1 Week, 7 Stories - Newsletter #53

Every edition features 7 stories, from the past week. I’ll draw on my background in media, journalism, agriculture, biotech, and renewable energy to come up with an interesting selection and to offer some context.

We love wireless. Wireless charging, wireless phones, wireless Internet. You may not realise it, but wires are what makes all the wireless stuff go ‘round and that is where the first December edition of my newsletter starts.

Yes, there are satellites floating in orbit around us that deliver a host of communications services. As of last month, Elon Musk’s Starlink service alone has 6,764 satellites in orbit 550 kms (342 miles) above us which are messing up optical and radio astronomical observations while delivering an important service. Much closer to home however, we have more than 600 public undersea cable systems which are key in tying us all together. That number does not include purpose specific undersea lines for power transmission, research networks, and private systems. The TeleGeography website has an in-depth collection of data about the global underwater network including an interactive map of the image above.

Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) is planning on building a global subsea fibre-optic network covering 40,000 kms ( 25,000 miles) that will require an investment of at least $10 billion by the time it is completed according to a story in TechCrunch. It would run from the east coast of the US and end up on the US west coast after touching India, South Africa, and Australia. The “W” network as it has been nicknamed, would give Meta a dedicated infrastructure with full control of its data capacity and traffic. Currently it owns parts of 16 different networks meaning it is always competing for space.

Damage to cables is one of the most vulnerable parts of our global Internet. Accidents do happen but the latest threat is sabotage, which is suspected in two incidents in November which severed cables in the Baltic Sea. 99% of the world’s international data exchanges pass through underwater cables so the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) has created the International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience with representatives from 40 countries to help deal with threats to the global system.

Cables are damaged or broken around 100 times per year and it is a complex repair job so you can’t just call your local cable guy.  The Verge has a fascinating look into what goes into keeping the network running. Give it a read! 

It is getting warmer out there and we’re not talking about the mild Chinook weather we are experiencing in Calgary right now. This is climate change and its effects here at home. 

The Canadian Permafrost Association defines permafrost as soil or rock that remains at a temperature of 0°C or lower for at least two consecutive years. 15% of the Northern Hemisphere is covered in permafrost and Canada has the second most permafrost on the planet (Russia is number one). The Arctic is warming at a rate three times more than the global average and as the permafrost thaws it releases the carbon that has been safely trapped for thousands of years.

A New York Times story this week says the thaw also threatens communities such as Tuktoyaktuk which is slowly finding itself closer to the Beaufort sea.  Shoreline collapse is letting the sea move closer to the community and in the cemetery, gravesites are collapsing. Gravel and large rocks are being dumped on shorelines to mitigate erosion but that is hardly a solution and does not address the root cause. A Carleton University research story says there are 3.6 million people globally living in areas vulnerable to permafrost changes.

Arctic roads, building practices and standards, biodiversity, and traditional ways of life are centred around the nature of the climate and permafrost. Winter roads assume a permafrost base, pipelines were built on what was stable permafrost ground, and the frozen ground traps water near the surface to maintain plant growth. The Guardian said last month that the “land is tearing itself apart” as landslides and slumping ground become more common and even the very monitoring stations needed to understand the problem are being swallowed up.

Permafrost is “the glue holding northern landscapes together”, and the only way to maintain those landscapes is keep that glue intact.

On November 18th Alberta Forestry and Parks published an updated Provincial Parks General Directive. It didn’t come with fanfare or a media release and there is little reason to have expected a routine directive to be handled in any other way. Except in this case, it was bound to cause some controversy, and it is best to keep such directives under the radar. Eventually conservationists caught wind of it and The Narwhal made some noise about what had been done very quietly.

Signed by Todd Loewen, Minister of Forestry and Parks, the directive now allows the hunting of cougars in Cypress Hills Provincial Park. When the hunting season in the park opened on December 1, hunters were welcome to bring their dogs to assist in killing their trophy. Providing they meet all the guidelines of course.

Since getting the Forestry and Parks top job Loewen has been criticized for a conflict of interest because his family owns and manages Red Willow Outfitters. He has said there is “nothing unusual here”.  When he first became Minister, Red Willow Outfitter listed him as part of the team offering to “Make Your Dream Hunt a Reality”, but his name (and actually all names) has been removed from the website.

His department had already raised the hunting quota for the 2023-2024 season to 72 female cougars from the previous season’s 42. The Alberta Wildlife Association said at the time the decision seemed to be based not on science, but on the “beliefs of certain stakeholders”.  The latest directive once again has the Alberta Wilderness Association concerned that there is no scientific justification for the change, but without government transparency, it is hard to draw any conclusions. Here is the Minister explaining the decision in a CBC Radio interview.

This is just the latest eyebrow raising decision from the department. In November the limits on wolverines, lynx, and rivers otters were lifted. Minister Loewen said it was to get more data on how many of the animals there are.  As Albertapoitica.ca observed, that only tells you how many there were, and is hardly in keeping with 21st century science.

If you are interested in how many wolverines we have in Alberta, I’m sure there is an outfitter near you more than happy to help you nab as many as you wish.  

When we get lazy or have a tough time understanding a concept we often turn to jargon or phrases that provide a broad stroke to a complex picture.

The latest sleight of hand is “AI hallucinations”.

TechCrunch has a story this week about Amazon Web Service’s new tool to combat these hallucinations which all AI models suffer from. The story says that hallucinations cause an AI model to behave unreliably. TechTarget says it is when a system generates false information or misleading results. Ah, we are getting closer. LiveScience pushes the idea along by saying these problems can lead to “catastrophic mistakes”.

Let’s be honest and say we use the word “hallucination”, because that is a lot easier than admitting out loud that artificial intelligence is well, artificial, that it sometimes lacks intelligence, and at times simply does not work. If my car breaks down on a busy street I don’t say it needs a rest and will be better after it takes a nap – I know something is wrong so I have it towed away and fixed.

In January of this year a column in The Guardian called hallucination out for what they are. “Botshit” the writer said, bears little relationship to reality. It is easy for people and governments to make important decisions built on incorrect information that costs nothing to generate but which can lead to potentially costly outcomes. Naomi Klein said that AI advocates use the term to help build an AI mythology, and it is really the tech CEOs having the hallucinations.

AI is finding a role in diagnosing complex diseases, targeting military weapons, and analyzing data to solve complex problems. The experts argue that AI can find answers in huge datasets that would take months for people to sift through. What happens when that AI model hallucinates and identifies a hospital as a military installation? Or if a medical specialist does not have the months needed to fact check an AI diagnosis?

The answers are not just an hallucination.

Time to open the debate.

Real or artificial Christmas trees. (I have not had either for years!)

Ready?

Here we go.

The BBC started it for me this week with a story on the “overlooked benefits” of having a real tree in your house for Christmas. Some of those benefits include the biodiversity that comes with Christmas tree farms, a direct connection with a forest species that many urbanites would otherwise never encounter, and a sustainable economic driver for growers and sellers.

Until artificial trees appeared on the scene there wasn’t much choice of course.  Last year an artificial Christmas tree purchased in 1920 was sold at an auction in Britain for £3,411 (about $6,000 Cdn today). It was a pretty simple tree with a wooden base and 25 branches. By 1958 those garish aluminum trees made in Chicago started to take over. Today an artificial tree can be quite elaborate and come already decorated. They also last a long time with proper care largely because of the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which goes into the production. Those PVC’s and the other “plasticizers” and stabilizers release harmful gases into your home and they are generally not recyclable. Nevertheless, we rack up $60 million in artificial tree sales in Canada.

Most of those artificial trees are imported, but we do have our own real Christmas tree sector which provides a homegrown (literally!) economic benefit.  According to the Canadian Christmas Trees Association we have more than 20,558 hectares (50,800 acres) dedicated to Christmas tree production. While an established farm can make money, with rising land prices buying a piece of land to start a new lot is economically impossible in some areas, and the economics for exporters next year would take a hit if US tariffs were to become a reality. Adding to the problem says a CBC story this week, is that some of our Christmas tree species will be at risk due to climate change.

If we start with the premise that our current Christmas tree farms are managed carefully and sustainably, buying a real tree is not a bad choice says the Nature Conservancy. They are renewable, compostable, the trees store carbon, and they provide local jobs from the grower to the seller.  

Whatever your choice – enjoy.

It is only fitting that a media site dedicated to wine is called Decanter, but this week it had some bad news to go along with the regular wine reviews. 

“Global wine production falls to lowest level since 1961”

Frost, heavy rain, drought. You name it, winemakers have had to deal with it.  The troubles hit wine production in both hemispheres with France missing the worst of it and overtaking Italy to become the world’s largest producer. The United States also had a good year. It is mixed so far in Canada with Nuvo magazine saying overall we have a “True north, strong and bubbly” for 2024 while Nova Scotia producers are looking for extra government support.  BC also felt the pinch this year when -24 C (-11 F) temperatures caused significant crop losses before the growing season had even begun. Grapes that survived however had more concentrated fruit and wine which should have more intense flavours.

You may not notice the 2024 losses right away so in the meantime some top picks from Food & Wine magazine and the winners of the 2024 All Canadian Wine Championships.

In 2021, Wisdom the albatross hatched a single chick at a wildlife refuge on the Midway Atoll in the North Pacific. It was big news because she was at least 70 years old making her the oldest known wild bird. The old girl has not finished yet. She is still the oldest, has a new partner, and has laid another egg, which has a 70-80% chance of it hatching.  She was first identified and tagged in 1956, so biologists are confident of her record holding title. Laysan albatrosses usually live only 12-40 years and mate for life but Wisdom seems to outlive her partners and the current one is at least her third.

An albatross has a good life span for a bird but some macaws and parrots often live to the ripe old age of 50 or 60. The kākāpō is also a parrot but is a nocturnal, flightless species. It is native to New Zealand but there are only 244 of the critically endangered birds left. It is considered to be the longest-lived bird species with an estimated life span of 90 years.

Remember Gus the Emperor Penguin from the last newsletter? With any kind of luck he is back home by now and will live into his twenties.

Read, comment, subscribe, and share this newsletter.

I’m available for contract and freelance work with not-for-profits and charities. With 40 years of experience behind me and lots of time ahead of me, I’m here to help you make a difference in your media relations, public relations, and general communications needs.

I have also started a Substack newsletter which will include 1 Week, 7 Stories and other new material over the weeks to come.