The Climate Minute

Parcels here, parcels there- The Climate Minute Podcast

Auctions of leases to find energy sources were in the news this week.
Off the Massachusetts coast, parcels of open ocean were offered but had some
disappointing results . Should the state government  prepare things better for next time?
Just a few days after the State of the Union, the President contradictory decision to
to open large areas off the East Coast to drilling. What’s up with that?

Check out live links at our blog, https://massclimateaction.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/parcels-here-parcels-there-the-climate-minute-podcast/

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

Snow Day! The Climate Minute Podcast

The Blizzard of 2015 hit this week. What does it all mean for Climate Hawks? Listen in!

Did climate change ‘cause’ the storm? The connections to a warmer world are described  here ,  here and even here.  Extreme weather events are the new normal.
Some of the second guessing of the weather models can be seen here . (Take some Pepto-Bismol before reading the comments.)
You can read Andrew Revkin's discussion of weather modeling of the storm or go to an explanation of climate models  and their reliability.

Check out live links at our blog, https://massclimateaction.wordpress.com/2015/01/30/snow-day-the-climate-minute-podcast/

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

Biased balance- The Climate Minute Podcast

The year 2014 was the hottest on record. How well did the media present the story? DR thinks ABC, CNN, CBS, NBC  and MSNBC  did fine, but is not so happy with the New York Times.
 
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 Pope and some planets- The Climate Minute Podcast

The Pope says that mankind slaps nature in the face,  and the link goes on: Francis added that he was "disappointed" by "the lack of courage" shown at the climate talks in Peru, echoing environmental groups that were critical of the deal reached in December..

One resolution for the new year is simply to talk about climate more. This removes the taboo from even mentioning the word!

One astro-biologist thinks that extra-terrestrial life is hard to find becasue alien civilizations on “exo-planets” create their own climate change and go extinct. Does that mean we are we doomed by nature? I am skeptical.

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

Gas pains in Massachusetts- The Climate Minute Podcast

Do you want to talk to someone from Kinder-Morgan? They will be holding
open house and scoping meetings in towns along the route,

The town of Wilmington rejects the pipeline.
A couple of  heavyweights opine that  Governor Baker should focus on wind.
It turns out that gas pipelines in Boston are really, really leaky! But a company wants to put yet another one in West Roxbury near a quarry. What could go wrong? Go to the rally on Sunday.

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 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

All the views unfit to print -The Climate Notes Podcast

How can a nationally syndicated columnist have any credibility on the issue of global warming when he's aligned with billionaire climate deniers?

See also:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_01/oh_brother053672.php

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/395921/climate-changes-instructive-past-george-will

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/01/08/3609346/george-will-climate-backwards/

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/01/09/george-will-misreads-history-to-deny-climate-ch/202079

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/09/02/george-wills-ethical-problems-continue-with-the/200601

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/09/03/what-is-george-will-hiding/200630

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/09/27/conflict-of-interest-george-will-again-uses-his/200924

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/12/04/washington-post-media-reporter-calls-out-collea/201769

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2014/12/04/george-will-guilty-of-conflict-of-interest/

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/purple-wisconsin/280594382.html

See the live links at https://massclimateaction.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/all-the-views-unfit-to-print-the-climate-notes-podcast/

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

Five issues that will shape the news of 2015- The Climate Minute Podcast

What are the underlying issues that will drive climate progress in 2015? We discuss a Congress that denies global warming, low oil prices, the Trans-Pacific partnership, upcoming negotiations in Paris, and the impact of the Pope’s views on global warming.

First, we note that Cape Wind is in jeopardy. There seems to be enough momentum behind the wind industry the progress in other areas is likely.

Congress is targeting the Keystone pipeline. Read  Dave Roberts who says about the whole controversy that “This is the first time since cap-and-trade that the movement defined a clear fight specifically about climate. They picked something Obama could block and then set out making the case that he should block it. It was something that could could have passed without a blink from anyone, and they charged it with meaning. They marched, protested, organized, wrote, and marched some more. They got big money to enter political races behind the issue. They got key allies to speak out against it. They’ve managed to delay and delay it. They even got Obama to say that he’ll reject it if it has any impact on greenhouse gases. (Imagine that standard applied to all future infrastructure projects!)”

It seems the President will veto the bill, but this is just the beginning of a long fight.  Bill McKibben said  “This is a tribute to the millions of people who have made this one of the center pieces of a fast growing climate movement. So far their desire to protect the land and climate have been a match for the fountains of dirty money that constitute the oil industry’s only real argument.”  If you want to find your rep’s phone number, click here, for your Senator, click here.

Robert Reich says this about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

Even better for global companies, the tribunal can order compensation for any lost profits found to result from a nation's regulations. Philip Morris is using a similar provision against Uruguay (the provision appears in a bilateral trade treaty between Uruguay and Switzerland), claiming that Uruguay's strong anti-smoking regulations unfairly diminish the company's profits.

What does the acronym INDC mean? “Intended Nationally Determined Contributions.” Say that three times fast! It is a statement of how much carbon each country will promise to cut in the preparation for negotiations in Paris at COP21 next December.

Pope Francis is said to be preparing an important statement on climate next year, but will likely anger some conservatives.

See the links at https://massclimateaction.wordpress.com/2015/01/09/five-issues-that-will-shape-the-news-of-2015-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

Fix Society, Please -The Climate Notes Podcast

A lesson for climate hawks in an Ohio tragedy.

http://huff.to/1xfO6n3

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/12/31/transgender-teen-who-died-of-an-apparent-suicide-fix-society-please/