Climate Files 61 / Question the EPA
I attended the EPA Townhall Meeting and asked a good question. Everyone should question the EPA. Mine was about that nasty Canadian tar sands oil and the pipeline that is spilling oil into the beautiful northern part of one of the Great Lakes states. The EPA must not care very much about that, because they wouldn’t answer a simple question: how does a dirty oil pipeline fit in with the new green economy being promoted in the Great Lakes states? I like this EPA so much better than the last one, but it’s hard to believe it’s so easy to stump the EPA.
Also in this episode, what U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said about climate change deniers, and what President Obama said about energy and climate in his speech to the business roundtable in Washington DC. Some headlines were covered too, including the exciting news about Bloom Energy, a new company making a revolutionary new type of stand-alone power station. It sounds almost too good to be true — fuel cells that run on oxygen and biomass? Yes, and it’s already being used by companies in Silicon Valley. Here is what I wrote about it on Futurism Now.
The Delta Institute website is here.
The EPA video page where you can watch the entire Townhall meeting from February 23rd is here.
News covered:
- Poor Nations Could Be Paid to Preserve Marine CO2: UN (Reuters)
- Curbing Smokestack Emissions Tops EPA’s 2011-2013 Enforcement Goals (Greenwire)
- Groups ID Toxic Coal Ash Sites in 14 States, Demand Regulations (ENN)
- Tackling Climate Change ‘Urgent,’ President Hu Jintao Says (China Daily)
- Italy Delays New Solar Plan Again, Industry Worried
- World’s Temperature Record To Be Re-analyzed (The Independent)
- Check out the Enbridge Pipeline in my Backyard blog.
- Waste could fuel part of Spain – read here.
- Did you hear about the 126,000 gallon oil spill in northern MN, the 2nd in months?
You can download this episode here, or subscribe on Climate Files Radio.
Final song is by Galactic, “Heart of Steel feat. Irma Thomas” from the MPR song of the day podcast.
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Climate Files 57 / Hacking the Climate
Mt. Pinatubo erupting in 1991
In his State of the Union Speech Obama last week, President Obama focused on Nukes, Offshore Drilling and Biofuels. A lot of people were bothered that he didn’t focus more on renewables. It seems that we can’t depend on the U.S. government to come to the rescue of the climate because they aren’t communicating the danger of climate change and they aren’t talking about how to stop it. In fact, they are mostly talking about jobs and the economy. So that leaves us with the same climate crisis we started with before the last election.
Ross Gelbspan is an author (his website here) and journalist who feels that it’s already too late to stop climate change. Based on his 15 years of research, he has released a recent video that tells us we need to act now and plan to adapt and survive. According to Gelbspan,
As the pace of global warming kicks into overdrive, the hollow optimism of climate activists, along with the desperate responses of some of the world’s most prominent climate scientists, are preventing us from focusing on the survival requirements of the human enterprise.
This brings up the idea of using geoengineering to help in a climate emergency. People involved in geoengineering research stress that it’s not a substitute for mitigating carbon emissions but that it’s tool of last resort. The question is, what kind of tool will it be, how can it be safely tested, and who should be making these decisions. They emphasize this is not a substitute for mitigation. Whether you think it’s good or bad, the research is expanding and growing right now.
CDR (carbon dioxide removal) and SRM (solar radiation management) are discussed in this episode according to recent articles in the journal Science. (Articles here and here). What are the risks of solar radiation management actions, which scientists feel would be potentially dangerous?
Bill Gates has been writing about climate change lately, and he’s putting his money where his keyboard is. He’s investing in stopping hurricanes with his new patent and is talking about what our climate change targets should be. (more info after the break)
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Climate Files 53 / COP15 Not a Failure
How did Copenhagen go? To hear some tell it we are now doomed, but don’t believe it. A COP15 accord was agreed upon by about 190 countries, and was impressive for many reasons, with COP15 bringing together leaders from all over the world in an unprecedented marathon work session. It was not a failure, but the Copenhagen Accord was also not legally binding. (Download the accord here. PDF ) Does the accord have to be legally binding?
Expectations (including my own) were far too high, so the conference seemed like a failure to many who were disappointed that super-human feats were not accomplished. These are human beings we are dealing with, after all, not Hollywood movie characters. In addition, many countries tried to stop the proceedings from reaching an agreement entirely.
In this episode, hear the final press conference which was an assessment of the entire COP15 by the executive secretary of the UNFCCC, and also hear a skeptics presentation (humorously done) by the Age of Stupid’s Franny Armstrong with George Monbiot. Armstrong broadcast the Stupid Show from Copenhagen every day the last week of the conference.
Enormous negativity from some activists, some media and some environmental groups who expected too much from the conference should not be taken seriously . . . it’s counter-productive and it discourages people from getting involved. We need more people involved doing more than ever. The next COP is in Mexico, next November, and there is one after that, and one after that, already planned. Hysterical pronouncements of doom are premature! Bill McKibben’s sad article is here.
Ed Miliband accuses China and other countries of trying to prevent an accord agreement.
US Airlines are already suing the UK, read here . . . and so it starts.
Global warming temperatures have been grossly underestimated.
Happy Holidays — and re-subscribe to the new podcast feed on the right-hand column.
Download here or subscribe on the right. (click on RSS icon if you don’t want iTunes).
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Climate Files 48 / Climate Summit Anticipation
The world's most important climate summit starts on December 7th
This is your Copenhagen Climate Summit introduction. In this episode you will find out some basic answers to: why is the summit important? What can we expect?
President Obama will be attending the Copenhagen climate summit on December 18th.
The climate science continues to be very serious. In the new Report: Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment, it is reported that warming will escalate in the Antarctic once the ozone hole is closed, in only a few short decades. You can download the report here. The basic rundown of the summit and brief background is here. The UNFCCC’s 10 frequently asked questions about the Copenhagen deal is here (pdf).
In this episode, the Real News interviews Tzeporah Berman of Canada. She is the Executive Director and one of the Co-founders of PowerUp Canada. Tzeporah is also known for her work in the early 1990s coordinating the largest civil disobedience protest in Canada’s history in Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She discusses Copenhagen and what to expect, as well as the cooperation on climate of the U.S. and Canada. If the US, Canada and China are committed to oil and coal, what can Copenhagen accomplish? Two portions of her interview are played in this episode (1 and 3) and you can find part 2 at the Real News network.
James Hansen has released an article with his thoughts about his grandchildren’s future, emissions caps, and the Copenhagen summit, which is read in this episode. You can read it yourself here (pdf).
For those wanting more media on the Copenhagen summit, here is the Youtube channel for COP15, and here is the main UNFCCC COP15 website. Their Virtual Participation site is here. FN will be doing as many updates during the Summit as we can. It also looks like I will be able to get an exclusive report or two from someone who is already there. More on that later, and on a recent energy committee hearing that got very interesting.
Download this episode here Listen here or subscribe on the right. Video link for the protest you hear on the end (which occurred in Washington DC) is here.
Music for this episode from David Holmes.
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Climate Files 47 / Are We Lemmings?
Are we climate lemmings?
It was announced this morning that President Obama will attend the climate summit in Copenhagen, and he also announced his emissions targets: in the range of 17% by 2020. This is great news! It’s also bad news. Is this the best America can do? This response to climate change is not adequate for the U.S. when other countries are doing more. There is a phenomenon at work here. Two recordings in this episode address expectations at Copenhagen and why people believe what they believe about global warming, and how to possibly change how the public thinks about it. Maybe we can even influence our politicians.
Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), speaks with correspondent Miles Benson in an interview from Earth Focus, discussing UNEP’s sobering recent report that says we will feel the consequences of climate change soon. Are we lemmings, or why don’t we act more decisively on this issue?
The public opinion talk is from the American Meteorological Society, from an Environmental sciences Seminar Series, and it’s on Public Attitudes, Perceptions, and Concerns about Global Warming, evidence from a survey. This survey is not new, it’s actually from late last year. It was presented in Washington DC by Jon Krosnick, PH.D., Stanford University.
The Krosnick talk has been split into two parts and this episode contains the first part. If you want to hear part two and an additional talk by Jon Krosnick you can find that here.
Are we lemmings refers to a question Achim Steiner was asked during his interview. It doesn’t mean we don’t believe in global warming, (75% of Americans do, down from 85% of 3 years ago) it refers to the fact that Americans don’t want to change the status quo or make lifestyle changes unless everyone else in the world does it first.
Other news discussed: Chris Hedges wrote: Refuse Allegiance to Coal. Read it here.
More news: Latest Science Shows Climate Change Outpacing Previous Projections
United Nations program on Climate change is here. The Climate Change Science Compendium is on this page.
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Climate Files 34 / Send Obama to Copenhagen with Climate Plan
Climate Action Day for 350 ppm
President Obama gave an energy speech at MIT in Massachusetts on October 23rd, which you will hear in this episode. He announced some interesting things that MIT students are working on in terms of new energy. He also said the US is in a peaceful competition to develop clean technologies, and he championed US leadership on clean energy, as international deadlines for climate change mitigation loom.
In this episode, you will also hear Australian scientist Tim Flannery plead with Americans to pass climate legislation, and then hear Lisa Jackson explain how the EPA is back in action. Flannery’s interview is from DemocracyNow.
Everyone is expecting Obama to show up in Copenhagen for the major climate summit in December. He needs some convincing to get there, however. Help send Obama to Copenhagen and call the White House. The White House number is (202) 456-1414. The latest news is that he isn’t going and we need to convince him to go to Copenhagen with a Climate plan, if not legislation, in hand.
Now, I’m not a big supporter of the cap and trade bill (Kerry-Boxer, or CEJAPA) because most analysts says it won’t do enough to stop or even slow down climate change enough to make a difference. But some experts and analysts say it will do just that. It’s hard to know who to believe. But it will be a first step on the road to a climate deal in Copenhagen, or COP15, which is a two week meeting on climate change in December.
Also check out the October 24 International Day of Climate Action, sponsored by 350.org. 350 ppm is the goal in Copenhagan.
Also on Friday, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, released the text of the Chairman’s Mark of the CEJAPA bill (S. 1733). That’s from the EPW news release from late Friday (Oct. 23rd) night. (The full text of the Chairman’s Mark was here but is currently unavailable — check back later.) The main difference between this text and the draft of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act released late last month is that it “specifies distribution of emissions allowances” (details here). Also, the EPA released its analysis of Boxer’s bill. (click here).
The PDA statement for a carbon price is here. The Stop Global Warming/Environmental Issues Organizing Team has been sifting through different legislative proposals in the House and Senate since late last year and they have decided to support direct carbon pricing, with revenue recycling as the best method for reducing carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere. Read the statement here. Music at end: Eve of Destruction rewritten and performed by New Millenium.
Related article: Mr. Obama, be tough on climate change.
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FN08 / The Last Gasps of Capitalism
These may be the dying gasps of capitalism — or not. The governments of the world, as shown at the G20, seem determined to preserve a very reckless brand of capitalism all the while infusing trillions of dollars of “stimulus” into banks and institutions, instead of people. When are the people going to get some stimulus?
Well, it might come in the way of green jobs — or not. We need climate change action, and we get super capitalism. We get a lot of promises and nice catchphrases and sound bytes from the “world leaders”, but whether any of this will pan out is anyone’s guess.
This episode talks about the G20, the climate conferences in Bonn, Energy, and news from the Republican Road to Ruin. Also, why T. Boone Pickens and the Republicans are lying to us.
Interested in the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009? Henry Waxman says it will create thousands of green jobs.
Info. on the Bonn climate conference from Greenpeace and from the UNFCCC website about the Bonn conference here.
The Republicans are really distorting reality as to what Cap and Trade will cost the average family (if such a thing exists anymore)
Final mix cut of Solutions from the podcast Radio Ecoshock. You will enjoy the good news, for a change.
You can download this episode here or subscribe on the right. Or, you can do both!
Read the Republican Road to Ruin if you want a good laugh — or cry.
Music clips from the movie Revolutionary Road.
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News and Commentary / PLNC02
Before this was a climate podcast, it was a news podcast. That’s what this episode was.
Wondering what President Obama is busy doing to promote peace in the Middle East? He starts with trying to return the US to the “moral high ground” by ending torture and signing an executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. He then continued on Thursday at the State Department with Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, and George Mitchell as special envoy to the middle east. But, why are we still bombing Pakistan? These and other mysteries (were to be) covered in episodes to come.
Something on your mind? Send me news, tips, and music for the podcast by using the form at the top of this page, or email me at shelly (at) civilianism (dot) com.
You can also call my Skype comment line 24/7 at 320-300-4273.
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Inauguration Special / PLNC01
Before this podcast was about climate, it was about news in general. This episode is mostly about the inauguration and what the new Secretary of State (Hillary) may work on in the next few weeks. Israel’s war with Palestine is finally over. Also, hear Obama take the oath of office a SECOND time.
This was the first episode of what was to be my shorter news broadcasts, called Podcast Liberally News and Commentary, or PLNC for short. I included them in my Civilianism RSS feed.
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Song at end: My Country ‘Tis of Thee Pt. 1 by Learning Music from Yes We Puede!
(more free downloads there for everyone)
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President Obama Inauguration Address
This is the full inauguration address of President Barack Obama, January 20, 2009.
Imagine this: We not only have “hope” back but we have a president who respects science and the law again. What a relief!
(and yes, I wrote that without cynicism or sarcasm).
See CivilianismNews.com for more.
Transcript of the inaugural speech here.
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Coming next: The new PLNC episode 01.
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Wars, Bailouts and Elections
Noam Chomsky on Wars, Bailouts and Elections. This is from an alternative radio program, from November 2008, and is meant to basically be a placeholder here until I start recording episodes. Enjoy some Noam in a pre-climate Futurism Now.
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