What On Earth

Sixty-five bats dropped dead inside a home custom-built to protect them. What went wrong? For bat moms looking for a place to raise their pups, it’s not the rent that’s through the roof, it’s the temperature. But bat people are busy building them safer homes: from tiny condos with emergency exits to mini bark roosts stuck to trees. Guests: John Sarema, bat ambassador, Burke Mountain Naturalists So...

Mountains of sargassum seaweed are choking Caribbean beaches. It’s so dangerous it’s shut down a school. Scientists point the finger at climate change, but solutions are on the horizon. We head to the tropics to learn about a WALL-E inspired robot vacuum and a seaweed-powered car Guests: Chuanmin Hu, oceanographer at the University of South Florida Mike Allen, professor at the University of Exeter...

Alberta has the country on tenterhooks as the province votes on whether to consider splitting from Canada. At least one separatist leader says the threat to leave is serving as leverage for the oil industry. Others in the province say investment in renewable energy is already taking a hit. This week we’re asking how past fights over the oil sands got tangled up with separatism, what the referendum...

Depending on who you ask, AI could usher in a green utopia – or the apocalypse. Between those two extremes is a much less hypothetical reality: the technology’s huge impact on our environment now. But tech leaders like NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang suggest it's all worth it, because AI can solve climate problems in the future. So when it comes to emissions cuts, what’s AI done for us lately? And what’s at...

When a meteorologist took a job in Iowa, he was excited to make his forecasts matter to viewers by bringing in climate impacts that were relevant to their lives, like rising costs and energy independence. But then the backlash began, escalating to a death threat.  He's not the only one. At climate week in New York City, a group of meteorologists gathered to share stories about speaking to oft...

As parliament gets back in session, there’s a lot going on: a trade war, talk of Alberta separation, and international alliances being redrawn. Prime Minister Mark Carney has been clear: he doesn’t think the old climate plan he inherited from the Trudeau government holds up to Canada’s new reality. So, where does climate fit in what Carney calls the next “world order?” Two of our political journal...

It’s gonna be a record-breaking few months of weather. A natural surge of warm ocean water is colliding with a planet hotter than at any point in human history – meaning more heat, more floods, more droughts. Some think this Super El Niño offers a window into what climate change will bring, and that it could help us prepare for the decades to come. Scientist Rosa Vásquez Espinoza takes us to Peru,...

She's a CBC science journalist, meteorologist and seismologist. Now she’s taking the helm as the host of your favourite climate change podcast. All summer long, Jo and the team have been cooking up new ideas and stories to help you make sense of our changing world, at a time when the climate is warming and everything else can feel like a hot mess. Have we piqued your interest yet? Good. Here’s a q...

Stephen Nelson tried to keep his friend Mario safe in the 2021 heat dome. But tragically, his friend died – in an old building that wasn’t designed for our warming world. This galvanized Stephen to do more to keep his community safe during extreme heat. We visit Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to meet the tenants, like Stephen, working together to keep each other cool in a changing climate. 

From the best of What On Earth: A warmer world is great for rats. (Not so much for us). That’s why cities are seeing a climate-linked rise in rodents. Can birth control reverse that? Producer Molly Segal finds out how Chicago, Manhattan and Vancouver are all trying to make things a little less rattier.

The search for survivors is underway after deadly flooding in Nepal and Tibet. But experts around the world are also unpacking what role climate change played in the disaster. We hear from two experts who know the region well, who say people have been warning that something like this was coming as glaciers warm at an alarming rate. And we find out why a better understanding of the impacts of warmi...

From the best of What On Earth: Bats and wind turbines are both climate darlings. But after Cori Lausen saw a turbine reduce a bat to a "black banana peel," she set out to find another solution. That experience unlocked a years-long search to understand what was happening and how to fix it. The question looms: as we rush to add wind renewables to the grid, will both ever be able to co-exist on the...

There was booing and calls of bullsh*t during a recent government town hall in Sturgeon County. It’s where tech giant Meta is building its largest data centre outside of the U.S. Locals have a variety of concerns; we’re zooming in on the promise that this facility will use less water. Can the plans for ‘closed-loop’ cooling help fix AI’s thirstiness? We break down what the tech can do, and what’s...

From the best of What on Earth - Online communities are hunting for items that last. At #BI4L, members crowdsource reviews and recommendations to try to find the “best” version of, well, everything – from blenders to husbands (really). It’s all in an effort to save money, AND the climate. 

If you’ve breathed in smoke, or worse, had to flee your home this summer, you might be thinking more about our warming world. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip hopes this season of fire translates to climate action. As wildfire tears through his territory, the First Nations leader is calling on Mark Carney and Danielle Smith to pause a proposed pipeline. At the same time, pollster Shachi Kurl tells...

It’s made of mycelium and hemp, it’s better for the earth and it’s now available in Canada. CBC’s Anand Ram introduces us to an American woman who laid her father to rest in one of these biodegradable coffins. And we hear how innovations in green burials are comforting options for those who want to honour their loved ones’ environmental values.

From the Best of What On Earth – Wildfire smoke has choked Canadians across the country this summer. Air purifiers are expensive, but there’s a cheaper way to clean your air indoors. We visit a workshop teaching seniors in Vancouver’s Chinatown to build DIY air cleaners, and get some tips for how you can make one yourself.

From the best of What On Earth – You’ve got climate questions, Hannah Ritchie has answers. She’s “Clearing the Air” in her new book, drawing on her expertise as a data scientist to delve into some of the common — and not so common — queries that come up in climate conversations. Her goal isn’t just to shift opinions on climate action, but to also to spark hope at a time when it may feel like the c...

Flood-prone communities are doing everything to keep water out. But as climate-fuelled storms become more severe, some architects say we need to work with water, not fight it. We learn how amphibious engineering kept Bangladeshi kids in school and allowed a Louisiana community to stay afloat.

From the Best of What On Earth – Mother Nature is a real wild child and has a bone to pick with us humans when it comes to how we’ve treated the planet. Punk rock legend Iggy Pop voices her whiskey-soaked rage in the climate podcast “Sweet Little Human.” Its producers hope a little dark humour can help shine a brighter light on our need to address the climate crisis. 

People on both sides of the Canada - U.S. border have been choking on smoke in recent weeks, much of it coming from fires burning in Canada's forests. Now, U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening new, fire-related tariffs in retaliation. Climate scientists like Zeke Hausfather say wildfires in Canada’s vast boreal forest are linked to global warming and can't be blamed on just one country. And...

Sixteen-year-old Evon Murphy loves thrift shopping. Partly because she enjoys fashion and likes to save money. But also because buying secondhand is one way to reduce the impact of the fashion industry on the climate. We meet up with Evon at a Vancouver thrift store to talk about the stories she’s written for CBC Kids News about emissions from clothing production, and how young people can push for...

From the Best of What On Earth – Carter Vigh died when wildfire smoke brought on a severe asthma attack. Now his mom is part of an effort to teach other kids about the risks of smoky days and poor air quality. We hear the case for having these kinds of lessons in classrooms everywhere, as the planet warms, creating the hot, dry conditions that lead to longer lasting and more intense fires. And – w...

From the Best of What On Earth – Electric vehicles need lithium for their batteries. But Indigenous communities in Northern Argentina say extracting this critical mineral is harming their water supply. We head down to South America’s 'lithium triangle’ to find out how mining for this important EV component could be doing more harm than good. 

Jesse Winter became a photojournalist so he could see wildfires firsthand. He got more than he bargained for, including documenting the aftermath of a young firefighter’s death. His new book, Wildfire: Dispatches from a Country Ablaze details how climate change, along with decades of poor forest practices, has set the table for devastating fires. We hear about the challenges for Canada’s wildland...