![\"What](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766587661_429_default.jpg\")
(CBC)<\/p>\n (CBC)<\/p>\n
Welcome to our weekly newsletter where we highlight environmental trends and solutions that are moving us to a more sustainable world.<\/p>\n
Hey, it’s Vivian. I’m an immigrant. So watching ICE raids unfold south of the border is gut-wrenching. It also got me thinking about how migration and climate change are linked, and how migrant justice goes hand-in-hand with climate justice.<\/p>\n
This week:<\/p>\n
What immigration crackdowns have to do with climate The Big Picture: A nuclear reactor takes a plane rideNew Nova Scotia levy on EVs, hybrids feels ‘punitive,’ some drivers sayWhat immigration crackdowns have to do with climate ![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772268021_435_default.jpg\")
Protesters raise their hands in front of Minnesota State Patrol during a January protest calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city. (John Locher\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n
As a kid growing up in Los Angeles, Isaias Hernandez remembers making plans with his siblings in case their parents \u2013 who are from Mexico \u2013 or other family members were ever arrested or deported.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So when Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided several areas in L.A. last June \u2013 leading to massive protests and the deployment of the National Guard<\/a> \u2013 Hernandez quickly got in touch with his siblings.<\/p>\n “We read through the laws, we read through \u2026 what to do if your loved one is detained,” the environmentalist and author told What On Earth host Laura Lynch.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hernandez considers himself a “proud immigrant kid” whose parents came to the U.S. to give their children a better life. So despite preparing for the worst, Hernandez says he felt “broken inside.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “So many people in the community are terrified,” he said.<\/p>\n “How can we look into \u2026 trying to fix the Earth when our communities down the street \u2013 people that we know and love \u2014 are reporting that they can’t go out at work, or that they fear being deported?”<\/p>\n Migration, climate change and border enforcement are interconnected, according to Dana R. Fisher, a professor in the School of International Service and director of the Center for Environment, Community and Equity at American University in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n As fossil fuel companies continue to produce carbon emissions that heat up the planet, people who live in the Global South and who are disproportionately impacted by climate change are forced to relocate, Fisher says.<\/p>\n “Droughts are becoming more common, floods are becoming more common, places are getting hotter and drier, which means that [they] can’t engage in agriculture the way [they] might have before,” she said.<\/p>\n According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees<\/a>, 90 per cent of refugees \u2013 many of whom are internally displaced \u2013 come from countries on the front lines of the climate emergency.<\/p>\n Yet some of the same communities that are trying to escape the impacts of climate change by moving to the U.S. \u2013 the world’s largest historical emitter and second largest current emitter of greenhouse gases \u2013 are being targeted for deportation, Fisher says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Immigration crackdowns and climate change are linked in other ways as well, according to Hernandez.<\/p>\n Last year, he wrote a piece on Substack<\/a> referencing a 2022 report<\/a> about how some of the world’s largest asset management companies were invested in both border and surveillance industries \u2013 including artificial intelligence, biometrics and detention centres \u2013 and the fossil fuel industry and agribusiness.\u00a0<\/p>\n In other words, the migrant justice movement and the climate justice movement have a “common oppressor,” said Hernandez.<\/p>\n “Just noticing how all of these industries are interconnected,\u201d he said. \u201cWho’s investing in these industries and bankrolling the climate crisis?”<\/p>\n Hernandez encourages migrants rights activists and climate advocates to educate themselves about tech companies that are implicated in immigration enforcement and global warming.\u00a0<\/p>\n They can also demand that these companies end contracts with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n Protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement spread across the U.S. after the fatal shootings of two people by federal agents in Minneapolis<\/a>. A stalemate in Congress over major ICE reforms demanded by Democrats has also led to a partial government shutdown on Feb. 14.<\/p>\n Fisher says she is optimistic about the pushback against ICE operations under the Trump administration. The nation-wide general strike called for on Jan. 30, for example, is part of what she calls\u00a0 “Resistance 2.0.”<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n “More people are protesting, more people are getting involved, more people are demanding that their elected officials take a stand,” she said.<\/p>\n “What we’re seeing is \u2026 as the wheels come off of our democracy here, we’re seeing people aren’t just standing up and demanding immigration reform, demanding ICE leave, ICE gets defunded.\u00a0<\/p>\n “They’re also demanding their rights, and they’re building these types of dense networks of communities that can push back against the climate crisis as well.”<\/p>\n \u2013 Vivian Luk<\/p>\n Old issues of\u00a0What on Earth?\u00a0are\u00a0here<\/a>. The CBC News climate page is\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Check out our podcast and radio show.\u00a0In our newest episode:<\/a> Clues to Earth\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n LISTEN | Another reason Greenland’s not for sale: climate change:<\/p>\n What On Earth25:33Another reason Greenland’s not for sale: climate change<\/p>\n What On Earth<\/a>\u00a0drops new podcast episodes every Wednesday and Saturday.\u00a0You can find them on your favourite podcast app or on demand at\u00a0CBC Listen<\/a>. The radio show airs Sundays at 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador.<\/p>\n Check the CBC News Climate Dashboard<\/a> for live updates on record-breaking weather and current conditions across the country. Set your location to find out how today’s temperatures compare to historical trends.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Last week, we spoke to data scientist Hannah Ritchie about the concerns some have about the trade-offs of climate solutions, for example, the waste from renewable energy. Ritchie showed that coal generates far more solid waste than wind and solar<\/a>.<\/p>\n A number of readers, including Mark Boertjes, wrote to us and wanted to know more. He thought the data on solid waste alone gave an “incomplete” picture when comparing the environmental impacts of fossil and renewable technologies. He pointed out that coal has to be mined and wind turbines have to be manufactured from mined resources. “The whole process, beginning to end, should be considered,” he wrote. \u201cIt may not change the final conclusion. I would be happy if it didn\u2019t because I want to support sustainable energy, but without a complete analysis, I am unsure.”<\/p>\n In Clearing the Air<\/a>, Hannah Ritchie breaks down whether manufacturing renewables and EVs is going to lead to more mining. The answer is no \u2014 compared to fossil fuels, renewables leave a staggeringly small mining footprint<\/a>. To power ourselves by coal, for example, we have to dig 30 times as much out of the Earth. To be clear, we may need to mine hundreds of millions of tonnes of minerals annually as part of our clean energy transition. But as Ritchie points out, we\u2019re currently extracting 15 billion tonnes of fossil fuels every year out of the Earth.<\/p>\n The answer is similar when we look at the complete carbon footprint of renewables, from digging minerals out of the ground to the energy needed to build them, which can still come from fossil fuels. As per Ritchie\u2019s calculations, solar and wind do emit carbon during their lifecycles, but a lot less than fossil fuels. Solar, for example, emits 19 times less than coal \u2014 and onshore wind a whopping 84 times less.<\/p>\n In her book, Ritchie answers 50 of these types of quandaries. We recommend checking it out for more information on how \u201cgreen\u201d our climate solutions really are.<\/p>\n Write us at\u00a0whatonearth@cbc.ca<\/a>\u00a0(and send photos there too!)<\/p>\n We’ve been hearing for years about the development of nuclear reactors with modules small enough to be built in a factory and transported by truck<\/a> for use just about anywhere, from remote northern communities<\/a> to Alberta oilsands facilities<\/a>. They’ve been touted as a future option to generate reliable power without burning fossil fuels and emitting greenhouse gases.<\/p>\n Now, just such a tiny reactor has been built in a California factory, loaded onto a truck, then a plane, and flown to a military base in Utah.<\/p>\n The Ward 250, built by Valar Atomics, is a “micronuclear” reactor \u2014 designed to produce just five megawatts of power (enough to power up to 5,000 homes on an average day<\/a>). It’s the smallest kind of small modular reactor \u2014 the International Atomic Energy Agency defines “small” as generating up to 300 megawatts<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Earlier this month, a truck loaded the Ward 250 onto a C-17 military aircraft at March Air Reserve Base in California. It took a two-hour flight and landed at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. The research and engineering test reactor will be deployed at the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab.\u00a0<\/p>\n Valar CEO Isaiah Taylor told Reuters<\/a> the reactor will start operating in July at 100 kilowatts and peak at 250 kilowatts later this year before ramping up to full capacity. It will not be connected to the grid. The company says its current goal is to validate the reactor\u2019s design, fuel performance, and operational systems.<\/p>\n Valar aims to find industrial partners and start selling power on a test basis next year.<\/p>\n \u2014 Emily Chung<\/p>\n Hot and bothered: Provocative ideas from around the webEthiopia banned the import of fossil-fuel powered cars two years ago. Today, six per cent of the vehicles on the road are EVs \u2014 more than the global average \u2014 and the country\u2019s only getting started<\/a>.Meanwhile in Germany, more data that plug-in hybrids \u2026 aren\u2019t being plugged in. TechCrunch\u2019s Tim De Chant explains<\/a> why this stepping stone doesn’t work if people don\u2019t want to walk. Some electric vehicle owners in the province say they feel they’re being penalized by the Nova Scotia government’s new levy on electric and hybrid vehicles.<\/p>\n Details of the new levy were announced in Monday’s provincial budget<\/a>. As of Oct. 1, owners of fully electric vehicles will be charged $500 when registering their vehicle for the first time or renewing registration every two years, and owners of hybrids will be charged $250.<\/p>\n Budget documents say the levy is intended to ensure EV owners contribute to road construction and maintenance costs. The fee is expected to raise $1.6 million in 2026-27 and $3.3 million in 2027-28, when it is fully implemented.<\/p>\n The levy is similar to those already in place in Alberta<\/a> and Saskatchewan<\/a>. Quebec is introducing a similar fee in 2027<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rhonda Frank is a small business owner who lives in Head of Chezzetcook, N.S., and has three fully electric vehicles. She said the additional $1,500 fee she’ll have to pay every two years will add up.<\/p>\n “It seems punitive,” Frank said. “It feels like I\u2019m being charged a penalty just for trying to be a green business. And $1,500 may not sound like a lot, but for a micro-business, every new fee matters.”<\/p>\n Frank said she doesn’t object to helping pay for roads, but believes the flat fee isn’t the right approach. She said calculating the fee based on road-wear considerations such as vehicle class or axle loads, or distance travelled, would make more sense.<\/p>\n She also pointed out that many hybrid users do buy gas sometimes and thereby contribute to gas taxes.<\/p>\n “I’m asking them for a fair, transparent approach that’s based on evidence,” Frank said.<\/p>\n EV driver John MacPherson echoed that sentiment.<\/p>\n MacPherson said he drives about 10,000 kilometres per year, and the new fee means he’ll be paying about double what he would have paid in fuel taxes using a gasoline-powered car.<\/p>\n “A flat $500 fee is not proportionate \u2014 especially for moderate drivers like me. There are fairer, usage-based solutions available. I\u2019d like to know why those weren \u2019t seriously considered,” he said.<\/p>\n “Many of us purchased our vehicles \u2014 new or used \u2014 believing the government supported the transition to cleaner transportation. Now we\u2019re being hit with one of the highest EV registration fees in the country.”<\/p>\n Definition of ‘hybrid’ TBD<\/p>\n The government said there are about 5,000 fully electric and 15,000 hybrid vehicles in the province, but that the number of hybrids is based on the broadest definition, and it is possible not all of them will be subject to the levy.<\/p>\n WATCH | Electric Vehicle Association of Atlantic Canada reacts to new tax: Electric Vehicle Association of Atlantic Canada reacts to new N.S. tax<\/p>\n The Houston government’s latest budget includes new levies on electric and hybrid vehicles starting this fall. EV owners will have to pay $500 every two years while hybrid drivers will pay $250. The EV association’s Kurt Sampson says a new tax system will be needed as EVs become more popular.<\/p>\n The estimated $3.3 million the government expects to bring in with the levy is a drop in the bucket compared with the revenue from motive fuel taxes, which is forecast to be $297.7 million in 2026-27.<\/p>\n According to the Department of Public Works, it costs about $700,000 per kilometre to resurface two-lane routes and $800,000 to $1 million per kilometre for two lanes going in the same direction on 100-series highways. New twinning, which includes land acquisition, clearing and grading, costs $10 million per kilometre, the department says.<\/p>\n![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772268021_286_default.jpg\")
Environmentalist and author Isaias Hernandez grew up in Los Angeles, the son of immigrants from Mexico. (Submitted by Isaias Hernandez)<\/p>\n![\"blue](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766587663_10_default.jpg\")
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Reader feedback<\/p>\nThe Big Picture: \u00a0A nuclear reactor takes a plane ride![\"Large](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772268023_284_default.jpg\")
(Valar Atomics)<\/p>\nNew Nova Scotia levy on EVs, hybrids feels ‘punitive,’ some drivers say![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772268024_443_default.jpg\")
As of Oct. 1, owners of fully electric vehicles in Nova Scotia will be charged $500 when registering their vehicle for the first time or renewing registration every two years, and owners of hybrids will be charged $250. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772268024_206_default.jpg\")
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