KevAn Bish has seen the belly of the beast, as an employee of one of the biggest cosmetic conglomerates in the world, a subsidiary of L’Oreal. Sick of the rat race, he decided instead of toiling for the corporate dollar or serving as a hired gun in someone else’s spa, he’d start his own. And […]
Environment
Posted inNews + Opinion
Second Hand and Vintage
In 2007, the Coast columnist Lezlie Lowe went out of her way to avoid buying anything new for herself and her family. At the holidays, that effort proved to be a huge pain in the butt. There was only so much crafting and goat-giving she could do. No one said trying to be ecologically sustainable […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
FSC Certified Woodlots & Sawmills
The Forest Stewardship Council is an internationally recognized body that ensures commercially used forests are managed sustainably and responsibly. There are a number of FSC certified woodlots in the Halifax area, and sawmills that use them. Look here for more information: fsccanada.org. Austin Parsons 9041 St. Margaret’s Bay Road 233-3431 Parsons Lumber operates a small […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Flower Shops
There are no regulations to limit chemicals used to preserve the average rose. Two-thirds of domestic cut flowers are imported, and most of those come from South America, countries such as Colombia and Ecuador where land and labour are plentiful and inexpensive. The other main sources are California and The Netherlands. A local source in […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Exploring the Farmers’ Market
The Halifax Farmers’ Market (aka The Brewery Market) is ground zero for anyone who wants to eat fresh, local food that is grown in a conscientious and sustainable way. And it’s not just food. You’ll find artisans and crafts people, builders and florists, butchers and bakers, fishmongers and farriers. The variety is startling: for example, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Green Accommodations
This might strike some as advice only for people visiting Halifax from away, but it’s good to be informed, either way. Now you will be able sleep well, knowing you recommended the most eco-friendly hotels in the city, thanks to us and something called the Green Key Eco-Rating Program. The Hotel Association of Canada’s Green […]
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Rebates and Incentive Programs
Solar Water Heating Rebate Program PO Box 2664,Halifax, NS, 800-670-4636Conserve Nova Scotia provides a 15 percent rebate of the installed cost of a solar water heating system for residential, institutional, industrial or commercial use. The maximum provincial rebate is $20,000. Rebates that exceed $20,000 may be considered, and applicants may apply in advance with a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Urban de-forestry
If all goes according to plan, by the end of the month, Halifax will know the true value of its trees. Or, at least, their
financial value. ThatÂ’s when John Simmons, our urban forest guru, expects a report from a US-based consultant, breaking down the “quantifiable benefits of our trees, the total number we have, their […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Going green?
In a decade when you canbuy free-range eggs, organic hair gel and eco-handbags, the mind begins to turn to “greening” your final, inescapable purchase: your funeral. Each year, traditional funerals result in more metal being put in American soil than was used to make the Golden Gate Bridge and enough concrete to build a two-lane […]
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Atlantic Climate Change Conference gets green
“In the weather deck of cards, there is a joker around every bend. Our weather is dangerous and volatile. We have to come to this less romantic conclusion that we are going to have a different climate and now is the time to prepare for this,” explains Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips.Phillips will host […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
SAWS!
In the wake of Hurricane Juan, two philosophies of forestry management are coming into conflict: tinker with it or leave it be.In 2003, Juan slammed straight into Halifax. Among other damage, the storm took down 4,000 acres of trees in the redundantly named Lake Major Watershed Protected Water Area, a 17,000-acre protected area that supplies […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Universities aren’t sustainable. University students are.
Ask university students about sustainability, and it’s clear they are the ones doing the teaching. “It isn’t just about saving one tree. It’s about our community,” says Kaley Kennedy, External Vice President of the King’s Students’ Union (KSU). In 1987 the UN called sustainability “the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising […]
