Fusion Halifax believes that our generation deserves a chance to thrive in Nova Scotia. With the impacts of climate change being felt by Nova Scotians and diverse populations worldwide, we urge our provincial government to support our future and join Canadian provinces from coast to coast in adopting a carbon price without delay. Climate change […]
environment
Posted inNews + Opinion
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: Oceans of reasons to protect what we love
[Image-1] June 8 marks World Oceans Day, but what if we celebrated oceans every day? Covering more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface, oceans, more than anything, define our small blue planet. We should celebrate their complex and vibrant ecosystems, life-sustaining services, calming effects and unimaginable diversity, much of which we have not yet even […]
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Halifax is on the front lines of environmental stewardship
[Image-1] In November 2015, an open letter appeared in this paper addressed to me, the then-newly elected Halifax MP. The subject line: “It’s time to step up on climate change.” Since the open letter was published six months ago, I’ve met with its authors and other environmental groups in Halifax. The message I received was […]
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Swimming in Halifax Harbour
[Image-1] I’m flying around on a tube attached to a rope. I can see the city, just a few hundred metres off in the distance. I can feel the tops of my feet skidding across the water—my toes slicing the surface at 30 kilometres an hour. My hair, soaked, takes on a tentacle form and […]
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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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Nova Scotia and Fort McMurray are closer than ever today
[Image-1] The world is unpredictable. It shouldn’t be a surprise anymore that the news cycle goes around the clock. Events, good and bad, are continuously breaking across the world. During the last few days, news has broken out across the nation of the wildfires near the oil-boom city of Fort McMurray, in northern Alberta. In terms […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: A healthy biosphere means healthier humans
[Image-1] Imagine if scientists came up with an inexpensive, easily administered way to decrease the risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and obesity by 25 to 35 percent. It would create a sensation and, if patented, would be worth billions. But there’s already a free and simple way to achieve this: exercise. The human […]
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Welcome to the newly-renovated Ecology Action Centre
[Image-1] Throughout the 45 years they’ve been around, the Ecology Action Centre has had its history of different office homes. There wasn’t much here in 2006, when the not-for-profit moved into its current location at 2705 Fern Lane. Today, Friday, April 22, the EAC is opening its newly-refurbished doors to show off some of […]
