BIG Exclusives

Sitting at an airport as I return from a technical conference presents a great opportunity to reflect on interesting presentations and conversations with people who are working hard on new and exciting initiatives. The second North American Helium and Hydrogen Conference, hosted by the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists in Denver, built on its first conference in 2023. Geologists, engineers, marketing and downstream (processing) people attended to share stories about their work and projects, and...

The past demonstrates that geopolitics is a dynamic vector – its power and path shaped, more often than not, by the evolution of sophisticated military technology. The 20th century through present day shows that the rise of the United States as a global hegemon during the Second World War hinged on achieving air supremacy in both the European and Pacific theatres. Specifically, the development of both the P-51 Mustang and P-38 Lightning air superiority fighters,...

The tumultuous years of the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a long-overdue shift in mental health conversations across Africa. For decades, mental health had been a taboo subject on the continent. It was only whispered about in private family conversations, rooted in colonial-era myths of African intellectual inferiority that wrongly suggested Africans were less prone to mental illness. These harmful stereotypes, shaped policies and perceptions, with mental health laws even being weaponized to suppress dissent. In Kenya...

As the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year since Russia launched a massive invasion of its neighbour in February 2022, it has been made clear that the steady stream of foreign aid Ukraine had been receiving from former president Joe Biden’s administration will not be continued by the office of President Donald Trump. Since the start of the war, the U.S. congress has appropriated or otherwise made available nearly $183 billion USD for Operation...

There is a tremendous power unleashed if all involved in the business, share in the wealth creation of the business. It is an old idea that has not been taken up at scale. If it had been in Canada, for example, my home country would not be in the ever-declining innovation, productivity, and wealth distribution situation in which we find ourselves. This is not a hypothesis, or untested theory; this is a fact, based on...

Much of the global climate science community would have you believe that Earth’s atmosphere is heating at a catastrophic rate – and that human-caused climate change is the root cause. In this article, I present evidence that pours cold water on the anthropogenic-global-boiling narrative while deepening our understanding of a complicated subject. Over the past decade, I have had countless discussions with people on social media over a broad range of subjects related to climate...

I wrote recently about scientists as advocates, using their positions of knowledge and authority to promote political and societal views. We can never have enough technical knowledge to inform important societal debates, but there are many other important things to consider. In other words, good science informs important societal debates, as do other inputs including energy security, economics, policy, and social and cultural values. So, no scientist – or physician, or other professional expert –...

Some pundits suggest that annexation rhetoric and threats of disproportionate tariffs from the United States against Canada is a classic example of a stalking horse, and simply a tactic out of Donald Trump’s book, The Art of the Deal. A stalking horse is a ploy to gain, through leverage, a favorable outcome without showing your high cards. In this article, I explore the idea that the more favorable outcome sought by the U.S. from its northern...

I recently stumbled upon a surprising headline for a LinkedIn post that has sparked considerable engagement for its “Clean Energy Strategist” author: “Engineers Just Solved Winter’s Biggest Energy Problem (And It’s Better Than Anyone Thought Possible)” Wow! Fantastic! All that fussing and hand-wringing about people having sufficient energy to heat their homes in the winter, and presto! Those brilliant engineers have just solved the problem! And there is no doubt keeping warm in winter is a big...

On January 24, the Government of Alberta released a report reviewing the Canadian province’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.The document, which contained over 30 recommendations, sought to evaluate the decision-making processes, the data behind them, and the governance structures that shaped Alberta’s handling of COVID-19. Media coverage of the report, on which I worked as a contributing author, has focused almost exclusively on one contentious recommendation – the call to discontinue the use of mRNA...