Pope Francis came to town this week and spoke openly about the need to address climate change. That was remarkable all by itself, but there were several other heartening signs- from new Senate bills to promises from China. It has been a good week.

The political battles over clean power continue, and Climate Hawks need to stay in the game. We discuss.

In an ironic moment, the California Assembly tip-toed away from aggressive climate legislation, at the behest of Big Oil, even as climate-enhanced wildfires marched with a heavy footprint through various towns outside Sacramento.  Further, the destructive behavior of the oil industry was highlighted by a report that Exxon realized even in the 1970’s that their petroleum products were creating a serious global problem. The report might be the ‘smoking gun’ equivalent to revelations in past decades about what the tobacco industry knew about cancer even as they denied the medical evidence.

Near the bottom of the landing page for the Massachusetts Power Forward there is a quote from Grace Paley: “The only recognizable feature of hope is action.” That is a great turn of phrase, and the Clean Power Vision puts the idea in to action:

Massachusetts has emerged as a national leader on energy, making substantial progress in transitioning away from polluting sources of power to renewable energy and energy efficiency. But now our state is poised to invest billions of dollars to replace retiring power plants with long-lived infrastructure that will shape our future. We must ensure that our state adopts an energy policy that supports local renewable energy resources, keeps energy dollars in our communities, creates good green jobs and protects our Commonwealth from climate change and life-threatening pollution. We call on our Governor and legislature to power forward with energy solutions that are accountable to our communities, our environment and our future.

In July, the Seattle Times explained the controversy:
"This summer, as Washington bakes in a West Coast drought, a flock of petition-toting activists has fanned out to parks, festivals and street corners, trying to force the sort of sweeping action on global warming that has eluded state lawmakers.

The European refugee crisis is an immediate human tragedy.  The reasons for the crisis go beyond barrel bombs; it is clear that a drought in Syria, probably intensified by climate change, underlies much of the political unrest. The refugees can be considered ‘climate refugees.’ This long predicted feature of a warming world is happening now, and is only likely to become worse. The world should prepare now to prevent even more human suffering from other global warming nurtured circumstances that we cannot even imagine now.

Those fighting for climate justice and those fighting for common-sense gun legislation are brothers and sisters in the same struggle: concerned citizens waging a tireless effort against well-funded, amoral special interests. If you were horrified by Sandy, you share a bond with those who were horrified by Sandy Hook, and vice versa. After all, we need to reduce carbon emissions for the same reason we need to reduce gun violence: protecting human life.

Our refusal to crack down on gun violence is an international embarrassment; so too is our refusal to get serious about curbing carbon pollution. We have a moral responsibility to address both the firearms frenzy and the climate crisis. We can win these fights. We can prevent the gun violence that takes young lives, and we can make sure those young lives will be able to enjoy the healthy and stable environment they deserve. Andy Parker should know that there are millions of climate hawks in this country who have his back in his determination to disarm the deranged, and protect the people from the powerful. Godspeed, Mr. Parker. You're fighting for all of us.

......D.R. Tucker

Dave Roberts gives us an interesting discussion of realities underlying some of our political myths and how they apply to climate politics. The is no such thing as a moderate voter, the left and right are not mirror images, and the ‘partisans’ are just guilty of having a coherent viewpoint. We discuss!

The President went to Alaska to highlight the issue of climate change.  The region is warming faster than lower latitudes, and is a hint of where we are all going. In addition to being a tragedy in its own right, the warming of the Arctic opens new and dangerous space for international competition. Finally, was Obama hypocritical or pragmatic in his disconcerting support for Arctic drilling while warning of the apocalypse? We discuss.

Across the country, the fossil fuel industry is trying to build dangerous and unnecessary pipelines. Massachusetts is no exception- there are TWO pipelines proposed for the state.  These provide a good case study of industry methods and how to oppose them, even if you do not live  in  the Massachusetts. The proponents of the new pipelines claim to be working to provide sufficient gas for the local economy to grow.  But, like Dorothy in Oz, if you peek behind the curtain it becomes clear the industry wants to export the gas away from Massachusetts! That is just one worry- here are six more reasons to oppose these pipelines.