In this week’s Coast reader poll, we asked about the weather. Specifically snow, and the lack thereof. Given that “Halifax has been very warm so far this winter and meteorologists say the city is on track to have its least snowy year ever,” we put the question to you: “Are you happy there’s less snow […]
Environment
Posted inNews + Opinion
How the DND chose Hartlen Point for its planned warship testing site
The Canadian military’s choice of a future land-based warship testing facility has rankled neighbours, fishers and environmentalists alike. And a third-party site selection review leaves further questions, according to documents The Coast has reviewed. The 202-page report, prepared by Irving Shipbuilding Inc. for the Department of National Defence, weighs the pros and cons of Hartlen […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotia offers carbon pricing system—and little else—in latest climate action plan
Nova Scotia’s government is ready to take drastic steps toward reducing its carbon footprint—just not until 2030, thank you very much. Or so was the gist of the province’s newest Our Climate, Our Future report, a climate change plan that will guide the government’s actions over the coming decade. On Wednesday afternoon, Nova Scotia’s environment […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Military facility at Hartlen Point could ruin area for birding, surfing, fishing
It’s a blustery November morning, and Nikki Gullett has her binoculars trained on the whitecapped waters off the edge of Cow Bay. An avid bird watcher, she’s been tracing the path of a possible red-throated loon, one of the more than 300 bird species found at Hartlen Point, a rocky and dune-covered outcrop at the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Car-free Spring Garden Road failure exposes flaws in HRM thinking
It was an ambitious project that started one Monday in July, and was supposed to continue for nearly a year. But in spite of untold hours of public servant labour spent on planning, it didn’t last one week. At the time, the city put on a brave face, talking about regrouping and trying again soon. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Why Canada’s environment minister shouldn’t call himself an activist
Prior to The Coast’s interview with Steven Guilbeault, the federal minister of environment and climate change, his staff sent a file called “Guilbeault narrative and brand (BDC)(MA).docx.” “Minister Guilbeault is an activist,” it starts. This narrative/brand document is supposed to sow the seeds of optimism in the face of the climate crisis. “People must be […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Ticks are “coming back with a vengeance” in Nova Scotia
Changing leaves and a crispness to the air are just around the corner. But the arrival of autumn brings more than the return of pumpkin spice and apple picking. After taking a break during the hotter months, ticks are back on the scene. We’ll start seeing a lot more ticks once the weather begins to […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The truth about great white sharks in Nova Scotia
On August 30, 1891, a 21-year-old sailor named John Roult was knocked overboard and “immediately seized” by a shark. The predator had been following the French fishing schooner Societe off the coast of Halifax. Both Roult and the shark were never seen again. At least that’s the story that appeared in the August 31, 1891 […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
HRM committee considers ban on plastics at city events
Halifax’s Environment and Sustainability standing committee met Thursday, July 7 to discuss two motions. One about Floating Yellow Hearts in Little Albro Lake and one about making city green spaces less grass and more natural plants. But before the committee debated those two motions they got a presentation from Natasha Tucker, the executive director of […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Urban beekeeping project expands to Halifax this summer
“According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway, because bees don’t care what humans think is impossible.” Yes, that’s the intro from 2007 box office […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
It looks like No Mow May on the Halifax Common, but city hall says that’s an accident
The Halifax Common is a sea of yellow dandelions swaying in the breeze, and city council just passed a budget funding an ambitious climate plan, so you might think the city is participating in No Mow May. But no, HRM isn’t (deliberately) participating in the growing movement to discourage people from mowing their lawns at […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
How bags of bugs might help save some Halifax trees
Last month, researchers started tying white bags around the buds of some trees around the city. If you noticed any of the bags, you’d be forgiven for thinking a strange new landscaping trend is taking off. “We’re big Halloween fans. We wanted to make it look like Halloween year-round,” says Jon Sweeney, a research scientist […]
