Good news this week: President Obama acted to protect a vast stretch of underwater area from fossil fuel exploitation. This suggests he know what is coming, and is working to protect the planet from the Trump-oil agenda.  On top of that, a court case that will allow a full legal presentation of climate science will go forward in the State of Washington.

In case you are a little shaky on your constitutional trivia answers, the Emolument Clause is in Article 1, Section 9 of the US Constitution.  Donald Trump must swear to “preserve, protect and defend” this along with all the other clauses in the document. Here it is: 

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.

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The new Administration may have dreams of reversing our progress against climate change but there are a few legal, market driven and international snags that may slow these Climate-Orcs down. Listen in.

As the implications of the Trumpian climate desecration plan become ever more clear, the need to resist his agenda is obvious.  From a request for names of climate scientists at DOE to legitimate fears that climate data will be deleted from government computers, we need no new signs of a malevolent intent. “Hamilton Electors” are great to support, but read up on A practical guide to resisting the Turmp agenda . Listen in as we discuss.

The Cabinet picks of our part-time PEOTUS are emerging from the smoggy, carbon-choked darkness like zombies. They are a collection of nasty monsters, whose disregard for science and the future of the planet deserves rebuke. The Trumpster’s continuous bait and switch rhetorical strategies may work on the press, but we need to stay focused on what actions he takes. The claim that “personality is policy” is a true, and The Donald’s policy is climate genocide. Our task is to resist.

The recent historic fires in Tennessee are climate related. Why are Tennesseans still represented by deniers? Plus, our new boy-king’s assault on the truth is a strategy, not the random incoherencies of a damaged psyche. Listen in.

 https://soundcloud.com/massclimateaction/putting-the-torch-to-tennessee-and-the-truth-the-climate-minute-podcast

As the clock ticked toward zero, the Obama administration denied a  corporate request for an easement to complete the Dakota Access Pipeline. This has effectively stopped the billion dollar project, and given a huge boost to the Native American “Water Protectors.”  What happens next? What will the coming Trumpian mis-administration do? We discuss. 

The next four years will call for all of us to stand up for what we believe. The shape of our future can be seen in the bravery of the Standing Rock Sioux, the “Drive for 15” movement, and the opposition to the West Roxbury pipeline. Bill McKibben gives an overview, saying  “Volunteering for pain is an unlikely event in a pleasure-based society, and hence it gets noticed. Nonviolent direct action is just one tool in the activist tool kit, and it should be used sparingly—like any tool, it can easily get dull, both literally and figuratively. But when it is necessary to underline the moral urgency of a case, the willingness to go to jail can be very powerful, precisely because it goes against the bent of normal life.” Listen in!

The unfolding events at Standing Rock are headed for some kind of resolution on December 5^th. Between the violence done to Native Americans, and the commitment to ever more carbon pollution, the situation is a tragedy.  The police are militarized, the media is asleep, and Obama seems uninterested. We discuss.

Have you heard about  #GivingTuesday? It is the antidote to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and is a time to support the non-profits and the causes you care about.  We had the chance to catch up with MCAN’s Executive Director Carol Oldham. Listen in and then donate  here.

Please support our work fighting climate change and helping cities and towns be more sustainable with a one time or monthly gift. With your help, in 2016 we were able to: 

• Host the Local Environmental Action Conference, with 450 attendees, 28 workshops, Jane Kleeb (the "keystone killer") as the keynote speaker, with our partners at the Toxics Action Center.
• Lead three Clean Energy tours of the Deer Island Anaerobic Digester facility, with attendees from a total of 36 towns.
• Produce webinars on the Paris climate accords, Acadia Center’s EnergyVision, and the Energy Omnibus bill.
• Run four Climate Change Movie Nights, showing “Merchants of Doubt” and inspiring short films by Lynne Cherry about kids and climate change.  
• Work with many of you to submit letters to the editor in your local papers. You can find some of them here.
• Hold three educational carbon pricing forums.

We discuss the unfolding ugliness of a Trump Presidency, and how Climate Hawks should act in the face of denial and hate. The short answer, don’t accept our new politics as ‘normal’, fight like crazy on climate issues and be sure to make alliances with other progressive groups. Listen in.