The Climate Minute

The Climate Minute: Big week! EPA's Clean Energy Plan (PODCAST)

This was a great week for climate hawks. The Obama administration proposed new regulations on existing coal plants. The rules have lots of interesting implications.

There are a large number of interesting links to this story. Here are a few:

Check out the EPA's website or read the New York Times or find out what Bill McKibben thinks. Get our your yellow pad and read legal basis for the plan. You can even watch the EPA  Administrator announce the rules. A state by state list of cuts is here. Why the rules are so business friendly is here. Joe Romm suggests some ideas on what else needs to be done. An analogy of fossil fuel to tobacco is here. Some discussion on possible comments and activist opinion is here. Of course ALEC is trying to  cause trouble.

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

 

p.s, Thanks to D.R. Tucker, we have this great list of raw links to check out. Have fun!

 

http://www.npr.org/2014/06/03/318414868/gop-demonizes-once-favored-cap-and-trade-policy

http://legal-planet.org/2014/06/02/epa-releases-section-111d-rule-for-existing-power-plants/

http://www.vox.com/2014/6/1/5770226/june-2-is-the-most-important-day-of-obamas-second-term

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/06/02/3443593/obama-historic-action-on-climate-change/

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/8d49f7ad4bbcf4ef852573590040b7f6/c45baade030b640785257ceb003f3ac3!OpenDocument

http://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/the-epas-new-move-to-combat-climate-change-272184899833#

http://www.msnbc.com/ronan-farrow/watch/climate-plan-sparks-political-battle-272217155734#

http://www.msnbc.com/the-reid-report/watch/will-new-epa-rules-hurt-dems-in-the-midterms-272266307506

http://www.msnbc.com/now-with-alex-wagner/watch/obama-s-major-move-to-save-the-planet-272297539507

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/are-new-energy-rules-death-knell-coal-industry-n120786

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=74tffDL1I_g

http://www.msnbc.com/the-cycle/watch/will-climate-plan-have-measurable-impact-272283715920

http://www.msnbc.com/the-ed-show/watch/taking-action-to-cut-carbon-emissions-272371779518

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/critics-say-carbon-limit-comes-with-hefty-price-tag/

http://www.msnbc.com/hardball/watch/gop-slams-new-rules-to-slash-carbon-emissions-272449603571# 

http://www.msnbc.com/hardball/watch/matthews-on-the-gops-i-know-nothin-stance-272448579580 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TBwQq2lhIJ8&feature=youtu.be

http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/neil-degrasse-tyson-on-climate-change-272458819887

http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/epa-unveils-historic-carbon-regulations-272459331929

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/new-pollution-rules-bring-chicken-littles-272491587835

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/new-pollution-rules-hailed-by-bush-epa-head-272480323535

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/epa-chief-defends-price-white-house-plan-cut-carbon-emissions/

http://www.npr.org/2014/06/02/318266801/with-new-epa-rules-mccarthy-sees-economic-upside-in-health-savings

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/epa-guidelines-30-percent-carbon-dioxide-emissions-reduction-23964098

http://www.msnbc.com/the-ed-show/watch/debunking-the-medias-misguided-epa-coverage-273051203510#

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/us/politics/obama-epa-rule-coal-carbon-pollution-power-plants.html?hp&_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/opinion/nearing-a-climate-legacy.html?hp&rref=opinion

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eugene-robinson-epa-coal-plant-proposal-is-the-right-step/2014/06/02/8df3b0de-ea7e-11e3-9f5c-9075d5508f0a_story.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-epas-emissions-plan-should-be-just-the-beginning/2014/06/02/640cd838-ea9a-11e3-9f5c-9075d5508f0a_story.html

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-epa-carbon-emissions-20140603-story.html

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2014/06/02/epa-carbon-rules-offer-new-credibility-climate-change/9W26OzgFZoIqC2YzyYQHQI/story.html

http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2014/06/04/should-epas-proposed-carbon-pollution-rule-be-tougher/

The Climate Minute: IPCC Report on Mitigation-What does it say? What does it mean? (PODCAST)

 The recent IPCC report on mitigation is the big news. What is it? What does it say? What does it mean? In this week’s show we will discuss the content and context of the report with Malcolm Bliss, the statewide coordinator of 350MA for the Better Future Project.

 

The stream of IPCC reports can turn in to a parade of acronyms, so let’s review.  The “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the UN in the late ‘80s with the mission to “to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts.”   The IPCC has three working groups (WG) of scientists who read and combine published scientific papers into reports. The first group works on the physical science basis of climate change, the second on “impact, adaptation and vulnerabilities” while the third group works on mitigation (that is greenhouse gas-GHG for short- reduction.) This third working group has put out the latest report. The website is here. In October, 2015, the reports from these three working groups will be compiled into a “synthesis report.” That is a lot of work!

So what is the current report about?

The Working Group III contribution assesses the options for mitigating climate change and their underlying technological, economic and institutional requirements. It transparently lays out risks, uncertainty and ethical foundations of climate change mitigation policies on the global, national and sub-national level, investigates mitigation measures for all major sectors and assesses investment and finance issues.

You can find the bold face statement listed below as paragraph headers in the pdf format of the report. The commentary underneath each statement is our own!

1.     Effective mitigation will not be achieved if individual agents advance their own interests independently.

a.     Exxon sees no risk to carbon reserves.

2.     Climate policy may be informed by a consideration of a diverse array of risks and uncertainties, some of which are difficult to measure, notably events that are of low probability but which would have a significant impact if they occur.

a.     Think melting permafrost.

3.     The design of climate policy is influenced by how individuals and organizations perceive risks and uncertainties and take them into account.

4.     About half of cumulative anthropogenic CO2 emissions between 1750 and 2010 have occurred in the last 40 years.

a.     How close to 40 years old are you?

5.     Mitigation policy could devalue fossil fuel assets and reduce revenues for fossil fuel exporters, but differences between regions and fuels exist

a.     Pope Francis asked to endorse divestment.

6.     Infrastructure developments and long‐lived products that lock societies into GHG‐intensive emissions pathways may be difficult or very costly to change, reinforcing the importance of early action for ambitious mitigation

a.     Jimmy Carter and others call for KXL rejection.

7.     GHG emissions from energy supply can be reduced significantly by replacing current world average coal‐fired power plants with modern, highly efficient natural gas combined‐cycle power plants or combined heat and power plants, provided that natural gas is available and the fugitive emissions associated with extraction and supply are low or mitigated

a.     http://grist.org/news/no-the-ipcc-climate-report-doesnt-call-for-a-fracking-boom/

b.     http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/04/15/3426697/methane-vastly-underestimated/

c.     http://blog.nwf.org/2014/04/epa-research-shows-regulating-methane-is-efficient-and-low-cost/

8.     In some countries, tax‐based policies specifically aimed at reducing GHG emissions—alongside technology and other policies—have helped to weaken the link between GHG emissions and GDP

a.     An article on the BC carbon tax.

So what does it all mean? It seems the message of this document is that we must act together, equitably and soon.  Some say that science has done what it can, and now WE need to take action. It is up to us to find the vocabulary to give meaning to what the scientists have said.

…Ted McIntyre

The Climate Minute: IPCC to Exxon to Action (PODCAST)

Several landmark events occurred this week, and we try to make sense of them. From the factual but distressing IPCC report to Exxon’s in-your-face response to it’s climate activist shareholders, the implications seem confusing and abstract. In today’s podcast we are joined by MCAN’s acting Executive Director, Amy Tighe, to discuss new ways think about these events.

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If you want to read the real thing, see the forty four page Executive Summary of the IPCC report, or else check out news reports showing the  5 key points or discussing impact on the developing world. If this makes you want to cry, watch Sting and Robert Downy Jr. “kill” the song "Driven to Tears". You can find some information on the Dalai Lama here or Wendell Berry here.

 

Then there is the sorry story of Exxon’s carbon risk report. Exxon essentially taunts world governments, saying:

”ExxonMobil believes that although there is always the possibility that government action may impact the company, the scenario where governments restrict hydrocarbon production in a way to reduce GHG emissions 80 percent … is highly unlikely. … Also, as discussed above, we do not anticipate society being able to supplant traditional carbon- based forms of energy with other energy forms, such as renewables, to the extent needed to meet this carbon budget ..."

and elsewhere says

“Based on this analysis, we are confident that none of our hydrocarbon reserves are now or will become “stranded.”

Just keep in mind that the ‘highly unlikely’ restrictions are made even more unlikely by Exxon’s well funded lobbying efforts!

 

Bill McKibben responded in the Guardian, saying:

We’ve never thought that there was a small flaw in their business plan that could be altered by negotiation; we’ve always thought their business plan was to keep pouring carbon into the atmosphere. And indeed Exxon’s statements are easy to translate: “We plan on overheating the planet, we think we have the political muscle to keep doing it, and we dare you to stop it.” And they’re right — unless we build a big and powerful movement, they’ll continue to dominate our political life and keep change from ever taking place.

And here is a free blog-only bonus: Wen Stephenson’s article on a meeting of students with Governor Patrick.

 

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.

…Ted McIntyre

The Climate Minute: Exxon Mobil Exxon Valdez (PODCAST)

Twenty five years ago this week, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska. Analysis of the long term consequences abound, from an admiring look back on NPR to a ‘follow the money’ approach at GRIST to a lament that the Arctic is at risk in The Guardian to a critique of short term thinking at the Motley Fool. Ted and DR try to think about the big picture for climate activists: Where do these singular, horrific events fit into the fight against global warming?

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Massachusetts has a gubernatorial race underway, and most of the candidates met at historic Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston to discuss environmental issues. For climate activists, the main question to answer is the level of support each candidate has for Massachusetts’ best-in-the-nation Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2020. You can read a summary  of the candidate forum or see the whole thing if you were not able to make the event.  (The discussion of carbon tax starts at 35:45.)

 

The other interesting piece of news had to do with an agreement between Exxon Mobil and stockholder activists under which Exxon will provide a public assessment of the risk it carries due to climate change. The ThinkProgress piece is here. Even the coal giant Peabody Coal agreed to make similar reports. For clear statements in favor of divestment vs  stockholder activism, look here and here.

 

Next week, look for the IPCC report, but in the meantime, call youe Senator about the oil heat efficiency  legislation ( see oilheatsaveenergy.org ) or your State Representative about H3873, which fights gas leaks.

 

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

A Climate Hawk's Companion: Protests in Salem

This edition of “A Climate Hawk’s Companion” documents a protest rally against the proposed construction of a natural-gas-powered plant intended to replace a coal plant in Salem Massachusetts. There was a counter-protest from folks who want the power plant to be built. We talk with some of the good people who attended on both sides. Here is a link dump if you would like to dig deeper:

• The website for Footprint Power, who hope to build the plant.
• The 350MA call to action.
• SAFE report from local folks who would like to see the plant built.
• A link to GASPP's facebook page, from local folks who would like to see the plant NOT built.
• A report from UCS on methane use, and how little different from coal it might be.
• An NECN report on the demonstration itself.

Of course, we must insist that the US put a price on carbon. ….Ted McIntyre

The Final Keystone Environmental Impact Report - In Case You Missed It.

When a presidential administration has news that they’d rather not have you hear too much about, the typical strategy is to bury it by releasing the information late on a Friday afternoon, when the weekly newscycle is over and the weekend news crews come on. True to that pattern, late on the Friday afternoon preceding the weekend of the Superbowl, the Whitehouse released the ‘Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement’ related to the Keystone XL pipeline. It certainly seems that the FEIS is not the kind of news the administration wants you to hear, but since it relates to a minor topic that will impact future generations and the fate of mankind, we will try to keep you informed.  The story of the Keystone XL pipeline is long, fascinating and one that should give pride to climate hawks. Here is an interesting historical recounting.  Here is a link to the executive summary of the FEIS.  Some think the report gives Obama the excuse to reject the pipeline.  Others think it is a reason for him to accept the project.  Chris Hayes of MSNBC provides a great analogy between addiction and our desire for the tarsands oil.  Michael Mann points out the system level damage of building more fossil infrastructure.  Even the White House Chief of Staff recognizes the implications of the pipeline and the twitter-verse is alight.  Does John Kerry own the decision? In summary: the FEIS ignores the big issue: burning all that carbon fuel hidden in the tarsands. Remember, President Obama has the decision but you have the power! You can an email to Comment@Massclimateaction.net or find us on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/MassClimateAction. We recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, we accept responsibility for building a durable future and we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out. Therefore,we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon. ..Ted McIntyre

The Polar Vortex and Heatwaves Downunder, Talking with our Friend Gavin Webber

In this edition of “A Climate Hawk’s Companion”, we compare notes on weather and politics with our Australian friend, Gavin Webber, the engine behind The Greening of Gavin. On his webite, Facebook and Twitter (@GreeningofGavin) he discusses climate and sustainability. The recent cold weather in the US has sparked discussion of the Polar Vortex. (For those of you listening carefully, I finally got to “Vortex” from “Vertex” half way through the episode!) It is a theory explaining how equatorial warming makes the jet stream more 'wavy" letting the cold arctic air dip toward us.   White House advised John Holdren does a great job of explaining is as well.   The same phenomena is probably making Scandinavia unseasonably warm. Of course, the cold weather brought out the   "Snow Trolls"who could barely contain their glee. Fortunately, Jon Stewart was there with his signature "blue" satirical commentary. In contrast, in Australia, this summer’s weather has been very hot. Gavin pointed to a  report from the “Met Office” about how warm the spring has been. The good news is that the Australian people have crowdsourced the money to keep climate information flowing even after the newly elected government cut off funding. On the political front, Gavin reported on the Australian government plan to abolish the carbon tax and offer a 'reverse auction" of carbon.  A blogger at the Guardian calls this totally shamefully negligent. On top of that, it turns our that Australians have a fracking problem of their own- except it goes by the name “coal seam gas.” For reasons explained in the podcast, the grassroots opposition is from farmers who can  "Lock the Gate!" against exploration on their land. You can send us an email to Comment@Massclimateaction.net of find us on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/MassClimateAction where you can listen to our show just be clicking on the icon.   So we will close the way we always close, by saying that 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 US put a price on carbon. 

The Climate Minute - With a soundtrack...

Ted and Rob are back at the Pink and Orange Coffeehouse, with the accompanying soundtrack.  (The nice young gents manning the counter had no idea how to turn down the radio, so you get to hear some Katy Perry with your climate talk....)  This week Rob and Ted discuss the latest trends in climate change belief among the general public, the Patrick Administration's latest climate resiliency plans, and do a mea culpa in response to listener mail... Now the links, For more information about new funding for resiliency funding in Massachusetts, check out this story. National Journal's story about the lack of climate scientists on Sunday morning talk shows is here, and you can read about the latest public opinion polling on climate change from NBC -- note their slightly misleading title. Madeline Albright and Carol Browner, former head of the EPA, will be talking about the politics of climate change at the Albridgt Institute at Wellesley College on January 22nd from 4 to 5:30.  For more information, check out the Institute's website. Finally, the latest in the continuing saga of the Falmouth wind turbines is the ZBA's actions to try and shut down the turbines, forcing the town to take them to court.  You can read a bit about that here. 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. You can even follow us on twitter @MassClimate , so there are lots of ways for you to listen and participate in the dialog. When you are on the website, please contribute to MCAN. Your generous donations help us continue to bring climate news and views to you through our podcast and blogs, but also help support the Annual MCAN conference (this year on March 2nd, at Northeastern University), and our local climate action. So we will close the way we always close, by saying that because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions- specifically to pay for the full cost of carbon pollution at the time we create it, 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 US put a price on carbon.

The Climate Minute - 2013 in the rear view mirror

As the end of the year approaches, it's mandatory that people with websites do a "year in review" kind of thing, so here's ours.  Grab a coffee and take a little walk down memory lane with us, won't you? So let's look back at 2013, was it another "annus horriblus" for climate, or was this the year when the rise of the oceans began to slow, and our planet began to heal? Well, it started out pretty hopeful, as the President dedicated about a minute and a half to climate change in his second inaugural.  Considering the price of real estate in that rhetorical neighborhood, eighty-seven seconds on one's issue isn't something to be sniffed at. In February, Rob and Ted - and 25,000 to 50,000 of their closest friends, trundled off to Washington DC to march in protest of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.  take a look at our photo gallery from the march here. Lasting impressions include an overwhelming sense of community and joint purpose, as well as frostbite from the cruel February winds. March saw more Keystone protests, and the annual MCAN conference at Northeastern University.  We were joined by over 300 local activists who enjoyed an afternoon of fellowship and training, including a quite excellent session on podcasting convened by Ted with old friend DR Tucker and Joel Wool of Clean Water Action.  In a rather meta-move, we did a "podcast on podcasting" for all your educational needs.  You can check it out here.  For Mayor John Fetterman's awesome keynote address, and a link to more pictures from the conference, go here. As spring continued we kept banging the drum on Keystone, including thinking up ways to get your cranky Tea Party uncle to think differently about the pipeline.  We also had a wonderful conversation with Natalie Hildt of the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership about a proposed oil heat efficiency program under consideration in Massachusetts. April is also the beginning of town meeting season in Massachusetts, and several communities faced questions about shutting down wind turbines at their meetings.  Both Scituate and Falmouth told the anti-wind folks to take a hike, while Falmouth voters had to repeat that sentiment in May when the Selectmen insisted on pushing the point at a town election: where the townspeople once again said they'd rather keep the turbines running than spend millions to take them down. In May we crossed a Rubicon of sorts, when the Mauna Loa observatory started recording 400+ ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere.  This was followed in June by the President making a major speech on climate change at George Washington University, laying out his administration's intent to address the climate crisis, with or without the help of the anti-science wing of the opposition. Finally in July the Senate did it's job and confirmed the nomination of Gina McCarthy as the Administrator of the EPA, those of us who have worked with Gina before were naturally ecstatic.  We discovered a new friend in the land down-under when we stumbled across Gavin Webber's "The Greening of Gavin" blog and podcast.  The month ended with a mammoth protest at the Brayton Point powerplant organized by the Better Future Project and 350Massachusetts.  We did a roundup of news stories and YouTube videos from the protest here. Later on this summer Ted also took part in the Energy Exodus march again organized by 350MA.  This was a march from Brayton to Cape Cod, highlighting our nation's journey from coal power to clean, renewable energy like Cape Wind.  You can hear Ted's interviews with marchers in media res, as they say, here. Ted did another series of interviews with fellow protesters at the "Draw the Line" protest in Providence in September.  The EPA dropped some long-awaited regulations on powerplant co2 emissions that month, while our good buddies (sarcasm alert) on the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on the President's climate plan. Meanwhile, previously fire-ravaged hills in Colorado were inundated by unusual amounts of rain causing floods and mudslides and taking numerous lives in Colorado.  We also managed to sneak in a conversation with our new Australian buddy Gavin and talk all about Australian politics, suburban self-reliance, and making cheese at home.  We still haven't tried that mozzarella recipe yet, but we'll get there. November saw the giddy crowning of champions in New England, as the Boston Red Sox won the world series, and the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy gave Massachusetts top billing in it's analysis of state efficiency efforts for the third year in a row! And we closed out the year in much the same place as we started; wondering who was going to make a difference on climate change and get this country moving in the right direction.  New guest host DR Tucker and Ted talked about the supposition that perhaps only a Republican can get the country moving in the right direction, much like only Nixon could go to China.  Jeez... that's depressing! Well, we remain hopeful, and we'll keep fighting.  Join us next week when we'll talk 2014, make a few predictions, toss around a resolution or two, and generally hope for better times ahead. As always, it’s been a pleasure sharing climate news and views with you. 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. You can even follow us on twitter @MassClimate , so there are lots of ways for you to listen and participate in the dialog. When you are on the website, please contribute to MCAN. Your generous donations help us continue to bring climate news and views to you through our podcast and blogs, but also help support the Annual MCAN conference (this year on March 2nd, at Northeastern University), and our local climate action. So we will close the way we always close, by saying that because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions- specifically to pay for the full cost of carbon pollution at the time we create it, 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 US put a price on carbon.

The Climate Minute - The Choices We Make.

We're back again recording, unfortunately without our new contributor Eugenia, but at least we managed to be able to hit "record" and actually get sound this week!

This week we're all about choices; sometimes tough choices like turbines vs. bald eagles, and sometimes what should be an easy choice -- we're not going to drive a vehicle that gets the same gas mileage cars were getting thirty years ago!

First up, some activists howled when the Administration made new rules this week that will protect wind generators from prosecution for bird deaths, particularly protected birds like Bald Eagles, for the foreseeable future.

Does the need for alternative energy outweigh the protections we've created for certain species? And there are efforts to try and minimize turbine impacts on wildlife.

The Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments about the EPA's cross-state air pollution rule. The gist of the issue here is that the EPA has developed rules which give it some flexibility in dealing with air pollution based more on the cost-effectiveness of pollution control than the actual percentage contribution each particular state is making to address air pollution.

Ted and Rob compare two instances of lawsuits being used to confound power plants.  In one case it's efforts to raise questions about a new natural gas plant in Salem, while in another it's a very small group of people who are trying to derail Cape Wind, the largest off-shore wind project underway in the country.

The Salem case is leading to all sorts of interesting behaviors, from the state representative from the area filing legislation to attempt to block all appeals of permits (which is hardly cricket in a litigious little state like Massachusetts), and what appears to be a situation where local environmental activists support the new plant while a large regional environmental group is trying to stop it.

Rob got his high-dudgeon on when he saw EPA gloating over the highest fleet-wide MPG ratings for new cars.  He finds this particularly galling when clearly the technology is there (and affordable) for people to be driving ultra efficient hybrids or plug-in battery electrics, and we're celebrating an efficiency average that is no better than the MPG rating of a 1985 Buick Century.  If we can only improve the Ford Mustang's MPG rating by three miles to the gallon in thirty years how are we ever going to significantly reduce gasoline usage?

Finally, as we mention last week, the State of Massachusetts has unveiled a revamped Dashboard showing their progress in meeting the state's lofty global warming goals.  Check it out and let us know what you think.

Remember, for more 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, it’s been a pleasure sharing climate news and views with you. 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. You can even follow us on twitter @MassClimate , so there are lots of ways for you to listen and participate in the dialog.

When you are on the website, please contribute to MCAN. Your generous donations help us continue to bring climate news and views to you through our podcast and blogs, but also help support the Annual MCAN conference (this year on March 2nd, at Northeastern University), and our local climate action.

So we will close the way we always close, by saying that because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions- specifically to pay for the full cost of carbon pollution at the time we create it, 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 US put a price on carbon.