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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.
Episodes
Sunday Mar 11, 2018
Hearings-some legal, some improvised: The Climate Minute Podcast
Sunday Mar 11, 2018
Sunday Mar 11, 2018
A recent court ruling to lift the Trump Administration’s stay against Kelsey Juliana vs. US government may be the first chink in the armor of the government/fossil fuel industry complex. We put on our long black court robes and discuss. Might this set the foundation to declare the domestic fossil fuel industry unconstitutional? In local news, we talk about unique styles of protest in RI and MA against offshore drilling. Listen in!
Thursday Mar 01, 2018
Opposition to offshore drilling: The Climate Minute Podcast
Thursday Mar 01, 2018
Thursday Mar 01, 2018
The administration’s proposal to drill for oil off Massachusetts’ coast had a pretend hearing recently, with lots of very real opposition from activists. At the same time, Eversource has tried again in NH to get approval of the Northern Pass transmission line, but time is running out. Finally we discuss some of the great speakers and sessions at the Local Environmental Action 2018 conference on March 3 at Northeastern. See you there.
Sunday Feb 11, 2018
Can you hear me Major Elon? The Climate Minute Podcast
Sunday Feb 11, 2018
Sunday Feb 11, 2018
A new report studies the risk to chemical sites from rising seas (think Harvey in Houston.) That coupled with the casual disposal of radioactive waste from fracking is an upsetting prospect. On the happy side of the ledger, California intends to refuse permits to bring oil onto its coasts from Federally approved oil rigs. Quite an idea! Finally, Elon Musk outdoes himself with the launch of a new rocket that put an EV into space. Too cool for school! Listen in.
Friday Dec 30, 2016
Friday Dec 30, 2016
2016 was quite a year-in many, many ways. Environmental justice concerns melded quite clearly with climate activism in Dakota. The pipeline protests there seem to be a template for a linking of climate and inequality issues that will be needed in the future. Of course, the year was notable from a geo-physics perspective as the Arctic icecap melted-in the winter! What a surprise! Finally, the international climate movement might be strong enough to persist, even withoutUS leadership. Look to China to reap the benefits of our stupid policies. Listen in as we discuss.
Friday Dec 23, 2016
Can Obama Trump-proof the planet? The Climate Minute Podcast
Friday Dec 23, 2016
Friday Dec 23, 2016
Good news this week: President Obama acted to protect a vast stretch of underwater area from fossil fuel exploitation. This suggests he know what is coming, and is working to protect the planet from the Trump-oil agenda. On top of that, a court case that will allow a full legal presentation of climate science will go forward in the State of Washington.
In case you are a little shaky on your constitutional trivia answers, the Emolument Clause is in Article 1, Section 9 of the US Constitution. Donald Trump must swear to “preserve, protect and defend” this along with all the other clauses in the document. Here it is:
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
Listen in.
Monday Nov 16, 2015
What's next in a post-Keystone world? The Climate Minute Podcast
Monday Nov 16, 2015
Monday Nov 16, 2015
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
Friday Nov 06, 2015
KXL RIP? The Climate Minute Podcast
Friday Nov 06, 2015
Friday Nov 06, 2015
Big news this week- Trans Canada blinked first and has asked for a ‘suspension’ of the Keystone XL pipeline applications. Climate Hawks should be proud of leading this fight. Keystone is part of the ‘supply’ of fossil fuels. Carbon emissions result from the demand for (or use of) fossil fuels. Should activists target one or the other, or both? Good question. 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
Friday Sep 04, 2015
Obama in the Arctic- The Climate Minute Podcast
Friday Sep 04, 2015
Friday Sep 04, 2015
The President went to Alaska to highlight the issue of climate change. The region is warming faster than lower latitudes, and is a hint of where we are all going. In addition to being a tragedy in its own right, the warming of the Arctic opens new and dangerous space for international competition. Finally, was Obama hypocritical or pragmatic in his disconcerting support for Arctic drilling while warning of the apocalypse? We discuss.
The reading list:
• "Polar Amplification" makes the arctic vulnerable.
• Obama's speech in Alaska
• International competition in a melting Arctic
• Denali's name change, and Obama's support for Native Americans
• WaPo says “focus on oil consumption, not production.”
o The key to meaningful climate action is not to haphazardly reject oil projects in the vain hope that people elsewhere will decline to produce oil, too. It is to reduce demand for fossil fuels, either by mandating reductions in their use, which Obama has done, or by slapping a fee on carbon dioxide emissions, which is the economically rational way to tackle climate change,
• McKibben says " Can't negotiate with physics!"
o But climate change isn’t like that. Balton — and Obama, and almost everyone else in power — makes the same simple-but-deadly category mistake. They think the relevant negotiation is between the people who want to drill and the people who don’t. But actually, this negotiation is between people and physics. And therefore it’s not really a negotiation.
Who’s right on that one??
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
Monday Aug 31, 2015
No more gas pipelines in Massachusetts! - The Climate Minute Podcast
Monday Aug 31, 2015
Monday Aug 31, 2015
Across the country, the fossil fuel industry is trying to build dangerous and unnecessary pipelines. Massachusetts is no exception- there are TWO pipelines proposed for the state. These provide a good case study of industry methods and how to oppose them, even if you do not live in the Massachusetts. The proponents of the new pipelines claim to be working to provide sufficient gas for the local economy to grow. But, like Dorothy in Oz, if you peek behind the curtain it becomes clear the industry wants to export the gas away from Massachusetts! That is just one worry- here are six more reasons to oppose these pipelines.
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 Aug 17, 2015
Presidential Climate Hawks - The Climate Minute Podcast
Monday Aug 17, 2015
Monday Aug 17, 2015
The President announced plans for a historic visit to the Arctic, to highlight the issue of climate change. Will he visit the Chukchi Sea oil rig? Mr Obama, along with most of the Federal Government has been sued by youngsters under the Public Trust Doctrine .
The reading list:
• President Obama announces a trip to the Arctic
• Is he sincere or cynical?
• Jimmy Carter as the first Climate Hawk President
• EPA and the Colorado spill
• A new lawsuit under the Public Trust Doctrine
Find the 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