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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.
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Sunday Jun 24, 2018
Sunday Jun 24, 2018
The Massachusetts Senate recently passed "An Act to Promote a Clean Energy Future", otherwise known as the “Pacheco Bill” after Senator Mark Pacheco who introduced it. The bill has so many good aspects, it is hard to fit them all into a single podcast! Listen in as we discuss a lot of them. Now the bill awaits action in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. It could face a much tougher time there, and need the support of all climate hawks! Join the MCAN Legislative Action Team to help out.
Thursday Mar 15, 2018
Being a nuisance when it counts: The Climate Minute Podcast
Thursday Mar 15, 2018
Thursday Mar 15, 2018
School walkouts driven by the Parkland tragedy are an inspiration to climate hawks. It is good to keep in mind that the Florida high school’s namesake, Marjory Stoneman Douglas , was an early environmental champion who was instrumental in the protection of the Everglades. She was also one of the first to connect environmental concerns to social concerns like civil rights and the woman’s movement. Environmental Justice has become more and more important to the climate movement, so it deserves more discussion.
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.
Thursday Feb 15, 2018
The Boston Globe’s Ugly Editorial: The Climate Minute Podcast
Thursday Feb 15, 2018
Thursday Feb 15, 2018
The Globe’s editorial (Our Russian ‘pipeline’ and its ugly toll) is an outrage. Its central idea- that environmental activists are NIMBY-motivated and wink at destructive projects in other countries- is an insult to the good faith opponents. The article’s conclusion- that Massachusetts should accept the environmental damage of pipelines in towns like Pittsfield or Danvers- is designed to shame those who speak against the corporate creed of more pipelines.
The central dilemma posed by the article-whether should we let others degrade their homes for our fuel or instead that we should degrade our own homes to keep the gas flowing-is a false choice. The third choice, to forego natural gas and build clean energy technology at the scale and pace needed, is our best option.
Fortunately, a Massachusetts Senate bill proposed by Mark Pacheco is up to the task of reshaping our energy future with the clean technologies needed. Call your senator and support that bill!
Sunday Nov 19, 2017
Sunday Nov 19, 2017
This week, we discuss two significant sleeper issues that will influence climate policy for a long time to come, and a few local initiatives for Massachusetts residents. Charlie Pierce highlighted the first understated, but very important, issue in a report for Esquire. A right-wing movement is pushing state legislatures to approve the idea of holding a new constitutional convention to rewrite the constitution. The convention would be open and would focus on the balanced budget amendment. Twenty-eight states have signed on to this campaign; thirty-four are needed to pass an amendment to the constitution. There is a possibility that if the movement can gain those last six states, it could create stringent regulations that limit the government’s ability to act on climate change.
Another issue of concern is that Mitch McConnell is intent on loading the federal bench with right-wing conservatives who are light on experience but heavy on ideology. These are very young lawyers who will be in these lifetime appointments for decades. Having a federal bench replete with judges that are subservient to right-wing philosophies will make it very difficult for environmental laws to succeed.
Massachusetts listeners, please be on high alert and make calls to your state representative about the following critical local issues. There is a bill before the MA legislature that would eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to assist cities and towns in making regulations to protect air and water quality. Additionally, the Baker Administration released a statement indicating that he feels no political risk by opposing a carbon tax. MA climate hawks can help the movement away from fossil fuels by reminding him that natural and fracked gas should not be part of our energy portfolio.
Thursday Oct 19, 2017
Amazon+Boston=Green? The Climate Minute Podcast
Thursday Oct 19, 2017
Thursday Oct 19, 2017
Eversource is reported to have manipulated natural gas markets, restricting the use of existing pipelines even as they have argued that we need to build more pipelines. What gives? At the same time, Boston is vying for the prize of Amazon’s new headquarters. What would the arrival of another corporate behemoth mean for the clean and sustainable development of our city? Listen in as we contemplate the implications!
Tuesday Jul 18, 2017
Twenty five corporate scoundrels: The Climate Minute Podcast
Tuesday Jul 18, 2017
Tuesday Jul 18, 2017
This week we have three main topics: the CDP Worldwide (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) report that twenty-five fossil fuel companies are responsible for over half of the carbon pollution in the air since 1988; the actions that utilities are taking against renewable energy; and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Henry David Thoreau.
Friday Dec 02, 2016
Friday Dec 02, 2016
The next four years will call for all of us to stand up for what we believe. The shape of our future can be seen in the bravery of the Standing Rock Sioux, the “Drive for 15” movement, and the opposition to the West Roxbury pipeline. Bill McKibben gives an overview, saying “Volunteering for pain is an unlikely event in a pleasure-based society, and hence it gets noticed. Nonviolent direct action is just one tool in the activist tool kit, and it should be used sparingly—like any tool, it can easily get dull, both literally and figuratively. But when it is necessary to underline the moral urgency of a case, the willingness to go to jail can be very powerful, precisely because it goes against the bent of normal life.” Listen in!
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
Monday Oct 31, 2016
CT pulls out, but ND goes all in: The Climate Minute Podcast
Monday Oct 31, 2016
Monday Oct 31, 2016
Climate news this week contained progress and tension. Grassroots opposition has slowed pipeline progress in MA, RI and NH, so CT decided to pull out of the whole concept. On the other hand, in North Dakota the confrontation keeps spiraling, it seems due to a militarized response from the police. Listen in as we discuss.
Friday Sep 16, 2016
Did something big just happen at Standing Rock? The Climate Minute Podcast
Friday Sep 16, 2016
Friday Sep 16, 2016
A series of very important events happened very quickly on the Dakota plains last week. After a high profile guard-dog attack on the alliance of Native American activists, a Federal judge rejected the tribe’s legal claim. But almost immediately, the Obama Administration moved to stop pipeline construction. Two days later, an arrest warrant was issued for one of the journalists covering the story. What does this all mean? Can we even tell yet? Listen in as we try to unpack some of the implications of this tumultuous week.
Check out live links at our blog, http://www.massclimateaction.org/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