The Climate Minute

Two examples of deception this week: Entergy paid actors to testify in favor of a power plant in New Orleans and the White House is hiding a ‘nightmare’ report on water quality. And, by the way, Jupiter is changing our weather…very slowly. Listen in.

We discuss the possible upsides and downsides of the new California solar panel program. How should Climate Hawks prepare for the inevitable unintended consequences of our proposals? (Hint: vote!)

NY AG Eric Schneiderman resigns after the New Yorker reveals him as a violent man. He was leading the effort against Exxon. What now? Back at home, Boston will host a mayoral conference on climate in June. Listen in.

California will insist on solar panels on new homes. And will sue Pruitt over fuel standards. Pretty cool.

Trees play an important role in the vibrancy of cities. Listen in as we speak with David Meshoulam of “Speak for the Trees Boston” at the Local Environmental Action Conference last March at Northeastern.

Scott Pruitt’s tiresome “swamp-monster” routine has moved beyond parody to absurdity, but is nonetheless as a continuing insult to Climate Hawks. SAD! A more constructive and substantive discussion is happening around the putative need to support nukes and the more pragmatic need for electric busses. Listen in!

Systemic racism expresses itself both before the law and in environmental injustice. Progress comes when Climate Hawks speak out about the issue. For example, the Flint water supply was damaged four years ago this week. Activist Siwatu-Salama Ra‘s imprisonment is a case of a combination of injustices. The good news is that a Minnesota judge has allowed the necessity defense in a jury case. This will allow the introduction of climate science into a court hearing—an important precedent for future legal cases. Listen in.

We talk to Nathaniel Stinnett of the Environmental Voter Project about what makes people vote. It turns out that two motivations to vote are peer pressure (you don’t want to be the only one who DIDN’T vote in this wave election) and expressing your deeply held commitment to the earth. Enviro’s should ‘vote like it is your job’ and take pride in expressing their green credentials at the ballot box. Listen in for tips on how to help motivate your friends and neighbors to vote for the planet.

What seems like a freak accident-a single backhoe knocking out the power for the whole island of Puerto Rico- is actually emblematic of the environmental injustice being perpetrated there. Listen in as we discuss.

A bill aimed at stifling climate activists was introduced into the Iowa legislature recently. According to Buzzfeed, “The bill is a ramped-up version of the generic “Critical Infrastructure Protection Act” that the American Legislative Exchange Council, a Virginia-based national conservative group, is pushing across the country. Iowa’s legislation criminalizes protest on any “land, building, conveyance, or other temporary or permanent structure” or a “water supply treatment, collection, storage or delivery system” considered part of the fossil fuel industry’s “critical infrastructure.”
 At the same time the SEC is trying to cut back on stockholder activism, a more abstract but important way to bring corporations like Exxon to account. Finally, we discuss the teacher strikes in the Midwest and how they relate to the climate movement. Listen in.