The Climate Minute: Opening Mr Overton's window (PODCAST)

This was another pretty good week for Climate Hawks.

 

Massachusetts’ Governor Deval Patrick gave a great commencement address at UMASS Amherst.  We talked with Carolyn Barthel of 350 Massachusetts about what it means. Unfortunately, there was no greatness in the Senate as it killed an energy efficiency bill.

 

Following the President’s release and full-throated support of the National Climate Assessment, has the Overton Window opened just a tiny bit for climate? After all, the Generals promulgated , Christy Todd-Whitman pontificated and Senator Joe Manchin equivocated.  However, only Marco Rubio could confabulate  an evasive answer on ABC, (or perhaps couldn’t in front of the National Press Club.) Both Time and the Washington Post questioned his presidential timber. So, has climate denial become disqualifying for a politician seeking higher office? Thom Hartman discusses  tobacco and denial  while Dan Farber discusses possible hints of hope in Rubio's comments.  Ed Schulz of MSNBC has his heart in the right place and has made a remarkable public journey to climate reality, but as he highlights Rubio’s confusion he needs to keep his facts straight.

 

Finally, two downers and one uplifting report.  If you are less than 29 years old, you have never experienced a month of below average global temperatures.  And, by the way, the collapse of parts of the Antarctic Ice shelf is unstoppable. On the other hand, composer John Luther Adams won a Pulitzer for his Earth inspired symphony Being Ocean.

 

So we will close the way we always close, by saying that 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 US put a price on carbon.

 

…Ted McIntyre