The Feds Fund Maritime Harbour Upgrades

Maritime harbours get federal upgrade funds
Last Updated: Sunday, May 2, 2010 | 1:18 PM AT Comments84Recommend28CBC News
Small craft harbours across the Maritimes are getting $30 million for upgrade and repair work.

Peter McKay, the federal cabinet minister responsible for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, announced $12 million in funding for N.S. harbours Saturday at Fisherman's Cove, just outside Halifax.

Another $15 million will go to New Brunswick, while $3 million is allocated for P.E.I. The money is part of a national program that provides $67 million for the more than 1,000 small craft harbours in Canada.

"You see the wharf here — where it's all caved in over here? It's breaking away here and if you look from here, she's parting here," said Pherne Barkhouse, of Fisherman's Cove Harbour Authority, providing a tour and explaining why the funding is needed.

Fisherman's Cove attracts fishermen from across the Maritimes during the herring and tuna seasons, said Barkhouse.

At peak times the boats are tied up 10 vessels side-by-side along the dock, he said.

Pleasure boating is also growing as development in Nova Scotia's Eastern Passage expands.

"See, these people live in the community and it's hard to say they can't bring their boat here and tie up at the wharf. It's not fair really," said harbour authority president John Silver.

Silver wants to build floating docks that will form a "T" off the main wharf, to accommodate pleasure craft. It's not known how much that project would cost or how much of the federal funding Fisherman's Cove might receive.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/05/02/ns-small-harbours-money.html#ixzz0mufwPKuW

Apple Crops Deal with Cold Nights

NS: Don’t panic: Kings crop should be fine
By Jennifer Hoegg, Transcontinental Media

Source: The Kings County Advertiser, May 3/10

Topics: Aylesford, Kingston, Port Williams

[AYLESFORD, NS] – A mild winter and early spring weather have buds bursting much earlier than usual. Early bloomers ran into trouble recently when frost hit low-lying orchards.

Bill Craig, tree fruit specialist with AgraPoint, says lows overnight April 13 and 14 damaged fruit trees in several areas. Temperatures stayed as low as -3.5 for several hours and “most orchards have some damage” – the worst he has seen since 1986.
The extent depends on location and cultivar: crops vary in timing and hardiness, Craig says. Damage is reported in Kingston, Aylesford, Woodville, Grafton and Port Williams.

“Most of the damage has happened in Gravensteins. There is quite a bit in McIntosh, which I was surprised to see, as I consider those hardy; some in Cortland and some in Jona Gold.”

The newer Honeycrisp, a popular export to U.S. markets, is just fine and Scotian Gold’s brand new SweeTango had no damage.

“I haven’t seen any damage in peaches or plums, but I have seen some in cherries. Very little in pears,” Craig says.

He points out the temperatures were normal for April, but “what isn’t ordinary is our trees are further along than they should be.”

Before mid-month cooler temperatures, trees were three or more weeks ahead. Blossoms are still two weeks ahead of schedule.

“On Thursday and Friday, I drove from one end of the Valley to the other,” Larry Lutz, crop specialist at Scotian Gold. “In one block in Aylesford, the Macintosh suffered quite a bit, the Cortlands had some, Ida Red had none.”

Don’t panic, Lutz says. As only one to two per cent of blossoms need to set fruit for a good crop, it’s “nowhere near a disaster.” Although he has seen 85 per cent damage in one block, most damage is lighter.

“It may look very bad starting out and still give you a full crop,” Lutz says.

“Some growers will notice a difference,” Craig says. “We won’t know the total impact of that frost until fruit set, sometime in late-May.”

Pinafore Comes to Kings Theatre

G&S celebrate navy’s 100th with Pinafore tour
Revamped show set in 1910
By ANDREA NEMETZ Entertainment Reporter
Sat. May 1 - 4:53 AM


Justin Gavel is Ralph Rackstraw and Sarah Langley is Jose­phine in the Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s production of HMCS Pinafore, which begins its provincial tour tonight with a 7:30 p.m. show in Wolfville. (INGRID BULMER / Staff)



HMCS PINAFORE

SETTING: 1910 Halifax in honour of the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Navy.

WHEN: Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Al Whittle Theatre, Wolfville, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax, with Symphony Nova Scotia; May 8, 3 p.m. ,Marigold Centre, Truro; May 15, 7:30 p.m., deCoste Centre, Pictou; May 22, 7:30 p.m., Kings Theatre, Annapolis Royal.

STARRING: Duncan Miller (Wolfville, Halifax May 5, Pictou); Brian King (Halifax May 6, Truro, Annapolis Royal) as Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B.; Tim McClare as Capt. Corcoran; Justin Gavel as Ralph Rackstraw; Alan Manchester as Dick Deadeye; Russell Storer as Bill Bobstay; Roger Bowman as Bob Becket; Kara Morris (Halifax May 5, Truro, Annapolis Royal) and Sarah Langley (Wolfville, Halifax May 6, Pictou) as Josephine; Caroline Whelan as Hebe; Megan Johnson as Little Buttercup

MUSIC: Symphony Nova Scotia, conducted by Earl Fralick, Halifax performances; Leon Cole on piano, all other performances

TICKETS: Gilbert & Sullivan Society, 429-1287 or www.gandsnovascotia.ca; Cohn box office and at

individual venues for Truro, Pictou and Annapolis Royal.






Audience members expecting to hear the familiar strains of For He Is An Englishman may do a double take when the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Nova Scotia presents HMCS Pinafore in several Nova Scotia venues this month.

"It’s heard twice, but the first time it is For He Is Canadian," says musical director Earl Fralick.

That’s because this year is the 100th anniversary of the Canadian navy and the society decided to revamp and rename the opera HMCS Pinafore in honour of the historical event, says director Jolene Pattison.

Shows are slated for 7:30 p.m. today at the Al Whittle Theatre in Wolfville, Wednesday and Thursday at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax at 7:30 p.m., May 8 at 3 p.m. at the Marigold Theatre in Truro, May 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the deCoste Centre in Pictou and May 29 at 7:30 p.m. at King’s Theatre in Annapolis Royal.

The Halifax shows will feature Symphony Nova Scotia, conducted by Fralick.

"The uniforms are Canadian, we’ve costumed it in 1910 and we changed a few lyrics, surprisingly not that many," Pattison says.

HMS Pinafore was first produced in 1878 and she says there isn’t a huge leap when setting the show in 1910.

"If we set it in modern times, it would be a much bigger jump; the big thing is the shift to Canada."

Fralick says the change is more visual than lyrical and musical.

But one thing Pattison noticed is how far women’s rights improved in a short period of time.

"We’ve added suffragettes . . . and the women’s costumes are freer and easier to move in, more comfortable."

This is at least the third time the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Nova Scotia has staged the opera.

Fralick, a keyboard player and longtime member of the Stadacona Band, was musical director for the HMS Pinafore production in 1994, his first year with the society. He has been musical director for every Gilbert and Sullivan show since.

Pattison was a member of the chorus for the next production in 1999.

"It’s marvellous with the orchestra, but the show with just a piano, no costumes and barely any set holds up," Pattison enthuses. "It’s truly a gem in the G and S archive."

Fralick says the show’s popularity is due to the fact it is chock-a-block full of good tunes that everyone can hum.

"It also has a couple of very big arias for the lead soprano that are used often as audition pieces, they are so good. There’s a variety of music you don’t find in another show. Two hours goes by very quickly."

Fralick also stresses the fact the story is universal.

"It hinges around the navy but it’s a story of class difference and unfulfilled love affairs because of class distinctions. It’s been done in plays, operas and musicals. You can transfer the story to any setting. That’s a good part of its appeal."

The shows feature a cast of close to 50, aged 25 to 70 from all over the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Kara Morris and Sarah Langley share the role of Josephine, the Captain’s daughter, while Duncan Miller, a retired admiral, and Brian King share the role of The Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B, First Lord of the Admiralty. All are from Halifax.

About half the cast is new, particularly in the chorus and Pattison notes the strength of this year’s show is the male chorus.

"It’s the star of the show. It’s almost like a character when onstage. Its presence is felt.

"I love the opening men’s chorus when they sing We Sail The Ocean Blue, it’s a great song and the sound is so rich and so energized."

Probably as many people work behind the sets, making costumes and building sets, says Fralick. He is particularly thrilled with the work of lighting director Sean Burke in the Cohn.

The Cohn shows, with the entire symphony, are the highlight of the run.

However, the society has increased the number of road shows which has helped increase the number of people auditioning and joining the society.

"They hear the music and they want to be part of it," Pattison says.

Pattison, who began choreographing for the society in 2001 and directed her first show last year — Cinderella — recalls coming to Gilbert and Sullivan as a seasoned musical performer.

"But the feeling when you hear the strings coming in for the first time is magic."

( anemetz@herald.ca)

Elizabeth May

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By Peter Gorrie
Environment Columnist
VICTORIA, B.C.—On a breezy Saturday afternoon, with bands of thick cloud scudding across the sun, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May walked through the downtown core with about 200 other environmentalists marking Earth Day.

After eight blocks, the small group heard a few songs and speeches at the B.C. capital’s Centennial Square. May, wearing a bright green coat and lavishing attention on her Shih Tzu, Spunky, greeted many participants with a hug. During the rally, she did a local TV interview. She’d offered to speak but, like other politicians, was advised the event was non-partisan.

So she stayed on the periphery — another day at the office as she pursues one more bid to be elected to the House of Commons.

This will be her third attempt, after she finished a strong second in a London North by-election in 2006 and then lost to Defence Minister Peter MacKay in Central Nova in 2008.

The race is clearly important for both May personally and for the Greens, who seem stalled. It’s also likely to send the strongest election day message, one way or the other, of Canadians’ depth of environmental concerns. One MP can’t transform Parliament. But if she wins, other parties might feel compelled to pay more than lip service to environment issues.

Most pundits here predict May will lose again, this time to Garry Lunn, the minister of state for sport, who has represented the riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands as a Reform, Canadian Alliance or Conservative MP since 1997.

Lunn got 43 per cent of the votes cast in the 2008 general election while the Green candidate drew just 10 per cent, barely doubling the NDP.

That party’s candidate had withdrawn from the race (though his name stayed on the ballot). The Greens were expected to benefit from the NDP’s misfortune, but it was Lunn who gained six percentage points.

May and her team are, of course, enthusiastic and optimistic. She says that although she grew up in Nova Scotia, in 2008 she had underestimated the entrenched voting in the province and the MacKay family’s clout. British Columbia voters are more open to change, she says.

“It’s night and day,” says campaign manager Jonathan Dickie, who also worked for May in Central Nova.

May is renting a house in Sidney, a suburb 30 kilometres north of Victoria, and plans to buy a place after she sells residences in Ottawa and on Cape Breton Island.

She’s in the riding three weeks each month, knocking on doors and attending every event she can.

The party expected an election last fall: The delay is a bonus as she tries to become a fixture.

Saanich-Gulf Islands seems a reasonable choice for May. “It’s a very green riding,” says University of Victoria political scientist Dennis Pilon. Lunn has a poor environmental record, most recently voting against an opposition bill that would impose relatively tough targets for greenhouse-gas emissions.

But the Liberal and NDP candidates have strong environmental credentials. Unless May’s status as a party leader, and the media buzz she’ll generate — likely less than last time — give her a huge boost, Lunn could easily prevail because the opposition vote has been split.

The Gulf Islands should be fertile ground, but they constitute just 15 per cent of the eligible voters. The riding is also home to 4,000 university students, who tend to vote Green or NDP. But they’re scattered in off-campus housing and hard to entice to polling booths.

Lunn’s well-financed machine is adept at mobilizing his supporters, mainly older people who are more likely to vote in any case.

On the other hand, the Liberals are considered to have a weaker candidate this time.

May won’t speculate beyond that, but common wisdom is that if she loses, she’ll have trouble remaining leader of her fractious party.

“It’s a long shot, no question about that,” Pilon says. “But it’s unfair to say she has no hope in hell.”

peter.gorrie@sympatico.ca

Concert Tomorrow in Digby

Join the Fundy Chorale for an early May performance at the Trinity Anglican church venue. Choose from a 3 pm or a 7 pm performance, or you may like it so much, you'll see them both! Bring your mother for an early Mother's Day present, bring a friend, relative, spouse or just your lovely self. Arrive early to get the best parking spots.

Op Ed from "The Coast

The CoastApril 28, 2010OPINION » EDITORIAL

A mighty wind Nova Scotia's tough new renewable energy targets also target the health of rural residents.
by Bruce Wark
Nova Scotia’s energy minister was delivering a prepared speech atop Dalhousie Mountain, Pictou County last Friday when he suddenly stopped to observe, "My god, it’s quiet isn’t it?" Bill Estabrooks was standing beneath the barely-turning blades of a 400-foot wind turbine. Six of nine turbines in the distance stood stock still. Seemingly unaware of the irony, Estabrooks touted provincial plans for more industrial wind factories. The NDP hopes that within 10 years, 40 percent of our electricity will be produced from renewable sources such as water, wood and most of all, wind.[1] [2] Except that on the day of the big announcement, there was barely a breeze, underscoring the unfortunate fact that wind turbines produce electricity only about a third of the time, often when there’s little demand for it.[3] [4]
The 34 turbines on Dalhousie Mountain, where Estabrooks and Premier Darrell Dexter announced their renewable energy targets, stretch for 10 kilometres and cost $130 million.[5] They generate only about 1.3 percent of Nova Scotia’s power. In fact, all 79 wind turbines in the province generate only about 2.8 percent of our power.[6] That means that if the NDP politicians don’t come to their senses, many more gigantic wind turbines will march across the landscape as the government strives to more than double renewable electricity generation by 2015 and to quadruple it by 2020. And that raises this question: What will we do two thirds of the time when the wind isn’t blowing?

The government’s answer is that wind can be backed up by burning natural gas.[7] Some experts warn, however, that turning ordinary gas turbines up and down to match wind fluctuations is wasteful, inefficient and could actually increase greenhouse gas emissions. Better, they say, to invest in more efficient systems such as the one at Tufts Cove in Dartmouth where Nova Scotia Power is spending $84 million to recover waste heat from two gas turbines to power a steam turbine. Investing in such combined-cycle turbines would be cheaper than spending hundreds of millions on wind turbines that need to be backed up by natural gas anyway. Why build two generation systems when one would do?[8] [9]

Besides, avoiding building more industrial wind factories would protect rural Nova Scotians who will be increasingly exposed to noisy turbines as the pressure grows to meet renewable energy targets.[10] [11] Darrell Dexter says there’s no scientific proof wind turbines cause harm,[12] but several peer-reviewed scientific studies say otherwise.[13][14] The premier also seems to have forgotten his 2005 conversation with Ward and Mae Brubacher, a couple in their 50s, who live 750 metres from two turbines on remote Fitzpatrick Mountain, Pictou County. Ward says when strong winds blow, the noise vibrations are like the booming of car stereo speakers. "Many times we have laid awake in bed with all the windows shut in the house listening to the whompf, whompf, whompf," he says. "You get up, you read, you wait until you’re exhausted so you can sleep through it."

Mae says she’s been forced to stop gardening and drive into Pictou to get a break from the noise. "Sometimes it’s four to five days in a row when it’s really loud. You’re losing sleep and there are certain days when you’re stressed to the limit. Then you finally get a break." The Brubachers generate electricity from a solar panel and live completely off the grid. "We’re not against green energy," Ward says, but wind turbines are destroying their peace and quiet.[15]

Meantime, a group of residents who live in Pictou County wrote to the minister of health this month requesting a temporary halt to industrial wind factories. The residents, members of the Eco Awareness Society, are opposing the installation of wind turbines on Browns Mountain about 1,440 metres above their homes. They sent the minister hundreds of pages of affadavits and testimonies from all over the world documenting the health effects of industrial wind including insomnia, migraines, dizziness, depression and problems with mental concentration and memory. They’re hoping Maureen MacDonald will order an independent scientific study of the health effects of wind power before the province embarks on its long and windy, dead-end road.[16]

Notes:

1. The province’s Renewal Electricity Plan is outlined in a clearly written, 28-page background report which states on page 16: "Wind will be the mainstay of our efforts to reach the 2015 renewable energy commitment..." and, "It seems likely that the largest portion of new renewable energy in 2020 will come from wind..."

2. The provincial background report (see link in footnote #1) acknowledges the intermittency of wind on page 19: "A key obstacle to the development of renewable energy is the fact that our best renewable sources — wind and tidal — are by their nature intermittent. Because they depend on natural forces that come and go, intermittent sources cannot provide a constant stream of electricity."

3. A wind factory’s average power output can be expressed as its "capacity factor." The Lightbucket blog explains: "The capacity factor of a power plant is the ratio of the electrical energy produced in a given period of time to the electrical energy that could have been produced at continuous maximum power operation during the same period." Lightbucket’s Table 1 shows an average world capacity factor for wind of only 19.6% in 2006.

4. The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) which represents industrial wind producers boasts that the capacity factor at a PEI wind farm --- "sited in one of Canada’s windiest locations" – has a capacity factor of 40%.

5. Info from Firelight Infrastructure Partners, investors in the Dalhousie Mountain project from a fact sheet distributed to the media on April 23/10.

6. Figures on Dalhousie Mountain wind generation and total Nova Scotia wind generation verified by Nova Scotia Power, April 26/10.

7. See the provincial background report (link in footnote #1), page 19: The report describes natural gas as "clean and local" and adds that it is the best choice of fuel for backing up intermittent wind generators. "Although it is a fossil fuel, natural gas burns far cleaner than coal or oil. It releases less carbon, much less sulphur dioxide, fewer nitrogen oxides, and virtually no ash or particulate matter. Unlike coal fired plants, gas turbines can start up and shut down quickly to match changes in the wind and tides. Nova Scotia has substantial deposits of natural gas offshore and onshore. Its use also benefits our economy." On pages 23-24, the provincial background report discusses the possibility of importing hydro-electricity from Hydro Quebec and/or Labrador as a back up for wind. It makes it clear, however, that expensive new transmission lines would have to be built. "Unfortunately, at the moment, Nova Scotia is almost an island in terms of electricity." Nova Scotia would also have to change its rules to allow imported back-up power to be counted as part of its renewable energy targets. At the moment, power must be generated in Nova Scotia to qualify as renewable.

8. Based on a report by Peter Lang, a retired Australian engineer with 40 years experience with a variety of energy/electricity projects. In a report entitled, "Cost and Quantity of Greenhouse Gas Emssions Avoided by Wind Generation", Lang concludes that: "1. Wind power does not avoid significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. 2. Wind power is a very high cost way to avoid greenhouse gas emissions. 3. Wind power, even with high capacity penetration, can not make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

9. For details on the Tufts Cove combined-cycle system see the N.S. Power website

10. See, Nina Pierpont’s recent book "Wind Turbine Syndrome."

11. For comprehensive information on health risks and effects see:http://www.savewesternny.org/docs/pierpont_testimony.html

12. During the media scrum at Dalhousie Mountain on April 23/10, I asked Premier Dexter about possible harm to the health of rural Nova Scotians. He replied: "Well, as you know, this is something that’s been looked at through numerous peer-reviewed studies. They have not found any connection between wind farms and people’s health, but we know that those questions get raised so we’re continuing to monitor the science in relation to it and to see if there’s anything that should give rise to concern." The premier appeared to be basing his comment on a study of available scientific literature commissioned by the Canadian and American wind energy associations. It is called: "Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects." Nova Scotia Power gave me a copy in an attempt to refute claims made by Nina Pierpont and other doctors (see footnote #10).

13. For sharp criticism of the industry association report see an updated version of the paper entitled"Summary of Recent Research on Adverse Health Effects of Wind Turbines."

The original paper can be found here.

14. Allison Denning, regional environmental assessment coordinator at the federal health departmentsent a letter to the provincial environment department on August 6, 2009 formally objecting to a statement made by proponents of the Digby Wind Power Project. Denning writes: "The final sentence in Appendix B states that ‘there is no peer-reviewed scientific evidence indicating that wind turbines have an adverse impact on human health’. In fact, there are peer reviewed scientific articles indicating that wind turbines may have an adverse impact on human health." Denning then lists eight such studies.

15. I had two conversations with Ward and Mae Brubacher. One by phone on March 1, 2010 and the second in person when I visited them after the NDP Dalhousie Mountain announcement on April 23/10. I played them Darrell Dexter’s comment denying any health effects and they mentioned having discussed their noise problems with him during a meeting organized by their neighbour. Other selected quotes: Ward: "Some days it’s so noisy we have to come in the house, shut all the windows and doors and turn on the TV." Mae notes that thankfully there are days when the wind doesn’t blow very hard and peace and quiet returns: "When it goes on all day, it creates a lot of stress. If this were to go on all the time, we’d have to move." Ward: "It’s definitely a better way to generate electricity, but there’s another side to this. These big wind farms are in our faces, disrupting the natural landscape. Sure they are a marvel to look at. But if they’re in your view all day that’s a sacrifice as well." The Brubachers operate a small business that helps rural property and woodlot owners create their own nature trails and recreational facilities. The two .8 MW wind turbines near them are owned and operated by Shear Wind Inc., a company based in Bedford, N.S. For the Brubacher’s blog, see here.

China to Build Nuclear Reactors in Pakistan

China to Build Two Nuclear Reactors in Pakistan, FT Reports
April 29, 2010, 2:45 AM EDT
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e-mail this story print this story digg this save to del.icio.us add to Business Exchange April 29 (Bloomberg) -- China has agreed to build two civilian nuclear reactors in Pakistan, the Financial Times reported, citing Chinese companies and unnamed government officials in Beijing and Islamabad.

The Chinese government gave approval for the construction of at least two 650-megawatt reactors in Chashma in Punjab province, according to the report. The FT didn’t say the agreement was for which phase of construction.

China’s accord to build the reactors in Pakistan heightened concerns about the safety of nuclear equipment in the South Asian nation, which is battling Taliban militants in the northwest. U.S. President Barack Obama won commitments from 46 nations, including China and Pakistan, to lock down nuclear material and keep it out of the hands of terrorists after a two- day summit in Washington ended April 14.

China and Pakistan signed an agreement to finance two 340- megawatt nuclear reactors in Chashma in February after an initial accord for the construction of the plants was agreed in 2008, China National Nuclear Corp. said in a statement on its Web site on March 1.

The 340-megawatt reactors are to be built under the third and fourth phase of the Chashma project, according to the March statement. The Chinese company, China’s biggest operator of nuclear reactors, constructed the first two reactors in Chashma.

The accord also puts China at odds with India. The two nations, which fought a war in 1962, are trying to boost relations and end years of mistrust and disagreements that include Chinese construction in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

Chen Xibo, spokesman for China National Nuclear, couldn’t be reached on his office and mobile phone for comment. Qin Zhijun, the head of the nuclear power department at the National Energy Administration, China’s top energy planning body, didn’t answer calls to his office telephone.

--Chua Baizhen. Editors: Ang Bee Lin, Ryan Woo.