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The Climate Minute examines current news on global warming, climate change, renewable energy and the prospects for progress on international negotiations, carbon taxes and clean energy policy.
Episodes
Friday Jun 21, 2019
The Climate Gulag
Friday Jun 21, 2019
Friday Jun 21, 2019
The movement of people based on climate related effects has already begun. Some asylum seekers at the US border are there because of climate stress. Trump’s repugnant border policies may set a precedent for the future management of much larger flows of people, across the globe. It is fair to say that the US is building a concentration camp system. History teaches us that such efforts only deteriorate, and we see this in increasing deaths in custody. This is unacceptable to American ideals. We must view our border circumstances in the context of climate change, and demand a humane and farsighted response.
Thursday Jun 28, 2018
After Kennedy, what to do next? The Climate Minute Podcast
Thursday Jun 28, 2018
Thursday Jun 28, 2018
The retirement of Anthony Kennedy is bad news for climate hawks (along with lots of others.) That bad news comes together with cruelty on our borders, against both children and Muslims. How should we interpret these events and formulate a path forward? Listen in.
Thursday Jun 21, 2018
30 years down the road: The Climate Minute Podcast
Thursday Jun 21, 2018
Thursday Jun 21, 2018
The dark policies being enforce on our borders by the Trump administration can be considered in parallel with it’s similar impulses on climate. Denial of facts and humanity are needed to either separate families or deny the reality of global warming. One man who does not deny facts is Jim Hansen, the NASA scientist who 30 years ago told Congress that the climate is changing. We consider his legacy. Listen in.
Thursday Jun 07, 2018
Organizing principles: The Climate Minute Podcast
Thursday Jun 07, 2018
Thursday Jun 07, 2018
The abhorrent practice of family separation at our borders highlights the need for a wise, long-term immigration policy. Of course, our stance on immigration should be rooted in the knowledge that climate change will drive a rise in migrants and refugees seeking shelter in the US and other countries around the world. In fact, the acknowledgement of climate change should be the basis for all our national policies and actions. Health care, taxation, defense, housing and infrastructure policy should be based on the reality of global warming.
Sunday Jun 03, 2018
4600 may have died from Maria: The Climate Minute Podcast
Sunday Jun 03, 2018
Sunday Jun 03, 2018
A report in the New England Journal of Medicine finds more then 4600 people died in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria. The enormous discrepancy with the Trump administration’s estimate of 64 is stark. After months in the dark, we hope some light shines on that island. Also, two legal cases that could force the disclosure of what Exxon knew, and when it knew it advanced. The judges allowed ‘discovery’ of corporate documents to proceed. Finally Dave Roberts of Vox tweeted an interesting question: “What would the last two centuries of human development have looked like if fossil fuels had always been properly priced?” Let us know what you think!
Sunday Nov 26, 2017
How to save the world with a donut or a circle: The Climate Minute
Sunday Nov 26, 2017
Sunday Nov 26, 2017
A report that African Americans are more likely to live in toxic neighborhoods near oil installations is our starting point. This unsettling fact leads us to consider an idea from the IEA recognizing the synergy between fair energy availability and carbon pollution reduction, as well as the concept of a circular economy from a UN document. (See the links for our 2015 discussion of the Next System Project.) Of course, all this is at odds with our capitalist/consumerist dogma. Is capitalism the enemy or the savior of our planet? On a happy note, Tesla has released an electric 18-wheeler that can go 500 miles. Watch out, Peterbilt!
Thursday Nov 02, 2017
Power outages in Boston and San Juan: The Climate Minute
Thursday Nov 02, 2017
Thursday Nov 02, 2017
Last week’s storm gave Boston a little taste of the bitter circumstances in Puerto Rico. We ask how the island can be rebuilt in a sustainable model, especially with the departure of Whitefish Energy Holdings. On a different island, New Zealand considers offering a home to climate refugees. Back in Boston, we consider the implications of a hurricane in Boston proper. Listen in.
Sunday Sep 10, 2017
Harvey+Irma=what? The Climate Minute Podcast
Sunday Sep 10, 2017
Sunday Sep 10, 2017
This episode focuses on the economic impact of repeated hurricanes, the need for a new rating system for these climate-assisted “unnatural disasters,” and the new head of NASA who claims that climate change ended ten years ago.
Monday Feb 27, 2017
Stand together or fall alone: The Climate Minute Podcast
Monday Feb 27, 2017
Monday Feb 27, 2017
The wave of anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-climate sentiment, not to the mention raw racism that is being fed by our new administration, demands that we stand together. Climate Hawks need to fight the “Neo-Know-Nothing” policies of Trumpism on every front. One way to do that is right at home, by setting up a ‘green fuel’ standard to minimize the impact that burning fossil fuels for transport. Listen in as we discuss.
Friday Feb 24, 2017
Can we build a seawall around Scott Pruitt? The Climate Minute Podcast
Friday Feb 24, 2017
Friday Feb 24, 2017
Adaptation and mitigation are common terms in climate discussions, but they come into sharp focus when a massive seawall is proposed for Boston Harbor. Is it wise? Can we make the Koch brothers pay for it? What about the folks on the other side of the seawall, be they in Provincetown or Bangladesh? Is it better to spend that money mitigating carbon pollution? You’ll have to come up with your own answer since Scott Pruitt, the new head of EPA, seems to have little concern for the environment he swears to protect. Listen in.