From wildfires in CA to twin hurricanes in the Gulf, America and the world are facing the real time consequences of climate change. We see the compounding impacts of covid, eviction, hurricanes and wildfire. Are we ready?

The reading list

• 129^oF in Death Valley?
• Climate transforms CA wildfires
• Laura and Marco in the Gulf
• NYT says that climate is a voting issue

Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for a building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist the United States transform it’s energy sector, over the next decade, under a just and equitable plan, that uses regulations, investments and a price on carbon to safeguard our collective future.

Thanks for listening.

…Ted McIntyre

No matter who becomes president, global action on climate requires cooperation between the US and China. Spending trillions of dollars on a Green New Deal here in the US requires us to reshape our financial structures. Think about it.

The reading list:

• How to fund a green economy
• We have to work with China

Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for a building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist the United States transform it’s energy sector, over the next decade, under a just and equitable plan, that uses regulations, investments and a price on carbon to safeguard our collective future.

Air pollution- the particles and smog that come from burning fossil fuels- are even more damaging than we had realized. We can justify moving to renewable energy just on these health costs alone.

The reading list

• Dave Roberts on Vox, discussing the high cost of air pollution

Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for a building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist the United States transform it’s energy sector, over the next decade, under a just and equitable plan, that uses regulations, investments and a price on carbon to safeguard our collective future.

Thanks for listening.

…Ted McIntyre

Complacency about the normalcy of our upcoming election is a danger. From Covid pandemics to mail delays, political dirty tricks and Russian interference, the run up to our election will be turbulent. On top of that, we should be ready for an election night that is inconclusive, with the count of mail ballots taking many days. Manipulative narratives promoted during that interval and the possibility of “technically legal” but norm-breaking shenanigans are dangerous. We must be psychologically prepared.

Here is a link to the show on our Podbean hosting site:

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-iyy9v-e75a9a

The reading list:

• Gilman in the American Interest: Getting from November to January
• NPR on the Transition Integrity Project

Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for a building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist the United States transform it’s energy sector, over the next decade, under a just and equitable plan, that uses regulations, investments and a price on carbon to safeguard our collective future.

Thanks for listening.

…Ted McIntyre

As the climate Roadmap legislation slowly advances on Beacon Hill, we take stock of lessons learned with Craig Altemose of The Better Futures Project. He thinks that climate activists need their own roadmap to traverse the halls of the statehouse. An important take-away: the House should reform its ‘rules’ to allow for public transparency of how bills are treated as they go (or don’t go) through the process of becoming law.

The reading list

• Craig's opinion piece in Commonwealth Magazine.

Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for a building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist the United States transform it’s energy sector, over the next decade, under a just and equitable plan, that uses regulations, investments and a price on carbon to safeguard our collective future.

Thanks for listening.

…Ted McIntyre

Both the MA House and Senate have passed their own version of climate legislation. Now the differences must be resolve to get a final joint bill. We speak with Tim Cronin to learn about the process, the issues and how climate activists can influence the final bill.

The reading list:

• The August 5th Policy Roundup

Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for a building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist the United States transform it’s energy sector, over the next decade, under a just and equitable plan, that uses regulations, investments and a price on carbon to safeguard our collective future.

Thanks for listening.

…Ted McIntyre

Climate legislation moved forward in the Massachusetts legislature recently. Both the House and the Senate have passed slightly different versions of a bill. We talk about what is included and left out of these bills with Tim Cronin of Climate XChange.

The reading list

• The August 5th Policy Roundup

Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for a building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist the United States transform it’s energy sector, over the next decade, under a just and equitable plan, that uses regulations, investments and a price on carbon to safeguard our collective future.

Thanks for listening.

…Ted McIntyre

The issue of responsibility for climate change has many sides. We discuss a BBC article that provides another way to consider the question.

The reading list:

• BBC's "Future" section on Who is to Blame for Climate Change
• Wikipedia on Merchants of Doubt

Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for a building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist the United States transform it’s energy sector, over the next decade, under a just and equitable plan, that uses regulations, investments and a price on carbon to safeguard our collective future.

Thanks for listening.

…Ted McIntyre

The increase in temperature associated with climate change is a threat to pregnancies and the pollution associated with fossil fuel use compounds that danger. Disadvantaged communities suffer these effects more than others, and so pregnant women are at particular risk. A new report details the findings.

Our psychological processing of the pandemic shutdown leaves us still wondering about a ‘wellness economy’, where GDP is not the driver of all our effort. This may be a good thing for a world fighting climate change.

The reading list

• The NYT on climate risk to pregnancy
• The Guardian on the Doughnut Economy
• Coronavirus and the wellbeing economy

Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for a building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist the United States transform it’s energy sector, over the next decade, under a just and equitable plan, that uses regulations, investments and a price on carbon to safeguard our collective future.

Thanks for listening.

…Ted McIntyre

Clouds may seem simple but new calculations reveal an unexpected heating contribution. OTOH, we also learn that renewables are a better bet than ever.

The reading list:

• Wikipedia on Climate Sensitivity
• The Guardian on the impact of clouds in climate models
• Report on renewables in 2035
• Grist unpacks the report
• Forbes on the report
• The Climate Minute on solar prices
• The Climate Minute says Nationalize Coal!

Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for a building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist the United States transform it’s energy sector, over the next decade, under a just and equitable plan, that uses regulations, investments and a price on carbon to safeguard our collective future.

Thanks for listening.

…Ted McIntyre