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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
Thursday Mar 08, 2018
An Act to promote a clean energy future: The Climate Minute Podcast
Thursday Mar 08, 2018
Thursday Mar 08, 2018
This week’s storm, the second ‘once in a century’ kind of storm this year reveals that we need a coherent statewide policy to develop clean energy. Senate bill 2302 (An Act to promote a clean energy future) sponsored by Senator Pacheco gives us a blueprint to build that future. Listen in, then call your Senator.
Sunday Jan 07, 2018
Hope or Fear? The Climate Minute
Sunday Jan 07, 2018
Sunday Jan 07, 2018
A recent study suggests that some men regard protecting the environment as un-masculine behavior. Can that be real? We also review climate communications- does fear work better than reason? And can the Google algorithm be gamed to shows denier links first? Listen in!
Thursday Dec 21, 2017
Taxes for the Elect and the Damned: The Climate Minute
Thursday Dec 21, 2017
Thursday Dec 21, 2017
The right wing of our political system has achieved its goal of a tax cut for the super rich. Regarding clean energy, the details of the language went from extremely bad to just very bad. Still, understanding the impetus for passing such a destructive piece of legislation is important, and sheds light on the opposition to climate fixes. Could the fervor for tax cuts be due to a distorted idea that the rich are deserving of their good fortune and should be protected from the lazy poor, whose status is their own responsibility? Does that rewind to a religious fundamentalism that classifies us into ‘the elect’ and ‘the damned?’ Does the bill align with a magical belief in ‘trickle down’ economics, just as the same wing of the party discounts science and believes that climate change is a hoax? A party that believes the very function of government is at odds with the best interests of the virtuous rich can only be destructive to democracy. Please vote in 2018.
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 Oct 29, 2017
Sandy+5: The Climate Minute
Sunday Oct 29, 2017
Sunday Oct 29, 2017
Hard to believe that Hurricane Sandy was five years ago this week. On today’s podcast, we discuss how the devastation from that storm broke the media silence on climate change—and the media seesaw we have been on since then. We celebrate the technical advances in solar and wind power, which have marched forward despite the political obstacles. Ever vigilant toward the continued tragedy in Puerto Rico, we examine the renewable energy access provided to the American protectorate by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla; and dissect the sketchy deal happening with Whitefish Energy Holdings out of Montana. On an optimistic note, we turn toward the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) in Massachusetts and its recent discussions to reduce transportation emissions. Governor Charlie Baker will be holding listening sessions—an excellent opportunity for climate hawks to have their ideas heard!
Thursday Oct 26, 2017
Activism is the rent we pay to live on the planet: The Climate Minute
Thursday Oct 26, 2017
Thursday Oct 26, 2017
How should we react to the present and future devastation of climate change, and our President’s abject failure to act? What should we do to maintain our spirit and drive? While we mangle a few quotes on the way, it seems Alice Walker sums it up saying “Activism is the rent I pay to live on the planet.” There are no easy answers, but we discuss. What do you think?
Sunday Oct 15, 2017
A sustainable future for Puerto Rico! The Climate Minute Podcast
Sunday Oct 15, 2017
Sunday Oct 15, 2017
Hurricane Maria slammed into the island of Puerto Rico, an American protectorate, a few weeks ago. While it is no longer making the top news headlines, the island is still in profound distress. Over fifty percent of the people are without clean water and eighty to ninety percent lack electricity for basic needs, let alone communication via cellphones or news access. Puerto Rico had an old, fragile electrical system, and when the hurricane came through it knocked everything down. In a world trying to stop climate change, the island of Puerto Rico is an opportunity to rebuild in a sustainable way. Elon Musk, CEO and founder of Tesla,is in negotiations with Puerto Rico’s governor Ricardo Rosselló to revamp the island’s power grid using solar technology. Musk has rebuilt many smaller islands around the world using renewable energy technologies and says that the processis scalable. We discuss distributed generation—a system of electricity generation that relies on several small systems spread throughout a region vs. one central power station. To restore electricity to Puerto Rico, distributed generation could be coupled with solar and wind power as well as Tesla’s Powerwall battery systems, several of which have already been supplied to Puerto Rico by Musk. Guest speaker Carol Oldham, Executive Director of Massachusetts Climate Action Network, joins the podcast to discuss community choice aggregation and the potential for Boston to implement this as a power option. Listen in for more detail!
Thursday Oct 12, 2017
Pruitt’s Dirty Power Plans: The Climate Minute Podcast
Thursday Oct 12, 2017
Thursday Oct 12, 2017
The malevolent administrator of the EPA announced his intent to replace the Obama-era Clean Power Plan with a different plan that he will dream up at a later date. Listen in as we discuss.
Thursday Sep 28, 2017
Environmental Injustice in Puerto Rico: The Climate Minute Podcast
Thursday Sep 28, 2017
Thursday Sep 28, 2017
Climate-assisted hurricanes Irma and Maria have devastated the lives of American citizens in Puerto Rico. Reports tell of an entire American island of three million people without either power or fresh water some six days after the storm. This circumstance has set up a test of our national character. Will we turn our backs on our own citizens, or will we meet the challenge of new climate driven weather patterns? Listen in as we discuss.