What on Earth?

Alberta has the country on tenterhooks as the province votes on whether to consider splitting from Canada. At least one separatist leader says the threat to leave is serving as leverage for the oil industry. Others in the province say investment in renewable energy is already taking a hit.

This week we’re asking how past fights over the oil sands got tangled up with separatism, what the referendum means for Alberta’s energy industry now, and what an independent Alberta would mean for the climate.

Guests:

Chris Severson-Baker, executive director of the Pembina Institute

Mitch Silvestre, CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project

Firman Latimer, founder and CEO of First Nation Power Development

Jennifer Winter, professor and economist who studies climate policy at the University of Calgary, interim director of Canadian governance at the School of Public Policy.

Another What On Earth? episode you might like:

There's a lot on Carney's plate. Is our climate plan cooked?

Background reading:

Panelists make cases for and against Alberta separation

Separation making Alberta master of its destiny ‘a fiction,’ business leader says

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Depending on who you ask, AI could usher in a green utopia – or the apocalypse. Between those two extremes is a much less hypothetical reality: the technology’s huge impact on our environment now. But tech leaders like NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang suggest it's all worth it, because AI can solve climate problems in the future. So when it comes to emissions cuts, what’s AI done for us lately? And what’s at stake for the climate as more and more chatbots come online? 

Guest: 

Ketan Joshi, climate writer, analyst and advocate

Another What On Earth? episode you might like: Will Alberta data centres really curb their water use? 

Background reading: 

Could AI really 'kill all humans'? Breaking down the dire warnings about the technology's existential risk

What's behind the growing backlash toward AI data centres?

Have you got something to say about this episode? Email us at [email protected]

This episode includes a clip from the Ezra Klein Show, published by the New York Times, September 2026.

When a meteorologist took a job in Iowa, he was excited to make his forecasts matter to viewers by bringing in climate impacts that were relevant to their lives, like rising costs and energy independence. But then the backlash began, escalating to a death threat. 

He's not the only one. At climate week in New York City, a group of meteorologists gathered to share stories about speaking to often polarized audiences. When facts become political, how can climate change's frontline communicators stick to the science? 

Guests:

John Morales is the Founder & Lead Meteorologist at ClimaData, a weather consulting firm 

Chris Gloninger is a meteorologist and senior climate scientist with the Woods Hole Group

Video:

He talked about climate change in his weather forecast. Then came a death threat

Background reading: 

The Weatherman Who Tried to Bring Climate Science to a Red State

I’ve Been a Meteorologist for 40 Years. Here’s Why I Got Emotional About Hurricane Milton.

Other What On Earth? Episodes you might like:

Is it going to get harder to forecast hurricanes in Canada? 

Have you got something to say about this episode? Email us at [email protected]

As parliament gets back in session, there’s a lot going on: a trade war, talk of Alberta separation, and international alliances being redrawn. Prime Minister Mark Carney has been clear: he doesn’t think the old climate plan he inherited from the Trudeau government holds up to Canada’s new reality.

So, where does climate fit in what Carney calls the next “world order?” Two of our political journalists break down what we know so far, and what they’re watching for next.

Guests:

• David Thurton is a senior reporter with CBC’s parliamentary bureau in Ottawa
• Aaron Wherry is a senior writer with CBC’s parliamentary bureau in Ottawa

Video:

Are Canada’s climate plans cooked?

Other What On Earth? episodes you might like:

Critics say the math isn’t mathing on Ottawa’s climate plans

Is Canada really a climate leader?

Background reading:

Liberals remove layer of review process for energy projects, backing off bypassing at-risk species protections

Canadians should prepare for a 5 C hotter future, report warns

Carney says Trudeau-era climate plan was 'too expensive' and 'divisive'

Have you got something to say about this episode? Email us at [email protected]

It’s gonna be a record-breaking few months of weather. A natural surge of warm ocean water is colliding with a planet hotter than at any point in human history – meaning more heat, more floods, more droughts. Some think this Super El Niño offers a window into what climate change will bring, and that it could help us prepare for the decades to come.

Scientist Rosa Vásquez Espinoza takes us to Peru, where the phenomenon begins, and where officials have already declared a state of emergency due to heavy, unseasonal rains causing devastation for communities in the Andes and elsewhere. Then, we hear from Andrew Dessler, climate scientist at Texas A&M University, about how this Super El Niño is interacting with climate change and what this year’s weather could teach us about how to adapt to a warmer world.

And we wrap with what this all means for Canada. Bill Merryfield from Environment and Climate Change Canada answers pressing questions about the season ahead – such as, “should I buy a ski pass?”

Guests:

• Rosa Vásquez Espinoza, founder of Amazon Research Internacional
• Andrew Dessler, Director, Texas Center for Extreme Weather at Texas A&M University
• Bill Merryfield, research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada

Video:

I’ve tracked El Niño for years. I’ve never seen this before

Background reading:

'Super' El Niño didn't cause this year's fires and heat waves, but it's about to take us on a 'wild ride'

This episode features a clip from Saturday Night Live, created by Lorne Michaels, performed by Chris Farley, 1997, SNL Studios.

She's a CBC science journalist, meteorologist and seismologist. Now she’s taking the helm as the host of your favourite climate change podcast. All summer long, Jo and the team have been cooking up new ideas and stories to help you make sense of our changing world, at a time when the climate is warming and everything else can feel like a hot mess. Have we piqued your interest yet? Good. Here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect from the new season.  

Stephen Nelson tried to keep his friend Mario safe in the 2021 heat dome. But tragically, his friend died – in an old building that wasn’t designed for our warming world. This galvanized Stephen to do more to keep his community safe during extreme heat. We visit Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to meet the tenants, like Stephen, working together to keep each other cool in a changing climate. 

From the best of What On Earth: A warmer world is great for rats. (Not so much for us). That’s why cities are seeing a climate-linked rise in rodents. Can birth control reverse that? Producer Molly Segal finds out how Chicago, Manhattan and Vancouver are all trying to make things a little less rattier.

The search for survivors is underway after deadly flooding in Nepal and Tibet. But experts around the world are also unpacking what role climate change played in the disaster. We hear from two experts who know the region well, who say people have been warning that something like this was coming as glaciers warm at an alarming rate. And we find out why a better understanding of the impacts of warming on this region could protect lives.

From the best of What On Earth: Bats and wind turbines are both climate darlings. But after Cori Lausen saw a turbine reduce a bat to a "black banana peel," she set out to find another solution. That experience unlocked a years-long search to understand what was happening and how to fix it. The question looms: as we rush to add wind renewables to the grid, will both ever be able to co-exist on the same landscape?