The opinions and reaction to the President’s Clean Energy Plan have come quickly and loudly, from both the left and right of the political spectrum.  It is important to know what all the talking heads are saying, but as Mother Nature points out (here channeled by Julia Roberts), the planet doesn’t need us-we need the planet.  The laws of physics will be obeyed no matter what James Hansen or Mitch McConnell say. Listen in!

After years in the making, the Obama Administration released the final version of America’s Clean Power Plan. It’s a pretty significant achievement, the first serious effort to control carbon emissions in the US. We discuss the context in which the plan was created, and review some top-level aspects of the plan itself.

The Obama Administration’s decision to allow oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea shows passivity where leadership is required. Climate hawks, like the “Kayaktivists” in Seattle, will just have to stop Shell by themselves. The framing of the TPP on the news is inaccurate. Instead of endless discussion of winners and losers, we should ask “Why can’t an environmental group have the same access to the negotiations as Exxon? Why isn’t Bill McKibben at the table?”   Finally, consider if the current global refugee crisis is a harbinger of the future in a warming world.