Race Against Climate Change

A firefighter’s wife and a corporate lawyer in different parts of the U.S. get pulled into solving separate mysteries. Something was making cows die and deer hemorrhage to death in West Virginia. That same something could also be giving firefighters cancer — all over the country.

When the lawyer and the firefighter’s wife met, they found out they were working on the same mystery.

The mystery was caused by a human-made chemical that environmental regulators should have known about but didn’t. A chemical that is said to be so toxic, it is unclear if any contact with it is safe.

The chemical was created by a corporate giant, and then another corporate giant began using it to provide the world with so-called revolutionary products. Products that come with a very steep price.

This is a fascinating story of two people unravelling a ball of yarn that would reveal the poisoning of the world.

Listen to The Poison Detectives on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Haida Gwaii is a stretch of islands teeming with life just off the coast of British Columbia. The land, its skies, and the bodies of water around it have been protected for thousands of years by local Haida guardians. Protecting Haida Gwaii is a story about a First Nation that continues the fight for its rights, despite having inhabited the territory for thousands of years.

Read more about Haida Gwaii at Canada’s National Observer.

Written by Brandi Morin

Edited by Zahra Khozema

Cover art by Ata Ojai

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So much climate work happens in silos. But we can’t win the race against climate change if we’re not working together. Today, we’re breaking the silos.

Internationally acclaimed author Naomi Klein joins her brother, fellow author Seth Klein along with Linda Solomon Wood to discuss the path forward. Plus, Canada’s National Observer columnists Jesse Firempong and Julian Brave NoiseCat on the intersections of race, justice and climate action.

GUESTS:

• Julian Brave NoiseCat is a National Observer columnist and writer, as well as Vice President of Policy & Strategy for Data for Progress.
• Jesse Firempong is a columnist for National Observer and has worked with Greenpeace and Oxfam as well as on human rights projects in Canada, Ghana and Botswana.
• Naomi Klein is a filmmaker, activist and writer. Her most recent book is On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal. She’s currently an Associate Professor of Climate Justice at the University of British Columbia.
• Seth Klein is a contributor to National Observer. He’s the author of A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency. He is also an adjunct professor with Simon Fraser University’s Urban Studies program, the Director of Strategy with the Climate Emergency Unit, and was the founding director of the British Columbia office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Correction to this episode: We wrongly introduce journalists Julian Brave NoiseCat and Jesse Firempong as being "both in their thirties."

CREDITS:

Final audio mix by Aftertouch Audio. Fact check by Luke Ottenhof. Artwork by Ata Ojani. Communications from Suzanne Dhaliwal. Original video sound in this episode from Brad Mueller, Guillotino Shuxley, Michael Toledano, and the Parkland Institute. Music provided by Blue Dot Sessions. Additional sfx from freed of freesound.org

CLIMATE NERD RESOURCES:

Links to studies we mention in the show:

• To see the full video from Michael Toledano, click here
• To see that video Polly can’t stop watching of the cows being rescued, click here
• To see Seth and Linda talk about his latest book

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We need to wind down fossil-fuels, and fast. It’s the single largest source of emissions in Canada. But what about the communities and people who depend on the oil and gas industry for their livelihoods? Hear from workers who have already made the switch, and those who aren’t sure if it’s going to happen. Plus, National Observer columnist Max Fawcett and Linda Solomon Wood on why Canada’s climate goals don’t have to be like oil and water when it comes to Alberta.

GUESTS:

• Delia Warren, offshore wind consultant and former director of Iron and Earth East
• Dirk Toleman, heavy machinery operator and UNIFOR local president in Fort McMurray
• Jim Standford, economist and Director of Centre for Future Work
• Max Fawcett, Canada’s National Observer
• Angela Carter, political science professor at the University of Waterloo
• Truzaar Dordi, postdoctoral fellow in climate finance at the University of Waterloo

CREDITS:

Final audio mix by Aftertouch Audio. Fact check by Luke Ottenhof. Artwork by Ata Ojani. Communications from Suzanne Dhaliwal. Archival sound in this episode from the Legislative Library of Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Music provided by Blue.Sessions Patrick Patrikios, and Lobo Loco. 

Thank you to The Navigators for permission to use their song, “Pulling Oil From the Sand.” Additional sfx from __jpberger__ and __xcreenplay__ of freesound.org

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Nearly a quarter of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation. How do we slash emissions here, and still get from point A to B? We talk about planes, trains and automobiles, and what the heck a hydrogen fuel cell is-- and what the deal with hydrogen is. Plus, Linda Solomon Wood talks with the Smart Prosperity Institute’s Colleen Kaiser on why electric cars may not be the cure all we need.

GUESTS:

• Chúk Odenigbo, Future Ancestor Services
• Dan Wicklum, The Transition Accelerator
• Truzaar Dordi, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo
• Max Fawcett, Canada’s National Observer
• Colleen Kaiser, Smart Prosperity Institute

CREDITS:

Final audio mix by Aftertouch Audio. Fact check by Luke Ottenhof. Artwork by Ata Ojani. Communications from Suzanne Dhaliwal. Music provided by Blue Dot Sessions. Additional sound from The Juice Media and Toddler Fun Learning, as well as Kleber_KGF, alphatone, barcelonetasonora and Glaneur de Sons from freesound.org

Special thanks to Alison Gu, Azadeh Maroufmashat, Bob Howarth James Wilt, Carolyn Kim and Jess Harris.

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A decarbonized world is going to need a lot of electricity, but where should we get it from? And what role should nuclear power play in Canada? John Gorman, Denise Balkissoon, Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare and Durham Nuclear Awareness get into the pros and cons of nuclear power. Linda Solomon Wood chats with climate campaigner Catherine Abreu on what it will take to transform the power grid. And solar-power champion Melina Laboucan Massimo on the strength of Indigenous-led renewables.

GUESTS:

• Louis Bertrand, Durham Nuclear Awareness.
• John Gorman, President and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Association
• Denise Balkissoon, The Narwhal’s Ontario bureau chief 
• Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare
• Catherine Abreu, founder of Destination Zero and a member Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body
• Melina Laboucan Massimo, founder of Sacred Earth Solar

CREDITS:

Final audio mix by Aftertouch Audio. Fact check by Luke Ottenhof. Artwork by Ata Ojani. Communications from Suzanne Dhaliwal. Music provided by Blue.Sessions and Podington Bear. Additional sound from Merriam-Webster, Vlatko Blažek, ValentinSosnitskiy, Speedenza, digableplanet, tmokonen, SubwaySandwitch420.

Related articles from CNO:

• https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/05/12/news/canada-energy-future-nuclear-not-everyones-buying-it
• https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/05/25/news/opposition-grows-small-nuclear-reactors-over-alarming-risks
• https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/07/22/news/canadian-nuclear-safety-commission-lung-cancer-study-uranium-workers
• https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/07/02/opinion/no-path-to-net-zero-without-nuclear-power

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In our last episode, Canada’s National Observer founder Linda Solomon Wood sat down with climate action icons David Suzuki and Severn Cullis-Suzuki. Here’s their conversation in full.

With help this week from Rheanna Toy and Aftertouch Audio. Communications by Suzanne Dhaliwal. 

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The climate crisis is in our backyards. It’s not a matter of if our neighbourhoods will be hit, it’s a matter of how. Canada’s National Observer founder Linda Solomon Wood sits down with the most famous family duo in Canadian climate action, David Suzuki and Severn Cullis-Suzuki. Plus, Montreal’s deadly urban heat islands, and the gargantuan task of retrofitting every building in Canada’s biggest city.

GUESTS:

• Nilson Zepeda, Coordonnateur de la campagne ILEAU, Conseil régional de l'environnement de Montréal 
• Dalila Hassid, volunteer with La Voisinerie, part of the ILEAU campaign 
• Stewart Dutfield, Manager of Public Energy Initiatives, Existing Buildings- Toronto. Part of Transform TO.
• David Suzuki and Severn-Cullis Suzuki

CREDITS:

Field production from Ellen Payne Smith and Elysse Deveaux in Montreal.

Final audio mix by Aftertouch Audio. Fact check by Dana Filek-Gibson. Artwork by Ata Ojani. Communications from Suzanne Dhaliwal and Luke Ottenhof. Music by Martijn de Boer and Blue Dot Sessions. Additional sound from Eldiariosonoro_, Lonemonk and Helter Skelter from freesound.org.

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Everybody’s gotta eat, but who’s feeding us, and what else are we eating up along the way? In this episode we chew on the ways our food affects our climate, and what can be done about it. Professor and author Lenore Newman discusses food security and this summer’s heat dome with National Observer founder Linda Solomon Wood. Plus, the surge in regenerative farming in Canada, and a future of real beef with no real cows. Yes, you read that right.

GUESTS:

• Robyn Bunn, Radical Action with Migrants in Agriculture
• Fawn Jackson, climate lead for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association
• Karen Ross, director of Farmers for Climate Solutions.
• Lenore Newman, Director of the Food and Agriculture Institute and Canada Research Chair in Food Security and Environment at the University of the Fraser Valley
• Isha Datar, Executive Director of New Harvest

CREDITS:

Final audio mix by Aftertouch Audio. Fact check by Dana Filek Gibson and Marc Fawcett-Atkinson. Artwork by Ata Ojani. Communications from Suzanne Dhaliwal and Luke Ottenhof. Music provided by Blue.Sessions and Soundstripe. Effects by PianoFarm and soundmary

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