In January 2008, Rajendra Pachauri, the head of the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change, made headlines when he asked the world to cut back on meat consumption, pointing to UN-based research that shows the production of livestock is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined. The plea was […]
Green Halifax
Posted inNews + Opinion
Eco-grants
The ecoENERGY Retrofit Program Natural Resources Canada offers a residential energy efficiency assessment service for homes. Owners can qualify for federal grants by improving the energy efficiency of their homes. The maximum grant is $5,000. For more information, visit: oee.nrcan.gc.ca. The provincial arm of the program, the EnerGuide for New Houses and EnerGuide for Homes, […]
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Eco-Schools
Nova Scotia Community College: What you pack in, you pack out at the Dartmouth Waterfront campus of NSCC. There are no garbage cans in the classrooms just a recycling container. There is a reason for this. With a new school progressive ideas follow. Two students at the campus, Jennifer Hynick and Tanya Massey, both licensed […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Living off the grid
Sue and Simon Melrose live in an extremely rural area of Nova Scotia, on a beautiful treed property with waterfront views near Musquodoboit Harbour, some 400 metres from the highway in a 1,500 square feet, one-and-a-half storey Cape Cod. They’re one of the few people in the province not tied into the power network, provided […]
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Bottled water versus Tap
In an article published in a 2007 issue of the Air Canada in-flight magazine enRoute, their food critics put together a list of positive trends in the food industry. Next to the environmental benefits of blackboard menus, they listed the return of tap water as a great thing, saving them from having to spend money […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Canning, preserving and drying
A century ago, fresh strawberries would have been unheard of in the depths of winter. Instead, each fall our grandmothers worked for hours on end over hot stoves, sterilizing Mason jars and canning, drying and pickling to preserve their harvest and ensure their families had food on their plates when farm fields were white with […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
100 Mile Diet
It started only 5 years ago, with a couple in Vancouver. Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon, who, discovering that the average North American eats food with ingredients that have travelled at least 1,500 miles (2,414 km.), set out to spend a year only eating food that came from within 100 miles of where they live. […]
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Green Guide 2009
What has changed since last year? That was the main question when we began planning this second edition of Green Halifax, a guide to sustainable and environmental living. The answer: lots. We’re in a recession. The good work local businesses are doing to exercise their ecological conscience is now so much harder. But the need […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
How to get sustainable seafood
In a feature called “The catch” in The Coast’s February 26 issue, news editor Tim Bousquet explained why it’s so very difficult to get sustainably caught seafood here in Halifax. The expression “sustainable seafood” is itself fraught with problems. There isn’t enough of a demand for it, as there is in the organic produce and […]
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Mother knows best
From birthing blanket to bottle to bibs, babies are born into a complex world full of toxins and chemicals. So if a parent can take steps to reduce their exposure to these elements, why wouldn’t they? Long-time P’Lovers staffer and mom Shelby Lendrum is an enthusiastic advocate of organic and natural baby products. She points […]
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Local and environmental cookbooks
The Trout Point Lodge Cookbook by Daniel Abel, Charles Leary, and Vaughn Perret(Random House) Offering dishes with New Orleans Cajun flavour, tracing them to original Acadian recipes in Atlantic Canada. Eating By The Seasonsby The Food Action Committee of the Ecology Action Centre A collection of 160 recipes featuring largely Nova Scotia-grown food, with a […]
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Halifax Green Builders Collective does it naturally
It hasn’t got a name, a phone number, a website or its grant money, but a Halifax Green Builders Collective is happening. “Clients want it,” says Anne Sinclair, an architect with a lot of green knowledge and 25 years design experience, who sees how hard it can be for people to realize their ambitions for […]