The Environment in Canada Podcast
A podcast about the environment in Canada (and sometimes elsewhere) by Sierra Club Canada. Topics include climate change, biodiversity, pollution, renewable energy democracy, and the Rights of Nature. Tune in and take action!
Oligarch Social Media: Stay, Leave? OR Misuse...
Should you stay on platforms like X or Meta or leave? We explore ways to misuse these oligarchical propaganda platforms to actually get more people onto better platforms and spaces: examining the tactics and strategies of climate denialists for lessons in how to be more effective online in advocating for environmental and social justice. No matter what you choose to do, stay or leave, it's about how you do it.Â
Resources and further listening for today's Sovereignty Saturdays sub-series episode:
Winning the Communications W...Curating Climate Science, Action, & Emotion with Dr. Soren Brothers
Jessica talks with Dr. Soren Brothers, the Allan and Helaine Shiff Curator of Climate Change at the Royal Ontario Museum about curating climate change, how climate scientists experience emotions like everyone else, and a recent Planet in Focus film festival Climate in Therapy screening.
A reminder also to fill our out communications survey here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeSsQcSg2Y9LUMXpfImmTrTMtrB2epk0682ddmppj49yuq-A/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=116027308335005541993
Be sure to send us your questions at info@sierraclub.ca and sign up for...
Winning the Communications War with the U.S. Oligarchy, & Big Oil & Gas, Requires YOU!
Canada defeating the aggression of the U.S. oligarchy, & their oil & gas-interest friends, will require all of us learning how to communicate more effectively, strategically, & rapidly to counter disinformation. When it comes to disinformation going âstraight at âemâ will also require dealing with the extreme inequality that led us to this point, as we covered in last weekâs episode: https://www.sierraclub.ca/no-kings-inequality-deregulation/
Resources for this Sovereignty Saturdays sub-series episode:
Previous episodes: How to Defend Democracy, Sovereignty, & Canada: Resisting U.S. Annexation PART 3 & No Kings Day special: https://www.sier...The Rights of Water
What lies beneath the waves⊠shapes everything above them: Exploring the vital links between water ecosystems, climate change, biodiversity, and the Rights of Water. Chevaun Toulouse, Steven J. Cooke, Julie Reimer, Kriss Kevorkian joined host Aishwariya Ravi Shankar for an event on Oct. 1st, 2025. Listen to their conversation here.
Pledge to respect, protect, and uphold the rights of water here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/action-item/are-you-ready-to-pledge-for-the-rights-of-water/
Find out more about Sierra Club Canadaâs Rights of Water campaign here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/acti...
Do You Want Kings? Because Thatâs How You Get Kings - A No Kings Special, Sovereignty Saturdays
How extreme inequality & environmental deregulation lead to the rise of authoritarianism & what we can do to stop it from happening here. Part of our Sovereignty Saturdays sub-series, find additional resources and sources below:
Regulation saves money and lives by Ole Hendrickson: https://rabble.ca/columnists/regulation-saves-money-and-lives/A New âFundamental Fairnessâ Can Save Democracy, the Environment, and Canada (on inequality, the distortion of reality, and erosion of democracy): https://energymixweekender.substack.com/p/a-new-fundamental-fairness-can-saveOur previous episode in this sub-series, How to Defend Democracy, Sovereignty, & Canada: Resisting U.S. Annexation PART 3: https://www.sierraclub.ca/sovereignty-democracy-canada-annexation/Be su...
How to Defend Democracy & Canada: Resisting the U.S. Annexation of Canada PART 3 & Sovereignty Saturdays
If youâre worried about whatâs happening in the U.S., and where it will end, thatâs very understandable. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. But beyond the shock thereâs work to be done right now to make sure things do - one day - get better. Our new sub-series, Sovereignty Saturdays looks at the environmental and energy dimensions of Canadian sovereignty and what you can do to help.
Resources:
Renewable Energy Pledge - Send a Message to Our Government: https...BC Species at Risk PLUS Pipeline to the West Coast Conversation
Dr. Sarah (Sally) Otto, Dr. Peter Thompson, and CPAWS-BC Campaigner Brynna Kagawa-Visentin talk about a recent report that looks at the changing status of imperiled species in British Columbia over the last 15 years â in the absence of a dedicated provincial species at risk act (or law) â and reveals that species at risk in BC have risen, with most changes in status not reflecting genuine recovery: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.30.679339v1
Please note for context that this is a non-peer-reviewed preprint and the manuscript is currently under consideration for publication at a peer-reviewed journal.Â
We also...
Enbridge vs. Indigenous Sovereignty, Line 5 vs. The Great Lakes
Jessica talks with youth tribal activist Gracie Waukechon about Enbridge's dangerous Line 5 pipeline and Indigenous sovereignty. Gracie came to Canada recently to speak at screenings of the Bad River Film in Toronto and Montreal and is calling on all of us to raise our voices.Â
Be sure to send us your questions at info@sierraclub.ca and sign up for email updates from us here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/subscribe-for-updates/
And don't forget to take action: https://www.sierraclub.ca/take-action/
Support the show
Find ou...
Actions You Can Take in Sept. 2025 & a Rights of Nature Compilation Episode: Including Things Getting Better
If youâre listening after September 2025 then check out our general Take Action Page for up to date action items here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/take-action/
Ways YOU can take action in September 2025 listed below:
Send a message to Prime Minister Carney to stand up for community-based renewable energy, oppose LNG, and pledge to advocate for renewables in your community: https://www.sierraclub.ca/action-item/carney-support-renewable-energy/Our Year-End campaign is centered on hope, and weâd love to hear what it signifies to you. Send us your story to info@sierraclub.ca<...Wind Power & Electric Vehicles are Good for Canada - as is Solar!
Oil & Gas interests, & their friends in the U.S. Administration, want to stop Canada from developing wind power & EVs, because both are part of how we gain more energy independence. We released a series of fact sheets on wind power & electric vehicles (below) & go over the basics in this podcast. Facts & sources:
Wind Power & Solar Power Facts: https://www.sierraclub.ca/canada-wind-power-facts/Electric Vehicle Facts: https://www.sierraclub.ca/canada-electric-vehicles-facts/How to talk with others about climate issues (with tips applicable to these issues as well): https://www.sierraclub.ca/climate-change-family-talk/Send a message to the...L'environnement, c'est intersectionnel avec Lourdenie Jean
Nous nous entretenons avec Lourdenie Jean, une jeune environnementaliste qui a confondé L'environnement, c'est intersectionnel. Cet organisme met en lumiÚre les enjeux vécus par les personnes qui sont le plus marginalisées par la crise climatique.
Envoyez-nous vos questions pour le podcast Ă info@sierraclub.ca
Et n'oubliez pas de passer Ă l'action !
Veuillez noter : Les opinions exprimées dans ce podcast ne reflÚtent pas nécessairement celles de la Fondation Sierra Club Canada ou de nos sections ou programmes.
Support t...
NO Case for Shipping LNG to Europe PLUS Stay Frosty vs. Dangerous Declinism
There's still no business case for Canada shipping LNG to Europe/Germany and the rise of artificial intelligence doesn't change that fact. Plus a quick rant about the dangers of declinism, framing, and why staying optimistic is vital: historical moments of 'decline' are also periods with the opportunity for fundamental change to happen in a positive way - if that opportunity is seized a 'boomerang' effect can occur.
Political Leaders Follow the Wind, YOU Can Determine it's Direction
Political leaders are useful only as part of the equation: engage with them but never...
Energy Journalism & the Demise of Oil & Gas with Mitchell Beer
Oil & gas demand is set to plateau, climate-induced wildfires are getting worse, & disinformation is an existential threat to our shared reality. Solution-focused energy reporting has become more important than ever, but what does good energy reporting look like? Conor talks with Mitchell Beer of The Energy Mix. Find out more & subscribe to The Energy Mix:
The Energy Mix's main website: https://www.theenergymix.com/Read more: Oil Is Faltering. Renewables Will Survive Trump. What Is Carney's Next Move? From The Energy Mix Weekender: https://energymixweekender.substack.com/p/oil-is-faltering-renewables-will<...Wildfires: Climate Denial Kills, Mutual Aid, & a Sierra Youth Rewind
Corporate-sponsored climate denial and delayism doesn't just give oil and gas corporations the space they need to profit while setting future wildfires and storms in motion. Climate denial and delayism [attempts to delay climate action] also disrupt relief and safety efforts, making these 2025 wildfires and other climate impacts more dangerous in the immediate moment.
In today's (August 2025) podcast we also talk about a mutual aid network of 27 volunteers (so far) that Kassie Drodge of Sierra Club Canada has set up in Newfoundland and Labrador to help people who have been impacted by the wildfires there. If...
Mulo, le nouveau service de vélo-cargo à Montréal
Nous discuterons avec Michael Wexler et Louis-Philippe Tessier, les deux cofondateurs de Mulo -- un nouveau systĂšme de location libre-service de vĂ©los-cargos Ă©lectriques Ă MontrĂ©al. Ce nouveau service offre Ă la population montrĂ©alaise une alternative de dĂ©placement Ă©cologique pour transporter du matĂ©riel et des personnes grĂące Ă une flotte de vĂ©los-cargos Ă©lectriques.Â
Envoyez-nous vos questions pour le podcast Ă info@sierraclub.ca
Et n'oubliez pas de passer Ă l'action !
Veuillez noter : Les opinions exprimées dans ce podcast ne reflÚtent pas nécessaire...
Bill 5, Dangerous Deregulation, Nature and National Identity
We talk with Andrés Jiménez Monge of Ontario Nature about why Bill 5 is dangerous for far more reasons than you probably realize, plus the importance of making nature accessible for newcomers to Canada.
Clarification: As a result of Bill 5, the Endangered Species Act is being repealed and replaced with a far weaker Species Conservation Act.
Be sure to send us your questions at info@sierraclub.ca and sign up for email updates from us here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/subscribe-for-updates/
And don't forget to...
Le programme Ăco-quartier cĂ©lĂšbre 30 ans d'initiatives environnementales Ă MontrĂ©al
ClĂ©lia SĂšve, la directrice gĂ©nĂ©rale du Regroupement des Ă©co-quartiers, discute des rĂ©alisations du programme au fil des annĂ©es, de ses diverses initiatives et de comment les citoyens montrĂ©alais et citoyennes montrĂ©alaises peuvent agir pour lâenvironnement.
Envoyez-nous vos questions pour le podcast Ă info@sierraclub.ca
Et n'oubliez pas de passer Ă l'action !
Veuillez noter : Les opinions exprimées dans ce podcast ne reflÚtent pas nécessairement celles de la Fondation Sierra Club Canada ou de nos sections ou...
The Trap of Individual Impact, Acting as a Community, & Migration (Voices in NL)
Kassie Drodge talks with Dome Lombeida about the importance of approaching activism as a community, how international migration is driven by extraction companies, and finding hope in shared struggles: locally, nationally, and internationally. This episode is part of sub-series featuring voices in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Be sure to send us your questions at info@sierraclub.ca and sign up for email updates from us here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/subscribe-for-updates/
And don't forget to take action!
Support the show
Find out more...
Un jeune environnementaliste néo-brunswickois engagé dans la lutte contre les changements climatiques
Sylvain Comeau est un jeune environnementaliste qui est Ă la tĂȘte de Maritimes Against Climate Change. Son organisme organise des Ă©vĂ©nements, des manifestations et des corvĂ©es de nettoyage pour lutter contre le changement climatique au Nouveau-Brunswick.Â
Envoyez-nous vos questions pour le podcast Ă info@sierraclub.ca
Et n'oubliez pas de passer Ă l'action !
Veuillez noter : Les opinions exprimées dans ce podcast ne reflÚtent pas nécessairement celles de la Fondation Sierra Club Canada ou de nos sections ou programmes.
Support the...
Canadian Oil Pipelines: A History of Spills & Future of Spills
Jessica talks with Sean Kheraj about the history of oil pipeline development in Canada and why spills are way more frequent and more damaging than is often communicated - in fact they're inevitable no matter how good technology gets. Sierra Club Canada has explainers on why building new infrastructure for oil and gas is NOT viable economically nor in our national interest (even LNG is not viable, let alone oil). The explainer also details why renewable energy is a far better investment: https://www.sierraclub.ca/lng-national-interest-canada/ & https://www...
Your Community Can Drive the Transition to Renewables - Donât Wait for the State!
Without you taking action in your community - mapping out what you want - the market may not create the outcomes we want when it comes to switching over to renewables. So don't wait for provincial or federal governments to act. Conor talks with Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood about examples of action in places like Edmonton, Alberta. Hadrian is with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), you can read their full report Donât wait for the state: A blueprint for grassroots climate transitions in Canada here: https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/dont-wait-for-the-state-2/
Be sure to...
Les feux de forĂȘt en Alberta et dans les Prairies et la justice environnementale pour les communautĂ©s les plus touchĂ©es
Diamond Yao, notre nouvelle animatrice de podcast francophone, s'entretient avec le Dr. ChĂșk Odenigbo, qui est un environnementaliste Franco-Albertain, au sujet des feux de forĂȘt en Alberta et dans les Prairies et de la maniĂšre dont les communautĂ©s autochtones, immigrĂ©es, marginalisĂ©es et racisĂ©es ne bĂ©nĂ©ficient pas d'un soutien adĂ©quat.
Envoyez-nous vos questions pour le podcast Ă info@sierraclub.ca
Et n'oubliez pas de passer Ă l'action !
Support the show
Find out more and take action at sierraclub.ca/take-action/
Heat Pumps are a Good Way to Keep Pollutants Out of Your Home
Heating our homes with substances that explode - like gas - and that are highly toxic, when you have economically viable alternatives, doesn't make a ton of sense. Jessica talks with Drew Tozer about the benefits of heat pumps, considerations when installing one, and going electric in general to get off oil and gas.
Be sure to send us your questions at info@sierraclub.ca and sign up for email updates from us here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/subscribe-for-updates/
And don't forget to take action!
Support the...
Renewables Were Bringing Jobs Back to the U.S., 'Drill Baby Drill' Will Not - with Ben Jealous
An inevitable decline of oil and gas demand is coming rapidly, and the world already has enough oil and gas projects to meet that demand. Sierra Club U.S. Executive Director Ben Jealous discusses lessons that could help us build up Canadian renewable energy and local green manufacturing as well as thoughts on making change in a polarized public climate. Plus we discuss how renewable energy helps bring down inflation while increased oil and gas extraction actually makes inflation worse. NOTE: This interview was conducted in February, 2025.
Fewer than 2 in 10 Canadians want their tax d...
Incandescence, Wildfire & Documentary Filmmaking with Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper
Conor chats with documentary filmmakers Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper about their new film Incandescence. Incandescence is produced and distributed by the National Film Board of Canada and available for free streaming across Canada on the platform nfb.ca and on the NFB app: https://www.nfb.ca/film/incandescence/
Nova and Velcrow discuss their unique approach to interviews and sound in the film, share insights into how communities are coming together to manage fire and the climate crisis, and discuss the complexities of fire in the ecosystem.Â
We also have several May 2025 updates f...
65% of Canadians Want Renewables INSTEAD of Oil & Gas Development as of March 2025
Over two-thirds of Canadians (67 %) agree that the next Canadian government should make climate action and protecting nature a high priority as well, according to polling conducted by Leger in March 2025. Renewable energy offers employment solutions for energy workers that we urgently need given the volatility of oil and gas prices, as we discuss with Stephen Thomas of the David Suzuki Foundation.
We talk about how a majority of Canadians (62%) agree that Canada should maintain its climate commitments independent of the United States administrationâs decisions. We also discuss...
Nova Scotia Government U.S.-Style Authoritarianism in Favour of Fracking
NS, under Premier Tim Houston, is trying to enact measures such as: - Limiting media access to elected leaders. - Giving the government the power to fire civil servants without cause.
 - Making it harder to find out what the government is up to via access to information requests.Â
- Making it impossible to propose amendments at a government committee formerly called Law Amendments.
- Lifting bans on fracking and uranium mining (without consulting the Assembly of Nova Scotia Miâkmaw Chiefs), protections adopted after consultation and engagement with...
Vote, But Also Talk To Others & Organize
YOU can make the biggest impact by talking with and organizing others. Our special election 2025 podcast on how you can make a big difference in advocating for our environment by spreading the word and talking to others as well as organizing. Featuring practical advice on starting conversations, ways to get out the word, and key facts on subjects you might want to bring up.Â
Contact us at communications@sierraclub.ca if you have questions and find more information here on how to do the above plus sources: https://www.sierraclub.ca/T...
PBO Emissions Cap Report is Flawed: Another Parliamentary Budget Officer Report Misses the Mark
The PBO emissions cap report is as ridiculous as a report on the costs to the economy of requiring seat belts in cars that does not account for any of the benefits of having seat belts in cars. It also comes as ultra-rich corporations in the U.S. are being given free reign to pollute as much as they like. Canada can, and must, be different â for practical and economic reasons.Â
Most Canadians (65 per cent) agree that Canada should invest in renewable energy instead of fossil fuel developments.A majority of Can...Oil & Gas Corporation Enbridge is Trespassing on Indigenous Land
We've covered in past episodes how we have reliable renewable options for energy we can build right now across Canada that generate far more employment and are better for national economic security and local economies than oil and gas investments. In this episode Jessica talks with Joe Bates of the Bad River Band about how oil and gas pipeline corporation Enbridge is actively trespassing on Indigenous land and the Band's fight to protect the Great Lakes from an oil spill.
They also discuss a recent documentary on this issue and Joe's excitement for an upcoming trip...
Canadian Postal Workers Call for Green - Expanded - Services
Conor talks with Brahm Enslin, the president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) Saskatoon Local. Brahm was the regional organizer for the CUPWâs Delivering Community Power campaign - which was organized by workers pushing for a greener postal service.
We also discuss how postal workers are encountering more and more climate impacts while out doing their jobs and the crucial roles they play in communities that are not often appreciated (like checking in on the most vulnerable).
In the Q&A we talk about why the environmental and workers' movements can le...
Part 2: Q&A on Resisting the U.S. Annexation of Canada: Through Renewable Energy Democracy & Community
Listen to PART ONE here FIRST if you haven't already: https://www.sierraclub.ca/united-states-annexation-canada/
That those most opposed to climate action are also those who want Canada to surrender into becoming the 51st U.S. State is unsurprising. U.S. conquest has usually happened as a result of the influence of oil and gas corporations, the same corporations that have thrown their support behind Trump. The interests of Canadian national sovereignty and those of oil and gas corporations are increasingly going in separate ways.<...
Resisting the U.S. Annexation of Canada: Through Renewable Energy Democracy & Community
That those most opposed to climate action are also those who want Canada to surrender into becoming the 51st U.S. State is unsurprising. U.S. conquest has usually happened as a result of the influence of oil and gas corporations, the same corporations that have thrown their support behind Trump. The interests of Canadian national sovereignty and those of oil and gas corporations are increasingly going in separate ways.
We discuss what you can do to help stand up against annexation and why corporate-sponsored climate denial has led us to this point. We...
The 2024 Year Impact & Year Ahead for Sierra Club Canada
Our previous holiday episode on how to talk with others on climate change is available here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/climate-change-family-talk/
Organizing exhibitions with wildfire and flood survivors, progressing dialogues for energy democracy and the Rights of Nature, concrete victories for the critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whale and for QuĂ©bec green spaces vital to biodiversity, as well as progress on national and local climate policy - Sierra Club Canadaâs work in 2024 was connected to all of this. Despite all the political theatre, most Canadians continue to want con...
How to Talk to Others & Progress Past the Political Theatre this Holiday Season
Learn more emissions cap facts here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/action-item/canada-emissions-cap-facts/
We discuss tips for talking with others about climate action this holiday season and get into why despite all the political theatre people still share similar values that we can all chat about more. Plus some new theme music.
Having trouble with misinformation not covered here? Send us more of your questions at info@sierraclub.ca - we are here to help this holiday season!
More fact sheets and previous episodes noted in the above:
...
Hope & Ways Forward on Giving Tuesday 2024
A special compilation episode on why to be hopeful for the environment, ways forward for the climate movement and in your personal conversations with others, and much more!
If you'd like to support the work of this podcast and Sierra Club Canada, today on Giving Tuesday, or any day with a donation you can do so here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/ways-to-support/donate/
Every amount helps! And a quick note: We stand in solidarity with workers at the Canadian Union of Postal Workers exercising their right to collective bargaining as part of the Canada...
The Yukon, Food Security, & the South Beringia Priority Place
We discuss food security lessons from personal experiences in the Yukon and, on an unrelated note, share the audio version of our past webinar with the Yukon Conservation Society on their Yukon South Beringia Priority Place initiative. The Priority Place spans 89,000 square kilometers between the Ogilvie Mountains to the north and Dezadeash Lake and Carcross to the south. Because it was never (or only occasionally) glaciated during the ice ages, it is home to some of the oldest landscapes in Canada and contains a variety of unique and endemic species, some of which are found nowhere else on Earth.<...
Thank Oil & Gas CEOs for Tariffs, We Need an Emissions Cap Now
Thanks to the oil and gas CEOs behind the coming U.S. Administration tariffs might be coming soon to a Canadian economic sector near you, but likely oil and gas itself will be exempt from tariffs (no surprise there). Meanwhile an emissions cap on oil and gas corporations could save thousands of Canadian lives through air pollution reductions alone and the cap will NOT hurt Canada's oil and gas competitiveness.
We get into that and ask why climate policy has become Canadian media's favourite scapegoat for economic fears.
Get facts on the emissions...
Protests that Exceed the Bed, Cracks, and Curapoiesis
Jessica speaks with post activist and paradigm shifting thought leader Bayo Akomolafe, who is a poet, philosopher, and the Executive Director of the Emergence Network. They explore what post activism has to offer todayâs movements for a more just and green world.
In the Q&A we tackle ideas on how to deal with the rise of artificial intelligence ( AI ) in a productive way, the atom-bomb-development-analogy, limiting damage, and the importance of the human element in the history of technological development.
Be sure to send us more of your questions at info@sierraclub.ca an...
Wildfire & Flood Survivors Call for Emissions Cap
Read emissions cap facts here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/action-item/canada-emissions-cap-facts/
We interview survivors of wildfires and floods in Canada who lost businesses, communities, or had property damaged. They are calling for the Canadian Government to enact an emissions cap on oil and gas corporations. That emissions cap is now out in draft form as of yesterday. We also get into the new policy, how it looks, how it can be strengthened, why it needs to be implemented rapidly.
The emissions cap will NOT harm our economy, nor jobs, nor grocery prices and oil and...
