The Climate Minute

Protests and pipeline taxes- The Climate Minute Podcast

Pipeline protests gain strength even as the State Legislature considers a new Omnibus Energy bill. A key provision denies the utilities a ‘pipeline tax’ to fund the construction. A match to the Statehouse this weekend will send a clear message- see below for the route and timing.
Here is some background and advice on what to do, even if you can’t get to the statehouse this weekend. Both the House and Senate have heard that you want a bolder clean energy vision, please thank your senator for their leadership and ask them to support a few key amendments.
The current bill includes these clean energy pieces:
- A commitment to offshore wind of 2000 megawatts
- An annual increase from one to two percent in the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard
- A mandate for a home energy audit to be made available when homes are listed for sale.
- Incentives for energy storage
BUT, the Senate bill could include key provisions: 
- Ban the pipeline tax 
- Protect low-income solar
- Accelerate gas leak repairs.
Without an outright ban on the pipeline tax, the Baker administration and the utility companies could still find for ratepayers to bear the cost of building massive fracked gas pipelines.
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

Kinder implodes, Spectra explodes: The Climate Minute Podcast

Pipelines dominate climate news this week with proposed projects withdrawn in Massachusetts (and NY.) The relative good news shows the power of activism. Listen in as we review recent events.

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

Jane Kleeb to keynote MCAN conference! The Climate Minute Podcast

Jane Kleeb of BoldNebraska was instrumental in the fight against the Keystone XL pipeline. Now, at a time when pipelines are proposed all around the state, she will be the keynote speak at the Local Environmental Action 2016 Conference on March 13 at Northeastern University. If you want to fight a pipeline, here is your chance to learn from the best.This week the Baker Administration release $15M for solar upgrades which is a step in the right direction for the Governor. However, folks across the state are rising up to oppose the new pipelines he seems to prefer- like the North East Direct, the Algonquin Pipeline, the Q-1 Loop, the Medway Peaker Project  and the liquefied gas storage facility in Acushnet. We discuss.

KXL owner demands $15B for “loss of expected profit”: The Climate Minute Podcast

Sometimes the zombie doesn’t stay dead. This week, TransCanada tried to re-invigorate the Keystone XL effort by extorting $15B from the US government under NAFTA rules. As Bill McKibben says, NAFTA is not a ‘global suicide pact,’ and the TransCanada suit is repugnant. The NAFTA rules are similar to the TPP rules and exemplify the risk of accepting the TPP as the law of the land.  If you like the idea of self-determination and national sovereignty, the TPP is problematic.

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

Repost- Dispatch from Blockadia: The Climate Minute Podcast

This podcast was first posted just after Thanksgiving, but technical issues prevented a broad audience. It  is re-posted here in case you missed it the first time around.

A dispatch from Blockadia: “No Pipelines in MA” - The Climate Minute Podcast

“Blockadia is a place where the future of the environmental movement is being negotiated” according to a recent blog. Across the country, local activists are taking a stand against new fossil fuel infrastructure.  From the tar sands in Canada to kayaktivists in Seattle to pipelines in Massachusetts, resistance is growing. This week we go to the front lines and talk to a Climate Hawk who is working to stop the proposed Algonquin Pipeline in Southern New England.  With a recent study concluding there is no need for the pipeline, an oversized design intended to support the export of gas, and a financial charge to electric customers to pay for Spectra’s pipeline, the Algonquin Pipeline is a bad idea whose time has passed.  We discuss the nuts and bolts of opposition to these kinds of projects, and what motivates us to take action. Despite it’s diversity, the inhabitants of Blockadia share a state of mind that demands a sustainable future.
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

Making clean energy sausage on Beacon Hill-The Climate Minute Podcast

There is an old saying that goes “You don’t want to watch either sausages or laws get made.” However, sometimes an unpleasant sight can spur a response. The Massachusetts Legislature is locked in a stalled process to raise the solar energy ‘net-metering’ cap, with the House and Senate discussing a bill that is either really bad (House version) or acceptably bad (Senate version.) You can let your representative know we need to support solar fully by checking the ‘Where do I vote?” link. The MA Attorney General commissioned a study the shows we do NOT need new pipelines, which is a boon to activists. Finally, DR notes a concrete example of the harm that might come from the ISDS clause of the TPP.
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

What's next in a post-Keystone world? The Climate Minute Podcast

The Keystone victory has left us smarter and stronger. What is next? We can fight pipelines, support new wind projects and demand to stop extraction of fossil fuel on Federal land. 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