7 1 vol. 29:3 fall 2011 BETWEEN THE BETWEEN THE COVERS: Seven Billion and Counting i s s u e s Sustainable City? an ecology action centre publication www.ecologyaction.ca P M 4 0 0 5 0 2 0 4 Features BETWEEN THE Seven Billion and Counting / 12 ian ecology s action s centre u publication e s VOL. 29 NO. 3 7 table of contents 3 Hot Off the Modem Our Sustainable City? 4 Action is Our Middle Name compiled by EAC Staff / 14 6 Ecobriefs by Mike Ruxton 8 The Dirt on Root Cellars by Nikki Beauchamp 9 The1 Secret Lives of Downtown Fireflies by Scott MacIvor 10 Natural Resource Strategy: Madly off in No Direction by EAC Staff and volunteers 12 Seven Billion and Counting by Heather Hunter 14 Our Sustainable City? by Sam Fraser 16 Fossil Free Power by 2030 by Brennan Vogel 18 The Deanery Transformation by Kim Thompson and Richard Bell CONTRIBUTORS: Richard Bell, Emma Boardman, Maggy Burns, Nikki Beauchamp, 19 Being Green by Jonathan Rotsztain with Scott Fotheringham Scott Fotheringham, Sam Fraser, Heather Hunter, 20 La Vie en Vert Nanci Lee, Scott MacIvor, Tim Roberts, Katrina Ross, Jonathan Rotsztain, Mike Ruxton, Kim Thompson, 22 ecoHoroscopes Brennan Vogel, EAC staff 24 Seasonal Gourmet by Katrina Ross CONTENT EDITORS: Tim Roberts, Mike Ruxton, 26 Action in Verse by Marilyn Nelson Jonathan Rotsztain, Emma Boardman, Maggy Burns, Heather Hunter, Sam Fraser 27 Action in Verse by Sandy Hubbard COPY EDITORS: Tim Roberts, Mike Ruxton, Emma Boardman, Sara Lipson ADVERTISING: Susan Johnstone letters to the centre ILLUSTRATIONS: Aaron Harpell, Janet Wilson To the Editor: PHOTOGRAPHERS: Emma Boardman, Maggy Burns, Alison Froese-Stoddard, Amy Hawke, Lindsay Hunt, Courtnay Kelsay, Julia Kemp, Brad MacInnis, Ray This is a poem about pollution that I wrote on my free time. I am in grade Plourde, Urs Rindlisbacher, Katrina Ross, 7 at Fairview Junior High, and am very interested and concerned about The Deanery Project global warming. This poem is from the point of view of the fumes com- DESIGN AND PRODUCTION: ing out of the smoke stacks and traveling around the world. My family Aaron Harpell, Hammerhead Design has a membership to the EAC and my brother and I are involved with the DISTRIBUTION: EAC staff, members and volunteers HEAT group at the Adventure Earth Centre. COVER: Aaron Harpell To advertise in BTI, please contact [email protected]. Sincerely, We support businesses working towards social and environmental justice. Sandy Hubbard Printed at Halcraft Printers on Chorus Art Paper, 50 percent recycled fibre, 25 percent post-consumer with vegetable based inks. See page 27 of this issue for Sandy’s poem. Between the Issues is published three times a year by the Ecology Action Centre, a charitable organization (PM Registration # 40050204). The Ecology Action Centre’s vision is of a society in NS which respects and protects nature and provides environmentally and economically sustainable solutions for its citizens. The EAC is a founding member of the Canadian and Nova Scotia Environmental Networks. Views expressed in BTI are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent EAC or its supporters. Ecology Action Centre 2705 Fern Lane Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 4L3 p. (902) 429-2202 f. (902) 405-3716 www.ecologyaction.ca Become a fan on Facebook ~ www.facebook.com/EcologyActionCentre Subscribe to our Twitter feed: EcologyAction pagethree letter from the centre fuels by 2030 (p. 16). Keeping with a theme of energy effi- ciency, Nikki Beauchamp reviews the benefits of a root cellar, Turn and Face the Strange Changes a long-term storage solution in city and country alike (p. 8). Will the city have guidelines in place to allow a population increase without overreliance on suburban development? Sam Fraser takes a look at Our HRM Alliance (p. 14), a group trying to ensure important questions aren’t overlooked be- fore final answers are reached. Speaking of overlooked items, Scott MacIvor offers insight on some of Nova Scotia’s small- est inhabitants (p. 9) as a reminder that changes made by and for humans have long-term ramifications for other species. The changes already underway in Halifax and Nova Scotia will be significant. But Heather Hunter illustrates a more global perspective on growth (p. 12), comparing patterns in The “Occupy Nova Scotia” movement remains physically Canada to those elsewhere on our shared planet as human manifested in Halifax’s Parade Square as this issue makes its population reaches another milestone. It reminds us that we way to press. The tail end of the season’s cruise ship tourists can receive both inspiration and valuable lessons by maintain- appear both bewildered and curious about the chaotic settle- ing a wider point of view. ment of tents set up on City Hall’s otherwise stately grounds. To show that not everything changes, many favourite features Such tourists (and other passersby) are greeted by a sign stat- return in this issue, such as Being Green, Seasonal Gourmet, ing “Keep Your Coins, We Want Change”. It’s a common sen- Eco-Horoscopes, La Vie en Vert and Action in Verse. timent, one that perhaps neglects to mention we’d strongly prefer such change to benefit the province and its citizens. What will have happened to the “Occupy Nova Scotia” move- (Change for the worse is best kept dormant, thanks.) Truth ment by the time you read this letter? No matter the duration is, change is always around the corner. It’s our task to try to of the visible protest, let’s hope that shouts for truly progres- anticipate life’s twists and turns so that we can push the forces sive, sustainable change fuel fires within us that stay stoked of change in a positive direction. long after the tents are packed away. Case in point – HRM’s Irving Shipbuilding won a $25 bil- ~ BTI Editors lion contract to build combat vessels for the Royal Canadian Navy just days after the first tents were pitched on Parade Square. Such an investment will bring about myriad changes. But how they manifest themselves raises more questions than hot off the modem answers at this point. Shiny new EAC publications How will voters react to such a massive investment in Cana- da’s military when our national reputation is taking a beating The following publications are all available online at for shifting emphasis away from the environment? Proving www.ecologyaction.ca/content/publications-resources that our provincial government can be just as short-sighted as its federal counterpart, EAC staff combine to grade Nova We also have paper copies of some Scotia’s uninspiring natural resources strategy (p. 10). On a of these reports. If you’re interested, please contact us at happier note, Richard Bell serves up an example of positive 429-2202 or drop by our office. change on a local level in Deanery Transformation (p. 18). Communicating with Northumberland Strait Property What effect will an influx of jobs in HRM have on urban and Owners about Coastal Erosion rural population settlement in Nova Scotia? We’re an increas- ingly urban culture in Canada, an unfortunate byproduct of Recommendations for a Communication Strategy which is transit chaos in cities and underfunded transporta- for Northumberland Strait Property Owners on tion options in less populated areas. Happily, the EAC’s Bren- Coastal Erosion nan Vogel outlines how Nova Scotia can wean itself off fossil action is our middle name 2030 vision (Energy Issues Committee) The Energy Is- sues Committee commends the provincial government on its recently legislated 40 percent renewable electricity target for the year 2020. This target makes Nova Scotia a leader in setting things always cooking (Food Action Committee) an ambitious transformation agenda for the electricity sector. Our Food Connections staff held over a dozen preserving work- Currently 13-14 percent of the province’s electricity is sourced shops, both public and with our community partners, and took our from biomass, hydro, tidal and wind power. In September, demos on the road, visiting farmers markets and festivals through- the province opened applications on the Community Feed-In out the province. Heliotrust hosted Open Farm Fridays on the Hants Tariff (COMFIT) program that guarantees community groups Shore in August, September and October. Visitors to the farm picked a stable, long-term price for electricity produced from small- produce and learned how to make yummy treats with it. Meanwhile scale hydro, tidal, wind and biomass (combined heat and pow- the garden team has been busy launching the new Native Plant Pol- er). While the COMFIT program is limited (less than 3 percent linator Project and the Bloomfield Community Greenhouse. We’ll of the total supply), it is a step in the right direction of a more work on the biodiversity of five community garden sites and ex- diversified electricity supply market in Nova Scotia. Forthcom- pand the growing season this winter. Stop by the Bloomfield Centre ing federal regulations on coal-burning electricity coincide to take a peek. For more details, visit: http://adventuresinlocalfood. with our latest project: Fossil Free Power: 2030 – an interactive wordpress.com/ and http://halifaxgardennetwork.wordpress.com/ website describing how to achieve 100 percent green power in Nova Scotia by 2030. See page 16. clearcutting language not clear (Wilderness Committee) We’ve been meeting with community groups 30 km/h, 1,137 signatures across the province to encourage broad public engage- (Transportation Issues Committee) The Active ment in the recently released “12 percent by 2015” & Safe Routes to School campaign to reduce land protection process (see www.gov.ns.ca/ speeds in school zones from 50km/h to 30 nse/12percent).