BIG Exclusives

The spectre of large-scale conflict between three great nations – United States, China, and Russia – looms larger than at any time since the Cold War ended. The post-9/11 era, described initially as the War on Terror, has morphed into a complex web of escalating military tensions, regional proxy wars, and unprecedented arms races, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. The War on Terror, launched after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S., saw the U.S....

Nigeria, a major oil and gas producer that in 1971 became the 11th member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has committed to every climate change agreement since 1992. The oil and gas industry is important to the African country as a source of substantial revenue, domestic energy supply, sociocultural identity, and geopolitical leverage. However, as proponents of the energy transition look to minimize the share of oil and gas in the global...

Earlier this month, the United States and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) engaged in talks about a deal that would see the U.S. invest billions of dollars to explore minerals while helping to end years of conflict in the central African nation. The potential deal is seen by some as exploitative and retrogressive to the Congo, and it is important to know why. In a perfect world, the DRC would be on your...

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 –...