This is a note from our Atlantic Reporter, Cloe Logan. In early 2021, we created a full time, permanent position for her to bring you urgent climate reporting from the region. She’s produced investigations, broken daily news and written thoughtful features. But she’s just one person. We want to expand the beat and give readers more of what they’re asking for: more excellent environmental coverage from Canada’s East Coast. Please consider a donation today to help us make it happen. Now, a personal note from Cloe:
Last fall, I moved to Nova Scotia to kickstart a new beat for Canada’s National Observer in Atlantic Canada. The region is rich in nature and beauty, but also industry. In Newfoundland, the province is swirling with plans to expand offshore oil. In Nova Scotia, coal (the dirtiest fossil fuel) continues to rule. Against this backdrop, critical, in-depth environmental coverage is lacking. That’s not to say there aren’t great local journalists, but it’s not like in British Columbia and Ontario, where there are numerous climate focused publications keeping tabs on all things environmental.
On a warm Spring day, I drove the very, very long way across the country from Vancouver, where I’d grown up and lived for most of my 25 years. I moved out of my no-elevator, no-air conditioned apartment during the heat dome in late June 2021. I took a break in the afternoon after struggling to carry boxes down the stairs, taking breaks after each trip, to swim at Kits Beach. The water was uncomfortably hot, the beach more crowded than I’d ever seen, and it smelled awful. Later I learned over a billion sea creatures had died from the heat.
I drove on the Coquihalla Highway as a red, raging forest fire lit the dark and smokey sky. The highway was open, but a blinking sign told drivers not to stop and to keep windows closed.
I left behind B.C. as it was recovering from a record breaking heat dome, which saw over 600 people die during a week-long stretch, and I arrived in N.S., which only a short time later experienced the region’s costliest storm on record.
These catastrophic weather events inform how I approach climate reporting. I’ve dug into Nova Scotia’s reluctance to let go of coal. I’ve worked with reporter John Woodside on a deep dive into Newfoundland and Labrador’s plans to go big into offshore oil and gas. We plan to continue investigating this story. There is much more to find out about who will profit from this enormous new project.
Every day you, our readers, encourage me. – Readers write me with thank you notes, appreciative of the time I’ve taken to look into issues no one else has. One reader’s note to me sums up what I’ve heard from many of you: “Please keep going!”
With your support, I can do more. And with more resources, Canada’s National Observer can fill the Atlantic reporting gaps with broader coverage. What happens in this region will be pivotal to Canada’s ability to meet our climate goals. Thanks to readers like you, I had a travel budget that allowed me to drive to Cape Breton to report on coal. Being on the ground enabled me to tell the human side of the story. I’ve been so lucky to report from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but it’s important to increase our coverage in Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Prince Edward Island. When you donate to CNO, you make more vital climate and environmental reporting on the east coast possible.
Thank you so much for reading this far. I hope that with your help, I’ll be able to deliver many more stories that matter to you, and lead the expansion of our east coast coverage. Please consider making a generous donation today.
Cloe
Atlantic Canada Reporter
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