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SCIENCE MATTERS: Feed-in tariffs help renewable energy grow

[Image-1] In the early 1990s, Germany launched Energiewende, or “energy revolution,” a program “to combat climate change, avoid nuclear risks, improve energy security, and guarantee competitiveness and growth.” Renewable energy grew from four percent in 1990 to more than 27 percent in 2014, including a significant increase in citizen-owned power projects, according to energy think […]

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HRM accidentally outlawed bees (but is going to fix it)

[Image-1] A staff report going before Regional Council next week recommends amending the municipality’s animal control bylaws so that bees are exempt from the list of prohibited insects and allowed to roam freely as nature intended. Council approved HRM’s bylaw A-700 (“Respecting Animals and Responsible Pet Ownership”) last fall, leading to howls of criticism from […]

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SCIENCE MATTERS: Feeding humanity in a warming world

Calculating farming’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is difficult, but experts agree that feeding the world’s people has tremendous climate and environmental impacts. Estimates of global emissions from farms range widely. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency puts them at 24 percent, including deforestation, making agriculture the second-largest emitter after heat and electricity. Agriculture contributes to […]

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SCIENCE MATTERS: Ain’t nothing like the real thing—but virtual reality comes close

[Image-1] The digital revolution is breaking new ground every day. Technology has a way of doing that. I remember when Hewlett-Packard introduced its first “laptop” computer, which stored a page and a half of writing. It revolutionized my life as a newspaper columnist, allowing me to write on planes or in a tent and submit […]

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Environmental bill of rights proposed by NDP

[Image-1] Nova Scotia’s NDP wants to put more control of the province’s ecological future back into the hands of the people. The party is introducing an environmental bill of rights today, May 5, in the legislature. It’s designed to supplement the Nova Scotia Environment Act and Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act through increased transparency […]

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