Category Archives: Climate Change

Biomass plant brings in the bucks for the reborn Hefler Forest Products, another biomass plant envisaged

Posted on August 3, 2017 by admin

The 150 year old Hefler Forest Products in Sackville, Nova Scotia, accumulated over $30 million in debt and went under creditor protection in 2016, but the 3.1 megawatt biomass power plant it operated remained profitable. Prospective buyers wanted to separate … Continue reading →

Posted in Biomass, clearcuts, Climate Change, Economics | Leave a comment

Cellufuel wants access to Nova Scotia’s “Inactive Forests”

Posted on August 2, 2017 by admin

Cellufuel, the Nova Scotia business heavily backed by government funding that wants to produce synthetic fuels from forestry sources in Nova Scotia, has had to “shutter its plant and layoff staff” according to a news report by Devin Stevins in … Continue reading →

Posted in Biophilia, clearcuts, Climate Change, Conservation, Economics, Ecosystem Services, Mi'kmaq | Leave a comment

CBC InfoA.M. attempts to sort out issues between smaller private owners and operators and the WestFor consortium – #4 A Forest Ecologist’s view

Posted on July 11, 2017 by admin

Donna Crossland, a co-author of Restoring the Health of Nova Scotia’s Forests (2010), says we can’t maintain an Acadian forest on 50 year rotations. CBC Halifax Information Morning has carried several lengthy interviews recently to do with the state of … Continue reading →

Posted in clearcuts, Climate Change, Conservation, Economics, Ecosystem Services, Letters&Editorials, NSDNR, Private Woodlots, Show Us the Science, WestFor | Leave a comment

Nova Scotia State of the Forest 2016 Report released

Posted on June 20, 2017 by admin

Back on April 14, 2017 I commented that it was “Time for the overdue State of the Forest Report with the complete numbers! The last State of the Forest Report was in 2008; the next one was scheduled for Feb. … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Economics, NSDNR, Parks & Protected Areas | Leave a comment

Clearcut Nova Scotia, continued..12June 2017

Posted on June 17, 2017 by admin

Recently announced cuts include 343 ha of clearcuts next to two Protected Areas in Cape Breton The latest announcement of Crown land harvests (Harvest Plan Map Viewer June 12, 2017): 2,320 hectares (188 parcels, 73% clearcuts, 27% partial cuts; comments … Continue reading →

Posted in clearcuts, Climate Change, Conservation, NSDNR, Parks & Protected Areas | Leave a comment

Environmentalists see Liberals’ promised Biodiversity Act for Nova Scotia as a venue to moderate clearcutting

Posted on June 9, 2017 by admin

Freelance journalist Chris Benjamin has written extensively on environmental issues in Nova Scotia. In The Coast for June 8, he looks at the prospect that the new Liberal government will follow though on “decisive new actions” on environmental policy promised … Continue reading →

Posted in clearcuts, Climate Change, Conservation, Letters&Editorials | Leave a comment

Protected Areas in Nova Scotia help to mitigate climate change, clearcuts do not.

Posted on May 26, 2017 by admin

A modelling study shows that Protected Areas increase carbon storage, clearcuts reduce carbon storage A paper by Robert Cameron of NSE and Peter Bush of NSDNR, published last year, suggests 112 million tonnes of carbon is sequestered (stored) in existing … Continue reading →

Posted in Acadian Forest, clearcuts, Climate Change, Conservation, Economics, Lumber, Parks & Protected Areas, Show Us the Science, Wood Construction | Leave a comment

Are biofuels from Nova Scotia forests good for the environment? Show us the science!

Posted on May 4, 2017 by admin

A recent opinion piece in the LocalXpress by Rod Badcock of BioApplied Innovation Pathways extols the potential benefits of a high-tech “bioeconomy” for Nova Scotia. He cites Cellufuel in Brooklyn N.S, as “forging a new innovative path, developing a renewable … Continue reading →

Posted in Acadian Forest, Biomass, clearcuts, Climate Change, Economics, Show Us the Science | Leave a comment

Spring has sprung in the ravines of Nova Scotia

Posted on April 12, 2017 by admin

Yesterday was the first very warm day of 2017, reaching a temperature of 23 degrees C while there was still snow on the ground. I went to a favourite ravine to witness the spring flow and wasn’t disappointed. A torrent … Continue reading →

Posted in Biophilia, clearcuts, Climate Change, Conservation | Leave a comment

Nova Scotia forests & forestry: birds, mosses and biophilia

Posted on March 29, 2017 by admin

As well as in op-eds and letters to the editor, more voices expressing concern about the state of Nova Scotia forests or simply a love of the Acadian forest are appearing in the social media. A few that I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Biophilia, clearcuts, Climate Change, Conservation, Ecosystem Services, Letters&Editorials, Natural History, Wildlife | Leave a comment