The Paris Agreement, flawed and fragile as it is, represents the world’s best hope of addressing global warming.  While the COTUS (Cheeto of the US) railed against it on the campaign trail, there appears to be an ongoing discussion about whether the US should leave the agreement.  It seems  “Camp of the Saints Steve Bannon” and “Arctic Rex Tillerson” disagree on the wisdom of this. How much fun would that be to watch? Listen in!

Our new Attorney General’s admission that he spoke with the Russian ambassador became a climate issue once Ukraine economic sanctions ‘somehow came up’ in the conversation. Why? The Obama era sanctions were a punishment for invading Ukraine, and effectively blocked the development of Russian arctic oil by- wait for it- Rex Tillerson’s Exxon. Putin’s desire for the $500B deal was a clear possible motive for hacking our election. On the other hand, Darryl Issa’s new found enthusiasm for protecting the climate is a good example in how to pressure your Member of Congress. Listen in.

The wave of anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-climate sentiment, not to the mention raw racism that is being fed by our new administration, demands that we stand together. Climate Hawks need to fight the “Neo-Know-Nothing” policies of Trumpism on every front. One way to do that is right at home, by setting up a ‘green fuel’ standard to minimize the impact that burning fossil fuels for transport. Listen in as we discuss. 

Adaptation and mitigation are common terms in climate discussions, but they come into sharp focus when a massive seawall is proposed for Boston Harbor. Is it wise? Can we make the Koch brothers pay for it? What about the folks on the other side of the seawall, be they in Provincetown or Bangladesh?  Is it better to spend that money mitigating carbon pollution? You’ll have to come up with your own answer since Scott Pruitt, the new head of EPA, seems to have little concern for the environment he swears to protect. Listen in.

The election of DJT represents a break point in American history, challenging all the principles and virtues that we presume to hold. Given the disruption caused by our new politics, it will be hard to go back to a ‘November 7th’ world- even if we wanted to. The question is: Do we simply want to go back to the way things were, or should be we planning and fighting for a new vision of our country? President Bannon surely is doing so- shouldn't we?  Resistance is a tool to build a new future. What will that future look like?

Bad news from DC is balanced by continued good work here in Massachusetts. We discuss what it all means, from Seattle’s divestment of DAPL to new bills in the Massachusetts Legislature calling for clean energy. Listen in and don’t forget to register for the Local Environmental Action conference March 5, Northeastern University

The august greybeards of the conservative movement have proposed a carbon tax to address climate change. That is a good thing, on the face of it, but the deal contains some pills that range from bitter to poisonous. We discuss the ‘conservative climate solution’ in comparison to other carbon fee ideas. Also, listen in for DR’s favorite climate news websites.

One of the new administration’s Executive Orders restarted the process of completing the Dakota Pipeline. Construction resumption is imminent, but lawsuits are underway, as are efforts to defund project through divestment. Employees of the EPA are protesting the nomination of Scott Pruitt.  Don’t forget to register for the Local Environmental Action conference March 5, Northeastern University

The trial of an activist in the Pacific Northwest ends in a hung jury, despite the judge’s hopes. Is this a sea change in the attitude toward direct action on climate? Our so-called President’s immigration ban should be opposed on it’s own merits, but climate driven refugees will only become more numerous as we go forward. Climate Hawks need to help build stronger systems for dealing with the suffering. In the US Senate, the ideologues on the right ‘suspend the rules’ to achieve their end. This is bad for democracy. Listen in.

Don’t forget: The MCAN/TAC conference is Sunday, March 5, at Northeastern.  Register for MCAN's LocalEnvironmentalActionConference

Neil Gorsuch’s nomination debate will be full of terms like the “Chevron Deference” and the “Originalist Interpretation.” Those are not show titles from “The Big Bang Theory” but describe legal ideas. “Chevron” is the court case that declared government agencies like the EPA know more about global warming than does the SCOTUS, and so should be respected by the Court. This would help the Obama Clean Power Plan prevail, but Gorsuch disputes the concept.  An “Originalist” like Gorsuch believes that the words of the Constitution need to be defined as did the Founding Fathers. That is all fine, but new technologies were inconceivable to them. Should every individual state regulate the internet? What about pollution from ‘downwind’ states like Ohio blowing into “upwind’ states like MA?  Neil Gorsuch’s legal views are a threat to the “general welfare,” his nomination is tainted by the illegitimacy of the Trump Presidency and the established Senatorial procedures demand that Merrick Garland by given a hearing first. Gorsuch must be stopped.