Journalist James Stout joins us to discuss Rojava, the ecological aspects of their revolution in Northeast Syria, and the history of conflict there. Kurds and other cultural minorities in Rojava are also being threatened with the prospect of ethnic cleansing by the new Syrian Transitional Government of Damascus that has attacked on Rojava. 

The Canadian Government could apply pressure to the Syrian Government to help facilitate a peaceful resolution if you'd like to call your MP and tell them to act. We will also update this description with ways to assist in humanitarian efforts in the region as they become available. UNICEF is operating in the area.

• Find James' work and more about James' book Against the State at https://bsky.app/profile/jamesstout.bsky.social 
• Find the It Could Happen Here Podcast at: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-it-could-happen-here-30717896/
• Listen to Part One of this two part podcast, Rojava: Social Ecology, Democracy, Feminism, & Community, here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/rojava-social-ecology-feminisim/

In this episode we additionally delve further into organizing-without-the-state skills from Rojava of use to anyone anywhere. On that note, James also recently returned from reporting on I.C.E.'s invasion of Minneapolis. As James puts it: 

Be sure to send us your questions at [email protected] and sign up for email updates from us here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/subscribe-for-updates/

Please note: The views expressed in these podcast episodes do not necessarily reflect those of the Sierra Club Canada Foundation, or those of our chapters or programs.

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Conor talks with Arthur, a journalist working with the Emergency Committee for Rojava about Rojava's "experiment in feminism, pluralism, democracy and environmentalism" that includes a sweeping vision of social ecology. This podcast comes as Kurds and other cultural minorities in the area are being threatened with potential genocide by the new Syrian Government which has attacked the Rojava region. A follow up episode (Part 2) which will be out soon will get into what has happened since this episode was recorded on January 7th 2026.

The Canadian Government could also apply pressure to the Syrian Government to help facilitate a peaceful resolution if you'd like to call your MP.

The Environment in Canada Podcast often covers community solutions to environmental crises in Canada, giving communities more autonomy via renewable energy and mutual aid systems, and how organizing from the ground up can help Canadians reinforce our sovereignty and protect our environment. Rojava is a really important case study in these sorts of things being attempted at scale.

It also becomes apparent during this interview that when it comes to acting on climate change and adopting renewable energy - especially given upcoming demand decreases for oil and gas globally - there really is no excuse for us not to be taking climate and renewable energy action here in Canada and helping others around the world do the same.

Find out more about the Emergency Committee for Rojava: https://www.defendrojava.org/

Be sure to send us your questions at [email protected] and sign up for email updates from us here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/subscribe-for-updates/

And don't forget to take action for the environment generally in Canada: https://www.sierraclub.ca/take-action/

Please note: The views expressed in these podcast episodes do not necessarily reflect those of the Sierra Club Canada Foundation, or those of our chapters or programs.

Support the show

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Conor talks with Paris Marx of the Tech Won't Save Us Podcast about digital and energy sovereignty in Canada in the face of U.S. aggression - including tips for your personal digital sovereignty to get off U.S. tech - and the importance of continuing to push the Canadian Government to do better.

Find Paris Marx's full guide to your personal digital sovereignty here: https://disconnect.blog/getting-off-us-tech-a-guide/

Take action on related issues via our petitions / letter writing campaigns:

• Pledge to support community-led renewable energy and tell Carney to do the same: https://www.sierraclub.ca/action-item/carney-support-renewable-energy/
• Tell Carney on Bill C-15: Protect our rights and those of First Nations and future generations: https://www.sierraclub.ca/action-item/carney_bill_c-15/

Sign up for our eNewsletter here for more like this: https://www.sierraclub.ca/subscribe-for-updates/

Listen to our most recent previous episode with an update on U.S. aggression and the west coast oil pipeline situation here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/threat-oil-canada-greenland/

Listen to the full list of our Sovereignty Saturdays subseries of podcasts on related topics here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/sovereignty-saturdays-canada-podcast/

Why there will be NO market for new Canadian LNG (and oil) projects: https://www.sierraclub.ca/lng-national-interest-canada/

Why climate policies HELP Canada's economy and why oil and gas reliance HARMS it: https://www.sierraclub.ca/emissions-cap-economy/

Learn more about Sierra Club Canada's Wild Child Programs which help get kids outside in nature (and offline): https://www.sierraclub.ca/programs/wild-child/

Become a Sierra Club Canada member here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/ways-to-support/membership/

Learn more about Sierra Club Canada's staff here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/about/our-staff/

• And our Board: https://www.sierraclub.ca/about/board-of-directors/

Listen to our previous episode with Paris on AI here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/ai-environment-paris-marx/

Send us your questions at [email protected]

And don't forget to take action for the environment generally in Canada: https://www.sierraclub.ca/take-action/

Please note: The views expressed in these podcast episodes do not necessarily reflect those of the Sierra Club Canada Foundation, or those of our chapters or programs.

Support the show

Find out more and take action at sierraclub.ca/take-action/

Find our full newsletter from this week (with sources) here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/threat-oil-canada-greenland/

Find our recent take action letter campaign here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/action-item/carney_bill_c-15/

An excerpt:

If Trump invades Greenland we can expect oil and gas interests ‘based in Canada‘ to side with Trump and tell Canada to keep quiet. Oil tycoons in Canada are already apparently happy to help Trump develop oil in Venezuela and thus set the precedent we will help the U.S. violate international law. And will Venezuelans even get democracy out of it? Unlikely, for now Trump is looking to keep the old regime in Venezuela in place under the new leadership of Delcy Rodriguez.

It also turns out “Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is part of a U.S. group whose leader, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, has been tasked by the Donald Trump administration with helping to annex Greenland” Desmog writes.

Coincidentally, the big oil-supporting Toronto Sun, whose Ottawa bureau chief recently praised the murder of Renee Good by ICE, just published a piece by Stephen LeDrew supporting Trump’s Greenland annexation goal:

“Canada may soon be cheering Donald Trump on in his stated goal of acquiring Greenland,” it declares.

If we don’t cheer, Trump may take Newfoundland and Labrador instead the Sun’s piece goes on to threaten. As a Newfoundlander myself I can say that threat isn’t going to be received the way the Toronto Sun – a Postmedia publication – thinks.

Big oil and gas are not just seeking to erode Canadian climate policy, they are seeking to aid Trump in Canada’s annexation and to get us to give in and give up allies like Greenland. Because Canada resisting U.S. aggression with our international allies is big oil’s worst nightmare....

Trump’s new 2025 ‘National Security’ Strategy reveals the U.S. plans to use soft power – including private sector influence – to exert influence on other countries like Canada and Greenland. The strategy mentions the oil and gas and tech sectors in particular as tools for expanding U.S. influence and specifically declares climate action in other countries to be a threat to U.S. dominance. This is the U.S. approach to Greenland and is happening in Canada too. What has happened since in Venezuela also mirrors that same approach: The U.S. has replaced Venezuela’s leader (Nicolás Maduro) with a new leader from the same regime (democracy not included) because the new leader, Delcy Rodríguez, is friendly with U.S. oil and gas interests. They built a relationship with her and directly recommended her as a replacement. Obviously Canada and Venezuela are not comparable governments, but the U.S. administration does not view Canada as different. To them we are both countries are to be annexed.

There is a low risk that our PM will be physically kidnapped and replaced by a more capitulant subordinate (for now). But pressure IS being put on our government by oil and gas interests to get it to stop resisting U.S. influence and to stop climate action which would help us become more independent. Oil and gas interests – tied to the U.S. – are framing themselves as acting in Canada’s national interest when they are actually undermining it. The more naive corners of our government have largely bought into that framing...

Read the full newsletter with sources: https://www.sierraclub.ca/threat-oil-canada-greenland/

Support the show

Find out more and take action at sierraclub.ca/take-action/

The U.S. Administration will use soft power - through oil and gas corporate lobbying - to try and erode Canada's resolve and sovereignty. What has happened since in Venezuela mirrors that same approach: The U.S. has replaced Venezuela's leader (Nicolás Maduro) with a new leader (democracy not included) because the new leader, Delcy Rodríguez, is friendly with U.S. oil and gas interests. They built a relationship with her and directly recommended her as a replacement. Obviously Canada and Venezuela are not comparable governments, but the U.S. administration does not view Canada as different. To them we are both countries are to be annexed. The U.S. has now said it is open to using its military to conquer Greenland.

There is a low risk that our PM will be physically kidnapped and replaced by a more capitulant subordinate (for now). But pressure IS being put on our government by oil and gas interests to get it to stop resisting U.S. influence and to stop climate action which would help us become more independent. Oil and gas interests - tied to the U.S. - are framing themselves as acting in Canada's national interest when they are actually undermining it. The more naive corners of our government have largely bought into that framing.

If oil is developed further by Venezuela it would increase future oil oversupply in the global market, making a new west coast oil pipeline even less viable economically.

More likely though is that U.S. actions in Venezuela are ultimately about funnelling cash from U.S. taxpayers to oil and gas corporations as well as making the U.S. President and his friends richer in the short term, as The Guardian reports "Donald Trump has suggested US taxpayers could reimburse energy companies for repairing Venezuelan infrastructure for extracting and shipping oil."

All of this also helps oil and gas corporations keep up the false narrative that oil and gas demand will continue for decades, a narrative that helps them make as much profit as possible in the short term before demand fades (and collect taxpayer subsidies in the process). It's the appearance, not the reality, of future demand that matters to them which is why oil and gas interests are promoting contradictory stories about oil and gas expansion about Alberta and Venezuela: The stories might contradict PRACTICALLY - because there will NOT be enough demand to legitimize expansion in one place let alone both - but both stories support the FALSE NARRATIVE of demand growth.

• Find sources for today's episode and the above here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/venezuela-oil-trump-canada/
• Find past episodes of our Sovereignty Saturdays sub-series here: 
  • https://www.sierraclub.ca/no-kings-inequality-deregulation/
  • https://www.sierraclub.ca/middle-ground-appeal-radical/  
  • https://www.sierraclub.ca/west-coast-pipeline-sovereignty/ 
  • https://www.sierraclub.ca/canada-climate-movement-win/
  • https://www.sierraclub.ca/the-real-deep-state/
  • https://www.sierraclub.ca/oligarch_social_media_platforms/
  • https://www.sierraclub.ca/united-states-oligarchy-oil/
  • https://www.sierraclub.ca/sovereignty-democracy-canada-annexation/
• Call your MP and take action by calling for renewable solutions: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en

Support the show

Find out more and take action at sierraclub.ca/take-action/

Melody Li speaks with Dr. Bruce Lanphear, a physician and public health scientist whose research has reshaped how we understand the health effects of low-level chemicals such as lead, air pollution, fluoride, and pesticides. For more than three decades, his work has shown that small exposures can have large, lasting effects on children’s development and population health, and has helped drive prevention-focused policy around the world. 

In this episode, they take a deep dive into the hidden ways toxic chemicals shape our health, our communities, and our policies: why there is no safe level of lead, how industry has influenced environmental science and regulation, and what decades of on-the-ground work with impacted communities reveal about environmental injustice and the global export of harm. They also explore how personal experience intersects with scientific research, why prevention must take priority over treatment, and what practical actions—both individual and systemic—can reduce toxic exposures and better protect future generations.

Be sure to send us your questions at [email protected] 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/

Please note: The views expressed in these podcast episodes do not necessarily reflect those of the Sierra Club Canada Foundation, or those of our chapters or programs.

Support the show

Find out more and take action at sierraclub.ca/take-action/

We're already planning to approach 2026 with a cutting edge, solutions-oriented, strategy and we look back on accomplishments in 2025 in this podcast as well. Sierra Club Canada's President (Owen Leggatt Stewart, based in British Columbia) and Executive Director (Gretchen Fitzgerald, originally from NL) share thoughts, and words of encouragement for those who may feel disheartened, and we even have a chat (at the very end) about renewable energy in Newfoundland and Labrador, a possible power line from the East Coast to Europe, and NL cuisine. 

Watch this podcast as a video here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/sierra-club-canada-impact-2025/

Sierra Club Canada has chapters working in ONTARIO, the PRAIRIES, QUÉBEC, and ATLANTIC CANADA as well as a NATION-WIDE Youth Chapter that are fighting to protect our climate, biodiversity, and nature. We also have many supporters of our national work in British Columbia and the North. Our Wild Child programs get kids outside into nature in Edmonton Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. 

• Learn more about us at: https://www.sierraclub.ca/ 
• Consider giving a gift at: https://www.sierraclub.ca/ways-to-support/donate/ 
• Here's a different podcast with a guide to talking with family about environmental issues during the holidays: https://www.sierraclub.ca/climate-change-family-talk/ 
• Learn more about our staff at: https://www.sierraclub.ca/about/our-staff/ 
• And Board at: https://www.sierraclub.ca/about/board-of-directors/ 
• Sign up for email updates from us here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/subscribe-for-updates/ 
• Watch the another video podcast on the work that goes into fundraising: https://www.sierraclub.ca/giving_tuesday_fundraising_work/ 

And help spread the word to others this giving season about Sierra Club Canada! Thank you for your continuing support!

Support the show

Find out more and take action at sierraclub.ca/take-action/

Yumeng speaks with Dr. Anabela Bonada from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation about Canada’s rising shoreline risks, and flooding in general, and the practical, low-cost steps residents can take to stay safer. Together, they explore the new Managing Rising Risks: Climate-Resilient Shorelines for Canada report, why shorelines matter for community resilience, and how everyone can prepare for flooding and erosion in a changing climate.

Resources from the Episode:

• Managing Rising Risks: Climate-Resilient Shorelines for Canada: https://www.intactcentreclimateadaptation.ca/recent-reports/climate-resilient-shorelines/
• Government of New Brunswick Home Floodproofing Guide: https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/env/pdf/Flooding-Inondations/Floodproofing.pdf
• Municipal Flood Risk Check-Up: https://www.intactcentreclimateadaptation.ca/municipal-flood-risk-check-up/
• Home Flood Protection Program: https://www.intactcentreclimateadaptation.ca/programs/home_flood_protect/
• Three Steps to Cost-Effective Home Flood Protection: https://www.intactcentreclimateadaptation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IntactCentre-Home-flood-pretection-infographic.pdf

Be sure to send us your questions at [email protected] 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/

Or give what you can to support the show: https://www.sierraclub.ca/ways-to-support/donate/

Support the show

Find out more and take action at sierraclub.ca/take-action/

Anti-gaz de schiste du N.-B. : représentant les Néo-Brunswickois(es) préoccupés par notre avenir.

Envoyez-nous vos questions pour le podcast à [email protected]

Et n'oubliez pas de passer à l'action !

Veuillez noter : Les opinions exprimées dans ce podcast ne reflètent pas nécessairement celles de la Fondation Sierra Club Canada ou de nos sections ou programmes.

Support the show

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We answer your questions about Sierra Club Canada and take a look behind the scenes of the work that goes into fundraising with Development Manager Taylor Farrugia for Giving Tuesday - as well as share advice for young people interested in getting into the fields of fundraising or communications. Don't forget to spread the word to others! 

Learn more about Sierra Club Canada at https://www.sierraclub.ca/ 

Give your gift to Sierra Club Canada and help support our work and this podcast at: https://www.sierraclub.ca/ways-to-support/donate/ 

Find our staff listing here and learn more about our team: https://www.sierraclub.ca/about/our-staff/

And find out board member listing here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/about/board-of-directors/

Be sure to send us your questions at [email protected] and sign up for email updates from us here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/subscribe-for-updates/ 

And don't forget to take action by signing petitions and more here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/take-action/

Support the show

Find out more and take action at sierraclub.ca/take-action/