Each week, BIV staff will share with you some of the interesting stories we have found from around the web.
Jeremy Hainsworth, reporter:
With all the wildfires burning across B.C., it seemed a propos that The Tyee should come out with a related story, this one involving complaints against the Vancouver, Sun, the National Post and other Postmedia newspapers about climate denial and a contentious publication by former Greenpeacer Patrick Moore. –The Tyee
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2021/07/15/Will-Postmedia-Face-Reckoning-For-Its-Climate-Coverage/?fbclid=IwAR1A2Uk7kxf-pIjM62CjvmIig3vQrgQpoYf3LzlfYuFg5nTL4nll224aCl0
Mark Falkenberg, deputy managing editor:
When Montreal bookseller Stephen Welch got notice his rent was about to be jacked up to a business-killing $5,000 per month, a protest forced the landlord to back down. But that David-versus-Goliath victory may be rare as speculators across North America buy up properties and muscle out long-term tenants, leaving swathes of empty storefronts in once-vibrant neighbourhoods. – The Walrus
https://thewalrus.ca/how-empty-storefronts-are-killing-our-neighbourhoods/
Apple insists its iPhone is “the most secure consumer platform in the world,” but research by the investigative Pegasus project suggests that company has left itself wide open to attacks by malware creators.
“The disclosure points to a problem security researchers have been warning about for years: that despite its reputation for building what is seen by millions of customers as a secure product, some believe Apple’s closed culture and fear of negative press have harmed its ability to provide security for those targeted by governments and criminals.” – Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/jul/19/how-does-apple-technology-hold-up-against-nso-spyware
Timothy Renshaw, managing editor:
If you have the Ministry of Weather Control's contact information handy, please pass this Live Science yarn along. It could help lower Earth's thermostat. – Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/can-we-stop-earth-from-heating-up
But, of course, in the end, the Sun will hit White Dwarf Star status and it will be game over for life on Earth anyway. Or will it? – Inverse
https://www.inverse.com/science/life-could-emerge-after-the-death-of-these-stars
Meanwhile back in the here and now, a study from the good folks at the University of British Columbia delving into how COVID-19 has shaped or mishaped the sex lives of Canadians has been published in the International Journal of Sexual Health. Baseline dyadic sexual desire measurements and other interesting revelations from the halls of academia. – Taylor and Francis Online
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19317611.2021.1947932
Glen Korstrom, reporter
As someone who grew up in Coquitlam, I've walked around the beautiful grounds that were once Riverview Hospital, and have evolved to be what some call the "most popular filming location in Canada outside of a studio." Here's an interesting read on the history and evolution of that site. – Montecristo Magazine
Nelson Bennett, reporter:
Of all patients admitted to hospital in the UK due to the COVID-19 virus, 40% were double-vaccinated. While this may seem like cause for alarm, this article explains the statistical reasons behind those numbers. No vaccine is 100% effective and no one ever claimed they were. The reason the numbers are so high in the UK isn’t despite high rates of immunization, it’s because of it. In the UK, 88% of people are immunized and 69% fully immunized. “As more and more of the population is vaccinated, the relative proportion of those with COVID who have had both jabs will rise.” If 100% of the population were to be vaccinated, then 100% of those still being infected with COVID-19 would be those who were vaccinated. – The Conversation
Most of the innovation being incentivized by governments in climate change plans is focused on decarbonization: renewables, carbon capture, electric vehicles, hydrogen, etc. With wildfires once again scorching large parts of B.C., it’s clear that there is an urgent need for more focus on adaptation. Specifically, we need to bring technology to bear on the detection and suppression of wildfires. Here are four high-tech solutions that could help reduce the scale and severity of forest fires. – The Conversation
Forty per cent of all food produced in the world goes uneaten, according to a new World Wildlife Fund report. Of that, about 15% --- 1.2 billion tonnes -- is food produced at the farm level that goes to waste. Given that food production accounts for 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 80% of deforestation, the report says there is a need to address food waste at the production level within national climate change strategies. – WWF
Imagine a public official in Canada – a Liberal, no less – saying, in response to the burning down of a mosque or Sikh Temple, that it was “understandable” or “burn it all down.” You can’t even imagine it, can you? And yet, as Douglas Todd points out, this has been the response in Canada to the burning of churches -- something almost certainly linked to the church’s involvement in residential schools. He points out that the animus against “the church” and Christianity is no different than Islamophobia. Even an atheist like moi-meme has to agree: Even if the hate that prompts church burnings is “understandable,” it is still “violent bigotry” and, by definition, a hate crime. – Vancouver Sun
