What On Earth

Darning socks may not sound like a revolutionary act. But people across the country are embracing the art of mending to push back against clothing waste. We visit Toronto’s second annual Mend In Public Day, and a clothing swap in Victoria, to hear about the personal and political action afoot to curb emissions from the fashion industry.

Drilling into the ground isn’t the only way to source metals for clean energy. You can also get them from castoff phones, laptops and TVs. It’s called urban mining. We speak with Maria Holuszko at UBC’s Urban Mining Innovation Centre about developing more efficient techniques for harvesting the gold, copper and other materials in old electronics. And Craig Wisehart of the Electronic Products Recyc...

Pattie Gonia proves why climate action is a total drag, in the most fabulous way possible. From going viral for hiking in high heels, to performing a climate anthem with acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Alaskan Indigenous artist Quinn Christopherson, Wyn Wylie (the artist behind Pattie Gonia’s camp, fierce, red wig and marvellous makeup) is on a mission to bring some joy to the fight to protect the...

“Build baby build!” Post-election, the word ‘pipeline’ is popping up again. Mark Carney says he’ll speed up energy project approvals, honour the duty to consult with First Nations and also hit Canada’s climate goals. Eriel Deranger of Indigenous Climate Action worries these promises amount to “doublespeak.” She warns any plans to fast-track projects that impact Indigenous communities could face pr...

Canada’s first local state of emergency due to drought was declared on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia in 2022. The shortage was so bad, officials feared the region would run out of water for hospitals and fire departments. And the Coast has been under severe water restrictions for five of the last eight summers, a situation experts warn could become the norm. In her documentary, “Drought i...

Pope Francis established himself as a leading voice on climate action, but it’s not yet clear how that legacy will be preserved once a new pope is in place. Katharine Hayhoe, Global Chief Scientist of Nature United and Distinguished Professor at Texas Tech, weighs in on Pope Francis’s legacy. Then, we talk to Molly Burhans, cartographer and founder of GoodLands, who is mapping the vast swathes of...

In remote northern communities, diesel is king. But breakthrough solar energy projects are underway that could begin to reduce fossil fuel reliance. This year, the theme of Earth Day is renewable energy, so we’re taking you to Nunavut where people are adding solar panels to small off-grid cabins and others are working on community-scale solar projects — so the diesel generators can finally be turn...

Climate hasn’t been a hot topic on the campaign trail, but did it come up in the debates? We hear about that from CBC’s Aaron Wherry. Then, we talk climate policy with NDP candidate Samantha Green. And, we hear what the Conservatives have been saying about climate and energy in this election.

The Green Party aims to be the environmental conscience of parliament. But its popularity has waned as people consider strategic voting in the face of other concerns – and as climate change slips as a priority for voters. We speak to Green Party advisor Daniel Green about how the party is balancing its climate policy with other issues in this election and whether co-leaders Jonathan Pedneault and...

The parties aren’t talking climate much on the campaign trail. But we are - we’ve got tough questions for all of them. First up, Jonathan Wilkinson of the Liberal party. We also talk to voters about why the warming planet isn’t a top priority for them this time.

Japan’s burgeoning wind energy sector is turning to robots to keep the industry moving. They can do work that is trickier and riskier for their human counterparts. CBC’s Cathy Senay takes us on a journey across Japan to find out how.

Students at some of Canada’s top universities are demanding banks stop funding fossil fuel projects and are calling on their schools to cut ties with major financial institutions. What On Earth’s youth climate action columnist Aishwarya Puttur explains the lengths that students are going to – from confronting bank executives to picking up protest signs – to support the cause, racking up some wins...

Climate-friendly menstrual products come with a lot of complex considerations, like personal preferences, stigma and cost. We visit a start-up in Nova Scotia that’s making compostable pads. Then – we hear about the policy and social changes that could help make sustainable options more accessible.

How do you include more voices in the climate change conversation? In a diverse country like Canada, there’s a growing need to have a wider variety of languages in the discussion. Climate justice columnist Chúk Odenigbo takes us through the concept of linguistic justice and why it matters.

Carbon pricing is a climate solution, but also a political football. Now that an election is underway and the consumer carbon tax has been scrapped, could the federal industrial price on carbon be the next wedge issue? Kate Ervine from Halifax’s Saint Mary’s University helps us go beyond slogans like “axe the tax” to understand what you should know about the industrial price on carbon.

Kids and veggies don’t always go hand in hand, but this after-school workshop is introducing plant-based cooking to children as a climate solution. It’s called EcoCooks. Producer Nick Logan stopped by a session to meet the kids 9-12 who are learning to make, and appreciate, tasty, vegetable-forward food that also cuts emissions. Then, we learn about other community efforts across Canada to put mor...

Peace and neutrality offer the best chance for future climate research in Antarctica. That’s what CBC’s international climate correspondent Susan Ormiston learned aboard HMCS Margaret Brooke – a Canadian naval ship carrying 15 Canadian scientists to the South Pole to learn about the southern ocean’s capacity to continue regulating Earth’s climate. Their research is taking place as growing geopolit...

It might not sound like a climate job, but mechanical insulators help make buildings more energy efficient. We head out to meet a young woman who trained in the trade through a program set up by the Youth Climate Corps BC. The group is training young people around British Columbia for a wide variety of good, green jobs and hopes to expand across the country.

Fired climate scientist Tom Di Liberto says lives are at risk from extreme weather as more cuts loom over the U.S. government agency responsible for forecasting and much more. Di Liberto lost his job as part of a massive purge by the Trump administration, and worries the layoffs will not only cost the U.S. more money, but will cripple weather forecasting across the continent, leaving many people v...

Canada's oil and gas companies are hoping carbon capture and storage will be a big part of the country’s net zero plans. But shipping CO2 through pipelines to storage facilities can come with risks. We go to rural Mississippi to hear about a rare carbon dioxide pipeline breach that was nearly deadly – and find out what Canada can learn from the incident.

There’s a push to see those responsible for intentional destruction of the environment tried in the International Criminal Court, just like war criminals. Three small island nations have proposed making ecocide a crime like genocide and crimes against humanity. But what would that take – and is there a better way to hold people to account for harming the planet and our climate?

With a looming trade war, local fruits and vegetables are attractive. But at what price? Some consumers are suddenly seeing prices skyrocket. Fruit and vegetable farmers are struggling with climate linked extreme weather events. That’s wrecking harvests and driving up production costs all over the world. But customers can help.

A new space race may affect Earth’s climate. As rocket companies, owned by billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, drive the pursuit of energy resources in space, sustainability experts are scrambling to understand the carbon footprint of a quickly ramped up space industry. At the same time, they’re also considering the potential for climate solutions that may exist beyond our planet. It’s a q...

The climate solution that’s heating up across Canada has become an important part of food security and sovereignty. But many are powered by fossil fuels. The City of Fredericton has created a zero emissions greenhouse to grow saplings, and researchers at the University of Windsor are finding more sustainable ways to power them.

People in social housing aren’t always included in conversations about climate solutions. That’s why Zamani Ra is finding ways to draw people from those communities into the environmental movement. The founder of the Toronto-based not-for-profit CEED Canada shares how workshops that start with recycling can make climate action relevant for all.