Torontowasfertilegroundin1969.WhenIcheckedoutthenewmusical“Hair”attheRoyalAlexandriaTheatre,youngJoniMitchellandbeginnerGordLightfootinYorkville,thecitywasfloodedwithartists,musiciansandhundredsofinterestingandintelligentAmericandraftdodgerswelcomedbytheTrudeaugovernment.AswellastheBeatles’new“AbbeyRoad”album,TajMahal’shit,“Goinguptothecountry,paintmymailboxblue”wasatthetopofthecharts.Minimumwagewas$1.25perhourandIwastryingtoearntuitionmoney.OnThursdayAugust14th,friendsinvitedseesomemusicinupstateNewYorkfortheweekend.Iadamantlyrefused,sayingthatIcouldn’tmissadayofwork.IsawmyfriendsagainonMondayandtheyweredifferent:theyhadjustbeentoWoodstock! InFebruaryof1971,midpost-gradyear,Iwassuddenlyevictedfrommyhome.DuringthistimeIvisitedaneighbourforatalk.HeunderstoodmypredicamentandagreedthatIcouldbuyanoldfarmhousefromhim.Ihadnomoney,butsomehowweworkedoutaplan.Iwasn’tgoingtomissa“Woodstock”opportunityagain,soIdecidedIwas“goinguptothecountry,paintmymailboxblue”(butinmid-winter). Theoldfarmhousewasinthemiddleofnowhere,abandonedmanyyearsbefore.Therewasnodriveway,water,toiletorouthouseandnoelectricity,butitwasmine.Isoonstartedbuildingasmallwind-generatortoprovideelectricity.Thefirstonedidn’tworkbecauseIhadcarvedthewoodenpropellerbackwards.EvenwhenIboltedthepropellerontheoppositeway,itstilldidn’tworkproperlybecause,asIlearned,thereisafundamentaldifferencebetweenapropthatdrivesthewindandapropwhichisdrivenbythewind. Isoonbuilttwosuccessfulwind-generators,butthesehadshortlifespans.Ilearnedthatevenstore-boughtwind-generatorshavethisproblem,withtheirshortfactory-warranty,typicallybetweenoneandfiveyears.

In1979ImovedtotheBrucePeninsulatobuildanewhome.Iusedpassive-heatdesignprincipleswithlotsofsouth-facingglassandplentyofbuilt-inandgeothermalmass.ItwasthenthatIsawmyfirstphotovoltaic(PV),orelectricity-producingpanel.Thatweeksgrocerymoneysecureditformeimmediately.PVpanelsinmagazinesareoftenshownmountedonaroof,soIputmineonmyroof,too.Powerflowedintomyhouseuntilthefirstsnowfall,becauseeachtimeitsnowedthePVpanelneededtobecleaned.IeventuallybecamesotiredofthisthatImounteditverticallyonthesouthwall.Nosnowclungtoitand,surprisingly,theelectricaloutputincreasedsubstantially.MyPVpanelwasnotonlyreceivingdirectsunlightbutalsoreflectedlightfromthesnow-coveredground.However,TheverticalmountmeantthatIhadlesspowerinsummertime.Thelongsun-filleddayshelpedwiththisandIaddedmorepanelstomyverticalarray. Next,Idecidedtotrytousewindtopumpwater.Thepropertyhadmanytalltrees,soitwasnotagoodplacetoinstallanysortofwind-drivenpropeller.Thispresentedanopportunity:Ibuiltapumpwithalongstrokeandconnected

A Long Affair With

Renewable Energyby J.W. (Hans) Albarda

ittoaverytallmapletree.Itworkedandeverytimethewindmadethetreesway,thepumppumped.Ihadwaterpressure. Inthe‘90’s,thingsinOntariochanged,politicallyandasaresult,myteachingpositionvanished.Thiswasanotheropportunity.CatherineandIsoldthehouseandheadedtobeautifulNovaScotia. WeboughtasmallpropertyveryclosetoWolfvilleanddecidedtobuildourlatestoff-grid,passivehousein2000.Thisenvelopehouse,ahouse-within-a-house,featureslargesouth-facingwindows,lotsofthermalmassandwall-mountedPVpanelsprovidingalltheelectricalpower.Thegeneratedpowerisstoredinsixred,NovaScotia-madeSurrettebatteries.Atotalofsixpanelspoweroursubmersiblepump,studioandwood-shop. Photovoltaicsisasimpletechnologytounderstand.Sunlightconsistsoftwoformsofenergy:lightandheat.WhenlightstrikesaPVcell,photonscarryingenergyfromthesuncauseelectronsinthecelltomove.Wirespickupthesemovingelectronsandleadthemthroughcircuitswheretheycanperformwork,likepoweringmylights.TheythenmovebacktothePVcelltoreceiveanotherpushfromthephotons.PVcellsarestrungtogethertomakepanels,costingabout$3/Wattofoutputwithawarrantyof25yearsandanapproximatelifeexpectancyofaboutdoublethat.TheenergyamanufacturerusestomakeaPVpanelisrecoveredbythepanelitselfwithintwoyearsofuse. Electricitycanbestoredinthebatteriesmentionedabove,oronthegrid,fornighttimeuse.WechoosetostoreoursinbatteriessincewehavenodesiretobecomeinvolvedwithNovaScotiaPower.Thesebatteriesarethemostrecycledconsumerproductintheworld,at97%(BatteryCouncilInternational)andourshavealifeexpectancyof15-20years. CatherineandIhavetwodaughters.Ourgirlshaveonlyeverusedclean,renewableenergyathome,theyhaveneverexperiencedablack-outandtheyalwaysturnoffthelightswhenleavingaroom. TheonlydownfallofourwayoflifeisthatIhavebeentoobusytofindthetimetopaintourmailboxblue.

Our legal battle to protect Sandy Pond, NL from becoming a waste dump for nickel processing plant moved a step

closer to a final decision from the federal judge hearing the case. Our case is based on the argument that the federal Fisheries Act requires the protection of fish and fish habitat, so the 2007 add-on to the Act (Schedule 2 of the Metal Mine Effluent Regulations) is not consistent with the intent of the Act. On February 10th, Judge Heneghan determined that Vale (the company building the plant), the Mining Association of Canada,and the Mining Association of British Columbia had limited intervenor status in the case: this means they can present information and appeal the final decision, however they can’t appeal motions during the case or cross examine witnesses. Full intervenor status might have resulted many delays and increased expenses for members of the Sandy Pond Alliance. Go here to read the decision: http://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/en/2011/2011fc158/2011fc158.html.

We’ve Grown! One of the biggest successes so far this year is establishing active environmental education programs

in NL and PEI. Since the New Year, we have been delivering Sierra Buddies, our youth leadership program, in St. John’s and Charlottetown, and our water conservation and protection program, Water Wizards, has been going full bore in the Charlottetown. Also, our nature immersion program, Wild Child, has been provided in after-school programs in the Scotsburn area. We have launched a fundraising campaign to try and keep these programs running past April 2011. Please go here to give your support: http://atlantic.sierraclub.ca/

Director Gretchen Fitzgerald presented to the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources

on the need to act now to reduce ghg emissions (and asked why they killed Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act?) and stop oil and gas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We’ll see if our house of “sober second thought” is listening!

Give yourself a pat on the back!

As the new guy, I suppose introductions are in order. My name is Tyler Durbano and it is my pleasure to be the new editor-in-chief of The Sandpiper.

Let me start off by saying that I came by the position of editor-in-chief completely by chance. Armed with neither a degree in environmental science nor any real knowledge of current environmental issues, I had to ask myself: how could I possibly publish a newsletter on a topic I was completely clueless about? As I walked into the first meeting, I took a breath and mentally braced myself.

A funny thing happened despite my concerns: I soon found that I was more in-tune with environmental issues around me than previously thought, and more importantly, I wanted to expand on the knowledge I already had. I decided to stick it out, determined to somehow apply my arts-centric background to this task.

As the weeks progressed and the first articles started trickling into my inbox, I started making connections between the things I knew and the new information I was learning. For instance, a few of the articles in this issue are on the topic of biosolids. During my childhood, my hometown was one of the fastest growing cities in Canada. In this city the waste-water treatment plant was an ever present sight (and smell) for my family. Did I mention it happened to be located across the road from the beach and just a minute or two from my backyard? Hot summer breezes by the water became tainted with foul odours, leading many people to question how our water was being treated. Now, after finishing this issue of The Sandpiper, I am a little bit closer to understanding the water-treatment process. More importantly, I recognize that there are environmentally friendly alternatives to treating the water we drink, flush and even play in.

I cannot single-handedly change the way my hometown treats the water we use, but being a part of The Sandpiper team gives me hope that if someone like me - a writer, artist, and philosopher - can help bring awareness to this issue, then there is something we can all do about the state of our environment.

Finally, I’d like to thank the rest of The Sandpiper crew: Brynn Horley and Margaret Hoegg truly put their fullest efforts forth this issue. The three of us have never worked on a publication such as this before, but despite that fact we pulled off an interesting and insightful first issue for 2011. I’d also like to thank all the contributing writers/staff who have taken the time to fill our publication.

Enjoy!

Editor-in-chief,Tyler Durbano.

This issue of The Sandpiper was created by

Communications CommitteeGretchen Fitzgerald, Margaret Hoegg, Tyler Durbano, Brynn Horley

Contributors

Hans Albarda, Heidi Verheul, Tina Smith, Danny Prew, Donald Cameron, Marilyn Cameron, Rebecca McQuaid, Angela Livingstone, Marney Simmons,

Editors

Gretchen Fitzgerald, Tyler Durbano

Design, layout, and illustrations

Brynn Horley

PhotographsGretchen Fitzgerald, Heidi Verheul, Nicole Oliver, DreamsTime.com

If you would like to contribute to our next issue, or have any comments or responses to content in this newsletter, we would love to hear from you. Please

contact us at:

www.sierraclub.ca/atlantic(902) 444-3113

AtlanticCanadaChapter@sierraclub.ca

Help us to Stop Oil and Gas Development in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We have developed tools (presentation, letters to the editor, etc.) to be used in a grassroots campaigns. We need passionate volunteers to host events in their communities or in their homes, to engage citizens in this campaign. Activity: Host one event or give an ongoing commitment of 2-5 hours per week. Skills required: Passion (Familiarity with marine biology or pollution impacts an asset, communication and outreach skills, and experience working with the media are an asset.)

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:

ISSUES WE NEED YOUR HELP ON

Point Lepreau Nuclear Power plant is undergoing a fix-up that will run over three years past its intended due date—and several million dollars over budget. The repair is at a point when the province of New Brunswick could turn a fix-up into a decommissioning... with your help! We need volunteers to support a public outreach campaign asking that no more tax money be poured into a project that is dangerous and unnecessary for solving climate change. Activity: Use social media such as Facebook and Twitter to create and maintain an online presence for this campaign. Time commitment: 2-5 hours per week. Skills required: Creativity, familiarity and interest in social media, and ability towork with others.

To find out how to help, please contact us at

(902) 444-3113 or by email gretchenf@sierraclub.ca

Communications CommitteeSierra Club Atlantic Chapter is looking for creative, committed

and keen members to join our Communications Committee. If you have experience in communications, media relations, fundraising, writing, graphic design, social media or are just passionate about protecting our environment then we’d love to have you on our Communications Committee. We currently need members from Newfoundland, PEI and New Brunswick.

If you’re interested, contact Communications Coordinator Margaret Hoegg margareth@sierraclub.ca

Members of the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter Executive Committee 2010/2011:Jean Paul Bourque, TreasurerPeggy CunninghamPatty DonovanAnne LévesqueAdam MacIsaacChristina MacLeod, ChairSean MalloyTony Reddin, Vice ChairMartin Singh, SecretaryConservation Chair: Fred Winsor

I start my life as one of many barrel shaped eggs laid on the twigs of elm, willow, or poplar trees.

As a youngster I am black with red spots, I have black-branched bristles all over my body, and red prolegs (extra fake legs).

A cluster of us can easily strip branches of leaves, but parasitic wasps, birds and other predators keep our num-bers in check.

I undergo a dramatic trans-formation inside of my grey chrysalis. I emerge with wings spanning 7-8cm that are coloured red, brown with blue spots and yellow trimming.

I hibernate through winter as an adult, camouflaged by the drab underside colour-ing of my hind wings, tucked in crevices of trees or abadoned buildings.

On February 19th, SCC-ACC director Gretchen Fitzgerald

spoke at the Friends of the Pugwash Estuary AGM about the

campaign for a moratorium on Oil & Gas Developments in the

Gulf of St. Lawrence. Pictured left to right: Emma Hebb, Gretchen

Fitzgerald, Greg Nix and Alice Power

INFOGRAPHIC BY:

DANNY PREW

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On January 15th, 2011, three new groups met to brainstorm, learn, and work together at the Hospitality Centre in Debert Nova Scotia. The event was sponsored by the Nova Scotia Youth Secretariat and Mountian Equipment Co-op, so that all committee members could attend at no personal cost.

The event was the first meeting of our newly formed Youth Action and Advisory Committee (YAAAC), a group of youth aged 15-25 that are working to help our organization become more youth friendly, ensuring our environmental education programs are not only directed to youth but also directed by youth.

[Debert] gave us the momentum we need to take on 2011!

by Emma Hebb

SCC-ACC Staff, ACE and YAAC Committees at the 2011 retreat in Debert, NS.

A busy weekend at the Debert Hospitality Centre. We learned a lot,

formed new committes and new friendships.

Top: Members of the newly formed YAAC Above: Who goes there? Unknown animal

tracks

Our re-vamped Advisory Committee on Education (ACE) met to brainstorm new directions for our environmental education programs and learn about the ones we currently offer. The group will continue to advise and aid our environmental education staff to ensure our environmental education programs are relevant and continue to be offered across Atlantic Canada.

Our five YMCA Post Secondary Youth Eco-Interns met for their orientation. It being their first week on the job, it was a chance to network with each other, our committees, and our long-term staff to become more familiar with the resources at their disposal.

Overall, a great time was had by all and the event gave us the momentum we need to take on 2011!

If you’d like to be involved in our committees, get in touch with our volunteer coordinator, Emma Hebb, at emmah@sierraclub.ca.

“Coyotes are very important animals because they help keep balance.”

“You can find out what kinds of animals are living in an area by looking at their poop (scat) and footprints (tracks).”

“More than one animal can

live in the s

ame area.”

“Blue jays don’t migrate for the winter and...they can make the sound of a hawk.”

“Some birds don’t head south.”

An open letter from the Wild Children of Pictou County:

We would like to share with you some of what we have learned over the past

few weeks during the Wild Child Program at our afterschool centres. They

have been very busy weeks with lots of games and activities that have helped

teach us about the outdoors. We have spent lots of time outside exploring,

climbing, jumping, balancing, building, running, and learning.

We have been very curious and asked Anna Marie MANY questions about

all of the things we have found. We learned how to look up answers for

ourselves using field guides and books about Nova Scotia wildlife. We

matched scats with a scat chart and tracks with a track chart. We exam-

ined twigs and tree growth and made guesses about what kinds of trees they

were!

One of our favourite games is “Camouflage”. It’s easy to play and doesn’t

require anything but an imagination. One person is “the predator” and

everyone else is “the prey”. The predator counts to 30 and everyone must

quickly find a place to hide. The object is to be as close to the predator as pos-

sible without being caught. Without moving from his or her spot, the preda-

tor must try to find the prey, and when they see someone, they must call

their name and they come to join the predator. Once the predator can see no

one else, everyone who has been caught closes their eyes and must count to

ten. At this point the rest of the prey must find a new hiding spot, closer to

the predator. The game continues until all of the prey has been found or the

predators can no longer see any prey.

This is a great game for us Wild Children to play because we have to be like

animals and adapt to our surroundings to not be seen. We learn the impor-

tance of being still and quiet, because if we move, the predator might see us!

The predator learns how to use their senses to find what they are looking for

(sight and sound).

Some other things we learned are that animal’s habitats are very delicate,

and that we need to be careful when we are playing outside. We wouldn’t

like it if a giant came along and stepped on our home! It must be really

scary for rabbits and foxes when people are cutting down the trees near their homes.

We use our senses a lot when we are out playing in the wild. We have to use our

eyes to see during games that get us to look at the difference in colours and shapes

around us, we use our ears to listen for “wild sounds”, we smell the smells of outside

while playing in the trees, we sniffle at sap, and stick our noses into spruce trees.

Sometimes we even bend down to smell scat! We use our sense of touch in a lot of

different ways: sometimes it is when we find a new lichen and we want to feel if

it is soft and slimy or hard and crunchy, when Anna Marie says it is safe we use

touch to feel fungus!

The only thing we wish is that we could spend more time outside, and that the after-

noons we spend in our special outdoor places didn’t go by so fast!!

From the wild,

Wild Children of Spring

Garden Child Care Centre and

West Side Afterschool

This letter was drafted from feedback given to Anna Marie (Pictou County Wild Child Facilitator) during the mid-term evaluations. For more information on Wild Child see our Wild Child Blog on Sierra Club Atlantic’s website. Colourful quotations are some of the things the Wild Children shared with me when I asked them at mid-point what they had learned.

“Some plants still grow in the winter.”

“Lichens can come in all shapes, sizes, and colours. And that we have lots!”

“Coyote skulls are cool!”

‘It’s fun to play in the woods.”

“Crawling on the snow in

wintertime keeps us from

sinking so much!” (Some days

we wished we had snowshoe

hare feet!)

Left: Snow Art!

Below: “A wild child has been here...!”

Below: It was too cold out this day, so we exercised our creativity.

Above: Exploring beneath the frozen ground

Right: Some of Anna’s Wild Children got to climb a tree fo the

very fist time!

“In the winter, garter snakes live in big groups.”

Visit www.TheGreenInterview.com for interviews of Global thinkers by Silver Donald Cameron, and more.

Last month, 138,000 farmed salmon escaped from feedlots on the New Brunswick side of the Bay of Fundy, which scarcely caused a ripple in the Maritime consciousness. Elsewhere, in places like Norway, Scotland, Chile, and British Columbia, salmon farming is a highly controversial industry. Here it skates along smoothly under the radar.

Salmon farming is controversial for two main reasons. Firstly, it is a highly inefficient way to obtain food. Producing feed for salmon farming intensifies the pressure on other fisheries around the world. Essentially, aquaculture turns four kilograms of wild fish (used to feed the farmed salmon) into one kilogram of industrial fish. How clever is that?

Second, salmon farms have horrible effects on the marine environment and wild salmon. A salmon cage consists of an outer layer of netting to keep predators out, and an inner layer to keep salmon in. However, parasites, bacteria, viruses and chemicals can move freely through the cages, affect-ing the trapped salmon. Also, like all intensive industrial food production facilities, the salmon cage holds the maximum number of animals packed in together.

The clustered fish are succulent targets for epidemics of parasites, such as sea lice, and viruses, such as Infectious Salmon Anemia, which first appeared in Norway in the 1980’s. The Infectious Salmon Anemia now inhabits salmon farms in Scotland, Chile and New Brunswick. To combat disease, discourage parasites and maximize growth, farmed salmon are dosed regularly with pesticides and antibiotics, which, in time, create ever-more resistant pests and, in New Bruns-wick, a great many dead lobsters.

The salmon are also exuberant producers of feces. Their cages are the pig pens of the ocean. The sea floor near a salmon cage is a dead zone, paved with foul food and fish excrement, all bathed in a soup of bio-chemicals.

As happened in the Bay of Fundy last month, salmon can also can move through the netting of a cage when it becomes damaged by storms. Once released, the farmed salmon are free to pollute the genetic code of the indigenous wild salmon through interbreeding.

In BC interbreeding poses less of a threat than it does here in Atlantic Canada, where the wild fish and the farmed ones are the same species, though the farmed fish are very different from the wild ones. Nature cannot cull the caged fish by way of predation, disease or parasites, so escapees survive to pass on their weaknesses in the wild. In addition, a farmed fish lacks the genetic information a wild fish has, such as the knowledge of its home stream and spawning ground. The hybrid offspring may not even know how to reproduce. Norwegian research indicates that escaped salmon and their young compete fiercely for mates and habitat, but when the young go to sea, they don't return.

The dominant players in salmon farming worldwide are Norwegian companies who developed the whole net-pen salmon industry. In Norway today, BC warrior-scientist Alexandra Morton, who has devoted her life to the protection of wild salmon, reports that “nine out of ten salmon rivers in the heavily farmed Hardanger Fjord have collapsed,” while fish farm-ers “are now pumping farm salmon into well boats and bathing them in Hydrogen Peroxide trying to kill the lice.” This technique is also used in New Brunswick.

Norway's former Attorney General, who oversaw the original aquaculture plan, now calls salmon farming “a heavy defeat for wild salmon and a huge win for sea lice.” Now, The Norwegian Institute of Marine Science, a supporter of fish farming, now suggests that the risks to wild salmon mean that cage-net farming conflicts with Norway’s sustainability strategy.

In Scotland, the Atlantic Salmon Trust, headed by the Prince of Wales, recently blasted the Scottish government for allow-ing fish farms to endanger Scotland's wild salmon. In BC, Alexandra Morton and others want all salmon farms moved to above-ground tanks, completely isolated from wild fish. Here in the Maritimes, where salmon stocks are officially desig-nated as endangered, the Atlantic Salmon Federation is also demanding above-ground tanks. However, a New Brunswick company proposes to rear a million net-caged salmon in St. Mary's Bay, Nova Scotia. At this stage in history, how long should it take to say No?

The Future of the Salmonby Silver Donald Cameron

of infectious agents linked to food-borne illnesses (once thought to be destroyed by sewage sludge treatment), uptake of heavy metals and other chemicals by plants, and the worrisome emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria.In the 2009 Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment’s (CCME) Contaminant Inventory Report and the 2010 CCME’s Field Study Report, scientists show con-cern about the many existing knowledge gaps and lack of risk assessments being done in areas using biosolids. They im-plore the government to comprehensively study biosolids contaminants and the ef-fects those substances are having on the environment and our health. Considering that we continue to learn so much new information about the potential contami-nant load of sludge and its effect on our environment, we should be embracing the precautionary principle here.

Here is an example revealing just how much of some heavy metals are being added to our soils, per annum, from the Halifax division of N-Viro International Corp alone. An “acceptable” concentra-tion of lead in the sludge product is 150 ppm. In each 30-tonne truckload, that adds up to 9.9 lbs. About 1,000 truckloads (34,000 tonnes per year) of biosolids are being land applied each year, ac-cording to the N-Viro

Agriculture in Nova Scotia is something we should be very passion-ate about. When I first learned about the use of treated sewage sludge on our farmlands, I was very disturbed. This practice was no longer the dirty little secret of a few farmers; it threatened to become main stream. I have been an advocate of preventing non-agricultural development on the fertile soils of Kings County for many years. Personally, it didn’t make sense to continue battling for farmland preservation if I did noth-ing about the use of sewage sludge on Kings County soil. Since biosolids began being used as a fertilizer in Nova Scotia, the topic has been shrouded in secrecy, rife with misinformation and misinterpretation of science. For example, the industry states that biosolids have been used on farmland for decades without negative results. However, what industry propo-nents do not admit is that over the last 20 years a tremendous amount of new knowledge about the identification and behavior of newly-recognized chemicals, pharmaceuticals and pathogens has been developed. Many recent scientific publications about biosolids are show-ing environmental and health risks that were not considered before. Included in these publications are concerns of endocrine disruptors affecting wildlife species, pharmaceuticals damaging soil fertility, the survival or re-growth

Toxic In, Toxic Outby Marilyn CameronBiosolids & Waste Water Caucus

website. This means more than 9,900 lbs of lead, a severe neurotoxin, is going on the land that feeds us. Also going into our soil each year is 900 lbs of Arsenic - a carcinogen which is toxic to the cardiovascular system, 53 lbs of Mercury – a neurotoxin, 200 lbs of Cad-mium – a carcinogen and renal/hepatic toxin, 53 lbs of Bisphenol A - Canada’s newest toxic substance and endocrine disruptor, and 405 lbs of Triclosan – a substance which causes antibiotic re-sistance. And the list goes on. Is this practice sustainable or safe? Recently, a sample of the N-Viro sludge product from Noel was tested for a few substances not routinely tested for. Flame retardants, polyaromatic hydro-carbons, nonylphenols and methytri-closan were reported in “substantial concentrations” in the biosolids. These are emerging contaminants with envi-ronmentally problematic potentials, ac-cording to Dr. Hale, PhD, Virginia Insti-tute of Marine Sciences.

A sentiment shared between the grow-ing number of consumers who care about their food and environment is that the time has come for this NDP government to decide if it wants con-sumers to buy locally-produced foods.

If they do, there is a price for getting con-sumers to “buy into” the movement. Con-sumers want absolute assurance that locally-grown foods are the safest foods produced anywhere; that this will undoubtedly continue into the future. If this assurance is under-mined by the use of biosolids then consumers may naturally think that all food safety stan-dards are equally dubious. Some would see little reason not to buy the cheapest imported foods and others, who can afford it, will reject those foods in favour of expensive organic foods – most of them imported. This is un-fair to our farmers and to low-income Nova Scotians. Perhaps the best way to determine the public mind set about biosolids is to label foods that result from its use.

For now, see the list of farms not using bio-solids at http://www.nsen.ca/biosolids.php.

We've been dealing with waste since the be-ginning of human life on this planet. It is not a difficult substance to manage and yet we have created a colossal problem for ourselves. This problem emerges partly through compound-ing population numbers and partly through our tendency to complicate the processing of human waste. For some reason we think that our body wastes need to be dealt with through mecha-nization. Traditional mechanized sewage treat-ment plants make a lot of noise, break down, cause foul odours, look unattractive and cost a disproportionate amount of money.

What if we could treat our sewage in a beauti-ful, sweet-smelling garden with no noise, odour, expensive metal parts, high maintenance costs or redundant life cycle? What if a sewage treat-ment plant required a gardener, horticulturist or agronomist instead of an engineer? What if a sewage treatment site was a tourist attraction, a refuge from the din of city life and a revenue generator for a municipality with no end to its life cycle?

Not only is such technology possible but also it is a reality here in Nova Scotia.

Last summer I visited a small research and development site owned by BioGas Ener-gy Inc, in Centreville, near New Minas. The four partners in this company have with a variety of strengths: one is an agronomist, two others are engineers and the fourth is a business development expert. Their purpose for building this research and de-velopment site is two-fold: to process food waste from nearby Acadia University with zero-discharge and also to ensure that all by-products are reused.

Organic matter, such as vegetable waste, gener-ates two gases: methane and carbon dioxide, commonly referred to as biogas. The partners of BioGas Energy Inc have devised a way to separate the two gases for different purposes. Methane can be burned, much like propane, and they compress carbon dioxide into bricks, which can also be burned to gener-ate heat. Green-house growers love to get their hands on CO² because plants literally eat it up, increasing pro-duction by about 40%. Because this facility is a fully treated and organic system, the end product can be used to grow food.

Since my visit, hundreds of green plants have been installed (in beds such as the image just to the left) in a greenhouse with the intent of processing manure. The principle is the same as that of pro-cessing plant waste and is based on the Solar Aquatics® System (SAS) for wastewater purifica-tion. SAS has been

performing successfully in Weston, Mass. (pop. 11,000+ with 30 businesses) for the last 12 years and other SAS plants have sprung up in places such as Palmer, Alaska, Cynthia, Alberta north of Edmonton, Fiji Islands in the South Pacific, Brazil, France, Mexico, and on islands in the Caribbean.

Sewage, Beautiful Sewageby Marney J. SimmonsMayor, Town of Mulgrave, NS

While these are only some of the reasons for using natural sewage treatment systems in our municipalities, the BioGas Energy team is dis-covering new income-generating sources as their research continues.

The cost of a natural sewage processing facil-ity in most cases is well under a million dollars,

whereas traditional systems can cost sev-eral million dollars. The facility in Weston, Mass., for example, cost only $750,000 to build. David Miller, the business developer at BioGas Energy, claims that the beauty

of this kind of technology is that components for the system can be leased from a financial services business: an alternative to reliance on regulatory government lending agencies. This aspect is good news for municipalities

whose solvency is good collateral for borrow-ing.

What does all this information mean? It means that as our planet becomes in-creasingly choked by the waste streams of our industrialized societies, and as our

natural resources diminish, it becomes imperative that we pattern our lives after

the way nature performs. When we do the

result will be win-win-win-win . . . . new green

jobs are cre-ated in planting, harvesting and

processing of the plants;

These natural, zero-discharge wastewater sys-tems can be used at hotels, resorts, restaurants, hospitals, schools, correctional facilities, food processing plants, farms and feed lots and as municipal sewage treatment plants.

Why should we consider more widespread use of solar aquatics systems?

contami-nants are

metabolized or bound up by algae, plants, bacteria and

aquatic animals;

the green-house is a

tourist attraction – a beautiful

amenity;

the system

replicates the natural purifying

process of freshwater streams

and wetlands;

it recov-

ers nutrients through the

treatment of waste and

wastewater;

new

revenue streams are cre-

ated from the sale of biogas and

plants;

there is

no polluting discharge;

sewage is

treated as a food for the biological

community in green-houses and not consid-

ered as waste to be disposed of;

alternative and renewable energy sources

are created;

the cost of

a solar aquatics system can be a

fraction of tradition-al mechanized

systems; water

conservation and air purifica-tion are accom-

plished;

All the melted snow has me itching to get into my garden. I know a few people have been posting pictures of snowdrops and crocuses on their Facebook accounts and I have noticed my rose bushes hyacinths are showing some new growths! But what is stopping me from getting outside and working with the soil seems to be how wet everything is. All year long a brook runs across the South perimeter of our prop-erty, cuts across the lawn and under the driveway to a nice swampy area on the North side. Around this time of the year another small brook runs East to West, emptying into the larger brook.

However, the abundance of water doesn’t last and I find my little rose bed bone dry by August. Roses are a very thirsty plant and so are many ornamen-tal species, as any well seasoned gardener would know. But gardening doesn’t have to be so water intensive. There are a few different ways you can reduce the amount of water your garden swallows up in a summer.

Xeriscaping, or xerogardening, is landscaping and gardening with little to no irrigation. This is very popular in arid regions or where there is limited water access. Check out this great website to get started on xeriscaping on your property.

http://water.greenventure.ca/xeriscaping

Here is an excerpt from the Action H20 Water Conservation Blog. Sierra Club Canada Atlantic staff have been blogging on water conservation throughout March as part of Action H20, leading up to World Water Day on March 22nd. Follow their blog at atlantic.sierraclub.ca/en/blogs/water-con-servation or actionh2o.ca

by Nicole Oliver

Let the Rain Fall Down!

Image 1. Xeriscaping (Retrieved on March 18, 2011 from: http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/green-glossary/what-is-xeri-scaping-and-why-is-it-green-078970)

Native species gardening is gardening with plants that are native to Nova Scotia (or your region). These species are used to the local climate and weather patterns, so they have adapted to regional rainfall and require little to no fertilizing and pest control. The links below describe native plants and their basic habitat requirements.

http://nativeplants.evergreen.ca/search/printable-list.php The second link contains a table that lists which native species are available at various garden supply centres throughout the province, in Appendix A. http://annapolisriver.ca/downloads/rain_gardens_final_report_2010.pdf

Image 2. Bunchberry (Retrieved on March 18, 2011 from: http://bloomingwriter.blogspot.com/2010/12/return-of-native-plant.html)

Rain gardens are gardens made up of plants that can withstand periods of inundation. They hold water and allow it to infiltrate the ground. Rain gardens are often catchments for rainwater runoffs from roofs, driveways or parking lots. The following link is a good resource for understanding and using rain gardens.

http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/la/la_005.cfm

Image 3. Rain garden (Retrieved on March 18, 201 from: http://www.roomu.net/exterior/build-your-own-rain-garden.html)

Nicole Oliver enthusiastically coordinates the Sierra Buddies program for Sierra Club of Canada - Atlantic Chapter.

We are constantly overwhelmed with doomsday scenarios of climate change: species facing extinction, alarming rates of polar ice melt, increasingly severe weather events… but what does all that have to do with Atlantic Canada? We’re not seeing the effects of climate change here, are we? The short answer is, yes—we are already experiencing some environmental, economic, and social impacts as a result of climate change. Think about the last time your community experienced a drought, flood or big storm that caused erosion. Climate change is no longer an issue of the future—it is the greatest challenge of our present.

In one sense, we are lucky to live in Canada where adapting to climate change impacts will be easier than for other countries around the world. Conversely, it is the society created by developed countries, such as Canada, that is contrib-uting the most to man-made climate change. As Canadians, we burn a lot of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas to produce energy. These, in turn, contribute greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, fueling the problems of global warming and climate change.

What we sometimes lose sight of is that everyone on Earth will be affected by this and those in the developing world will have the greatest challenges to overcome, with the least amount of resources and power to adapt. I believe that one of our greatest responsibilities in the fight against climate change is to do everything in our power to alleviate further human suffering. This is an extremely human-centered view and no doubt others will contest me on this. But who can deny that we have a moral obligation to our human communities to mobilize on this issue, when so much suffering already exists in the world now?

What does climate change have to do with women in particular? Well, in many parts of the developing world, women and girls are the ones who work the land, gather water and collect fuel. Climate change is making drought more common and access to water scarcer. Not only does this mean that it takes more work to grow crops and find fuel, it is also harder to locate water for drinking and cooking. This leaves women little time to study or work in their communities. In addition, long treks to fetch resourc-es put women at higher risk for attack, especially those living in war-torn areas.

In the household, women are the primary caregivers for children and the elderly. This decreases their mobility, leaving them vulnerable to sudden, extreme weather events associated with climate change, such as flash floods. In addition, women in some cultures are not permitted to leave their households without a male relative, which endangers them in these survival situations. Climate change also increases the risk for illness, and women bear the brunt as caregivers. Warmer temperatures create ideal conditions for disease-carrying pests, such as mosquitoes, to prosper. Also, flooding can contaminate water sources with many different water-borne diseases, such as cholera. For more information on issues related to gender and climate change, check out Oxfam Canada’s Women & Climate Change campaign: www.oxfam.ca.

Rebecca McQuaid is the Climate Change Education Coordinator on P.E.I. for the Sierra Club of Canada – Atlantic Chapter. She became interested in gender and climate change as a means of putting a more human face to the issue. She welcomes your comments at: rebeccam@sierraclub.ca.

Women’s Rights & Climate Change Putting a human face to the greatest challenge of our time…

Recently, several long-term care facilities in the province were designed and constructed with green building design principles and these facilities are quickly becoming leaders and educators for a healthier community. This list includes Alderwood in Baddeck, Tideview Terrace in Digby and Tideal View Manor in Yarmouth.

While there are many significant sustainable design initiatives being implemented, the following are a few strategies that truly enhanced the nature of the buildings for our long-term care clients.

Sustainable Sites: In an effort to build a home that will have minimal adverse effects on its surroundings, each

new facility introduces strategies to minimize development of open (undeveloped) space, maximize green space and

reduce impacts to the natural ecosystem. Paving is reduced and open space landscaped to allow natural infiltration of rain water, reducing negative impacts on established waterways and local infrastructure. Erosion and sedimentation control plans reduce air and water pollution. Furthermore, buildings are sited near communities, strengthening cultural connections. As a result, views and access to the natural environments allow the residents to draw on the healing power of nature.

In addition, initiatives such as bike storage and dedicated parking for car pooling help promote alternate transportation in an effort to reduce traffic

causing CO2 emissions and support the well-being of staff and visitors.

InMay 2006, responding to the increasingelderlypopulation,theNovaScotiaDepartmentof Health announced a new continuing carestrategycalledShapingtheFutureofContinuingCare. This strategy aimed to create a systemthatsupportedNovaScotiansintheirdesireto“livewell inaplacetheycancallhome.” 1300newlong-termcarebedswereproposedfortheprovinceimplementedaspartofaten-yearplan.

New models of care were explored with an emphasis on improving and enhancing the quality of life for residents and staff. These new modes of care put an emphasis on the human experience: creating an atmosphere of autonomy, dignity and fulfillment. However, as the province, operators, administrators and designers worked to define the desired qualities of our Care Environments, we soon identified the significance of sustainability in achieving our goals.

Our human experience is a global experience, and this sentiment is no different for our ageing population. Our desire to live healthier, more responsible lives can only be more significant for individuals who have a greater sensitivity to scents, drafts or light, who are limited in mobility and appreciate a nice view, or who remember when the new development on the outskirts of town was lush farmland or forest.

In Nova Scotia we are transforming the Care Environment and it carries far beyond considerations of room size or staff to resident ratios. Increasing awareness of the environmental challenges presented by climate change and resource depletion have made sustainability a significant issue in shaping the building design. For buildings housing an aging population, improving the health and quality of an environment is also a life affirming element.

by Tina Smith

the Department of Health is Seeing GreenDid you know that in 2005, 8100 Nova Scotians celebrated their 65th

birthday? It is estimated that by 2021, more than 20% of our population will be over the age of 65.

LEED APArchitect with WHW Architects

What is a Sustainable Community?Many hours were put into the design of these new long-term care facilities, with a commitment to protecting the local and greater

environments through sustainability. As we learn from our experiences, the green building initiative is an important balance of healthy choices that can best be fostered through education and an understanding of the choices available. Our care providers truly recognize the significance of green building to their well-being as well as the well-being of the greater community. It is not just about providing happy and healthy lifestyles for residents but about longevity of place and the legacy they leave behind. Congratulations! We see the ball is rolling.

Water Efficiency: Because buildings such as long-term care facilities carry a heavy load on local water and sanitary systems, it is important to introduce strategies that help conserve and protect water resources. Low flow plumbing fixtures and water efficient appliances are used to minimize loads on municipal infrastructure. Landscaping with native plant materials eliminate the use of potable water sources for irrigation. Also, on-site storm water management techniques, such as rock swales and retention ponds, help reduce water pollution and recharge natural water sources.

Energy & Atmosphere: Possibly some of the most intriguing and valuable strategies for a more sustainable care environment include efforts to reduce energy use and improve occupant health and comfort. High-performance building construction and mechanical and electrical systems, monitored for performance, improve environmental conditions, maximize energy performance and reduce energy use. High insulation exterior walls lower heat loss improving thermal performance. Low-emissivity operable windows provide light and natural ventilation, maximizing comfort for residents while zoned in-floor radiant heating reduces heat load in unoccupied spaces.

Furthermore, several renewable energy technologies are implemented to reduce energy use for heating and cooling, such as a heat recovery system that transfers reclaimed heated air, or underground Geothermal Heat pumps (which can be found at Tideview Terrace), the most energy efficient heating system available. And if you notice solar panels at either of the three facilities, they are passively heating the hot water!

Materials & Resources: Recycling and using local materials help conserve resources, minimize environmental impacts and support local business, in addition to preserving our natural ecosystems and ensuring energy performance. More than 50% of construction debris can easily been diverted from landfills, indigenous materials such as Eastern White Cedar are used reducing emissions from the transport of goods and recycled content is used in steel and concrete to reduce impacts of extracting and processing virgin materials.

Indoor Environmental Quality: Fundamental to the health and well-being of our care facilities is the improvement of infection control and the creation of environments that are healthy, animated and life affirming. Sustainable design helps to establish these goals by identifying strategies that improve indoor air quality, maximize environmental control, light and views to enhance quality of space. In addition, the homes and grounds will be smoke-free and utilize environmentally friendly cleaning products and practices to further ensure a healthy living environment.

Green and Snazzy, These areN’T your moTher’s cloTh diapers

People are amazed when they hear we’re using cloth diapers. I understand why: before having our son, cloth-diapering seemed to me a daunting task that brought back memories of the awful cloth diapers of my childhood. Those boring white rags that required complex folding techniques, fussy pins that went missing and pails of Ivory Snow soaking water that I can still smell 25 years later.

Today’s cloth diapers are completely different. In fact, they are super easy and can even be fun! Now wait just a minute, you say. How can diapers be fun? To begin with, modern cloth diapers come in a range of colours and patterns, putting those faux denim Huggies to shame. But believe it or not, the laundry from cloth diapers can be fun too! More on that in a moment…

The most challenging part of using cloth diapers, I found, was getting started. Cloth-diapering has exploded into an enormous industry, not only in terms of the numerous brands but also the kinds available. These include flat, pre-fold, pocket, all-in-one and hybrid diapers. Then there are the diaper covers (wool, fleece, vinyl, nylon) and various accessories, such as mini-showers, doublers, inserts, and Snappi’s (a pinless diaper fastener. After 15 minutes of research, my poor pregnant head was spinning. How would I choose?

Upon returning to my research with a fresh head and a cup of tea, I realized that the key to picking a cloth diaper is to begin by asking a few questions:

How much money am I interested in investing?Cloth diapers vary widely in terms of cost. Pre-folds are some of the cheapest diapers around. It is possible to diaper a baby from start to finish for under $500.00. At the other end are all-in-one diapers, which can cost anywhere between $900.00 to $1700.00

from start to finish. It’s important to note that all options are cheaper than brand name disposables. Re-member, if you take care of your diapers, they can be used by second and even third children!

Will my child be traveling?Traveling with cloth diapers is definitely possible. However some diapers travel better than others. For example, a pre-fold system requires you to pack covers, pre-folds and liners, which can take up valuable suitcase real estate. This kind of diaper also means folding, which can be a bit tricky in an airplane bathroom. Because they mimic disposables, all-in-one diapers are a bit easier in these cramped situations.

Will my child be with a daycare provider?Unfortunately, many daycare providers will not use cloth diapers because of the hassle of folding,

laundry and so on. However, with options such as the all-in-one diaper, it might be possible to convince them otherwise.

How convenient would I like cloth diapering to be?I hesitated to put this question in because it suggests that some cloth-diapering options

are not convenient. This is not the case; even folding a pre-fold takes mere seconds. However, if you are looking for a cloth diaper that mimics a disposable in terms of

convenience, then the all-in-one diaper system is right for you. No folding, no stuffing, just on and off!

Obviously, there is no need to stick with one kind of diaper. My hus-band and I went with the price-friendly pre-folds and diaper cover option. However, we also keep a few all-in-one diapers on hand for when grandparents offer to care for their grandson so we can enjoy a well-deserved date night.

by Angela Livingstone

Once a cloth diaper has been selected, the next step is to sift through the accessories to find what is necessary and what is a bonus. After nine months of cloth-diapering, here is what we have come to rely on:

• A small wet bag for outdoor excursions.• A big wet bag to house dirty diapers at home.• A mini-shower. Some would argue this isn’t essential. It isn’t for the first six months if you are breast-feeding, because this waste

is water-soluble and doesn’t need to be rinsed off. However, once your child starts eating solid food, a mini-shower attachment on the toilet will become your best friend.

• Reusable liners. Disposable liners are very wasteful and can be irritating to a child’s sensitive derriere. Thankfully, reusable liners are easily made at home: just cut up some fleece rectangles and you’re set!

• Cloth wipes, for the same reasons noted above. If you’re doing the laundry, it might as well be a full load, right?

But seriously, the laundry, which is the last hurdle get over before cloth diapering becomes second nature, isn’t as bad as one might think. Yes, cloth diapers need to be washed often, but this increase in laundry isn’t super noticeable as laundry goes up with a baby in the house anyway. When it comes to the mess, one can’t deny that diapers are already a messy thing. Disposable or cloth, it is all the same in terms of what kind of mess we’re dealing with. With disposables, a smelly pile of garbage is transferred from the house to the outside world. With cloth, a smelly diaper bag is emptied into the washing machine (no touching of dirty diapers required), soap is added and the smell is gone. Clean diapers are then removed from the dryer or line and you and baby can have a laundry party on the floor!

For more information, check out these excellent resources:

Nurtured (http://www.nurtured.ca) - an excellent ‘Cloth Diapering 101’ section. If you are in the Halifax region, check out their cloth diapering workshops.

ByNature (http://bynature.ca) - another great source for questions concerning cloth of all kinds.

Image by Tyler DurbanoReturn this image, coloured, fo a chance to have it featured in our next issue of The Sandpiper!Send to: AtlanticCanadaChapter@sierraclub.ca or 1657 Barrington Street, Suite 533, Halifax, NS, B3J 2A1