1 Week, 7 Stories - the newsletter #12

Every edition will feature 7 stories, that have caught my attention in 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 do my best to offer some context.

Sometimes built around a theme, sometimes random, but with a Canadian twist.

I generally try to avoid the self-checkout line when I’m shopping. The exception is when I only have 2 or 3 items and it is generally faster to scan and go. Except when it isn’t.

Faux Cashier: Are you using your own bag?

Me: Yes Faux Cashier: Please wait while we check your bags.?

Me:? (waits in the hope there are staff around to make sure I’m not lying to save a few cents. Often there isn’t, so transaction is ended as far as I’m concerned.

If I decide to stay. Faux Cashier: Please scan your first item. (Scan doesn’t work. See above. Generally, walk out empty handed at that point)

And I am not alone in my frustration. Two recent studies found that the technology is not meeting the expectations of you, me, or countless other consumers around the world. While cutting staff in favour of the ever-frustrating scanner and monotonous machine generated instructions may initially help the bottom line for retail, it may ultimately be bad for business. One study in the Journal of Business Research found that regular checkout stations and talking to staff strengthens customer loyalty . The industry-supported Food Institute went so far as to say “Retail therapy has never been less therapeutic ”.? A Canadian survey came to a similar conclusion saying that while consumers use and appreciate the online and in-store technology, they still expect a personalized experience.

Work is well underway this week on a new Pallet Shelter community in Nova Scotia . It is an odd if not unfortunate name for the shelters because it immediately conjures up a tacky image of small shelters built from shipping pallets – which these are not. The shelters can be assembled in an hour or so because of their small size and the modular composite panel design. Panels that appear to be about the size of a large shipping pallet and sent as kits with a bed frame, mattress, and desk by a US-based Public Benefit Corporation called, what else, Pallet Shelter . ?The Nova Scotia plan however has raised concerns for the area residents.

The tiny homes come in various configurations that can be pressed into service as emergency shelters or to deal with homelessness. The company has received funding from the State of California to provide 1,200 of the small homes and has already provided homes in 24 states in the US.

Life first appeared on earth more than 4 billion years ago and Last Chance Lake in British Columbia may prove to be the first chance the planet had to kick start that life. I say around 4 billion years because scientists really don’t know and if we did, this BBC story says if we knew where and when, we could probably reproduce the process. (The article also raises the question of how we define that first glimmer of life).? How Last Chance Lake fits into the puzzle is explained by Torah Kochur on CBC Yukon’s afternoon show, Airplay.

Both the stories will most certainly leave you wondering about how it all really began because there are so many unanswered questions and the seemingly impossible and “improbable origins of life on Earth ”.

Global temperatures have moved past the 12-month, 1.5C threshold countries had agreed to and Monarch butterflies are feeling the heat. The temperature data came from the?Copernicus Climate Change Service this week and the Monarch butterfly count comes from Mexico’s Commission for National Protected Areas. No, they don’t count individual butterflies but rather base it on the number of acres they cover after their migration from Canada, and that acreage is down by half. Monarch butterflies have a one-month lifespan except for those born in late August and September. That generation travels more than 4,000 kilometers south to Mexico. We all remember our summer of record-breaking temperatures, drought, and wildfires and those factors contributed to a significant decline in Monarch numbers able to migrate to Mexico and this second lowest level of overwintering. ?Apart from the big environmental picture, there are things you can do in your own garden – better start making your plans for spring now.

Every country it seems, wants a piece of the Arctic for any number of reasons. Even climate change comes into play because as the water of the Northwest Passage become less clogged with ice, an important shipping route which passes through or near territorial waters claimed by Canada is opening up. Yet Canada has an aging icebreaker fleet and the next scheduled delivery for a new Arctic ready ship is 2030, leaving us poorly positioned to exert our influence in our Northern regions.? Meanwhile in a True North podcast this week, defence expert Rob Hubert says every likely Canadian security threat can all be found in the Arctic. Jim Balsillie (Former BlackBerry CEO)? is founder of the Arctic Research Foundation and he said this week that Canada lacks a concrete national strategic plan for the Arctic.? Russia and China are looking to the Arctic as another foothold they can achieve quietly. China in particular is pushing to be heard as they want to move more of their exports is one direction and get more oil coming back. With shipping comes an increased risk of oil spills from tankers and pollution from the increased traffic which is “trouble for fragile ecosystems ”. As journalist and writer Mark Lowey reported in Research Money, the “Federal government needs to act now ”.

The Doomsday Clock is still set to 90 seconds before midnight . In 1949 the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created its Doomsday Clock and set the hands at 7 minutes to midnight. Midnight being when man made threats lead to a global catastrophe. The organization says it is their metaphor for where the world is and not a prediction. It seems however that our inner doomsday clocks are on high alert. In the last week both Al Jazeera and BBC have launched new series on the prospect of a global conflict. ?I have been watching Apocalypse Maybe and Nuclear Armageddon: How Close Are We? on TV but you can find the Al Jazeera program online. The episodes to date have been interesting though The Guardian is less of a fan of the BBC’s take. The head of the NFP International Crisis Group ( described sometimes as a liberal think tank) said that given the escalation of conflicts involving major powers, that there is a danger of a catastrophe ignited by a “major miscalculation ”. The Secretary-General of the United Nations said something similar in 2023 when he warned that we are “facing a convergence of challenges unlike any in our lifetimes ” and European defence leaders have recently been speculating on some of the worst possible outcomes . Add China to the global conflict equation and Foreign Policy magazine said in a story last week that ?“risk signals for a conflict are flashing red ”. How worried are we? Well if you have “pretraumatic stress disorder ” you may want to join thousands of British people stocking up as they look at the world in disarray.

One of The Wall Street Journal headlines this week says that “America Has Never Had So Many 65-Year-Olds ”. You many need a WSJ subscription to read that story but this CNBC story is along the same lines. Both stories are drawn from new figures from the Alliance for Lifetime Income which indicates that 2024 will see a surge in Americans turning 65 . ?(the organization is a non-profit based in Washington, D.C.)

Canada is not yet into the peak numbers but 111 urban centres in the country have a quarter of the residents aged 65 or older . (and to all my friends in Parksville, BC, you have the highest concentration of seniors at 46%). In the latest Canadian census (2022) 19% of Canadians were 65 plus and as we approach 2050 it will be 25% of the population. This means more pressure on the healthcare system, more need for accessible systems such as transportation, more demand for seniors’ housing, pressure on social safety nets, and a shrinking workforce. Raise a glass now to your Golden Years because they may not be so golden by the time you are ready to celebrate.

Shoutout this week follows on from the last story. With the increased costs of most everything and the decreased availability of social, physical, and mental services for seniors consider donating your time to a seniors’ centre near you. In #yyc that could include Calgary Seniors' Resource Society or the Kerby Centre .

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.