How one climate expert is using data to deliver hope

Is it too late to stop climate change? Not according to data scientist Hannah Ritchie. We dive into her new book, “Clearing the Air,” where Ritchie answers all the tough questions – the ones she gets all the time and the ones you’ve probably asked yourself.

From the Best of What On Earth - Canada's oil and gas companies are hoping carbon capture and storage will be a big part of the country’s net zero plans. But shipping CO2 through pipelines to storage facilities can come with risks. We go to rural Mississippi to hear about a rare carbon dioxide pipeline breach that was nearly deadly – and find out what Canada can learn from the incident

Country star Corb Lund should be rehearsing for back-to-back tours. Instead, he’s wading deeper into the debate over coal exploration and development in the Rockies. It’s been more than five years since the singer-songwriter first set aside his decades-long commitment to an apolitical public image in order to campaign against coal mining in Alberta’s eastern slopes. He has lost fans and received pushback he calls “vile” and “abusive.” But as producer Molly Segal finds out, it’s a fight the musician has no plans of giving up.

Nature gives us joy, wonder, and beauty. It also brings big bucks. Trillions of dollars, according to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. It says in a new analysis that tens of thousands of jobs are among the benefits when Canada's wilderness is protected. Plus, we do the climate a solid. But there are worries that Ottawa may not keep up the stable funding needed to protect enough of Canada’s lands and water for future generations.

Clues to Earth’s climate future lie buried in the ancient ice sheet covering Greenland. Climate scientists have been working for decades to uncover answers that can help us understand what’s coming. But as the U.S. government continues to push for more control over the island, some are worried that a Greenland controlled by Donald Trump would put their access to the ice in jeopardy. Security expert Whitney Lackenbauer tells us why fears about a warming Arctic due to climate change are stoking the current geopolitical tensions, and glaciologist Martin Siegert explains why a politically stable Greenland matters for the whole planet.

Canada recently switched its approach to electric vehicles. But what impact do EVs really have on the world around us? Cleaner air? Less noise? CBC’s Anand Ram walks us through the evidence and explains how satellite data is being used to measure air pollution in Los Angeles neighbourhoods. 

Immigration raids and protests have dominated U.S. news lately. And one L.A.-based environmentalist says migration, climate and the federal crackdown are all linked.Many of those targeted come from countries that suffer disproportionately from the impacts of climate change, connecting the movement for migrant justice to movements for climate justice.

Penguins are tougher than you think — and they’re adapting to climate change in ways you may not expect. Researchers are keeping a close eye on Antarctic colonies to see what we humans can learn from the tuxedoed birds, as we learn to cope with the effects of a warming planet.

Nearly 100 per cent of Norway’s new car sales last year were electric. That was achieved without a ban on gas-powered vehicles. As Canada scraps its EV mandate, it may want to bolster incentives and policy to be more like Norway. Plus, Chinese brand EVs are coming to Canada and potentially shifting the market into a different gear. 

We hear you. Plastic is “upsetting, confusing, enraging.” But Judith Enck says there’s hope. The Beyond Plastics founder says people and policy makers are finally clueing in to the toxins in these products. We hear about efforts to hammer out an international treaty to curb plastics production and pollution. And, there’s been a key Canadian court ruling on banning single-use plastics.