I have written a lot in the last year on the so-called “Energy Transition”. In fact, it is one of my favourite subjects, and I am working with the University of Alberta Future Energy Systems Signature Area and the Canadian Society for Evolving Energy (formerly Canadian Society for Unconventional Resources) to create a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) called “The 21st Century Energy Transition – How do we make it work?”. Watch for it late...
The first of this two-part series examining the repercussions of the May 13 Supreme Court of Canada acquittal of Matthew Winston Brownleft us with some understanding of the new uncertainty regarding violent crimes committed under intoxication. Part 2 investigates the number of crimes in Canada that are undertaken by intoxicated persons, what the intoxicating substances are, and the prevalence of such substance use in our population.
What are magic mushrooms?
This particular case involved the hallucinogen magic mushrooms,...
(First published on March 9, 2022)
The eruption of SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19, in 2020 changed the world in many ways. There was an understandable amount of fear in those early days. One of the concerns was the alarming number of people dying of the disease, resulting in the hasty implementation of well-intentioned measures to prevent as many of those deaths as possible.
Alberta, Canada, was no different, mandating masks, lockdowns, and restrictions of all kinds. Measures...
On May 13, the Supreme Court of Canada acquitted Matthew Winston Brown of aggravated assault on professor Janet Hamnett while reportedly intoxicated with hallucinogen “magic mushrooms” and alcohol, striking Section 33.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada, which prevents self-induced intoxication from being used as a defence in assault cases.This section of the Criminal Code was created with the purpose of protecting individuals – particularly women and children – from violent crimes at the hands of intoxicated individuals, and...
At the end of an enlightening conversation over coffee with a friend, I found myself in a quandary, facing four refuse and recycling bins. Where was my coffee cup to go? There is an opening for trash, for refundable containers, for mixed recyclables, and for compostables. Is this cup recyclable? If so, which recycling bin does it go into? Or is it trash? Or is it compostable? If it should go into the recycling bin,...
Not too many years ago in the late 20th century, governments were really focused on energy security. They realized that cheap, abundant, and reliable energy supplies were essential to support industry, housing, transportation – and, indeed, our very lives. Resource-rich countries such as Canada and the United States restricted the amount of oil and natural gas that could be exported, ensuring that decades of reserves remained for domestic consumption. Resource-poor countries including Japan scrambled...
A recently published article by Fisman et al., “Impact of population mixing between vaccinated and unvaccinated subpopulations on infectious disease dynamics: implications for SARS-CoV-2 transmission”, has received widespread acceptance and coverage in the mainstream media despite major flaws in its methodology.
At BIG Media, we have examined the article of Fisman et al. and find its main conclusion – that risk of infection among vaccinated people is disproportionately attributed to unvaccinated people – is an exaggerated claim and does...
Barack Obama recently took aim at misinformation on social media, calling it a threat to our society. Once the lies are widespread enough, he said, “ lose trust in their leaders, mainstream media, in political institutions, in each other, the possibility of truth – the game’s won.”
Obama was arguing toward the need for more regulation of social media. However, the problem of disinformation arises not just from social media. Falsehoods are all around us, being...
Earlier this month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Working Group III contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6_WGIII) entitled “Mitigation of Climate Change”. There is a Final Draft Technical Summary, a Final Draft Full Report, and a Summary for Policymakers document – all with the stated goal of assessing literature on the scientific, technological, environmental, economic, and social aspects of mitigation of climate change.
The Final Draft Full Report is an...
A recent CDC discussion document claimed that the, “Risk of myocarditis in individuals post-SARS-CoV-2 infection was 6-34 times higher compared to those who received mRNA vaccine.”The “6-34 times” number refers to the risk ratio (or morbidity ratio) of the disease versus the vaccine, and is of great interest, particularly with the expectation of immediate FDA vaccine submissions for children under 5 years old.At such time these vaccines are approved for young children, it would be incumbent...
