This past Tuesday, MCAN and a coalition of elected officials, as well as public health, consumer, and climate advocates, held a People’s Hearing calling on the next administration to prioritize equitable building decarbonization and amending the specialized stretch code to be truly net-zero. Prioritizing decarbonization among new and existing buildings is critical to lowering the cost of utility bills, reducing the health effects of burning fossil fuels in homes, combating the climate crisis, and supporting the creation of new, good-paying jobs.

At a time when Massachusetts residents dependent on natural gas for home heating are facing an average 24% winter price spike, we need immediate assistance as well as longterm solutions that will protect our residents from rising costs while also rapidly transitioning our communities away from harmful and polluting fossil fuels.

By prioritizing significant investments in deep-energy retrofits for existing buildings like affordable housing and Environmental Justice Communities, and implementing an all-electric net-zero stretch code, the Healey administration and Massachusetts leaders can begin to wean the state off the expensive, volatile gas system and lower utility bills.

The reading list:

• Video of the People’s Hearing
• Use MCAN's social media toolkit to spread the word
• https://www.greenenergyconsumers.org/

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 midterms are over. What are the take-away lessons for climate hawks? What comes next?

The reading list:

• Sierra Club's take on midterms
• McKibben: When it is boring, we are winning

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

Medical care in the US generates a lot of carbon pollution. Part of this pollution comes from the manufacture of very sophisticated and expensive ‘one-use-only’ medical devices. A good way to reduce CO2 emissions from medical care is to carefully re-process those currently discarded medical devices for repeat usage. This saves on both medical costs and the planet.

The reading list:

• Report on pollution from the medical industry
• Reprocessing Association Report
• Author Bhatnagar on corporate sustainabilty

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 MA DPU is slow to approve electric power ‘community aggregation’ plans. How come? Plus we talk about micro-grids, community design and an undersea cable ‘backbone’ to connect the multiple proposed wind turbine farms off the East Coast.

The reading list:

• microgrid - Merriam Webster added the word in September
• https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/10/merriam-webster-we-added-370-new-words.html
• municipal aggregation,
• https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/10/16/science/these-communities-want-lower-residents-electric-bills-carbon-emissions-heres-whats-stopping-them/
• offshore cable system, rather than extending electric grid above ground
• https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/10/18/offshore-wind-transmission-lines-grid
• microgrids, Mother Jones article
• https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2022/10/tool-surviving-extreme-weather-mircogrids-distributed-power-batteries/
• Eversource/Framingham pilot construction updates https://www.eversource.com/content/ema-c/residential/about/transmission-distribution/projects/massachusetts-projects/geothermal-pilot-project
• See the page that collects the “Making Sense of Climate” episodes -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/02/making-sense-of-climate-collection.html

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 climate future is coming into focus. It is better than the 5^oC hell-scape we have feared, but much worse than our hoped for 1.5^oC. How we build that tumultuous new world is up for grabs and is the heart of a recent article (Beyond Catastrophe: A new climate reality is coming into view, by David Wallace Wells) that gives lots of food for thought. Listen in are we process some of the ideas in order to give you a head start when you read it yourself.

The reading list:

• NYT: Beyond Catastrophe by David Wallace Wells

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 activists threw tomato soup at Van Gogh’s sunflowers. What did you think? Was the protest effective? There are many perspectives and few correct answers. We discuss.

The reading list:

• Video of the souping
• Study says such protest reduce support
• Studies show such protest help the moderate groups.
• WaPo: Climate protests get weird
• Protests need to support those on the front lines
• Mother Jones says more protests coming in US

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

COP27 (the Conference of the Parties) will be held in Egypt in November of 2022. One of the topics of discussion will likely be ‘loss and damage’ suffered by countries and people who cannot afford to adapt to climate damage they did not cause. We take a moment to explain some background for this subject.

The reading list:

• UN on COP27
• UN on Loss and Damage
• WRI on Loss and Damage
• NYT on V20 countries withholding loan payments to the World Bank

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 IRA provides money for building clean energy generation, but the permitting process could slow progress. We look at several interesting proposals that show a path to an energy transition that is both rapid and just.

The reading list:

• Revkin on permitting challenges
• RMI on Brightfields
• WaPo on agrivoltaics
• LA Times on protecting sensitive land
• Nature Conservancy study
• NREL on Agrivoltaics
• WBUR on an off-shore "backbone" for wind energy

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

Electricity providers are raising rates. How should you think about this? From a climate perspective, we should recognize the long term problem and build more renewables.   This discussion continues our journey understanding the MA roadmap toward net zero and while it helps me “make sense of climate”, we hope it helps with your understanding as well.

Topics covered this time

• Electric rate increases
  • DPU process, Inequity around New England, ISO New England
  • The Globe on the rate hikes
  • why are electricity prices so uneven across New England?
  • Municipal aggregation for Franklin shields us
• Machin and side deal
  • FERC role mentioned for aiding in interstate transmission role
• Ezra Klien podcast with Jesse Kenkins
  • Scope of work required
  • Heat pump explanation
• Affordable housing, zoning for residential & commercial neighborhoods

Jesse Jenkins https://netzeroamerica.princeton.edu/   and https://repeatproject.org/

Podcast link

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS84MkZJMzVQeA/episode/NzEwY2Y1NTMtMGFjYS00YmI0LTg3YWUtMGUxYjAxNjk2Zjgw?ep=14

There is a great section on heat pumps as well as an explanation on the side effect of reducing premature deaths due to improved air quality

Other climate podcast referral -> https://www.volts.wtf/p/welcome-to-volts

See the page that collects the “Making Sense of Climate” episodes -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/02/making-sense-of-climate-collection.html

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

In a big win for climate activists, Joe Manchin withdrew his flawed permitting bill. Climate folks should be impressed with their growing political clout, but what comes next? How does our country, in an equitable way, build the urgently needed transmission infrastructure that we need?

The reading list:

• EENews discusses the fallout of Manchin's withdrawal
• The Climate MInute discusses the connection of Maine's Transmission line to the National issue.
• DRVolts podcast on permitting reform
• The Grijalva NEPA reform bill

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 that protects environmental justice communities.

Thanks for listening.

…Ted McIntyre