“Cape Breton” is a name with global recognition, but before the Clipper Round the World Race of ‘09-‘10, word probably didn’t travel this fast. Well, 24 nautical miles an hour fast in a yacht nicknamed “The Big Blue Canoe.” The seventh around-the-world race is currently in its eighth leg, part of a sprint of 35,000 miles, with stops in fourteen ports of call on five continents. Started by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in 1995, the race is performed by ten 68 ft yachts from a diverse range of global communities. Including Canada, this year’s participants are Scotland, Jamaica, China, Singapore, Ireland, Finland, England, Australia, and the United States. Each ship has a crew of approximately fifty people, with around eighteen people on board a boat at any given time. Crew rotate in or out at ports of call, with some staying on for the entire global journey. Read more

GPI Atlantic, the Halifax based think tank, made headlines in the late nineties for introducing the ‘Genuine Progress Index’ which valued well being and sustainability instead of GDP when measuring the success of a region. Now, through a partnership with the government of Bhutan, they are helping the small Asian country sustain its ‘gross national happiness’ as they struggle to maintain traditional values in an increasingly wired world. Read more

Nova Scotia's green economy is continuing to grow through a new venture led by the province of Nova Scotia and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Ltd. (DSME). Announced in early March, DSME will establish a wind turbine tower and blade manufacturing facility at the former TrentonWorks site, creating hundreds of jobs. The province is investing a total of $80-million and getting an equity stake in the Pictou County operation. Read more

In a week where everyone was fixated on the Olympics, East Coasters in Toronto pried themselves from their TV sets and gathered to celebrate in support of Breakfast for Learning in Atlantic Canada. On the evening of Friday, February 26, friends both old and new gathered together at John Labatt Hall for an East Coast Army Kitchen Party. Read more