Groups of young protesters gathered at Victoria Park around noon today, September 24, for this year’s School Strike for Climate, a movement that started in 2019, with large protests around the world demanding action against climate change. Halifax had its own climate strike in 2019, and the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t stop protesters from a physically […]
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Posted inNews + Opinion
Natural resources minister looking into Owls Head Park sale
New minister of renewable and natural resources Tory Rushton says he “needs to understand” how the sale of Owls Head Provincial Park happened before taking next steps. “You’ve heard us speak at different times about Owls Head. We need to understand what was signed in the contract by the previous government,” said Rushton, the MLA […]
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Where the parties stand on Owls Head Provincial Park
Judging by the lawn signs during this election, the most popular cause in some neighbourhoods around the province isn’t a political party, but “Save Owls Head.” That’s the slogan on those bright-red signs protesting the Liberal government’s willingness to sell off Owls Head Provincial Park for golf-course development. Between the strong public support and the […]
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Greening Nova Scotia’s healthcare system in a COVID-19 world
The grim state of the climate had been in the back of neurosurgeon Sean Christie’s mind for a while, “but as my kids get a bit older and start to ask questions and are much more environmentally conscious than I was at their age, it just kind of hit me: Listen, we have to do […]
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Ocean’s Week Halifax kicks off online
As if it was preordained, the United Nations theme for World Oceans Week 2020 is “Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean”. While the UN likely chose this theme to highlight the new and exciting ocean technologies that are changing the way scientists understand the ocean (including underwater sampling gliders captained by Dalhousie University here in the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Meet the super-plant from Nova Scotia’s shorelines: eelgrass
Dive below the waves somewhere along Nova Scotia’s coastline and you might encounter a thriving ecosystem that is vitally important to our fisheries, our ways of life and our climate: An underwater eelgrass meadow. See the play of sunlight in the meadow’s swaying underwater forest, fish darting between the blades of grass and discover other […]
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Group marches to the legislature to protest proposed sale of Owls Head
A determined group of Nova Scotians gathered yesterday at Grand Parade Square to protest the sale of Owls Head, a planned provincial park that was recently de-listed by the provincial government. Despite cold temperatures, approximately 120 people were in attendance, wearing hats and mittens, chanting “Stop the sale, save Owls Head.” Owls Head is a property […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Talking climate change basics with Halifax climate scientist Jeffrey Taylor
T he Coast sat down with local climate scientist Jeffrey Taylor to talk the basics of climate change. His key points about what climate change is—and isn’t—all centre around the idea that “for the most part, we’ve all accepted that we as humans have impacted the planet, it’s caused the climate to change,” he says. […]
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Nova Scotia is behind in shifting the cost of recycling onto companies
A new recycling model aims to make manufacturers responsible for processing products at end of life, rather than taxpayers. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) has already been put into legislation in five out of 10 provinces (Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba), and has been used in Europe for over 30 years. But, Nova Scotia […]
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The Supernatural Design Collective wants architects to play a bigger role in curbing climate change.
A group of Dalhousie architecture students is pushing for better green-design education from their faculty and the greater architecture community. It’s been four months since an informal meeting about environmental design principles (not previously covered in the university curriculum) led to the creation of the Supernatural Design Collective. The summer’s 36-person study group has now […]
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Harbour rising: Halifax’s harbourfront in 2100, come hell or high water
As the eye of Hurricane Dorian spun around Halifax Harbour like a cocoon, it could have been any other grey day in Nova Scotia—were it not for the building floating in the water in Herring Cove. The large boathouse was home to Thomas Reyno’s three boats, two tubes and 45 years worth of memories. Now […]
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The alarming links between climate, ocean and cryosphere
We’ve been dumping oil, plastic, toxic chemicals, radioactive sludge, sewage and fishing gear into the ocean for decades. We depend on oceans for so much, including half the oxygen that keeps us alive. They’re a source of protein for many people worldwide, and they absorb much of the rising heat from our indiscriminate fossil fuel […]