more information about how to get active on fracking and shale gas pipelines, check out 350ma.org. And, we didn't mention this in the podcast, but here's our prediction for the Superbowl this year: Patriots over Green Bay, 34-31.... Again, we've enjoyed our conversations with you in 2012, and look forward to coming at you from the pink and orange coffeehouse, or places yet to be discovered, in the new year. And, as always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.  Have a great weekend, and we look forward to talking with you again next week!

The MCAN Climate Minute – The Year in Review

Good morning, not from the pink and orange coffeehouse, but from a cubicle in a small-town public library.  With the end of the year rapidly approaching Ted and I thought we'd take a look back at 2012 and talk about some of the lasting impressions we had from Two Thousand and Twelve, Anno Domini. Click on the “MCAN Climate Minute” picture to the right to start the recording in a new window. Here’s more information about some of the things we talked about in this edition of the Climate Minute: Check our our blogs on Falmouth wind and the Plymouth wind moratorium attempt.  For a look at the propsed wind siting reform legislation, go here.  And if you're interested at seeing what the opposition, WindWise, has to say, check out their site here. For a good overview of the wind power production tax credit, check out DSIRE's page here. Ted had a great time at the Government Center Vigil, and spoke with some of the folks there. Here's our blog on the Arctic melt maximum this fall.  To read more about the opening of the Northwest passage go here.  The level of the Mississippi River is discussed here, hopefully the recent blizzard in the midwest will make a difference. We wrote about Bill McKibben's "Do the Math" tour here, and his excellent Rolling Stone piece about the most important three numbers is here. As we mentioned, even merchandiser Kohl’s is getting in on the action, but Beacon Hill leadership isn't getting message yet, as the bottle bill languishes for another year. The Boston Globe wrote about the B corporation movement in their Ideas section, and MIT's Sloan School journal had an article here. Finally, as we wrap up the year with the slightest glimmer of a chance for a white Christmas, Think Progress is writing that 2012 will almost certainly be the hottest year on record. We've enjoyed our conversations with you in 2012, and look forward to coming at you from the pink and orange coffeehouse, or places yet to be discovered, in the new year. And, as always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.  Have a great weekend, and we look forward to talking with you again next week!

The Climate Minute: The White House gets it right on climate... oh, sorry, wrong Whitehouse.

Good morning from the pink and orange coffeehouse.  The Whitehouse made a rousing speech about the Climate Cliff and the danger we are in ignoring the realities of greenhouse gasses and climate change. Oh, sorry.  That was Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, not The White House.  Well, perhaps the President was taking notes for his own speech on the climate, right? Well, don’t be too distressed, there’s still a lot of great stuff going on. MCAN’s Climate Minute Dec 14 2012 (And let us know what you think about our snazzy new graphic… Do you like it?) Anyway, here’s more information about some of the things we talked about in this edition of the Climate Minute: Forecast the Facts is hoping you’ll send Senator Whitehouse’s speech to your Representative or Senator.  They’ve set up a webpage where you can send a message to your legislator.  Here’s the Senator’s speech as prepared for delivery, and here’s theYouTube video of the Senator’s speech on the floor of the Senate. Here’s a story about Amazon.com’s agreement with Massachusetts regarding the collection of sales tax. 350.org is planning an anti-Keystone event in Washington DC on President’s Day weekend on February 17th.  For more about the event visit 350.org’s site here. The Conference is coming — we can’t wait!  Here’s a link to the conference page.  More information will be rolled out as it becomes available, and you will be able to register after the first of the year.  You can give us feedback now as to what you’re interested in doing at the conference on the webform on the conference page. For more climate events, visit the MCAN Climate Calendar and submit your own event. Finally, to get Mr. Burns’ take on the fiscal cliff, his YouTube announcement is here. And, as always — remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.  Have a great weekend, and we look forward to talking with you again next week!