It’s summer in Halifax. It’s hot. One morning you wake up and can’t even recognize your kitchen. It’s swarmed with what looks like hundreds of fruit flies. They’re on the ripened bananas you bought yesterday, in your compost bin and on the wine glass from last night. You try to swat them with your hands […]
Science
Posted inNews + Opinion
Diversity of Nature is making falling in love with the sciences more accessible
Did you know that half of the photosynthesis that happens in the world occurs in oceans and lakes? You’d think it happens on land where there are trees and plants, but no! There are zillions of microscopic plants called phytoplankton that consume carbon dioxide and sunlight to get their own energy—and these microscopic beings are […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
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 […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Why right whale extinction is on the horizon
Tonya Wimmer has gotten used to being the bearer of bad news. Every time someone spots a dead right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence—which has happened eight times this year alone—her Halifax-based organization, the Marine Animal Response Society (MARS), gets the call. Then it’s Wimmer’s job to notify scientists, government officials and conservation […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
SCIENCE MATTERS: True leaders work for us, not the fossil fuel industry
Some politicians believe protecting a sunset industry’s interests is more important than looking out for the citizens who elected them. In Australia, the coal industry holds sway over government policy. In Canada, bitumen and fracked gas rule. In the US, it’s all of the above. Fortunately, many people, especially youth, are heeding the rational voices […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
SCIENCE MATTERS: We’re drowning in seas of plastic
The fossil fuel era must end, or it will spell humanity’s end. The threat isn’t just from pollution and accelerating climate change. Rapid, wasteful exploitation of these valuable resources has also led to a world choked in plastic. Almost all plastics are made from fossil fuels, often by the same companies that produce oil and […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
SCIENCE MATTERS: Climate science deniers’ credibility tested
We base our arguments about environmental issues on sound research and evidence. Sometimes people challenge us—which is often positive, as informed debate leads to greater knowledge. But many challenges come from people with suspect motives. In comments, letters and opinion articles, people spread nonsense from the likes of Ezra Levant, Tim Ball, Tom Harris and […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
SCIENCE MATTERS: On climate, OECD head embraces environmentalism
Angel Gurria sounds like the leader of an environmental or social justice group. In a recent University of Toronto lecture, “Climate Action: Time for Implementation,” he stressed that climate change is a public health issue “disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable as well as those least responsible for anthropogenic warming.” Gurria is secretary-general of the Organisation […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
SCIENCE MATTERS: Oil and plastic are choking the planet
People who deny that humans are wreaking havoc on the planet’s life-support systems astound me. When confronted with the obvious damage we’re doing to the biosphere—from climate change to water and air pollution to swirling plastic patches in the oceans—some dismiss the reality or employ logical fallacies to discredit the messengers. It’s one thing to […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
SCIENCE MATTERS: Long work hours don’t work for people or the planet
In 1926, U.S. automaker Henry Ford reduced his employees’ workweek from six eight-hour days to five, with no pay cuts. It’s something workers and labour unions had been calling for, and it followed previous reductions in work schedules that had been as high as 84 to 100 hours over seven days a week. Ford wasn’t […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Science March offers global warning
When politicians ignore climate change, scientists will change the political climate. This Saturday, on Earth Day, thousands of scientists and supporters in cities across the world will be marching against what advocates say has been a war on evidenced-based public policy. The largest event will take place in Washington DC—a mass protest against Donald Trump’s […]