Greenspiration News & Events: Renewables as Resistance

Mon May 11 15:33:24 UTC 2026

“Americans are very lucky, because wherever they go to bring freedom … they find oil.” - Michele Serra, Italian journalist

“Hope does not mean saying this is not bad, and it does not mean saying that we can defeat it. It just means saying we will keep showing up. That we will not give up... we do not know how it will unfold, and neither do those we oppose.” - Rebecca Solnit

INTERNATIONAL

UN climate chief: an immense irony is unfolding: fossil fuel proponents "inadvertently supercharging the global renewables boom"

https://unfccc.int/news/un-climate-chief-an-immense-irony-is-unfolding-fossil-fuel-proponents-inadvertently-supercharging

Bill McKibben: Renewable Energy as Resistance Against Modern Oil Wars

Author and environmental activist Bill McKibben is interviewed about the monumental rise in renewable energy, and the potential to seize the moment of global fossil fuel shortages to present wind and solar as a cheap, clean, and reliable alternative. 83 min. video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc5NEwI09LE 

The billion-dollar boondoggle: how Vogtle became the US’s monument to nuclear folly

This $37 B project, like so many others, depended not on engineering brilliance but on regulatory leniency, optimistic accounting and public subsidy. Its failures are not the product of unfortunate circumstance, but of a model that no longer fits the realities of modern energy infrastructure. For ratepayers, Vogtle is a generational misfortune. For the nuclear industry, it is another nail in the coffin of the ‘renaissance’ that never arrives. And for everyone concerned about climate change, it is a reminder that the clean energy transition cannot afford fantasies, wishful thinking or vanity megaprojects.

https://energytransition.org/2026/04/the-billion-dollar-boondoggle-how-vogtle-became-the-uss-monument-to-nuclear-folly/ 

Ten Reasons to Reject Nuclear Power

https://beyondnuclear.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Ten-Reasons-leave-behind.pdf 

CANADA

Mark Carney runs roughshod over the environment: ‘It’s worse than what Harper did’

Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to make it easier to kill off endangered species, pollute waterways and risk human health, all in the name of fast-tracking private-sector development projects. “This would represent by far the worst evisceration of environmental law in Canadian history, far worse than what happened under Prime Minister (Stephen) Harper’s government in 2012.” The government’s proposal would “grant any company or project the government chooses a blank cheque to just drive entire species to extinction or extirpation. That’s what it means when they talk about exemptions to the jeopardy test. The jeopardy in question is the jeopardy of driving a species to extinction.”

https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/mark-carney-runs-roughshod-over-the-environment-its-worse-than-what-harper-did/article_1fa59928-a8d5-481a-896b-405c86a466d1.html

Alberta's Dead Pipeline Walking 

Asia's push for energy sovereignty is about to gut Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's pipeline ambitions

https://substack.com/home/post/p-197039012

Alberta separatists backed by Trump and Putin?

Russian-American interference is undermining Canada, says report

https://www.peacequest.ca/p/alberta-separatists-backed-by-trump

Nuclear Energy Strategy for Canada a Dead End. Wind, Solar, & Batteries Far Better Investment

https://www.sierraclub.ca/nuclear-energy-strategy-for-canada/  

Radioactive Waste : Thinking Things Through to the End 

39 min. video interview with Dr. Gordon Edwards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q06sf6yB2r0   

Tell the Feds to End Plastic Pollution Now

https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/189988/action/1  

Your Browsing History Could Soon Set Your Grocery Bill

The practice is called ‘surveillance pricing,’ and Parliament recently voted down a motion to ban it.

https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2026/05/05/Browsing-History-Grocery-Bill/  

White Supremacist Ideas Are Entering Canadian Media and Politics

An expert looks at a BC MLA’s use of a Nazi phrase and the National Post’s praise for a book favoured by white nationalists.

https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2026/05/06/White-Supremacist-Ideas-Canadian-Media-Politics/  

Canada’s oil patch has a data problem and it’s putting public health at risk

Alberta has 275,000 marginal or decommissioned well bores that need managing – and the cost could be more than $1.4 billion. Aging wells leak contaminants into the soil and groundwater. "What we’ve got now is abandoned wells in remote areas that look like they’re going to be ignored forever. There’ll never be the money." 

https://corporateknights.com/health/canadas-oil-patch-has-a-data-problem-and-its-putting-public-health-at-risk/  

As war sends oil profits surging, calls grow louder for a windfall tax (a.k.a. excess profits tax)

The Iran war’s expected upside for Canadian oil majors has prompted some organizations and politicians to call for a levy

https://corporateknights.com/energy/as-war-sends-oil-profits-surging-calls-grow-louder-for-a-windfall-tax/ 

Palantir Meets the Anti-Christ

Our world is being rapidly rewired by AI — from the “friendly” assistant that turns on your lights and finds directions to the AI programs that will erase millions of clerical, research, and factory jobs at the stroke of an algorithm.

https://charlieangus.substack.com/p/palantir-meets-the-anti-christ 

For over 50 years, Canada’s nuclear industry has operated without a real plan for managing its most dangerous waste. 

Your voice matters - send a letter here.

https://naturesdefence.ca/2026/05/05/send-a-message-step-up-protections-for-nature-communities-and-future-generations/ 

Trump admin kills Canadian-owned wind project — and demands investment in fossil fuels instead

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/07/news/trump-admin-canadian-owned-wind-project-fossil-fuels

Can a Lewis-led NDP revive democratic socialism? 50 min. video with The Breach

https://breachmedia.ca/can-a-lewis-led-ndp-revive-democratic-socialism/

ONTARIO

Could this be the moment for offshore wind energy in the Great Lakes?

Offshore wind could help Ontario and Great Lakes states generate clean electricity, but economic and regulatory barriers stand in the way. 

https://thenarwhal.ca/great-lakes-offshore-wind/

Niagara residents oppose Ford government's 'disasterous' push for water privatization

https://thepointer.com/article/2026-05-04/niagara-residents-oppose-ford-government-s-disastrous-push-for-water-privatization 

Ontario’s Massive Energy Mistake? Renewables vs. Nuclear - 1 min. video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMIvqliUT2A    

Is Ontario Falling Behind? The Future of Clean Energy is Blowing Right Off Our Shores - 2 min. video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJGURXBguSc   

TORONTO

As Ford moves on Toronto's island airport, those fighting the takeover want Ottawa to speak up

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/07/news/toronto-billy-bishop-airport-liberal-mp

NoJetsTO petition to get the feds engaged

https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7404

Tell Ford: Hands of Toronto Transit System

https://www.progresstoronto.ca/tell-ford-hands-off-ttc 

Toronto Activist Survey

My friend, a sociologist and scholar/activist, invites you to participate in a study on social media silos and intergenerational organizing. The anonymous survey can be found here: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NMR3QYY 

Meet your DeClutter Fairy

Need to de-clutter? Call or text for a quick response and any questions (she/her) 

https://shorturl.at/R1L6sPei  416.732.8965 ~ DeClutterFairy at gmail.com 

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EVENTS

No Jets Town Hall

Mon. May 11, 7:30 p.m. ET

Virtual Town Hall on Doug Ford's proposed expansion of Billy Bishop Airport and takeover of the Toronto Islands. We look forward to hearing from you at this event.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdFl5GuNd7U_v9OU7ypxPGB0G9t_2W3wCFWgHeZBnrEAnxjmw/viewform

Learn more: https://www.nojetsto.com/take-action

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No Jets - Neighbourhood Assoc. Meeting

Tues. May 12, 7 p.m.

Topic of discussion is the proposed jet airport at the Billy Bishop airport that threatens life on the Toronto waterfront. Learn more about the impacts of expanding the runways far into the lake, the result of adding 8 million more passengers a year, and the resulting air, noise and water pollution from jets. 

https://yqna.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YQNA-Agenda_May2026.pdf

Learn more: https://www.nojetsto.com/take-action

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Progress Is Built: Practical Solutions for Today’s Energy Moment

Tuesday, May 12, noon ET

Rocky Mountain Institute is hosting this webinar sharing practical solutions that strengthen affordability, reliability, and energy security — drawing on decades of experience building and scaling solutions. As today’s system faces rising demand and volatility, they’ll explore:

- What solutions are working right now — and why they make economic sense

- What it takes to turn bold ideas into durable, real-world impact

- Where progress can accelerate in today’s rapidly shifting landscape

https://rmi.tfaforms.net/219 

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Colonialism in the Digital Age: The Fight for a Livable Future

Tues. May 12, 10 a.m. ET

Join us for a timely discussion on how artificial intelligence and digital systems are reshaping global inequalities and ecological futures. In an era of rapid technological expansion, climate crisis and deepening injustice, how can we understand and resist new forms of digital colonialism? What alternatives might support a more just and livable future?

https://bristol-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_P8Kha5w9TnqIGWFhByuC7Q#/registration 

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Toxic Trivia Party 

Wed. May 13, 7 p.m. ET

Sublunar Community Arts Centre. Toronto

Together, we will unpack the lies that the Big Oil lobby have been feeding us – and have fun doing it! Join us for some pizza, a game of trivia, and a chance to connect with your neighbours.

https://act.350.org/event/toxic-trivia-party/26869/

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An Evening with Báyò Akómoláfé: What the Earth Is Teaching Us About Change

Wed. May 13, 7 - 9 p.m.

Online or in person at Centre for Social Innovation, 192 Spadina Ave., Toronto

>From time to time, a voice emerges that helps us see the world differently. Not by offering easy answers, but by inviting us to pause, listen, and reconsider the stories we tell about change, progress, and our place within the living world. For many people working at the edges of climate action, social innovation, new economic thinking, and cultural transformation, Dr. Báyò Akómoláfé has become one of those voices. His work is poetic, provocative, and deeply grounding. Rather than urging us to move faster or work harder to fix the world, Báyò asks a more unsettling and generative question: What if the transformations we seek require us to ‘slow down’, and learn anew from a world migrating from the conveniences of systemic legibility?

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/centreforsocialinnovation/2127698 

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Moose Hide Day

Thur. May 14, noon

Queen's Park, College and University Ave, Toronto

Rally to end gender-based violence in Canada - join us in ceremony. There will also be traditional drumming and dancing, showcasing the strength of culture, the resilience of community, and the energy of people united in their commitment to end violence. The Moose Hide Campaign is an Indigenous-led grassroots movement that invites all Canadians to take a stand against gender-based violence by honouring, protecting, and supporting women, children, and all those along the gender continuum. Rooted in ceremony, respect, and accountability, the Campaign centres the moose hide pin as a symbol of personal commitment and a catalyst for meaningful conversations.

https://moosehidecampaign.ca/toronto/ 

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Defending Nature from Major Projects: Getting Engaged

Thur. May 14, 1 - 2 p.m. ET

The federal government is proposing to accelerate approval of several Major Projects across Canada, including pipelines and mines. The new Building Canada Act authorizes the circumvention of key federal environmental laws such as the Impact Assessment Act and Species at Risk Act in order to expedite these projects.  Nature Canada is hosting this webinar to inform and support advocates working to defend nature from the adverse impacts of these proposed projects.

https://mailchi.mp/naturecanada.ca/budget-2025-how-will-it-affect-nature-12848584

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Accessing the Wisdom of Nature

Thur. May 14, 11 a.m. –12:30 pm ET

Malvern Library, 30 Sewells Road, Toronto

Join in for a walk-and-talk about traditions across different cultures that can help us access this wisdom and spend time outdoors tuning into it.

https://tpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/events/69cc31c366c3387a9d05646f   

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Civil Society on AI: Before the Strategy Begins

Fri. May 15, 1 - 2:15 p.m. ET

Coming to the Civil Society Summit on AI in Montreal, May 22nd – 23rd? This is your orientation. You’ll get a sense of who else is in the room, what the summit is designed to build, and a chance to shape the agenda before it’s set. If you’re not attending the Summit, you’re still welcome, and you might find yourself wanting to be. This is free and open to anyone who cares about the unchecked expansion of AI and its consequences for our communities, our ecosystems, and our democratic way of life.

https://canadians.org/webinar/before-the-strategy-begins/ 

The Civil Society Summit on the AI Industry

Fri. May 22

Montreal

The Civil Society Summit on the AI Industry is an opportunity to slow down and take a close, critical look at what is being decided and implemented on our behalf, without any meaningful public consultation. We’ll hear from organizations confronting the "upstream"of AI: data centres’ water and energy use, climate impacts, mineral extraction, electronic waste, and violations of Indigenous rights. And we’ll discuss the downstream effects: impacts on mental health, online sexual violence, workplace surveillance, deskilling workers, devaluing labour, collapse of social trust, intensification of fossil fuel production, automation of artistic and cultural practice, undermining Indigenous data sovereignty, racial profiling and algorithm-facilitated discrimination. We’ll share knowledge, highlight resistance, learn from global struggles, and begin shaping a unified approach to the AI agenda — one grounded in environmental and migrant justice, workers’ rights, Indigenous sovereignty, public accountability, and livable futures. Hosted by the Council of Canadians.

https://aicivilsociety.ca/   

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Possibilities in the Polycrisis: Care, Skill & Community 

Sat. May 16, 1 - 4 p.m.

Pluto: Fourth Space for Community, Co-Creation, & Coworking, 60 Sumach St, Ground Level, Toronto

Let’s talk about the end of the world. There’s no single fix for war, climate change, inequity, AI and all of the hard things - but whatever way forward begins the way most other things begin: with people talking, authentically, open to possibility, treasuring connection every step of the way.

https://luma.com/szcn0ols 

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No To Nuclear: Why Nuclear Power Destroys Lives, Derails Climate Progress and Provokes War

Canadian Book Launch with author Linda Pentz Gunter

Tues. May 19, 2 p.m. ET

There is no silver bullet for the climate crisis—but that hasn’t stopped people searching. Seizing its chance, the nuclear power industry wants us to believe that theirs is the only technical fix for our deliverance. The public, politicians and the media have been easily swayed. No To Nuclear calls the industry’s bluff. Blasting aside its claims to be safe and green, Beyond Nuclear Executive Director Linda Pentz Gunter makes the irresistible case that nuclear power is too slow, too expensive, too dangerous and too integrally connected to the nuclear weapons complex, to serve as a rational energy choice.  The book also delves into the lives of Indigenous peoples and communities of colour, who have been harmed the most by the nuclear sector, and questions whether the way we devalue nature and the environment is costing us the chance of a genuinely just energy transition. Co-hosted by Northwatch, Coalition for Responsible Energy Development in New Brunswick, Beyond Nuclear and Ontario Clean Air Alliance

Book: https://www.plutobooks.com/product/no-to-nuclear/ 

Register for webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6qYNXJFDRUCmGfErWZzoBg#/registration  

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More Toronto events 

https://showuptoronto.ca/ 

For the best Canadian climate and energy news, visit and subscribe to the Energy Mix newsletter

http://theenergymix.com/ 

Democracy Now Daily Show - global peace, justice and enviro news

https://www.democracynow.org/

Tooker Tapes Archive Project - Youtube Playlist

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3IwhNn-WrINTQz2fBNayDoBWLW0y59le

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Submissions, subscribes, unsubscribes, and comments: mailto:angela at cleanairalliance.org 

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