The Climate Minute

The President knows some scientists- The Climate Minute Podcast

The President gave his “State of the Union” address, and spent a lot of  time talking about global warming. His best line was “...but I do know some scientists! “

A hoax, or not a hoax? The Senate played “voting record” games. It is not clear which side won.
The TPP treaty is a topic we are likely to hear more about.

Check out more  links at our blog, http://massclimateaction.wordpress.com or our Facebook page facbook.com/massclimateaction.

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 good, the bad and the inspiring- The Climate Minute Podcast

The news this week ranged from good to depressing, from new methane rules (good) to 400pm in the air (depressing.) We try to put it all in perspective.

•    The administration proposes methane emissions regulations.
•    Global CO2 levels are over 400ppm.
•    US India climate talks are proceeding.
•    Worcester will try time-based electical rates.
•    Gov. Baker appoints an energy team. But is it a team of rivals? It has a gas-tax advocate (see here) and the Senate wants to work on the climate issues (see here .)
•    Should we build and then tear down an Olympic Stadium?
•    A report on future gas demand was released at the very end of the Patrick Administration. But the origin and use of  fracking sand is very informative.
•    Bernie Sanders proposed an amendment to the KXL approval bill.
•    The move Selma should give Climate Hawks something to think about.  A couple of years ago, joe Romm posted a blog think about Martin Luther King and climate activism.

See the links at https://massclimateaction.wordpress.com/2015/01/16/the-good-the-bad-and-the-inspiring-the-climate-minute-podcast/

Check out more  links at our blog, http://massclimateaction.wordpress.com or our Facebook page facbook.com/massclimateaction.

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

2014 from the Climate Hawk's Perspective - The Climate Minute Podcast

The year 2014 was hot, the climate movement became conscious of itself and saw new dimensions in a big world.

This year is likely to be the hottest year on record and one where climate change undeniably arrived in clear force.

The year will also be remembered as one where climate activism took center stage with lots of rabble-rousing. The President said  "Our citizens keep marching. We cannot pretend we do not hear them."  From EPA regulations to the Climate March, Climate Hawks were out in force. The KXL pipeline is in deep Presidential trouble because of activism. In NY, fracking was banned, and the polls approve. On top of all that, Kinder Morgan blinked in the face of local opposition.

The climate movement’s conception of itself changed in 2014 as well, not the least due to Naomi Klein's book "This Changes Everything".  Rebecca Solnit is getting lots of mileage out of a comparison of our times to the French Revolution. She says: “…physics is inevitable…Politics, on the other hand, is not inevitable.” In the same way, the #BlackLivesMatter movement is a big one for Climate Hawks. From a convergence of interests, to environmental justice to a simple realization that cities are a locus of climate opportunity, a new way of thinking was born.

The year also saw hopeful signs of an independent media as well as price parity for renewables, and a great window of opportunity for a carbon tax.

See the links at http://massclimateaction.wordpress.com/2014/12/31/2014-from-the-climate-hawks-perspective-the-climate-minute-podcast/

Check out more  links at our blog, http://massclimateaction.wordpress.com or our Facebook page facbook.com/massclimateaction.

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

Pipelines to Powerlines- The Climate Minute Podcast

As a leader in the fight against climate change, Massachusetts often has to deal with problems at the leading edge. Is a natural gas pipeline through the state a good idea? Is it wise to import hydro-power from Quebec in order to achieve our emissions goals?  We discuss these topics, along with a review of the proceedings down in Lima.

Kinder Morgan re-routes it’s controversial pipeline. We talk with Rich Cowan about what is happening on the front lines of the struggle. Better Futures Project’s Craig Altemouse provides a run  down of reasons to oppose  the pipeline on the Huffington Post. For even more info, check out the MA Pipeline Action Network . The next hearing on the low-demand scenario is scheduled for SDecember 18th.

The Globe’s Business Page gives a somewhat unclear discussion of the Hydro-Quebec question.  But the Op-Ed page has a simpler explanation. Alternatively, the State could save emissions by adjusting our thermostats or using tidal power.

In Peru, the COP20 in Lima has been on-going.  ThinkProgress gives an update ,  and DemocracyNow talks to Pablo Solon. If you do nothing else, watch John Kerry's remarkable speech.

Finally: Watch President Obama "dis" Keystone XL under Colbert's cold stare.

See the links at http://massclimateaction.wordpress.com/2014/12/12/pipelines-to-powerlines-the-climate-minute-podcast/

Check out more  links at our blog, http://massclimateaction.wordpress.com or our Facebook page facbook.com/massclimateaction.

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

Bottled up outrage? The Climate Minute Podcast

We discuss the expanded bottle bill (Yes On 2) and NPR's decision to cut back on climate coverage.

Find the details here:
http://massclimateaction.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/bottled-up-outrage-the-climate-minute-podcast/

Check out the links at our blog, http://massclimateaction.wordpress.com or our Facebook page facbook.com/massclimateaction.

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

National Pathetic Radio-The Climate Notes Podcast

NPR has decided to throw in the towel on comprehensive climate coverage. Could NPR's backtracking have something to do with fracking?
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See also:
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20141024/npr-reduces-its-environment-team-one-reporter
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/10/24/3584246/npr-guts-climate-team/
http://www.fair.org/blog/2012/10/25/npr-could-use-some-energy-independence-of-its-own/
http://anga.us/
http://massclimateaction.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/national-pathetic-radio-the-climate-notes-podcast/

Check out the links at our blog, http://massclimateaction.wordpress.com or our Facebook page facbook.com/massclimateaction.

Thanks for listening!!

A Natural Disaster- Climate Notes (PODCAST)

The Boston Globe has apparently embraced the conventional wisdom that natural gas is the miracle cure for our energy woes. Let's hope the paper's future coverage of energy issues includes the perspectives of those who recognize that natural gas isn't all that it's fracked up to be.
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The link to the original editorial:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2014/10/04/renewables-are-new-england-future-but-gas-pipelines-still-needed/1tpsRSYaMioGdeg8k9R2rM/story.html

Links to the LTE:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2014/10/11/importing-natural-gas-not-bridge-secure-energy-future/fj8l9fOaOQGNcfl5Aux1MI/story.html

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2014/10/11/importing-natural-gas-not-bridge-secure-energy-future/fj8l9fOaOQGNcfl5Aux1MI/story.html

Venice in Beantown? The Climate Minute (Podcast)

Should we build canals in Boston to protect a locality or reduce carbon emissions to protect everyone on the globe? Either way, we are building our own future.

Check out the links at our blog, http://massclimateaction.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/venice-in-beantown-the-climate-minute-podcast/ or on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/massclimateaction.

Thanks for listening!

Ted McIntyre

The Climate Minute: Are we hypnotized by markets? Plus more New York bound buses (PODCAST)

New England is wrestling with it’s energy demands, but Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is increasingly uncomfortable with new gas infrastructure, (maybe due to local opposition to pipelines) despite pressure from the  Governor of Maine.  Still, Massachusetts is doing just fine with solar power, thank you very much.  Cape Wind is still fighting nuisance lawsuits , and we hope they have as much success as they had against the last twenty six nuisance law suits.  Climate change raises questions about "water security" in the future. Right now, citizens of Detroit are fighting deliberate home water shut-offs. Whatever the merits of the argument are on each side, this is unlikely to be the last water related environmental justice case. A draft of an upcoming summary IPCC report is blunt and stark, observing the irreversible nature of the changes we are creating, and the need for discipline to NOT burn the underground fossil fuels that we already know about (much less prospecting in the Arctic!) Jared Diamond wrote a book about how various societies failed to recognize the obvious seeds of their own destruction.

The New York Times reports that the Obama Administration may look for ways to get a climate agreement that bypasses the Senate. Needless to say, heads are exploding on at least one side of the political aisle.

The EPA’s website says it uses the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) (which is a number calculated by the Federal Government) “to estimate the climate benefits of rulemakings. The SCC is an estimate of the economic damages associated with a small increase in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, conventionally one metric ton, in a given year. This dollar figure also represents the value of damages avoided for a small emission reduction (i.e. the benefit of a CO₂ reduction).”

Due to doubt and suspicion from some in Congress, the GAO looked in to the process of making the SCC calculation, and concluded it was done according to the right procedures. This lack of evidence of “cooked books” will no doubt disappoint the confusionists, but they can just continue to repeat their tired older talking point.

 

We should recognize however that the “Social Cost of Carbon” is a profound touchstone basis for a market-based approach to resolving climate issues. An interesting post at Grist wonders if the climate movement has become hypnotized by market fundamentalism. 

The post says

“Thus the climate movement is possessed with near theological discussions about which market tool is better. Is it a straight-up carbon tax, or should we create a carbon cap, auctioning permits to pollute and allowing polluters to buy carbon emissions reductions in a trading marketplace? ideally seeking the lowest-cost carbon reductions possible. What is lost in the discussion is how we actually met big challenges in the past, challenges that require the creation of new technologies and industries. Market fundamentalism conceives new innovations and industries to rise magically out of properly adjusted market systems. Build the incentives and they will come. A study of economic history shows it just ain’t so.

This is a thought-provoking article. As an example of the role of government versus markets, read about the potential for “perovskite” based solar cells. The material was only recently recognized and could be a game changer- but maybe not. Will the ‘market’ fund the development of this speculative technology, or should the government (i.e. we the people) make the investment?

A great opinion piece in the New York Times (The Climate Swerve ) considers how the great mass of people might come to recognize the moral and ethical stakes at play in the issue of global warming.

 

Preparations for the People’s March in September are in full swing. A recent press release suggest the event has gone global:

• In New Delhi, thousands will take over the streets on September 20 to demand a renewable energy revolution.
• In Australia, organizers are expecting hundreds of individual events to take place across the country, including a major march in Melbourne.
• In London environment organisations and faith groups are combining forces to create a historic march through the city to the steps of Parliament.
• In Berlin three parallel marches will combine forces in a colourful festival.
• Events are already being planned in Ghana, Kenya, DRC, Nigeria, and Guinea, along with a major march in Johannesburg.
• In Paris, local groups will create the “Paris Marche pour le Climat,” with parades, marches, and bicycle rides planned across the bridges of the Seinne.
• Reports are also coming in of large mobilizations planned in: Kathmandu, Rio, Sao Paulo, Jakarta, Dublin, Manila, Seoul, Mumbai and Istanbul.

 

From Massachusetts there will be bus departures from Amherst, Cambridge, Cape Cod, Framingham, Holyoke, Jamaica Plain, Longmeadow, Northhampton, Wellesley and Worcester (so far!) For details, and for buses from all over the country, go to the Transportation Page.

 

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