The Climate Minute

Effectively communicating climate change information can be difficult. Listen in as we discuss the options.

The MA DEP hearings on the Weymouth compressor permits started on May 15th, but did not end on May 17th as planned. Newly revealed data on toxins in the air at the Fore River raise more questions about the legitimacy of the January 2019 decision to approve the air quality permits.

The Climate Action Business Association is a membership-based organization in Massachusetts that helps local businesses take targeted action on climate change. Listen in as we chat with Tim Cronin, the Policy & Partnerships Manager about CABA and the weekly Climate Exchange Policy Roundup newsletter. Top stories this week? First it’s the Baker Administration’s apparent suppression of science communication, and then the ongoing saga of the Weymouth Compressor Station.

The impact of climate change is often seen at the local level, in towns and cities. Whether it is beach erosion on the coast or heat waves in cities, local elected officials are on the scene first. Listen in as we chat with Tim Cronin of the Climate Action Business Association (CABAUS) about the roles and opportunities for local elected officials in fighting climate change.

The Weymouth Compressor saga has many heroes. One such hero is Andrea Honore, who has for months conducted a noontime a vigil outside the Governor’s office in the Statehouse, seeking to make the case about why the compressor should not be built. Listen in as she tells the story of how she came to be the point of a long sword.

Building a natural gas compressor station in a busy part of Weymouth seems complicated enough, but when you throw in Sphinx-like leadership styles, backroom sweetheart deals, suppressed data, 200 years of industrial waste and lots of 1,3-butadiene, the plots and subplots multiply. Listen in

Carbon emissions from Massachusetts’ transportation sector are the next big frontier of climate work in the state. The Governor is searching for ways to finance these efforts and a multi-state effort (called the TCI, for Transportation and Climate Initiative) seems like a good path. At the same time, while his Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs has moved to work with a pipeline company, the incoming Secretary tweets as “@ClimateKatie”.

Does the imaginative response of the Extinction Rebellion (and that of the Climate Strikes, the Sunrise Movement and others) represent a new way to address the sclerotic politics of our time? Listen in.

Listen in as we talk with a member of the Extinction Rebellion.

Listen in as we discuss the Sunrise Movement and the Green New Deal with local activist Chris D'Agostino.