In September, NASA will launch a mission to visit an asteroid and return with a sample of rock. This presages the arrival of space mining. This raises the question: what does the drive to exploit the environment say about human nature? Is mining an insignificant asteroid in deep space driven by the same impulse to that allows us to dump carbon into a seemingly  limitless atmosphere? Should humans learn to tame these responses, or are they the parts of our nature that will save us? Listen in!

Following the SJC’s decision against the pipeline tax, the utilities have pulled out of the Access Northeast pipeline project. That is good news, but raises the question of what happens next in the fight against new fossil fuel infrastructure. The Dakota Access pipeline fight looms large in this context.  One the other hand, there are now several examples of clean energy breakthroughs. Listen in as we discuss.

Bill McKibben has written a provocative article arguing that our society must adopt a war mentality to address climate change.  Is he right? Exactly who or what would we fight? Listen in for a discussion.

A court ruling ends the plan to finance new natural gas pipelines by means of a ‘tariff’ on electricity bills. This is a victory for the Massachusetts consumer and for clean energy, especially since it will become much harder to build this kind of decades-long-lived fossil fuel infrastructure. Listen in as we discuss the implications of this important decision.

Bill McKibben is being harassed by paid videographers who are hoping to capture any moment of his life that can be construed as hypocrisy.  Those doing the stalking are paid hacks, but the money comes from anonymous right wing SuperPACs. Does the hypocrisy argument hold up? Is the real goal the intimidation of the rest of us? Listen in as we discuss this outrageous behavior.

Heat and drought in New England give a taste of the new abnormal state of the climate, and the Olympic Opening contained a climate message.  The coolest thing this week is the annual Perseid meteor shower. Even if you can go out and see it, this ageless natural phenomena teaches us about our place in the universe. Listen in!

The Obama’s seemingly small step to require the inclusion of climate considerations in the planning of Federal projects is, in fact, a big deal! That, coupled with the success of RGGI make for a good week in climate news- except for the anthrax. Listen in!

The Massachusetts legislature passed an energy policy bill with a solid requirement to build lots of wind power. We discuss the implications of that, plus what else was put in , and what was left out. Listen here!

Why we believe what we believe is an important question to consider. Are we driven by facts or allegiance? If more than a hundred Nobel prize winners say GMO’s are OK, should we believe it?  At the end of the day, no matter where we stand, we are better off for having considered all the possibilities. Listen in!

A heat wave across the USA gives us all a taste of things to com. On the good news side, the EPA will regulate airline emissions and super greenhouse gases will come under control soon. Listen in!