We may be missing one of the main points in our arguments over vaccination against COVID-19. We may also be placing our efforts to increase vaccination uptake on the wrong things. Bribes, coercion, and political bickering are not necessarily helpful; building trust in vaccines is.
Vaccine passports and vaccination against COVID-19 have continued to be part of the dialogue in the lives of Americans and Canadians. The discussion has become a political tool in the...
Back in April, BIG Media published an excellent three-part series by Laurie Weston on science – its methods, its ethics, and its manipulation on public platforms today. Science – there is method to the madness, Manipulating science – activism and advocacy, Science and morality – ethics and judgment.
Her articles reinforced for me that science is very dynamic – ever changing, ever being improved, and ever needful of critical review and discussion.
Many articles that Laurie,...
This morning on CBC Radio 1, I heard the mayor of Vancouver refer to protesters of the incoming (for B.C.) vaccine passport as "kooks" among other disparaging remarks.
How can the mayor of one of Canada's largest cities think that it is acceptable to fan the flames of division? Of course, he is one of many North American politicians to take the position that the vaccinated majority rule the high moral ground, while those who...
Every day, it seems that there are more and more people in my network who accept the words of our politicians and chief medical officers as definitive facts. I find this perplexing, to say the least.
This is not a condemnation of the public officials' actions; I would not want to be in their shoes, facing myriad, daunting challenges that come with navigating the current crisis ... and some of their messages are indeed factual.
However, it...
As children, a lot of us were told to avoid talking to strangers. Thankfully, I never really took to that lesson.
At 10 p.m. on Dec. 28, 2019, after a full day of writing, I popped in to Earls restaurant in southwest Calgary to have a late pint and watch my favourite TV show "Raptors in 30", a condensed version of Toronto's basketball game versus the Boston Celtics played earlier that evening.
It was a busy night at...
Gasoline prices are on the rise across North America, but the trend is offset by the fact that talk is cheaper than ever.
One does not have to scroll too far down a social media feed to see someone complaining about the price of gasoline. Often, it is a person who has earlier decried the oil and gas industry for its supposedly evil ways. Hmm.
It seems to me that someone who wants our society to...
A friend recently questioned me about the BIG Media site not having a lot of fresh news content every day.
I replied, "Yes, while our competitors pump out tons of low-integrity, sensationalized content on the high-pressure, click-bait-driven 24-hour news cycle, we prefer to publish stories when they are ready, usually after exhaustive research."
We will never win the volume race, but we will consistently come out on top in quality of content. We can do that...
On June 12, Alberta (Canada) Premier Jason Kenney announced a multimillion-dollar lottery scheme to encourage more people to get COVID vaccines.He said, "Many places around the world have launched similar lotteries like this because we need to just nudge those who haven't gotten around to getting their vaccines yet."
The appropriateness of that nudge is now the subject of spirited debate on various platforms. This article explores the uses of nudges to affect behaviour and how that...
I received a heart-wrenching message from a woman in my LinkedIn network recently. “Susan” said that she has been frustrated with the lack of coverage of mental health issues in the media, and asked if I could help.
I promised to write about it, and I will start by sharing her story. Individual names have been changed to protect privacy.
Susan lost her 20-year-old daughter Amber to suicide six months ago. Her daughter was the third...
The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently published “Net Zero by 2050 – A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector”, in which they document details of a scenario (Net-Zero Emissions Scenario, or NZE) taking the world to a time 29 years from now when global humanity will produce net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
The report is long – 190 pages plus appendices. It addresses in considerable detail what must happen in all major energy consumption areas –...
