The best way to fight climate misinformation is to have conversations with those we know, and we know many of you are having those chats. Sierra Club Canada is here to help with a new special series of All Hands on Deck webinars specifically on how to win hearts and minds on the toughest climate issues through conversations. We interrupt our normally scheduled programming to bring you the first of these by podcast.

In this recording Montana Burgess of Neighbours United joins Sierra Club Canada for the first of this series of webinars to help us all learn better how to win over people like your neighbours, family and friends on climate and other environmental issues. Montana is also joined by Sierra Club Canada's Ish Theilheimer and Jessica Murray, our Ontario Chapter Director.

Be sure to send us more of 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!

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

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We learn to value nature through our repeated exposure to it, so how can we help future generations if they don't get to experience the natural world? Sierra Club Canada's Wild Child programs get children outside for tens of thousands of hours every year, but what does that really mean? For answers Conor talks with Tamsyn Neale of our Wild Child PEI program about outdoor education, how we learn to care for the planet, and how climate impacts like Hurricane Fiona are already very real for these kids.

Wild Child offers kids more than just time in the natural world; it also offers them ways to directly help nature through tree planting, native seed bombs, and invasive species removal, as well as practical skills for outdoor survival like how to start a fire and dress for different weather. Wild Child PEI centres Indigenous perspectives and tries to balance talking about the things we can't do to protect the environment with all the things we can do to enjoy and protect it.

Recently we've been featuring a lot of content on how to communicate on issues like climate change with adults - it turns out adults and kids are not as dissimilar in this respect as you might think. It's also an episode that will inspire you to get out there and experience the natural world yourself.

In the Q&A this week we answer questions we got related to our carbon pricing episode. Be sure to send us more of your questions at [email protected] and sign up for email updates from us here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/subscribe-for-updates/

Find out more about our Wild Child programs on our website here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/programs/wild-child/

You can also check out the website of Wild Child PEI and their Facebook Page for more information.

And don't forget to take action!

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Ever wonder what goes into an effective climate communications plan? This week’s conversation with Jessica Murray and Anat Shenker-Osorio delves into that subject and the lessons in the episode are useful whether you're a full time climate communicator or just looking to speak to others in your life.

Also in this podcast is the story of Indigenous communities in Ecuador who won against the oil and gas industry, despite the industry’s huge spending power and the fact that oil and gas companies were hiring hitmen to kill Indigenous leaders. It’s a reminder of the necessity of resistance and that things that may seem impossible can still be achieved.

Plus we have an upcoming webinar this Thursday April 25th, 2024 on how to communicate on climate issues that you can join to ask your questions! Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Z3wceKGxTXamXGoq9sQqvg#/registration

Be sure to send us more of 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!

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

Support the show

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

Haley Davis talks with Charlotte Craig about urban ecology and how climate change will impact urban bee populations. As part of our work to highlight the Rights of Nature, Sierra Club Canada is actively promoting awareness of the impacts climate change and biodiversity loss are having on our world.

You can take action for the Rights of Nature yourself here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/action-item/new-biodiversity-strategy-for-canada-must-respect-the-rights-of-mother-earth/

In our environmental question Q&A this week we answer your question: The Ministry of Natural Resources condones aerial spraying of the Vermillion forests in Northern Ontario - how do we stop this?

Be sure to send us more of your questions at [email protected] and sign up for email updates from us here. You can find our article on glyphosate here: https://www.sierraclub.ca/glyphosate-canada/

And don't forget to take action!

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

Conor talks with Talia about collective gardens and urban agriculture; all the benefits they bring and the challenges they face in feeding communities. They discuss the impact climate change is having on urban agriculture and particularly the impact of wildfire smoke on peoples' ability to get outside. There's also information on how you can get involved, whether you live in Montréal where this garden is located, or want help setting up one locally where you are.

In our environmental question Q&A this week we answer your question: What is the one thing I can do, as somebody concerned about the environment, that would have the biggest impact?

Be sure to send us more of your questions at [email protected] and sign up for email updates from us here.

Talia is an Urban Agriculture Coordinator with the Milton Parc Citizens Committee. You can find their collective garden on Facebook (group name is Les Jardins Collectifs Milton Parc) and Instagram ( @jardinscollectifsmiltonparc).

And don't forget to take action!

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

Jessica Murray talks with lawyer Leslie Anne St. Amour of the RAVEN trust about the Wet’suwet’en challenge to Canada’s climate inaction, the usefulness of UNDRIP, why we urgently need to change Canadian environmental law for the better, and our right to life, liberty, and security of the person.

Given Sierra Club Canada's ongoing work on the Rights of Nature, as part of our podcast we're doing a miniseries on Indigenous and environmental law - all of which are crucial to making this decade a decade of positive change. Stay tuned for many more episodes on this subject to come.

In the Q&A at the end this week we answer questions on carbon pricing and how to talk to others about the misinformation around the "carbon tax" that we heard about in the wake of our last episode. Find sources related to this week's Q&A section here at: https://www.sierraclub.ca/carbon-tax-impact-canada/

Spoiler alert: No, we should not be taxing volcanoes instead...

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

Don't forget to take action!

Support the show

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

Whatever your take on carbon pricing happens to be (for or against) there's one thing that's for certain: Climate change costs us more. Climate change costs us the health of those we love as they breath in wildfire smoke and it costs Canadians their homes by flooding and fires.

The carbon tax debate also completely leaves out the carbon price's impact on immediate fossil fuel-produced air pollution which claims the lives of 1 out of 7 Canadians.

The fossil fuel industry wants people to believe it's climate policy that costs Canadians, that climate policy is part of some big conspiracy, when its the industry's actions and obscene profits which really make the difference. That's biggest carbon tax lie out there - especially since for each dollar of inflation in the last two years in Canada, 25 cents has gone to oil and gas and mining extraction profits.

Conor talks with about the real costs of carbon pricing and how it's centrality in conversations about the cost of living and climate policy is a distraction from more pressing concerns - a distraction that the oil and gas lobbyists love. We also discus the carbon price's minimal impact on inflation, the minimal impact of upcoming carbon price increases, the methodology of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, and how to talk with others on this issue.

Don't forget to take action!

Dr. Louise Comeau is a Senior Advisor at Re.Climate, Carleton University’s centre for climate change communications and public engagement. She is also a member of the federal Net Zero Advisory Body. Louise has more than 30 years’ experience in climate change policy, communications, and solutions-related advocacy and programming. Louise holds a doctorate in environmental management, focused on environmental ethics and behaviour change from the University of New Brunswick.

Robb Barnes is the Climate Program Director at the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE). Robb has over 20 years of nonprofit governance experience, including 15 years of involvement on climate and environmental issues. Robb’s work has focused on executive leadership, engagement organizing, climate-friendly cities and data-driven communications. 

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Conor talks with Professor T. Brettel Dawson about the Rights of Nature, how rights for nature is an increasingly implemented legal system in many places from New Zealand, to Bangladesh, to Québec, and why it’s strange we would assume nature doesn’t have rights. This is the first part of a mini-series within the podcast we will be doing on The Rights of Nature.

In the Q&A this week we also answer your question about the impacts of offshore oil expansion.

The end of each episode of our podcast is dedicated to answering your questions. Write us an email with your questions on environmental issues at [email protected]

Don't forget to take action!

Support the show

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

Jessica Murray talks with lawyer Owen Stewart about Indigenous Rights, Reconciliation, and how Indigenous nations and groups are protecting our environment through legal action from Wet’suwet’en land defenders to the Nuchatlaht First Nation.

Plus we address your question about the draining of raw sewage into lakes in Alberta.

The end of each episode of our podcast is dedicated to answering your questions. Write us an email with your questions on environmental issues at [email protected]

Don't forget to take action!

Support the show

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

Ironically we launched this episode the same day the Facebook and Insta are down in an outage (March 5): The Facebook and Instagram bans on Canadian journalism have already had a big impact on the Canadian media landscape, and especially for independent journalism, but they also have ramifications for the environmental movement. That's especially true as misinformation, increasingly fueled by artificial intelligence (AI) and often promoted by the oil and gas industry,  spreads like wildfire: Misinformation that quite literally will cause more real wildfires in the future.

Conor talks with André about the overlap between independent media and environmentalism, the importance of community, why offline communications need more focus, and the crucial role of journalists. We also discuss the Harbinger Media Network and a new news website, Unrigged.

For the Q&A this week we read the latest edition of our biannual newsletter, The Activist, in hopes of further answering some of the general questions about our chapters and programs you have sent us over the past year before this podcast started.

The end of each episode of our podcast is dedicated to answering your questions. Write us an email with your questions on environmental issues at [email protected]

Don't forget to take action!

And check out the Harbinger Media Network and Unrigged.

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

Support the show

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