The Climate Minute

Stephen Hawking, you are among the stars. Your brilliance illuminated our world; you will be missed. This episode is a continuation of our environmental justice focus from Thursday. Arnold Schwarzenegger promises to terminate fossil fuels, using lawsuits as his weapon of choice. We cover recent EJ news from Uniontown, AL, Flint, MI, Bismarck, ND, and Puerto Rico. Bill McKibben advises us all to protest any new fossil fuel infrastructure. Tune in to hear the details.

School walkouts driven by the Parkland tragedy are an inspiration to climate hawks. It is good to keep in mind that the Florida high school’s namesake, Marjory Stoneman Douglas , was an early environmental champion who was instrumental in the protection of the Everglades. She was also one of the first to connect environmental concerns to social concerns like civil rights and the woman’s movement. Environmental Justice has become more and more important to the climate movement, so it deserves more discussion.

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!

This week’s storm, the second ‘once in a century’ kind of storm this year reveals that we need a coherent statewide policy to develop clean energy. Senate bill 2302 (An Act to promote a clean energy future) sponsored by Senator Pacheco gives us a blueprint to build that future. Listen in, then call your Senator.

Temperatures in the North Pole are usually around -2F this time of winter. This past week they were a record-breaking 43F, surprising even the scientists with the speed of warming. Santa and his elves may need to relocate their workshop next year if this kind of warming continues! Santa’s is not the only business model that is being disrupted—electric companies are scrambling to fit in with 21st-century energy generation. In the wake of energy efficiency and renewable energy technology, the utility business model of charging by the watt is looking pretty dim. We discuss the difficulties of envisioning long timelines associated with climate change, but also how seeing impacts today is causing a paradigm shift for many that were once deniers. Ted tucks another Easter egg into this episode, about a business model that will benefit, or at least not get caught by the law, from on-site renewable energy generation. Tune in for more.

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.

Today, we connect the dots between the horrific gun violence in Parkland, Florida, and climate action. Notably, science should lead policy decisions, not the other way around. We visit Pruitt’s exploits as a “first-class fool,” as well as sketchy dealings in the Department of Interior. Listen for our “easter egg” about Maxwell Smart and the “cone of silence.” Don’t miss the Local Environmental Action conference at Northeastern University, March 3rd. Ted and Mariah will be there with a booth and would be thrilled to speak with our listeners. More information on the Massachusetts Climate Action Network’s Event page

It must be said openly that the 72 degree Fahrenheit temperature record set in Boston on February 22 2018 is a clear indicator of the onset of climate change. Despite the media silence in our city, the physics of climate change progresses relentlessly. What will it take to drive climate into our media? AG Healy has some good ideas about how to use the money won by Massachusetts from VW’s illegal MPG rating scam. Listen in.

In a recent GRIST article, Eric Holthaus describes a devil’s bargain we have already made. The competition between the cooling, reflective particles created in burning fossil fuel and the warming effects of carbon dioxide created in burning those same fuels will end, in favor of the warming CO2, as we move to clean technologies. Listen in as we discuss this new challenge. (Don’t forget to register for the Local Environmental Action Conference March 3 at Northeastern .

The Globe’s editorial (Our Russian ‘pipeline’ and its ugly toll) is an outrage. Its central idea- that environmental activists are NIMBY-motivated and wink at destructive projects in other countries- is an insult to the good faith opponents. The article’s conclusion- that Massachusetts should accept the environmental damage of pipelines in towns like Pittsfield or Danvers- is designed to shame those who speak against the corporate creed of more pipelines.

The central dilemma posed by the article-whether should we let others degrade their homes for our fuel or instead that we should degrade our own homes to keep the gas flowing-is a false choice. The third choice, to forego natural gas and build clean energy technology at the scale and pace needed, is our best option.

Fortunately, a Massachusetts Senate bill proposed by Mark Pacheco is up to the task of reshaping our energy future with the clean technologies needed. Call your senator and support that bill!