Conversations That Matter

Precious Metals in the Green Economy

Precious Metals in the Green Economy

 

The world is turning to green technology in an effort to reduce our impact on the environment. It is a global movement moving at different speeds in different jurisdictions. All the same, we are all moving towards an energy transition.

What is rarely discussed is our relationship with the elements that are required to build green technology. Where will these elements come from?

Interestingly, they will come from the same places we currently mine.  We will still need to extract elements from Mother Earth, the difference will be in the end use but not in the source.

Precious metals play a vital role in computing technologies and particularly in cleaning the emissions that exit the tailpipe of gas and diesel vehicles. Platinum and Palladium, for example, is a rare and precious metal that is an absolute requirement in catalytic converters.

Research is underway to determine if palladium can not only speed up the rate of battery charging but also extend the life of the charge.

With more than one billion cars on the road around the world, we sat down with platinum and palladium miner Mike Jones for a Conversation That Matters about the ongoing role of metals in the green economy.

 

Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter. Join veteran Broadcaster Stuart McNish each week for an important and engaging Conversation about the issues shaping our future.

 

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Treating Illness with Fecal Transplants: Dr Jeremy Burton

Jeremy Burton

Treating Illness with Fecal Transplants

 

What happens when your microbiome goes off the rails?

C Difficile infection is a common problem. What is C-Difficile you ask? Well it happens as a reaction to the consumption of some antibiotics. C-Diff for short, is a species of Gram-positive spore-forming bacteria accumulating in your gastrointestinal tract.

The symptoms can be diarrhoea, fever, nausea and abdominal pain.

There are a number of treatments, some work and some don’t. That’s because the bacteria may have already developed a resistance to antibiotics. That can mean a dramatic intervention may be required and one dramatic treatment option is fecal microbiota transplantation.

You’ve heard about fecal transplantation but that doesn’t mean it’s readily available. And it’s important to note it is filled with a wide range of challenges. Just as in organ transplant, there needs to be a match between the donor and the patient.

Canada has been an early adopter of this procedure and researchers are now asking if it can be applied in a number of other conditions such as diabetes and obesity. Those researchers are trying to determine if you can change the microbiome can you then change the health outcome.

We invited Dr Jeremy Burton the Deputy Director of the Canadian Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotics to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the exciting research underway in treating your well-being by re-engineering the bacteria in your intestinal tract.

Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter. Join veteran Broadcaster Stuart McNish each week for an important and engaging Conversation about the issues shaping our future.

 

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The Diabolical Selling of Sugar to Kids (w/Mark Collison, Heart and Stroke Foundation Canada)

Does it ever seem to you that the marketing of food to kids has a sinister aura? Namely, let’s hook 'em on sugar and watch the sales skyrocket. Once you have them addicted, they’re a client for life.

You’re right – that is what’s happening, and marketers are doing it intentionally. Sugar, sugar, sugar all the time, and it has devastating lifelong health effects on children.

Heart and Stroke Canada wants the Federal Government to enact legislation that will put an end to the marketing of sugar-rich, highly processed junk foods to kids. They believe that marketing to kids is targeting a highly susceptible demographic and those should pick on someone their own size.

Of particular concern, is a bombardment technique that leads to a thing we discuss called the nag factor. What’s fueling the nag factor? Endless advertising - advertising the Stop Marketing to Kids coalition says has to be outlawed.

We asked Mark Collison of Heart and Stroke to join us for a Conversation That Matters about how the marketing of food to kids is affecting their lifelong health.

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Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter. Join veteran Broadcaster Stuart McNish each week for an important and engaging Conversation about the issues shaping our future.

Genomics Research in BC gets a Huge Boost w/Catalina Lopez-Correa

Catalina Lopez-Correa

Genomic Research in BC Gets a Huge Boost

 

Genomics is changing lives, it is reshaping economies and shifting health outcomes. British Columbia is at the leading edge in the implementation of genomic research and in practice.

The role of that research in BC took a big leap forward when six new projects in precision health care were awarded more than 60 million dollars in funding. Funding that helps establish British Columbia as a genomics-driven life sciences supercluster.

Precision health care is shifting the way we interact with our health, medical practitioners and the healthcare system. Utilizing genomics, we can diagnose potential health threats in advance and guide treatments that are specific to individuals like you and me.

Already, the BC Pharmacy Association is employing Pharmacogenomics to ensure you receive the right medication in the right dose at the right time. It doesn’t stop there, treatment for childhood diseases in indigenous populations and pharmacogenomics in childhood cancer treatment are two of the funded projects.

The investment is a validation of the extraordinary genomic research underway in BC.

We asked Genome BC Chief Science Officer Catalina Lopez-Correa to join us for a Conversation That Matters about how genomics is reshaping our lives.

Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter. Join veteran Broadcaster Stuart McNish each week for an important and engaging Conversation about the issues shaping our future.

 

Please become a Patreon subscriber and support the production of this program, with a $1 pledge https://goo.gl/ypXyDs

The Ugly Truth About Supplements

Dr David Wang

The Ugly Truth about Supplements

 

Supplements - do you take them?

If you do, it’s probably because you want to be healthier. And if you take supplements there’s a good chance you pay attention to the food you buy and eat. More and more of us are turning to organic foods because we care about what we consume.

We’re doing a good job of checking labels to determine if foods have GMO’s, what are the additives in them, what is the nutritional value of the delicious meal you’re about to eat?

But do you examine the ingredients in the supplements you’re tossing back with a smoothie? Do you have any idea what’s in those gel caps, tablets and liquids?

If you take the time to read the label and examine the elements and then do the work of understanding what they are, you might very well be shocked to learn it’s a mixed bag.

 

We asked Dr David Wang to join us for a Conversation That Matters about why you need to be just as picky about nutraceuticals as you are about the food you eat.

Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter. Join veteran Broadcaster Stuart McNish each week for an important and engaging Conversation about the issues shaping our future.

 

Please become a Patreon subscriber and support the production of this program, with a $1 pledge https://goo.gl/ypXyDs

Alice Nderitu - Resolving Differences Through Dialogue

Alice Wairimu Nderitu

Peace through Dialogue

 

In an armed conflict, the only path to peace is through dialogue.

As National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Perry Bellegarde points out dialogue leads to relationships and it is through relationships that we can build anything.

Alice Nderitu knows this better than anyone else. Ms Nderitu is an armed conflict mediator. She has mediated more than 90 processes that have resulted in peace agreements between parties that are at war with each other in Kenya and Nigeria.

Ms Nderitu is one of a few female peace negotiators active in Africa.

Key to her success is purposeful dialogue. Dialogue that demands preparation, time, patience concentrated effort and an open mind coupled with a fearless ability to say the things that need to be said.

We asked the Jack P Blaney Award Winner for Dialogue Alice Nderitu to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the path to peace through dialogue.

Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter. Join veteran Broadcaster Stuart McNish each week for an important and engaging Conversation about the issues shaping our future.

Please become a Patreon subscriber and support the production of this program, with a $1 pledge https://goo.gl/ypXyDs

Women: Can You Defend Yourself in a Violent Attack

Ep 180 Inspector Colleen Yee

Women’s Personal Safety

 

Did you know that assaults against women are one of the few crimes that have not decreased in Metro Vancouver? And that women are most at risk while in transit from one destination to the next or at home?

Do you know what to do? Do you know how to reduce the likelihood of being a victim? Do you know what to do if you suspect you are in trouble and then what?

It’s a question a dedicated group of female officers with the Vancouver Police have answered. Once a month they conduct a Women’s Personal Safety workshop, for free and for women only. No male instructors, no male participants.

It’s a program that will arm you with vital information that will help you survive a violent attack be it at home or when you’re out in the city.

It’s a program filled with information you’ve never heard before. Information and easy to remember and easy to execute techniques that are incredibly effective.

We invited Inspector Colleen Yee of the Vancouver Police to join us for a Conversation That Matters about strategies that allow you to survive in the presence of mortal danger.

 

Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter. Join veteran Broadcaster Stuart McNish each week for an important and engaging Conversation about the issues shaping our future.

 

Please become a subscriber and support the production of this program, www.conversationsthatmatter.tv

Democracy and Independent Media - Emma Gilchrist

Emma Gilchrist
Democracy and Independent Media

Some newspapers dig.
Some newspapers are a constant embarrassment to the powerful.
Some manage to be entertaining, provocative and fair all at the same time.
There are few such newspapers in Canada.

That’s from a report written in 1970’s by the Special Senate Committee on Mass Media. Were they right then, are they right now?

Mainstream media tries to report all the news that’s fit to print, but the reality is it can only cover a handful of stories and its ability to dig deep has been hampered by shrinking budgets. Enter independent media outlets that are picking up the slack by taking on issues that fall outside the columns, airwaves and screens of traditional media.

In many cases, the journalists working for these outlets are some of the most tenacious diggers in the business. They take on specific issues and they do so from a particular point of view, peeling back the layers revealing what others have missed.

In the case of Site C, it was independent media outlet DeSmog Canada that uncovered facts about the controversial hydro project that everyone else missed. Once revealed, even the New York Times repeatedly cited the tiny online publication that is managed from a dining room table in Victoria.

We invited DeSmog Canada’s Editor-in-Chief, Emma Gilchrist to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the role of independent media in a democracy.

Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter. Join veteran Broadcaster Stuart McNish each week for an important and engaging Conversation about the issues shaping our future.

Please become a subscriber and support the production of this program, www.conversationsthatmatter.tv

Ep. 6, Democracy & The Media: Crowdfunded Journalism

Democracy & The Media: Crowdfunded Journalism

One of the challenges mainstream television faces is sameness. We’ve all scrolled through the listings and been presented with an endless array of programming that fits into advertiser supported shows.

Advertisers want to speak to as large and focused audience as possible. They have a product to sell and they want to place their product next to programming that appeals to a broad audience.

Therein lies the problem when it comes to the production of programming that challenges viewers to question their perspectives on big issues. Issues that lie at the heart of our society, globalization, human rights, equality, freedom of speech, freedom of faith, freedom to choose who they fall in love with, and free market economies.

In British Columbia, we’re fortunate to have a public broadcaster that operates free of influence from advertisers and bureaucrats, a truly independent voice offering a range of perspectives that challenge viewers to think and debate issues.

We invited Rudy Buttignol, Knowledge Networks President to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the role of independent television in a democracy.

Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter. Join veteran Broadcaster Stuart McNish each week for an important and engaging Conversation about the issues shaping our future.

Please become a subscriber and support the production of this program, www.patreon.com/conversationsthatmattter

Ep. 5, Democracy & The Media: Mainstream Media & Its Fight for Relevance

Mainstream media is under attack. While Donald Trump may be the loudest voice in the assault he is not the most effective. That honour goes to Google and Facebook and Twitter and, and, and . . .

The impact of social media and search engines on advertising revenues is gutting mainstream media. There are more news outlets today and fewer journalists. More press releases and less reporting. Consolidation, generic mastheads along with cut and paste, mean politicians and public figures are getting a free pass.

The role of the media as a watchdog, an early warning system, is in jeopardy as budgets shrink. But, journalists are innovative, finding new ways of keeping public figures and institutions accountable.

In the fifth instalment of our series on Democracy and The Media, we invited Harold Munro, the Editor-in-Chief of the Vancouver Sun, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the role of mainstream media in a democracy.