Burning coal, oil and gas is causing the world to heat at an unnaturally rapid rate. Destroying forests, wetlands, grasslands and marine ecosystems, which act as “carbon sinks,” drives the fever higher. Peatland conversion for agriculture is thought to have fuelled some global warming even before the current era of prolific and wasteful fossil fuel […]
David Suzuki
Posted inNews + Opinion
Fossil fuel industry faces an overdue reckoning
Oil giant ExxonMobil’s leaders have a long history of doing everything to keep the world from addressing climate change. They’ve buried company research showing the link between burning fossil fuels and a dangerously heating planet. They’ve sowed distrust and spread misinformation. They’ve lobbied politicians, set up and joined fake grassroots organizations, funded deniers and commissioned […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Sun rises on renewable energy and storage
One long-held excuse for not getting off oil, gas and coal faster is that energy sources like solar and wind only work when the sun’s shining or the wind’s blowing. Now, rapid advances in energy storage technologies, along with falling prices, have rendered that excuse meaningless. That doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges, from the environmental […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Does fracked methane deserve “natural” label?
On his first day in office, US president Joe Biden announced plans to impose limits on methane emissions from oil and gas the previous administration cancelled. That’s good news. The UN Environment Programme and Climate and Clean Air Coalition’s “Global Methane Assessment” said, “Reducing human-caused methane emissions is one of the most cost-effective strategies to […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
David Suzuki: Many crises expose systemic failings
The coronavirus spreading COVID-19 around the globe isn’t the first disease microbe suspected to have jumped from other animals to humans, nor will it be the last. That we know to a large extent why so many diseases are making that leap should help us resolve the problem. Dealing with a swiftly spreading illness with many […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Should we be scared of murder hornets?
AAs if we didn’t have enough to contend with, now we’re facing a “murder hornet” invasion—but it’s more an invasion of newsfeeds than an actual descending plague of killer insects. Numerous media outlets have carried ominous stories about whether the giant hornets will pillage honeybee hives. It’s not an imminent threat throughout North America, but […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Being energy efficient is essential to curbing climate breakdown
Inefficient systems are everywhere. From crosswalks that switch sides of the street at each intersection, to third-floor apartments with heat so high the windows spend the entire winter wide open—while across the street a renter who pays for heat themselves puts on an extra sweater to save a buck. Providing the same, or better, services […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Youth lawsuit draws attention to climate crisis
Children and teens are at a disadvantage. They can’t vote and have little say in many plans and policies that will determine their futures. The political decisions made today will affect their lives profoundly. Scientists worldwide have warned we only have a decade to get emissions down substantially or face the well-known consequences of rapidly […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The federal election is over; time to get to work
The election may be over, but there’s no time to be complacent. Canadians voters—and many people too young to vote—demanded that politicians take climate disruption seriously. The parties and candidates listened and, for the first time, climate became a top election issue. Now we have to make sure they all come together to keep their […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The alarming links between climate, ocean and cryosphere
We’ve been dumping oil, plastic, toxic chemicals, radioactive sludge, sewage and fishing gear into the ocean for decades. We depend on oceans for so much, including half the oxygen that keeps us alive. They’re a source of protein for many people worldwide, and they absorb much of the rising heat from our indiscriminate fossil fuel […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Suzuki says: ‘Vote for climate solutions’
Although the only discussion now should be about solutions and how to implement them quickly, some people in and out of the political sphere still refuse to accept the massive amounts of evidence for human-caused global heating and the need to address it. Politicians are finally talking about climate change. How could they not? In […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Tackling climate change means purging privilege from politics
Our national political arena often seems dominated by unproductive partisan potshots and misplaced accountability, with corporate interests prioritized over people’s. Behind the noisy partisan sniping, a quiet majority—70 to 75 percent of Canadians—is largely disengaged from politics, according to McAllister Opinion Research. It’s not that people don’t care about climate change, affordability, equity and creating […]