Futurism Now

FN24 / The Senate Takes on Climate

Shelly Thomas — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:39:27 GMT

Hardly anyone bothers to listen to Senate hearings, and some of them are really important. In this special episode of Futurism Now you can hear Part 2 of the highlights of the Senate hearing from the committee Environment and Public works from July 7th, 2009. You can listen to all 3+ hours of it from links on the committee website here. Many other hearings they have held recently are available there too. It's clear that Barbara Boxer, the chairwoman, is too willing to make concessions and compromises even at this early date in the senate process, and it's also clear that she believes big business has a big role to play in shaping our climate legislation. USCAP is not only comprised of big business but also Big Oil and Big Chemical. And these people are writing our jobs-energy bills for us and then calling it a "climate bill". (Is anyone reminded of another administration who let big business interests write our energy policy?) It's interesting that the only scientist at this hearing was our energy secretary, Steven Chu. Everyone there seemed to be a believer in the idea of "clean coal". This senate committee is all too willing to believe that the dirtiest fossil fuel can or should be cleaned up, even at a cost of trillions of dollars. It was only a very short time ago that Al Gore and climate scientist James Hansen and many others were telling the world that there is no such thing as clean coal -- because there isn't. We really have to keep speaking out against this "clean coal" idea before we are deeply invested in it with this legislation. There is no time to waste. The senate will move forward on these ideas unless they hear from us. At the end, a few words of inspiration, some of them about our first moon landing 40 years ago. They are the type of inspiring words that we need to hear from our president now. Speakers include: Energy Sec. Steven Chu, EPA head Lisa Jackson, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and Sec. Interior Ken Salazar. Salazar believes we can produce 29% of our electricity needs from solar power. In Part II, Rich Wells, Dow Chemical; David Hawkins, NRDC; and John Fettererman, the mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania.

FN 23 / Solutions or Collapse?

Shelly Thomas — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:19:39 GMT

Could climate change lead to the end of civilization, a real collapse, like what happened to the Romans, the Aztecs, the Mayans? It's not inconceivable. This ep. contains Part 1 of the Senate hearings on climate legislation from the Environment and Public Works committee. The initial hearing has taken on new meaning, because since this happened in early July there has been a delay, and the vote and hearings have been put off. They have put off the vote until probably September, though behind closed doors deliberations probably continue, and public debate begins again in August. This means we might not have a climate bill by the time of the Copenhagen meeting in December. According to some people, we might be in a better bargaining position if we don't. Giving the Senate more time to work on this bill could be a good thing if we can get them to consider other methods of reducing greenhouse emissions, like a revenue-neutral carbon tax, something that has my full support. In fact, many environmental groups are coming out for a revenue-neutral carbon tax versus a cap and trade system. You can read more about the revenue neutral carbon tax at FuturismNow.com So what do you think, will our excuse for a civilization collapse or will we find a solution for climate change? Here's the article from the Independent. Climate Scientist Jim Hansen's new paper: Strategies to Address Global Warming 30 years ago we had a president, Jimmy Carter, who leveled with the American people, actually told them the truth and wasn't afraid to talk to the American public as adults who think in more than sound bites. He told us we needed to conserve energy and even change our way of life to make it more sustainable. We need honest leadership like that again from President Obama on the issue of climate change. Obama is forceful on health care, which is great, but we need him on climate change. He seems to be leaving the issue to Congress and that's not turning out so well. Two recent articles about Jimmy Carter's energy speech from 1979: We Could Use a little Malaise and In Praise of Malaise Music: Middle: Out Of Space, Kasabian, End: Look at Us Now, Joe Walsh (look up those lyrics)

FN22 / A Crime in the Mountains

Shelly Thomas — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:07:51 GMT

This episode contains information on the G8, the Senate delay on the climate bill, T. Boone Pickens, and the coal related crime of mountain top removal. What happened at the G8 summit, why is T. Boone Pickens giving up on the world's biggest wind farm in Texas, and what happened to the climate bill in the Senate? The summit ended with a tepid agreement and no practical way to get there. Even UN chief Ban ki-Moon said the G8 didn't do enough to find answers to the worsening global climate changes. "The policies that they have stated so far are not enough," Reuters quoted Ban as saying in Italy on Thursday. "This is politically and morally (an) imperative and historic responsibility... for the future of humanity, even for the future of the planet Earth." That pretty much sums it up. Then Canada announced it can't do much to fight climate change due to their extreme cold weather. (Bloomberg) It's also cold in Sweden! See a video on their passive houses here. Info. on the July 13th Carbon Pricing Meeting is here. There is new legislation against Halliburton and the fracturing they do to get natural gas, to protect drinking water. The story is here. Sign the RAN petition to tell JPMorgan Chase to stop funding mountain top removal!. Read the Memo of Understanding about Mountain top Removal between the Army Corp of Engineers and the Government here (pdf download). Then there is the matter of coal. We have to get off coal anyway, so why are they doing permanent damage to the mountains of several states by blowing off the tops and killing the streams below? It's like politicians are trying really hard to kill off any possibility of future tourism and business in these states; not to mention kill off wildlife, destroy entire ecosystems, make the water toxic, etc. Mountain top removal is the most destructive and toxic mining practice every invented, and it destroys jobs, it doesn't create them. Testimony in the Senate the last week in June played in this episode includes Maria Gunnoe. (I didn't discuss James Hansen's new article like I had intended, but you can read his latest article about the climate bill here.) Photo at top: Flooding in the community of Lyburn, which was caused as a direct result of the mountain-top removal process of valley fill, and Massey Energy's Bandmill Coal Company's failure to keep their sediment pond cleaned out, which they were written up for by the West Virginia EPA. From a video by Bob Gates. Photo of Maria Gunnoe, winner of the 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize, speaking with media about her testimony, by Jamie Goodman.

FN21 / Greening Suzuki

Shelly Thomas — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:19:06 GMT

David Suzuki talks at Greening the Heartland in Detroit. Also news and info from people trying to kick the Senate in the pants on climate change.

There was a Mountain Top Removal protest last week at Marsh Fork Elementary School at Coal Mountain West Virginia, attended by some very well known people including Dr. James Hansen, NASA climate scientist, and actress and environmental activist Darryl Hannah. Hannah wrote an article for the Huffington Post about why she deliberately got arrested with several others at Coal Mountain, making a statement about the Marsh Fork elementary school there which is threatened by 2.8 billion gallons of coal sludge which is in a holding pond above the school. Listen here and read her story at the Huffington Post.

More on mountaintop removal next time. To take action, visit http://www.ilovemountains.org and RAN.org

Autism and coal burning link -- Study Says Autism Linked To Coal Power Plants

Arctic Sea Ice is at Lowest Point in 800 Years

Canada and Russia, the new Bad Boys of Oil, are making the least progress in cutting carbon- dioxide emissions among the major economies, a new study shows.

Check out The Nature of Things, the show that David Suzuki created in Canada at the CBC.

David Suzuki is presented with audio from the Greening the Heartland conference.

See more podcasts you might have missed at the main FN site.

FN19 / Red Hot Report

Shelly Thomas — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:27:34 GMT

Last Thursday, June 18, the U.S. government released a report, the work of 13 government agencies, that gives us a serious picture of climate change. It is called Global Climate Change Impacts in the U.S, and this episode contains the findings. The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global environment and their implications for society. The USGCRP began as a presidential initiative in 1989 and was mandated by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-606), which called for "a comprehensive and integrated United States research program which will assist the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change." Changes in the global environment (including alterations in climate, land productivity, oceans or other water resources, atmospheric chemistry, and ecological systems) that may alter the capacity of the Earth to sustain life. (from the Global Change Research Act of 1990) Download the report here from USGCRP. (takes you to their website) Shading earth as a climate fix? Since the news is so dire, scientists are seriously thinking about geoengineering to save as much life on the planet as possible from the effects of global heating and climate change. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is even getting serious about geoengineering. Some scientists are considering manipulating the Earth's atmosphere to counteract climate change. There is definitely something to eyewitness reports of "hazing" because the government now admits they are considering using chemicals to "fix" global heating and more discussions of it are ongoing. The NAS held a panel on geoengineering ideas last week. The panel asked the question: "What can be done to limit the magnitude of future climate change?" The panel focused on actions to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions and other human drivers of climate change, such as changes in land use, and also considered the international dimensions of climate stabilization, the costs, benefits, limitations, tradeoffs, and uncertainties. There were 18 members of the panel called Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change. Second audio clip from NPR The NAS page about the panel is here. Below is the graphic from the USGCRP report about rising sea levels.

FN18 / Terawatts of Power

Shelly Thomas — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:34:23 GMT

In this episode: News and a speaker from CIT on Powering the Planet and what it will take.

The stone age didn't end because we ran out of stones . . . . people got smarter. We need to get smarter and move on to renewable energy. Where are we going to get terawatts of new renewable power? We have at most 10 years to decide which types of energy will replace the ones we have. Fossil fuel use has to end. The energy problem is so serious, "business as usual" is already in our rear-view mirrors. It's more than a problem of political will. It's what is physically and scientifically possible. This is where research and development and technology come in. News covered: Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann reports that Republicans have come up with a new energy plan that is just like their old energy plan. It includes lots and lots of fossil fuels, so it's completely unacceptable and inappropriate. No surprise there. Biofuel is the fuel that won't die, and even though it's getting a bad rap lately, I agree that it has to be developed at least to some extent. I think you'll agree that it has better potential than CCS, (carbon capture and storage). Read more about different kinds of new biofuels here on the Futurism Now news blog. There are several articles about new forms of biofuels that are being researched this year and late last year that sound pretty promising. Steven Chu was featured in last week's Rolling Stone magazine -- a very revealing interview. It's called The Secretary of Saving the Planet -- try to find it online (not available without a subscription). This episode discusses the article. Steven Chu is a big fan of cap and trade legislation, unfortunately. He also makes some revealing statements in this article. New report: Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. Download the report in full or in segments on this page. Jane Lubchenco, the Undersecretary of Commerce makes a statement that is played in this episode, announcing the report. (The entire press conference will be a separate podcast to come.) She is also the head of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Coal broadcast from ABC Environment -- Australian Broadcast Corp., Environmental show Oil Shale is being pushed by Republicans. Here's how bad it is for the environment. The final speaker played in this episode is Nate Lewis of the California Institute of Technology describes the greatest problem of our time - energy use and production, and the prospects for addressing it. This talk first aired on 5/13/2009 from UCTV. The average total energy consumption rate is 13 trillion watts in 2001, last year it was well over 14 trillion watts. You have to solve this problem, not just get a few cars off the road. The U.S. consumes 96 quadrillion British thermal units in a year or 3.2 terawatts. 85% of it is fossil fuels. How can renewable energies make up for this? The speaker, Nate Lewis, points out the challenges we are facing, and it is extremely daunting, but he also offers solutions.

FNU1 / Climate Change Scientist Talks

Shelly Thomas — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:47:45 GMT

With this episode you are beginning Climatology 'classes' at Futurism Now University. Along with politics, upcoming episodes will also deal with the cold, hard scientific facts of climate change. It's important that people know why strong climate legislation is important.

We have about two weeks to strengthen the Waxman-Markey bill (aka the American clean energy bill or ACES) so please call your Congressman. There is also a Fax and letter campaign through CCAN.

Sign here (takes you to the CCAN website) to strengthen the current climate bill!

Mountaintop removal, climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental degredation all keep happening because there is no huge public outcry. You can't have a public outcry if the public doesn't know what is happening. And the denial movement is still going strong, thanks to the huge disinformation campaign funded by big energy corporations and lobbyists. That's where this podcast, and everyone listening comes in. We need to make a climate change movement happen that is bigger and more powerful than the oil and coal lobby. Bigger than the disinformation campaign. We need to be armed with facts. It will support the growing climate movement that's already been started. Bill McKibben discusses that here: Can 350.org save the world?

How bad is our climate crisis? You will find out in this episode. From the University of San Diego, today's science talk is called, "Climate Change and Roles for Scientists". Don't be intimidated, it's presented so that everyone can understand it with minimal science lingo.

The speaker is Ralph Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences. He outlines the challenges of climate change and the roles that science and scientists must play in meeting them.

FN16 / Peak Consequences

Shelly Thomas — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 12:45:53 GMT

Water shortages, mountaintop removal, continued use of coal, and a watered down climate/energy bill. This is the current reality. My state, like some others, is in a drought in what is supposed to be the wettest month of the summer. Is this a possible result of climate change?

Peak oil and water shortages are only two of the problems we will face as climate change advances in the future. Another is what to do about energy and how to convince our leaders that we need to phase out the use of coal. And, we need to strengthen the Waxman-Markey (ACES) bill and we don't have much time to do that. ACTION: You can help by calling Congress and by signing a message to Congress. Sign here (takes you to the CCAN website) to strengthen the current climate bill! In this episode you hear from Greentv. and Jim Hightower, a short excerpt from the documentary Blind Spot, directed, photographed and edited by Adolfo Doring. You will also hear from the new book that's a collection of scientific essays called What's Next? on climate change and where the human race will be moving when climate change starts making certain parts of the world uninhabitable. Most of the speakers you will hear in the Blind Spot doc are PhDs, and you can see a list of them here.

From the movie cover: "The world is saying, look, you have a choice, you can either fix it or I can fix it, and if I fix it you are not going to like it, because I'm going to throw everything away. And everything means most of us." -- Derrick Jensen CALL CONGRESS and tell them to strengthen the American Clean Energy bill. Specifically, we are being told (by insiders): Ask your Congressman to urge Ways & Means to act and not to let the leadership rush the bill to the floor. . . . . the huge offsets are probably the most egregious in the parade of horribles -- to the extent that you believe in "caps" (I do not) the offsets destroy their integrity. But the giveaways to utilities are indefensible -- households should get that money directly. [I totally agree with that] Here is the main number for Congress - the Senate and House - in Washington, DC. -- (202) 225-3121

FN 16 / Peak Consequences

Shelly Thomas — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 08:12:23 GMT

From the movie cover: "The world is saying, look, you have a choice, you can either fix it or I can fix it, and if I fix it you are not going to like it, because I'm going to throw everything away. And everything means most of us." -- Derrick Jensen CALL CONGRESS and tell them to strengthen the American Clean Energy bill. Specifically, we are being told (by insiders): "Ask your Congressman to urge Ways & Means to act and not to let the leadership rush the bill to the floor. . . . . the huge offsets are probably the most egregious in the parade of horribles -- to the extent that you believe in "caps" (I do not) the offsets destroy their integrity. But the giveaways to utilities are indefensible -- households should get that money directly." [I totally agree with that] Here is the main number for Congress - the Senate and House - in Washington, DC. -- (202) 225-3121

FN15 / Time for Pressure

Shelly Thomas — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:09:03 GMT

Forums, conferences, and the EPA -- what's going on? This episode lets you in on what is happening in Bonn, the World Humanitarian forum, and what came out of the Paris meeting.

Also, the EPA is not doing what we want -- your input is needed to save our forests and mountains. It's time to pressure those in power. Call Congress and let them know they need to strengthen the Waxman-Markey bill, or approve one of the cap and dividend bills instead. The World Environment Day is only a couple of days away, it's on Friday, June 5th! Read up about some of the events that will take place around the world. Daily Kos story on mountaintop removal here. "Climate change is here. It has a human face. This report details the nevertheless silent crisis occurring around the world today as a result of global climate change. . . . . . Climate change is a serious threat to over half of the world’s population. Half a billion people are at extreme risk. Worst affected are the world’s poorest groups, who lack any responsibility for causing climate change." -- Report, The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis (link below) Think China isn't doing enough? "Greenhouse gas emissions are rising because consumption is rising. Unless we address this, we cannot prevent climate breakdown. It doesn't matter where production takes place: the problem is that we are consuming too much." -- the Guardian Earth2100 will be airing on June 2nd, 2009 from 9-11 pm on ABC. Also, watch The Daily Show from Monday night to see Bob Woodruff talk about Earth2100. Hope everyone enjoys the show -- I'll be reviewing it on my Futurism Now news site. Climate Change is already responsible for 300,000 deaths a year. You can find the Global Humanitarian report, Anatomy of a Silent Crisis, (pdf) and download it on this page. See information on the Bonn Climate talks here. They are ongoing until June 12.
NASF and others urge Congress to consider forest biomass in energy legislation. Read more here.
CONTACT CONGRESS
Here is the main number for Congress - the Senate and House - in Washington, DC. 202 225-3121

The Potential of Nuclear Power

Shelly Thomas — Tue, 26 May 2009 11:16:39 GMT

This episode presents four scientists and environmentalists making the case for the use of nuclear power. It's believed by some people that environmentalists should be against nuclear power -- I completely disagree. We are trying to find ways to solve and stop climate change, not fight the possibilities and the ideas for doing that. Nuclear power has improved a lot since the 1970's, and it's a strong source of nearly CO2-free power. Nuclear energy is not a political issue, it's just a form of energy, and for the near future at least, a necessary one. There are many environmentalists who are for the development of new nuclear power, Generation IV or IFR -- Integral Fast Reactors. This episode discusses nuclear power, why it may be necessary, why new ones are safer, and why it might be a good source of heavy-duty power for many years to come. Read chapter 4 on nuclear power from the new book Prescription for the Planet, -- “Newclear Power” -- by downloading it here. Author Tom Blees has generously decided to put this chapter (pg 117 — 139) on the web to allow a more rapid dissemination of the basic facts about IFR to everyone you know (family, friends, fellow environmentalists, politicians, the media) — so please do pass on the link: http://tinyurl.com/cwvn8n Also visit the site for the book and download chapter 1. This notification came from a very good spot online for energy information: Brave New Climate. More on the The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) project here. Also interesting: George Monbiot does not reject nuclear power. Neither does climate scientist James Hansen, or UK scientist James Lovelock. Neither does Energy Secretary Steven Chu. If nuclear will be a necessary power source for the future, when can we start building them? Nuclear Energy Must Power Our Future -- an Intelligence Squared debate, and two viewpoints on nuclear energy are in this episode. The graphic for this episode is from the COP15 logo. You can sign up and submit your thoughts to the UN's "Climate Thoughts". A very cool globe of thoughts from all over the world. If you enjoy this podcast please visit my "real" website at http://www.futurismnowradio.com My podcast on Podomatic keeps falling and falling every week in the rankings and is getting noticed less and less. Since we are in a CLIMATE CRISIS and hardly anyone is talking about it, please help spread the word about this show. We need climate action ASAP! The website: FUTURISM NOW Please add me as a friend and subscribe to this podcast to help out.

#13 / Busta Myth

Shelly Thomas — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:08:50 GMT

Busting the myths of the cost of changing energy and capping emissions! But is the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 cap and trade bill right for right now or is it a waste of time? I gaze into my cloudy crystal ball and find -- the answer is not so clear. It's tough to predict the future. The cap and trade bill is rushing through Congress yet it provides huge giveaways for polluters and focuses an awful lot on coal funding and the myth of clean coal. Will carbon capture and sequestration ever work? Steven Chu is betting 2.4 billion that it will. Many scientists say it's just not feasible. There is no such thing as clean coal! Read about the new superfund lawyer here. Disturbing news about the EPA approving 42 out of 48 permits for mountain top removal in Appalachia and their response, which is lame. Two interviews are played in this episode; one with John Berger of Standard Renewable Energy, and the other with Björn Stigson, president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, during the Energy Efficiency Global Forum. You can find more news and interviews at E&ETV. You will also hear from Kevin Knoblach, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. There are a lot of myths about what is happening in the rest of the world -- one myth is that the EU's emissions trading is not working and it is (reportedly) working. And yes, China is doing a lot on climate change. China is in the process of greening up their country, and spending a lot on doing it too. Spending more than the U.S. in fact. China and India should not be used as an excuse for the U.S. to not act aggressively on climate change! Various news stories on the climate bill that might be of interest. An analysis of the cap and trade bill from the Wall Street Journal article that I discussed is here: "Panel Adds Free Permits to CO2 Bill" This cap and trade bill does not go far enough on emissions and it makes too many allowances, especially for coal. Why? The top 3-takers of coal money, are Democrats -- Dingell, Boucher, & Hoyer. Follow the coal money.

FN12 / Take Action / A Republican Mis-Leader

Shelly Thomas — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:39:47 GMT

We need climate legislation before it's too late. According to a new May 5th CNN poll a majority of Americans DO want something done about climate change. Congress, are you listening? They need to hear from us. May 6th and every day is CALL IN day to Congress. But there are several key Democrats that really need some pushing on a climate bill. You can read about this action here and get the list of congressmen to call, their phone numbers, and even a script. So Today --Take action on climate change legislation today and every day until legislation passes. See the recent action alert at ChesapeakeClimate.org (CCAN) The phone-in day is today but you can call every day until we get something passed! See more at the Futurism Now blog -- Action Day on Climate Legislation Newt Gingrich spent some time in Congress last month misleading the American people and Congress on the economics of climate legislation. There were some mild fireworks, but there need to be more. I play a segment of that. The government can fund all the new energy it wants, but people need to get those dividend checks from the tax and dividend or cap and trade legislation that is passed. That is what the Larsen bill and the Van Hollen bill describe. So mention those two bills when you call your Congressmen and it doesn't have to be today that you call, you can and hopefully will call them at any point from now until we get some legislation, So, please visit my website for the links to get the names and phone numbers of these key democrats who should be contacted. Good climate bills: Larsen Bill H.R. 1337 -- America's Energy Security Trust Fund Act of 2009 Van Hollen Bill H.R. 1862: -- Cap and Dividend Act of 2009 Read these two bills, they are better than the cap and trade bill! China IS studying carbon tax ideas, despite what Newt Claims. CSPAN energy meetings can be found here. (Look under "Energy"). There were 3 days of debate and discussion in April, starring Al Gore and Steven Chu and Lisa Jackson and many others. The sad melted Bolivian glacier story is here. It lasted 18,000 years... and mere mortals finished it off.

FN10 -- Window of Opportunity!

Shelly Thomas — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 04:57:50 GMT

We have four years -- but that's not the number to remember. 350 is the number and now is our window of opportunity to deal with CO2 emissions. Republicans put out disinformation and Futurism Now tries to counteract it. Hear about Eco activism with Bill McKibben. He says the head IPCC scientist tells us we have about 4 years to get this solved and after that it will be too late. What are we waiting for, and what should be done? First of all, people have to get active. This episode gets back to basics and includes a recent talk from Bill McKibben, environmental activist, and Co-founder and Director of 350.org. He wrote the first book about global warming--"The End of Nature." His speech was given on April 09, 2009, and was titled, "350 The Most Important Number in the World". Thanks for the media file to Active Ingredients Media. Here's one of those CO2 papers that Rep. Bachmann claims doesn't exist: Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity Aim? New Hansen letter discussed at Civilianism/Futurism.

1 Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme: Australia’s low pollution future, White Paper, downloaded from http://www.climatechange.gov.au/whitepaper/report/pubs/pdf/V100eExecutiveSummary.pdf.

You can read the rest of Hansen’s letter here. (download pdf) Thomas L. Friedman, “Show Me the Ball,” The New York Times, Music: Mean Ol' Wind Died Down by North Mississippi Allstars

FN09 / The EPA Rules

Shelly Thomas — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:51:27 GMT

The EPA rules! Last Friday, April 17th, the EPA released a preliminary ruling on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions, at last. These greenhouse gases are pollutants, and they are harming human health, now and for future generations. Finally the U.S. has the opportunity to lead on something worthwhile again. We need to attack this problem aggressively, creating green jobs and a green economy, now that the Obama administration is taking steps to solve the climate crisis. Read the EPA finding here and download the 133 page explanation on this page, as well as instructions to submit comments. A portion of an interview about cap and dividend is included, from Congressman Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat representing Maryland’s Eighth District, who was interviewed on Earthbeat Radio. Here are the bills discussed: H.R. 1862-- Cap and Dividend Act of 2009 (Van Hollen's bill) and H.R. 1337 -- America's Energy Security Trust Fund Act of 2009 (Larsen's bill). You will also hear from Friends of the Earth -- Michelle Chan -- on the subject of why cap and trade isn't so great.

European cap and trade works, a little bit at least -- they have cut emissions 4-5%, but that's not enough.

Climate Change Congress -- where you can find videos there of all three days of the conference, including a transcript of Sir Nicolas Stern's speech that is played in this episode.

LA Times story -- What will global warming look like? Look to Australia. They are seeing droughts, wildfires, and floods, just like what is starting in the U.S.

Cap and trade problems are abundant -- From Counterpunch.org The Stern Report -- The Economics of Climate Change -- can be found here. Download this episode here.

The Last Gasps of Capitalism

Shelly Thomas — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:45:05 GMT

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 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. Read the Republican Road to Ruin if you want a good laugh -- or cry.

Inaction is Not an Option

Shelly Thomas — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:50:26 GMT

Societal transformation might be on the visible horizon. This episode contains highlights from last week's Climate Congress in Copenhagen, and some speculation about geoengineering -- will it be necessary and what will it include? The main finding from the Climate meeting was that governments have to act on climate change or drastic steps in the future will have to be taken, and they won't be cheap.

"We have 100 months." That is what Prince Charles said last week. We have less than 10 years to find a real sustainable solution to climate change. How bad is the climate crisis? The Amazon forest is about to burn up. The oceans are getting terribly acidic and we are on track to warm 4C or even more. That would be a nightmare scenario for life on earth. Even the lowest plants and creatures on the food chain are suffering from climate change, making everything on up affected also.

Cap and trade won't be adequate to deal with emissions quickly enough, so James Hansen, climate scientist, proposes a cap and dividend system: "The entire carbon tax should be returned to the public, with a monthly deposit to their bank accounts, an equal share to each person (if no bank account provided, an annual check – social security number must be provided). No bureaucracy is needed to figure this out. If the initial carbon tax averages $1200 per person per year, $100 is deposited in each account each month (Detail: perhaps limit to four shares per family, with child shares being half-size, i.e., no marriage penalty but do not encourage population growth)." Read the rest here (pdf).

This plan would work great if our government just had the political will to propose it and implement it. The infrastructure is already set up to handle this.

Geoengineering info: The Prospect Of Manipulating the Planet

ScienceInsider: DARPA is interested in geoengineering.

Chemtrails? Did somebody mention chemtrails?

A Criminal Enterprise

Shelly Thomas — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:16:05 GMT

Highlights from Powershift09 sending a message to end the use of coal -- and as speaker Robert Kennedy put it, coal is a criminal enterprise. What they are doing to mountains and our air is nothing short of criminal. It's time to take action to stop coal. It's time for a citizens arrest of coal. Speakers from Powershift09 include RFK Jr., Van Jones and Lisa Jackson; also Bill McKibben and Jimmy Carter in the second half. The Age of Stupid movie trailer can be seen here. Interested in the Clean Energy Corp -- story link about green jobs from the Environment News Service: "Clean Energy Corps Proposed to Create Jobs, Fight Global Warming" In the 2nd half, you'll hear about why natural gas isn't such a great fuel, why it's not "clean" like Pelosi is claiming, and whatever happened to Jimmy Carter's solar panels, and his dream of clean energy. It's not a happy story, but 30 years later, we have another realistic chance at it. And at the end, bits of a speech from 32 years ago, much of which President Obama could be saying today. Nancy Pelosi's conflict of interest is her financial interest in T. Boone Picken's natural gas venture. From the Wall Street Journal. "WASHINGTON -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband invested between $50,000 and $100,000 in T. Boone Pickens's Clean Energy Fuels Corp., which could benefit from legislation the California Democrat favors to boost U.S. use of natural gas. Nancy Pelosi's letter about switching the CPP to natural gas: Read the whole thing here. Pelosi has a conflict of interest with natural gas, being an investor in T. Boone Pickens natural gas company. She's an investor in natural gas, so she is pushing the use of natural gas on the nation's capitol, insinuating that it's "clean" and renewable, which it most certainly is not. She should be installing solar panels instead. -- like our president did 30 years ago. The drilling process for natural gas contains the use of toxic chemicals, including Benzene which causes cancer. And get this -- the company who perfected this deadly technique was Halliburton. Here more about this in part 2 of this episode. From Scientific America. "Sublette County is the home of one of the nation’s largest natural gas fields, and many of its 6,000 wells have undergone a process pioneered by Halliburton called hydraulic fracturing, which shoots vast amounts of water, sand and chemicals several miles underground to break apart rock and release the gas. The process has been considered safe since a 2004 study by the Environmental Protection Agency found that it posed no risk to drinking water. After that study, Congress even exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act. Today fracturing is used in 9 out of 10 natural gas wells in the United States." And Jimmy Carter's solar panels--they were removed by the Reaganites, and now you can hear why. I read much of the story, but you can read the rest of it here.

Burn Unit 2 and Delusional Denialists

Shelly Thomas — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:47:08 GMT

The latest science on climate change, as presented before the U.S. Senate environmental and public works committee, one of our new "Burn Units". (my term). The planet is burning up and our government is ready to get to work to save the patient. This is part two.

Senator Barbara Boxer shows what she knows, and your host does a lot more commentary than intended.

This episodes starts with a bang; or more accurately, with Congressman Ed Markey giving his speech at Powershift09. What a tour de force! Then it continues with the scientist commentary and discussion with the Senate panel on the environment and public works about climate change and what to expect. Dr. Happer makes the interesting argument that we might be reverting to the Mesozoic Era, but the early proto-primates back then did just fine! He inferred that if it was good enough for the squirrels of the Mesozoic, it should be good enough for us. (What a bunch of ingrates we are to disagree. I mean, think of the warmth of the tropics.... in Canada.)

Comments continue with scientist Howard Frumkin, Director, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry . . . . . and William Happer PhD of Princeton, Senator Inhofe himself and Barbara Boxer, his official climate nemesis.

Dr. Happer is a professor in the Department of Physics at Princeton University and former Director of Energy Research at the Department of Energy from 1990 to 1993 during the first Bush administration. He is affiliated with the ultra-conservative Exxon-funded George Marshall Institute.

What is it with Deniers? They have a belief system of ideology that rivals that of fundamentalist Neocons. Science? It's nonsense! We'd rather believe the talking points of the stupidest members of the Republican Party, including the new HEAD of the GOP (Gas and Oil Party)-- Rush Limbaugh! (And no, there is NO science that can explain his clout or popularity.)

The Burn Unit Part 1

Shelly Thomas — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:54:40 GMT

This is a presentation of the latest science on climate change, as presented before the U.S. Senate Environmental and Public Works committee, one of our new "Burn Units". The planet is burning up and our government is ready to get to work on saving the patient. This is part one, and part two will be here later today with lots of commentary in part 2. This podcast starts with a message about PowerShift09 from scientist James Hansen. Here are the facts: this is the only planet we have, so let's all work together to solve this climate problem. It truly is a crisis -- more so than the banking crisis, but the government keeps bailing out banks while keeping action on global warming a lower priority. If there is any fire to put out, it's climate change. On February 4 2009 Energy Secretary Stephen Chu told the Los Angeles Times: "I don't think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen," he said. 'We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California," He sees education as a means to combat this threat. The testimony Hansen gave to the House Ways & Means Committee is available at this site (pdf)

Much of the Senate hearing is played in this episode, but it was very long so I'm splitting it in two. The Full Committee was titled, “Update on the Latest Global Warming Science.” I didn't see any major American media cover this, and it should have been big news. After all, this is the latest science on climate change, straight from the scientists. More of the scientists will appear in part II -- Part I contains the Senate panel's member comments and the statements of two of the scientists, Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Nobel Prize-winning IPCC, PhD, and Christopher Field PhD, Director, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford University, Co-chair of Working Group II (continued in part II)

Climate change is the biggest threat to life on this planet, and I can't stand by and watch it happen while our mainstream media treats it like no big deal, certainly less of a big deal than banks collapsing, so I'm asking people to spread the word. Our media is once again letting us down and even worse, treating this like a debatable political issue, which it absolutely is not.

The Smart Grid Part II

Shelly Thomas — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:26:25 GMT

This episode is part 2 of the Center for American Progress's forum entitled “National Clean Energy Project: Building the New Economy--Wired for Progress" that was held on Monday, February 23, 2009 in Washington, DC. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; . . . . it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us. . . . -- that's from a Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens I think that quote describes the challenges we are facing. Al Gore asks: What is our generation's purpose? And he answers: to save the habitability of the earth. This National Clean Energy Project brought together a select group of high-level government, business, labor and advocacy group leaders focused on developing a plan and guiding principles to lead the transformation of U.S. energy policy. The speakers continue with their discussion of transmission, the smart grid, and how climate change will affect us. Mostly they focus on energy because without energy the whole world stops. Energy efficiency was discussed a lot, and it's considered the fifth fuel, but efficiency is a hard sell in a culture like that of a western country where energy has been so taken for granted. Speakers in part two of this conference include Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Congressman Ed Markey, Attorney Robert Kennedy Jr., Sea Change Foundation President Nat Simons, Former Governor George Pataki (R-NY), Owens-Corning CEO Michael Thaman, American Wind Energy Association CEO Denise Bode, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Acting Chairman Jon Wellinghoff, SEIU president Andy Stern and more from Boone Pickens, Al Gore and Bill Clinton.

The Smart Grid Part I -- Low Carbon Economy

Shelly Thomas — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:24:48 GMT

Tuesday morning (February 24) there was a very interesting event called the National Clean Energy Project Conference--Building the New Economy--Wired for Progress and I have all of the audio from it. This is part I and part II is coming soon. This conference was mainly about transmission of the smart grid that is to come, creating thousands of new jobs, and the low carbon economy that is being developed. This new low carbon emphasis will play a big part in moving America in the right direction, at last, and it's also reworking our economy in the process, something that badly needs to be done. When climate and jobs are being realistically dealt within the U.S. we are going to have ourselves a different economy. This episode includes a little news and then the conference. Speakers in part I of this include Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Al Gore (who will show up again in Part II) former President Bill Clinton, T. Boone Pickens, Van Jones, Byron Dorgan, and Ken Salazar and more. (quote) "To allow a climate crisis to proceed unchecked will directly harm people’s lives and the prosperity of the global economy. Global warming presents the threat of lost agricultural productivity, drought and reduced supplies of fresh drinking water, the migration of environmental refugees (creating new global conflicts), and substantial economic damages and lost property for coastal communities. At the same time, our nation’s growing reliance on oil is a major national security concern. During the 1973 oil embargo orchestrated by the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries, the United States imported less than a third of its oil needs, yet constraints on supply at the time created economic, social, and foreign policy disruptions. Today, we import nearly 70 percent of our oil—at a cost of $478 billion dollars in 2008 alone—representing a major contribution to our national trade imbalance." And about the grid: "An integrated, IT-enabled, national electrical grid is essential for improving security and reliability, but it is especially critical for bringing higher percentages of renewable electricity into our energy mix due to the variable nature of many of these resources. New information technology like advanced metering infrastructure is also key to bringing advanced home appliances and end-use technologies on line to capture new efficiencies."
There is quite a bit of information on the website for this event, including maps and pdfs and things to read, which you can download here: http://nationalcleanenergyproject.org/ and at American Progress The event was moderated by former U.S. Senator and UN Foundation President Timothy Wirth.

FN03 / Coaled and Carbonated

Shelly Thomas — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:38:03 GMT

Fight the recession or fight global warming? We can do both. This episode covers Carbon news, carbon basics, what we're facing, cap and trade versus cap and dividend, coal and a portion of an interview with Ted Nace about coal. Solar did pretty well in the stimulus package, as described by Vote Solar. Cap and dividend vs. cap and trade -- it's a confusing issue. This episode attempts to explain the difference with some help from Peter Barnes of CapandDividend.org. According to the experts, you could make money from conservation combined with cap and dividend in the form of a monthly check from the government, if it's ever implemented. New legislation on cap and return, or cap and dividend, from at least 3 members of Congress, is in the works. Link to Washington Post Article on how they like cap and dividend too is here. Includes 14 minutes of an episode of another podcast called "Of Coal and Corporations". You can listen to the whole episode on George Kenney's EP website. He did a good interview with Ted Nace, who started the immense Coalswarm website. Nace is also the author of the book Gangs of America which you can download free. Weigh in on Obama's trip to Canada on Feb. 19th and sign the petition against the Alberta tar sands oil. http://www.obama2canada.org/

Futurism Promo

Shelly Thomas — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:56:30 GMT

Want to help promote the seriousness of climate change and help fight it? Please spread this promo around or use it in your own podcast. I'll play any promo about human rights or the environment too, just tell me where to download.

Stimulus and Energy

Shelly Thomas — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 04:48:53 GMT

The economy and the environment, the stimulus package and energy. What do Congress and the new President have planned concerning all of these things, and how serious are they about climate change? There are a lot of indicators in the stimulus package. The stimulus bill has now passed the Senate. It now heads into conference committee for reconciliation. What's in it for Green Energy? Senate-passed stimulus package by the numbers provided by Scientists and Engineers for America "Here we provide a breakdown of spending in the stimulus package that passed the Senate last night it includes a lot of money for science." Australia is suffering from horrible wild fires, caused in part by climate change.

"Scientists said Australia needed to prepare for more extreme weather events due to global warming, while the Greens and environmentalists said the fires and floods proved the government needed to toughen its targets to curb Greenhouse emissions."

Earth Tech, and what's been left out of the stimulus package from the House version. This episode goes over a lot of what is in the stimulus bill and other things the Congress is doing about climate change now and later this year. Greenpeace commissioned report: Carbon Footprint Analysis of Economic Recovery Package Tech people are very happy about the stimulus package, read about it here. What is a green job? It's not necessarily a blue collar job. As you can see from the stimulus package, it can be just about in any field, doing a wide variety of things. Hidden Tech Winners in Obama's Green Stimulus Bill Joe Romm is from ClimateProgress and he was interviewed by Earthbeat Radio, an excellent podcast. See Spain's highspeed trains here. Song at end: Tevaka -- Our Ocean

Support Climate Change Action

Shelly Thomas — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:33:15 GMT

CLIMATE CHANGE It's a huge problem, despite what the media tells us.

Check Out Futurism now

. . . and this is the introductory episode. I may or may not continue with Civilianism. To be honest, politics is pretty boring now that the head Fascist, Dubya, is back in Texas. I'm very tired of pure politics, so I'm exploring issues with climate change and the environment because right now they interest me more. Politics has become really a boring topic for a lot of people, and if you want a lot of alternative news and conspiracy stuff, you know where to find it. Futurism now is about climate change, energy, politics and legislation to get us moving on climate change, and more. Is there a consensus on climate change among climate scientists? Yes, there is. We are past debate. It's time for action. Support Action on Climate Change-- Call your Congressmen and Senators and tell them you support their action on climate change and that they need to increase their support for clean energy -- wind and solar, not the non-existent "clean coal" or natural gas, which is another fossil fuel. IN THIS EPISODE: Audio from new Energy Secretary Steven Chu from last summer, speaking at UC Berkeley, and from NASA climate scientist James Hansen on climate change and what has to be done. This is a MUST HEAR episode. If you listen to anything on Green living, drop it now and listen to this instead. We can't purchase our way out of climate change. James Hansen audio courtesy of RadioEcoshock podcast, at Ecoshock.org

News and Commentary #03

Shelly Thomas — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:54:21 GMT

Today's episode covers U.S. news, news about Karl Rove, news about diplomatic efforts, climate change, and the $ 819 billion dollar stimulus package that Obama wants passed. No Republicans voted to pass it in the House on Wednesday night and it passed anyway. That's because President Obama has a mandate and intelligence on his side. Yes, dear Republicans, the Democrats won. Anyway, I defend the spending bill and one reason is the money for transportation and energy and the new electric grid, all of which we need badly. See this train? Other countries have super-fast commuter trains and we don't -- yet. Why is that? Could it be due to Exxon or BP? We need super-fast, super-efficient transit in the U.S. and it's ridiculous that we don't have any. Something or someone must be obstructing their development. There are even solar-powered bullet trains in development, but I bet the U.S. will be one of the last countries to get one, thanks to the obstructionist Republicans. I play a short clip of Al Gore's very long testimony in front of Congress on Wednesday. I will have the entire recording (3 hours) shortly, and it will be available on Futurism Now only. Music clip: Runaway Train by Eliza Gilkyson

News and Commentary PLNC02

Shelly Thomas — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:29:33 GMT

Wondering what President Obama is busy doing to promote peace in the mIddle East? He starts with returning 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 will be covered in episodes to come. Something on your mind? Send me news, tips, and music for the podcast by using the form at Podcastliberally.com, or email me at news (at) civilianism.com You can also call my Skype comment line 24/7 at 320-300-4273. To get Civilianism in the future you will have to go to my website at http://www.civilianism.com/blog (Civilianism Podcast) or http://www.civilianism.com/gate (Civilianism News) And while you are there, make a donation for the continuation of the podcast.