Chris Benjamin

This week and next, world leaders are meeting in Durban, South Africa for the 17th year in a row to talk climate change at the Conference of the Parties (COP17). The biggest unofficial delegation there is the Canadian Youth Delegation, part of the Youth Climate Coalition, which includes Haligonian Robin Tress, a recent Dalhousie environmental […]

Adaptation boogie Eons ago the Mi’kmaq left a mark. Archeologist Matthew Betts says we can learn from their mistakes and successes. Isn’t it ironic, Alanis, that civilization (that uncivil thing) has brought us to the brink of itself? Our environmental impact has become seemingly untenable and gets worse every Earth Day. Having written that, even […]

“We have two silos,” says meteorologist, broadcaster and author Richard Zurawski. “Scientists communicate with scientists and assume society is interested, when really they view science as unimportant or esoteric.” The other silo is the media, “skewed by ratings wars.” Zurawski says its inability to deal with science is the worst it’s been in decades: “Reporters […]

The recycled plastics market “used to be so bad everything was going to China,” Ken Donnelly says. Donnelly specializes in large-scale public participation in environmental initiatives, and was involved in the creation of Halifax’s much-lauded solid waste program. It’s a strange phenomenon he describes, the lack of markets for recycled plastics. Much of our plastics […]

The ding-dongs ruling this shitshow are pushing for another free trade agreement—the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union and Canada. Think the World Trade Organization, its General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the dozen or so free trade operational agreements covering the globe are related to that global economic hiccup that […]

Since NewPage announced it was closing its Nova Scotia operation, the province has scrambled to stash money on that sinking ship. Now premier Dexter has announced $15 million to keep 300 people cutting wood for a closed paper mill. Our energy sector runs on an equally archaic and sadistic model: an enforced private sector monopoly. […]

In the wake of Jack Layton’s death, our harmful obsession with individualism and saviours can be our undoing. How will the NDP move on from the loss of their charismatic leader?” the pundits ask. “Who will speak for the underdog? The environment?” I’m not worried. No more than usual. I’m sad, mind you. I met […]

Headlines don’t scream about it, but it’s a significant force in determining our fate. It’s the asexual, non-violent, uncelebrated five-year review of the Nova Scotia Environment Act. Let’s dance! Yes, it’s a standard bureaucratic operation, legislated within the act itself, but the current review illuminates some problems with attempting to legislate sustainability in a madly […]

Hydraulic fracturing—or fracking—is the latest example of making things worse in the name of saving the humans, and it looks to have a date with Nova Scotia. Just before Christmas, the department of energy announced it was taking bids on oil and gas exploration on the north shore. The province currently holds six inshore natural […]