The Climate Minute

A watery future for downtown Boston? The Climate Minute Podcast

A new report says that Boston is at greater risk of sea level rise than previously thought, with the possibility that places like Faneuil Hall could go below sea level.  Even with that looming possibility, Exxon is contesting the subpoena issued by the MA Attorney General. Locally, there were new arrests at the West Roxbury pipeline site, and our Senators sent a letter to FERC.  On top of all that, you can RSVP to the MCAN’s really cool tour of the Deer Island renewable energy installations at the link below. Listen in!

Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog.
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

Portrait of a Climate Hawk: An interview with Rachel Geiger on The Climate Hawk's Companion

In this episode, we meet a young Climate Hawk who is just beginning her journey of activism. Rachel Geiger is committed to fighting climate change, and her story is both a template and inspiration for others.  Listen in!

Rachel’s – and other’s -work with the Mount Holyoke College's Climate Justice Coalition and Fossil Fuel Divest campaign can be tracked at this link to the Facebook page, Instagram, tumblr, and  twitter! As usual, the Facebook page is a good place to start.
Rachel gives this recommendation:
Advice to fellow activists, especially youth and young adults, since the young tend to think we are invincible. Find any way you can to get involved, but also, take care of yourself. Take breaks when needed and do not take on too much, so you do not burn out. Look out for each other and connect as people, not just activists. We need to build networks of people, because no one can do this alone-we need a society shift! We need to build these networks based on care and love for the earth, the people who inhabit it, and each other.

If you want to   get involved:
•    If you are looking to start a divest campaign, Divest Student Networkcan be immensely helpful, and 350.org. So can http://gofossilfree.org/, which has a handbook on how to start a Divest Campaign (attached).
•    In the Northeast, some organizations that help students with Divestment campaigns are Responsible Endowments Coalition (REC) and Better Future Project (BFP). BFP works on an assortment of climate justice issues and is currently most focused on stopping natural gas pipelines from entering MA, while REC focuses on pressuring institutions to invest responsibly, including fossil fuel divestment campaigns, other kinds of divestment campaigns, and reinvestment.
 
As for other links to include, Rachel talked a bit about
•    Do The Math. Here's the video that inspired Rachel and here's the article from Rolling Stone.
•    Here is the link to the new Bill McKibbon article about methane, Global Warming’s Terrifying New Chemistry. Many listeners are probably already aware that methane is not the bridge to the future many have claimed it to be, and that reports show that MA does not need it to power itself on renewable energy.

Other great resources are Naomi Klein's  Capitlism vs the Climate and The story of stuff f by Annie Leopold who provides a great explanation of capitalism as inherently impossible because it is a system that assumes infinite growth, but the earth is a closed system.

Rachel’s work is funded by other Climate Hawks, so you can help. Here is the link for how to donate to better Future Project's Climate Justice Fellowship. As for those who do not do online banking:  One can write a check to Better Future Project, and specify Climate Justice Fellowship in the check's memo. They can be sent to Better Future Project at 30 Bow St. Cambridge, MA 02138. If someone is donating by check, that can include their email address and phone number if they want occasional updates about the fellowship and Better Future Project from BFP. They should also include who solicited the donation. BFP says "Donations to Better Future Project and its programs are tax-deductible. All donors who give online receive a receipt automatically. Please note that the receipt refers to donations to “Better Future Project, 350 Massachusetts for a Better Future (350 Mass), the Climate Justice Fellowship, and other programs of Better Future Project.” They will send receipts either electronically or via mail to donors who give via check."

Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog.
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

Omnibus or Minibus? The Climate Minute Podcast

The Massachusetts State House of Representatives released a draft Omnibus Energy Bill that would call for 1.2 GW of offshore wind, and about half the Quebec-Hydro the Governor has requested. The bill also dodges the question of the ‘pipeline tax’- neither supporting or rejecting it. Plus, UMASS divests and Exxon continues denial as usual. What a week!
Listen in!
Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog.
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

“In front of the machine”-Chuck Collins on direct action:The Climate Minute Podcast

The ongoing resistance to a new pipeline in West Roxbury is a microcosm of the new global effort to fight global warming with peaceful, non-violent direct action. We chat with Chuck Collins, a co-founder of Resist the Pipeline West Roxbury, about the motivation and meaning of ‘direct action’ to stop the construction of new carbon pollution ‘infrastructure” such as the “West Roxbury Lateral.”
Listen in!
Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog.
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

Karl Thidemann on Soil4Climate: A Climate Hawk's Companion Podcast

Can better farming practices actually remove carbon dioxide from the air? Can it help in the  ‘geo-therapy’ of the planet? Karl Thidemann of Soil4Climate thinks so. Listen in as we discuss this intriguing concept in the effort to address global warming.

Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog.
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

Catching the Omnibus with Carol Oldham: The Climate Minute Podcast

The Omnibus Energy Bill is making its way through the Massachusetts Legislature. We talk with Carol Oldham, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN) about the good and bad of the “still to be defined” bill. Despite the huge win over Kinder Morgan there is still a lot of work to be done.  (Spectra Energy: you’re next.) If you want to call your State Rep, see the link below!

Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog.
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

Here comes the sun: Solar legislation on the The Climate Minute Podcast

While an “Omnibus” energy bill is still in preparation, a solar policy bill has been advanced on its own.  The solar bill is an improvement on the original possibility, but it will require further improvements in the next round. Also, see below the jump for a link to find your state rep’s phone number and a script to ask her to oppose the proposed tariff (AKA tax) for the pipeline. Listen in!

Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog.
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

Is CH4 the new CO2? The Climate Minute Podcast

US emissions of methane (aka natural gas, aka fracked gas, aka CH4) may be nearly as dangerous as carbon dioxide. New studies show that methane itself, before it is burned as a fuel, is leaking from fracking wells (and pipelines) at rates much higher than were expected. The leaked methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2, even as it spends less time in the atmosphere.  On the whole, the damage done by these methane emissions rivals that of CO2. Bill McKibben points this out in a new article and calls for Climate Hawks to oppose the extraction and use of methane. He concludes” The global warming fight can’t just be about carbon dioxide any longer.” We discuss.

Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog.
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

The Clean Power Plan and the next SCOTUS pick: The Climate Minute Podcast

The President’s Clean Power Plan is on a steady path to the Supreme Court. By June of 2017, the constitutionality of the Plan will be determined. The court making that determination may have only eight members, or it might have a new ninth member who will have a big impact on the final ruling. We discuss the climate implications of who that ninth justice might be, and how it all might play out. (Emphasis on the word might.) Listen in!
(REMEMBER TO SIGN UP FOR THE UPCOMING ANNUAL CONFERENCE! )
Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog.
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

Where have all the pipelines gone? The Climate Minute Podcast

Governor Baker couldn’t quite bring himself to mention Massachusetts’ two gas pipeline projects (proposed by Spectra Energy and from Kinder Morgan.) They were  the proverbial un-acknowledged elephant in the energy section of his State of the State address. His silence may have been due to the possibility that under public scrutiny the pipelines would be unpopular. On the other hand, the State Senate passed a bill setting intermediate targets for the GWSA. On a different topic, we wonder if the civil disobedience of the Delta Five is a model for the rest of us? Maybe, but DR worries about the legal ramifications of a successful necessity defense. Finally, we discuss the global record temperatures and recent blizzards. Listen in!
Check out live  links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.net/blog.
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