(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

This editorial from The Chronicle Herald in Nova Scotia caught my attention from the first moment I saw the headline: “Fracking: Environmental volunteers got it right.” The author of the editorial, Zack Metcalfe, celebrates the fact that Nova Scotia is moving towards banning high-volume fracking for onshore oil and gas from shale, with legislation toward that end recently introduced by the government. Metcalfe offers praise to the people who worked with dedication and passion to make this happen, saying, “Around the table were well-informed, hard-working and often sleep-deprived people, sharing their ideas in a cafe once a week, most of them volunteers, finding time between work and home just to attend our meetings.” If the ban holds and there is no fracking in Nova Scotia, it may be in large part to the work of those dedicated volunteers.