Beginning in March and increasing in intensity this month, vast parts of Canada have been scorched by a record-setting series of wildfires. With the worst fire season in Canadian history still raging, parts of eleven provinces and territories have been burnt as large “megafires” continue in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec. So how do we understand what’s occurring? How do we get beyond simplistic mainstream narratives that set some generalized “humanity” against nature, that disappear the links between such catastrophic fires and the dominant social system?

Welsh eco-socialist Ian Rappel joins host Allen Ruff to discuss his perspectives on the root causes of what increasingly is becoming “a world on fire.” Ian writes more on the issue for International Socialism.

Ian Rappel is an eco-socialist activist, critical geographer and conservation ecologist. He has been working and campaigning in environmental conservation for three decades. He has managed over 100 nature reserves in the UK and helped lead victorious campaigns against proposed motorway (highway) schemes. He is now working for the UK’s Real Farming Trust – an organisation promoting agroecology and food sovereignty.

Photo by JOHN TOWNER on Unsplash

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