- Posted by Nature Moncton
The Magnetic Hill Zoo, in Moncton, NB, has recently partnered with a local naturalist’s club, Nature Moncton, to install a webcam on a Peregrine falcon nest box. Back in 2010, local bird enthusiasts received the appropriate permissions to construct and install a nest box on a high rise in downtown Moncton. The box was first used by Peregrine falcons in 2011 and every year since.
Fast forward to present day when the Nature Moncton club had an interest in installing a camera in the nest box. A partnership was formed with the Zoo and the Zoo’s conservation fund provided the funding to install the camera and host the live video feed on the Zoo’s website. Now Moncton residents (and beyond) have a unique way to connect with, observe, and learn about nature!
“It’s really important for our mission of education, conservation, and inspiring people to want to protect species in the wild,” said Jill Marvin, director of the Magnetic Hill Zoo and Park. Studies have shown that wildlife webcams increase viewers understanding of wildlife biology including an increased motivation to protect them (Johnson-Pynn, Carleton 2019).
Peregrine nesting generally begins in March with two to five eggs laid in intervals in April. Once all eggs are laid, the incubation period starts for 31-35 days. Hatched chicks grow rapidly and fledge around day 40.
The live video feed has drawn much attention. “Once you start watching, you can’t seem to stop!” said Fred Richards, president of Nature Moncton.
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- Posted by East Coast Environmental Law
Where: Wu Conference Centre, Aitken Room (Room 217)
When: Thursday, April 18th: 6:00-8:30 PM
Admission is free, and all are welcome.
This public legal education session has been made possible by funding from the New Brunswick Law Foundation.
- Posted by Green Light Feu Vert
August 9 2023
Mike Holland
Minister Natural Resources and Energy Development
Hugh John Flemming Forestry Centre
Floor: 3
P. O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1
Subject: An open letter
Dear Mr. Holland,
On behalf of Green Light NB Enviro Club Feu Vert and as a rural resident of the Upper Saint John River Valley, I am writing to you because of my concern about forest conservation in New Brunswick. I am writing to you as you are the minister responsible for the protection of the NB environment – which includes forest lands, waterways such as rivers and their tributaries, and farm lands. These three seemingly separate types of environments are interconnected and are integral parts of the Saint John River Valley ecological system. All three are under attack due to over-exploitation; a direct consequence of clear cutting of woodlands (private and public), and intensive industrial crop management systems which favor large expanses of land in monoculture crops- specifically -- potatoes.
One obvious result of clear-cutting of forests is the accelerated snow melt which endangers communities along the Saint John River every spring. The over-use of farmland increases erosion resulting in tons of top soil being washed down waterways and into rivers and streams. Along with the topsoil, chemicals and fertilizers used in potato production also find their way to the Saint John River and into the water sources of the communities along the river.
It surprises me that the provincial government is not talking more about flooding. I searched the internet to see what the New Brunswick Government is doing to address climate change – to move this province in the direction of responsible stewardship of the environment.
I found the infographic below on the government of New Brunswick’s website. Though on the surface, it may look like the province is doing its share to address conservation, it falls very short of Canada’s target for conservation- which is the conservation of 30% of the nations’ land and water by 2030. This target, in part to address climate change, was set and agreed by 55 countries who are part of the United Nations. This target was set to ensure that natural areas that provide essential benefits to humanity such as food, clean water, clean air and a stable climate are protected.
The general public is finally accepting that climate change is a reality. Temperatures are rising, and our forests are suffering. Some tree species will not survive rising temperatures and drier conditions, and we need a variety of tree species to ensure that at least some will survive climate change. We need a program to re-establish natural forests throughout the province where people live; not only in isolated parks, or along highways to camouflage the clearcutting of forestlands.
As illustrated by the map above, the Government of New Brunswick has decided that only 10% of the province’s environment needs protection. The small squiggly lines on this map represent narrow strips along roadways and touristy places that the government deems worthy of protection. However, climate change is everywhere… not just a narrow strip along the Renous – Plaster Rock highway, not just 10% of the province.
If our legacy is to protect 10% of the province’s environment, it means that 90% is unprotected. It is startling to see that the map which illustrates the chosen protected area has a huge gap of unprotected region – that is the entire Saint John River Valley system which stretches from Edmundston to Saint John. It is important to protect the areas where people actually live.
The following is a list of actions that needs to be taken immediately in order to mitigate climate change:
- Increase the target for conservation to 30% of New Brunswick’s land, in line with Canada’s and the United Nations conservation target.
- An immediate focus on the health of forests, specifically - identifying tree species that are dying because of climate change.
- Re-planting of forest must include a variety of native trees – both conifer and deciduous.
- To slow down the spring melt, and prevent erosion, laws that protect waterways must be enforced. This includes enforcing the prohibition of tree harvesting within the buffer zone on either side of waterways.
- Financial incentives to private land owners to preserve existing woodlots, especially woodlots that have a 20% or greater slope and/or are adjacent to streams and rivers.
- Waterways on crown land must also be protected from harvesting.
We cannot treat climate change as an exercise in window dressing along highways for the benefit of the tourist industry while 90% of New Brunswick – where NB citizens live is left unprotected in toxic industrial farm regions, such as in the upper Saint John River area.
I would like to learn what the New Brunswick government will do to protect New Brunswick’s biodiversity and the well being of our citizens. The current targets are simply not enough.
Sincerely,
Floranne McLaughlin
Member of Green Light NB Enviro Club Feu Vert
Grand Falls, NB
- Posted by Jim Emberger
Premier Blaine Higgs’ continuing desire to exploit shale gas and LNG can only be described as “perverse,” which the dictionary defines as “showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable, often in spite of the consequences.”
Higgs referenced LNG development during his State of the Province address on Jan. 25.
“We have so many advantages with our direct access to the U.S. and international markets along with our rich natural resources including wind, minerals, water, forestry, and natural gas,” he said.
“That’s where I believe we have a tremendous opportunity to punch above our weight and really impact global emissions.”
His obstinate, decade-long pursuit of shale gas, can reasonably be called obsessive. It begins with his continuing promotion of gas even after citizens voted out the Alward government, which ran on the issue.
As premier, Higgs has repeatedly attempted to revive shale gas by partially lifting the moratorium and by backing an LNG plant in Saint John, but these and other efforts never attracted investors. His campaign for gas continued even during the years when shale drillers were losing billions of dollars and going bankrupt.
An award-winning public health report by then-Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Cleary, and evidence presented to the Commission on Hydrofracturing, and contained in a lawsuit against the government, catalogued the serious health dangers of fracking. Neither these nor a myriad of other serious negative consequences from fracking caused Higgs to reconsider his crusade for gas.
But his current push for gas is particularly perverse, as it comes at a time when we must address the glaringly obvious matter of the climate crisis.
We just experienced the warmest year and decade in 125,000 years, accompanied by record-breaking heat waves, droughts, floods, storms, melting poles and glaciers, and forest fires in every part of the world, totalling a record number of climate-related disasters that each exceeded a billion dollars-plus in damages. Climate tipping points may have been passed or are rapidly approaching.
This was eye-opening enough that the nations of the world finally, and unanimously, agreed at the COP28 meeting to “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems” and “reduce both consumption and production of fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner.”
In real numbers, for gas, that means that by 2030 we must reduce usage by 42 per cent — minimum — and that no new fossil fuel projects should be started. Canada signed a separate pledge to reduce the amount of methane (natural gas) emissions, as methane is 86 times more potent than CO2 in trapping heat, which can make it as bad as burning coal.
The science journal Nature, summed up COP28 this way: “Phasing out fossil fuels is not negotiable. World leaders will fail their people and the planet unless they accept this reality. In the end, the climate doesn’t care who emits greenhouse gases…. This year’s climate extremes have made it all too clear that there is no truly safe level of warming, and every fraction of a degree matters.”
In response, U.S. President Joe Biden just paused the approval of all new LNG export projects (Higgs’ biggest fantasy) in the States, until their true effect on climate change can be ascertained.
The health effects of LNG’s large volumes of pollution on surrounding communities will also be investigated.
Shale gas production itself has also been shown to severely stress public health systems, especially hospitals, in many ways. Studies have associated fracking with a long list of diseases, such as birth defects, leukaemia, asthma, and heart disease, among others.
Fracking is a dangerous industry with lots of accidents, and the thousands of truck trips the industry requires are associated with increased traffic accidents. The heavy trucks also destroy roads and bridges, which cost millions to repair, while also hampering emergency vehicles. In a province with a struggling health care system and deteriorating infrastructure, shale gas is unacceptable.
The gas industry requires experienced workers, many of whom will come from other provinces. Studies of communities that host shale gas development show the industry brings with it higher rents and a spike in evictions.
New Brunswick is not unique: the financialization of real estate, a lack of government investment in public housing, and an over-reliance on market forces by policymakers has created a housing crisis. The gas workers could displace local residents, and they, like other immigrants to the province, would be blamed for a crisis they did not create.
In a province trying to preserve its forests, fracking will segment forests with networks of roads, well pads, compressors, pipelines, and parking areas.
And it must be noted that there is still no safe way to dispose of toxic fracking wastewater, nor has Higgs established any meaningful degree of social license in either settler or Indigenous communities.
Can such devastating climate, health, social and economic consequences be ignored, as long as the province can collect some royalties?
This is perverse and unacceptable, and Higgs’ business case is also unreasonable, as it is outdated and untrue.
After a period of adjustment, caused by the war in Ukraine, the European gas market is now well-supplied. Europe uses only a small portion of its coal to generate electricity, and has long-standing plans to retire its coal plants. There is little evidence to show that they will require more gas from Canada to do so, as Higgs asserts. Also, as the research mentioned previously indicates, replacing coal with LNG brings no climate benefits.
European gas demands have decreased and are predicted to continue decreasing. Some analysts predict a glut of gas in Europe, as it continues a huge buildout of renewable energy and heat pumps, making gas investments very risky.
Premier Higgs would do well to follow the European model of renewables, heat pumps, and conservation into the future, rather than perversely clinging to an unhealthy and destructive fossil fuel past that must end.
Years ago the International Energy Agency coined the phrase “the Golden Age of Gas.” It now states that the Golden Age “is over.”
The Aster Foundation is seeking capacity-building proposals from NGOs and registered charities (or other qualified donees) in New Brunswick.
Funding available: Up to $2,000 per organization ($10,000 available in total)
How to apply: Download and fill out this APPLICATION FORM and send it to info@asterfoundation.ca before 5:00 pm Atlantic Time on Friday, August 18, 2023.
Building New Brunswick ENGO Capacity
The environmental movement in New Brunswick is very strong, with many environmental groups making positive environmental change within their communities and beyond. However, these same organizations occasionally face organizational challenges that cannot be addressed internally because they are beyond the level of expertise of the board and/or staff.
Aster Foundation’s 2023 program, Building New Brunswick ENGO Capacity Program, allows New Brunswick environmental groups to access professionals or experts with certain types of expertise for advice and support. These experts may include HR professionals, accountants/bookkeepers, project management professions, communications professionals, lawyers, etc.
Aster Foundation will reimburse the organization for these professionals’ consulting fees, up to $2000 per organization.
The organization may find their own consultant, or they may request help from Aster Foundation to do so. (Please note: Aster Foundation cannot guarantee a suitable match.)