Humans don’t have to be bad for nature, says The Weather Station 

Making art with a point of view is tricky. There’s a risk of being too depressing to draw an audience, or too dogmatic to achieve transcendence. Perhaps that’s why so few movies, TV shows, novels, music and memes address climate change, even as ignoring it increasingly seems trite, or even deadly. 

Among those willing to wade into the high waters is Tamara Lindeman, otherwise known as The Weather Station. On her upcoming album, Humanhood, the Toronto musician has created a lamentation for the environmental realities of our time that’s also jazzy, moody and enjoyable to listen to. That balance wasn’t easy, Lindeman recently told Exclaim!, but music has a special ability to stir all of our emotions at once. 

“I personally went into the climate world as this sort of rigid, very western person who was like, ‘I am very upset about this, and that is the only feeling I can have, and I’m not supposed to feel any other emotion’ — almost a puritanical feeling,” she said. 

“And I think that I’ve let go of that. You can feel incredibly sad, and then you can also have a joyful experience right next to it. I think the only thing to avoid is denial.” 

For The Narwhal’s Moose Questionnaire, Lindeman tells us more about her connection to the natural world. The Weather Station’s new album, Humanhood, is out January 17 on Next Door Records. 

This interview is edited and condensed for clarity — all opinions are the subject’s own.

What’s the most awe-inspiring natural sight you’ve witnessed between the Pacific, Atlantic, 49th parallel and Hudson Bay, i.e. Canada? 

This summer I got to go to the Torngat Mountains National Park in Northern Labrador, with the organization Students on Ice. The whole coast is awe-inspiring, but if I had to pick, I would say North Arm in Saglek Fiord. Multibillion year old mountains of so many colours, a clear blue lake you could drink from, bears, char — it was an incredible place to be. I’ll never forget it.

What’s the most awe-inspiring natural sight you’ve witnessed outside of Canada? 

I was really lucky to snorkel for a couple days on the Great Barrier Reef when I was 18. It’s a wonder of the world. I’m glad I saw it — even if it’s tinged with loss, to think now of it.

Think of three iconic Canadian animals. Choose one each to kiss, marry and kill. 

Kiss, orca. Marry, beluga. Kill, ticks.

Name a person or group doing something meaningful for the environment that everyone should know about.

There’s a journalist, Amy Westervelt, who is doing incredible reporting on the malfeasance of oil companies, on the criminalization of protest. I don’t know why she came to mind when there are so many doing meaningful work, but I think it’s just such important reporting and everyone should know about all of this.

Name one person who could significantly help mitigate the climate crisis if they really wanted to.

I hate to say it, but Jeff Bezos. I mean, any of the tech billionaires, but someone with that level of wealth and influence in society could make an insane difference. It’s a level of wealth that could decarbonize whole countries or sectors at once, could put a very heavy thumb on the scale. The lack of interest in doing that is exhausting.

Outdoor cats: yes or no?

Yes.

Tell us about a time you changed your mind about something, environmental or otherwise.

Getting obsessed with climate caused me to change my mind — or at least move on from — that whole “humans are bad for nature” received wisdom of my childhood. That’s not who we are. That’s not what’s happening here. It’s such a useless, paralyzing story. And not at all true.

Tell us about a time you tried to change someone else’s mind about something, environmental or otherwise.

Well, I spent a couple years trying to get a lot of people to change their minds about climate, namely about the idea that only people without footprints could be activists (remember that whole narrative?). I tried to change a lot of people’s minds and convince people to face it and show up for it in their own lives — for a long time!

Yes, you have to choose: Rocky Mountains or Great Lakes? 

Great Lakes.

Researchers at Yale University, the France-based Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society and other institutions have found women tend to be more concerned about climate change than men. Why do you think that is? 

Not to make it gendered, but I think women by and large have more experience of being vulnerable. Like — being for real in danger, physically, emotionally. I think when it comes to a crisis that makes us all profoundly vulnerable, women are just closer to that experience of being vulnerable and so it follows they’d be more concerned.

If you could dip a toe off Canada’s coastline, which ocean would it be in?

Atlantic.

What’s a beautiful or useful thing you’ve owned for a really long time?

My acoustic guitar — it’s very small and very old and I love it.

What’s the farthest north you’ve ever been and what did you do there?

I was going to say Iqaluit, but the map shows me that Dawson City is further north. So Dawson City, Yukon. I went there to play in January 2024 and it was astonishingly cold and astonishingly wonderful. I loved it so much.

What’s one way you interact with the natural world on a daily basis?

Going for walks, observing; even in the city the sky and birds are a constant that always bring me into the natural world.

Yes, you have to choose: smoked salmon or maple syrup? 

Maple syrup. 

Who, in your life, has had the greatest impact on your connection to nature?

I would say my mom. She really sent me outside all the time, and led me to connections like noticing colours and shapes and textures in natural forms; she really nurtured my love of nature and shaped how I saw it too.

Whose relationship with the natural world would you most like to have an impact on?

Oh, I don’t know — Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta? She could make an insane difference in the future of the planet by transitioning Alberta away from fossil fuels.

Would you rather be invited to the David and Victoria Beckhams’ Muskoka cottage or Harry and Meghan Sussexes’ B.C. escape?

Harry and Meghan.

Camping: yes or no?

Yes.

Enjoying the Moose Questionnaire? We’re going to ask as many artists, athletes, politicians and cultural personalities as we can to answer it, so let us know if you have suggestions.