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 names:

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 earth@cbc.ca

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

Mountains of sargassum seaweed are choking Caribbean beaches. It’s so dangerous it’s shut down a school. Scientists point the finger at climate change, but solutions are on the horizon. We head to the tropics to learn about a WALL-E inspired robot vacuum and a seaweed-powered car

Guests:

Chuanmin Hu, oceanographer at the University of South Florida

Mike Allen, professor at the University of Exeter and cofounder of marine robotics and clean technology company SeaGen

Legena Henry, CEO and founder of Rum and Sargassum Incorporated

Another What On Earth? episode you might like:

Is this Super El Niño a peek into forever weather?

Video:

This seaweed invasion is so big you can see it from space

Background reading:

Huge masses of foul-smelling seaweed in the Caribbean could cause headaches for sun-seekers

Have you got something to say about this episode? Email us at earth@cbc.ca

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

Have you got something to say about this episode? Email us at earth@cbc.ca