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Issue #46 July 5th, 2021 Join us - share and network, discover and learn |
What is worrying you? Next Public WEBINAR - Discussion of feedback Friday, July 9th 4PM |
All former webinars are accessible |
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Last week's Friday webinar was a nogo as I was taking a break from under the oppressive "Heat Dome" that was baking the west. The severe heat knocked out our electric power for a while. Nothing all that serious. California suffered a similar plight but it was more serious. To conserve electricity the state mandated EVs to stay off the road. Both events reminded me of our increasing vulnerability to the electrification of everything. Tis "worrisome." Our discussion about EVs, the electrification of personal transit - another example of personalization, followed our Ransomware discussion and the cyber attack on Colonial Pipeline and mass impact on petroleum powered transportation. That mass impact was attributed to a failure in cybersecurity and the critical role of databased systems. What's the message? The promise of innovation and utopian solutions through - for example , data analytics/ artificial intelligence and EVs as an alternative to fossil fuel power, come at a price. Caution is warranted. You seem to agree. Below is a sample of the many comments we received about the last newsletter citing worries about dying - the pursuit of everlasting life and EVs - battery powering vehicles. COMMENTS - Edited I like your early comments Perry asking why we keep dragging up the past and having the present held accountable. Then why do we worry about things we have little, if any, control over such as when we die and electric vehicles. What a world we live in. Thank you Malcolm. Worry #1. Life or death? We discussed the pursuit of everlasting life through research contrasting with the more limited - about 100 years, that people say they want, conditional on both the quality of life and experience. Here is a sample of the comments we received. I’ve often wondered whether people who have put goals and mission in their life are able to face reality more positively than those who simply take each day as it arrives. Do these people, presumably more educated than the average person, address their "worries" more constructively than those who ride along in the faster moving current until it is too late to avoid the falls? The author of “Why I Hope to Die at 75” is an American oncologist, bioethicist and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. He is the current Vice Provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy. He is a high achiever and views his life a way to contribute to society and make the world a better place. He does not view the life past age 75 of mature walks, reading, travel, keeping up to date with loved ones and friends, etc. as a meaningful life… at least not for him. We have all been asked the question, “Would you like to be 21 again”? My answer would likely be “Yes” on the condition that I knew then what I know now… and more. That not being an option, I can only continue to read, learn and contribute where I can, for as long as I can. That gives a sense of purpose that helps dilute any physical or other realities that may impact that life goal of learning and doing. What does the majority of your webinar participants say? From what I have seen so far, I suspect many of them will do as you, me and others are doing, and that is to keep on going for as long as our lives can generate a spark. Thank you Mel. That’s a really hard question because most of us have a hard time imagining making it to 100. My great grandfather lived to 93, my grandmothers lived to 94 and 96. If I was happy and healthy, I would like to outlive Methuselah at 970 years. ???? Of course I would like for my friends and family to live that long with me too. Thank you Jeff K. Interesting thoughts about everlasting life. I now know two people who did assisted suicide, and one was a golf buddy who I got very close to in his last couple of years. He got bladder cancer in the summer of 2018, went through radiation and immunotherapy (which he claimed was a medicare fraud; it probably was), and then in the spring of 2019 it came back, and at 90 Elton decided enough was enough as the doctors said that there wasn't much they could do for him in round two of that horrible affliction other that give him a truckload of morphine. I suppose we all want everlasting life until we don't. The odd thing is that it seems the person about to die is generally at peace with it while those around them are mortified. Thank you Charlie. Woody Allen famously said ‘it’s not that I’m afraid of dying, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.’ Sadly, with increasing lifespans, ‘we’ are not always ‘there’ at the end. The longer we live the more prone we are to diseases of aging. So for me, it all boils down to quality of life. If I can live with quality - functional, aware and engaged, reasonably mobile and independent - then I want to go as long as I can - to 100 and beyond! But without these elements I would gladly take my leave much earlier. Thank you Jeff U. I don’t know if I want to live for ever but I don’t want to die just yet. Life would have to be pretty bad before I would want to die. Yet there are thousands of people who take their lives every year. I would like to live as long as I like to live. Thank you Jeff K. Thanks for our excellent article. You have brought up some excellent idea's to worry and not to worry. I am what used to be very old age. Have been stuck at home most of the time since March 2020. Without modern technology, I would be deaf and blind. I would be lonesome as well without that technology. Life is better now than it has ever been in history. I have friends around the world, always have the food and security I need. I have found that compliments and a kind word cost me nothing, but bring joy to the recipient. My advise? Work hard to accomplish something of value every day. Treat people like you want to be treated, do not be fanatic about anything. Thank you Hein. Worry #2. EV and battery power. We discussed situations where battery power may be compromised warranting caution in situations where battery power may fail. Here is a sample of the many comments we received. We definitely want to prolong its charge for all the reasons you state and more. Power storage technology is getting better quickly but the runaway marketing and hype (doing something without really understanding it perhaps because others are doing it) may get us to a point where we have simply created a massive problem for ourselves. How would you write a “For Sale” item for Kijiji for a five-year-old Tesla with only 200,000 km on it and in need of a new battery? Is it possible to sell such a beast or should the last bit of life in the battery be used to drive the vehicle to the junk yard? The 1,200-pound battery in the entry level Tesla costs about $6,000 to replace and the old one can provide a lower energy storage (repurposed) as part of a stationary power source that could be kept up to charge via solar or wind power. In the end however, all such batteries must go to the recycle plants where the metals are extracted for reuse and the rest goes to the landfill. There are many articles and videos on the web about the various processes used to “recycle” an EV battery, but all eventually have their final resting place being the landfill for much of their remaining mass. I’ve had discussions with friends in the past few months on this topic, including the full life cycle of wind turbines and solar panels but many seem to gravitate to the common belief that the cost of transportation (cost of electricity) is much less than that of fossil fuel… and still say with conviction that there is less pollution. I am one of those people who doubts that claim if looked at from a cradle to grave point of view. We could go on for a while on this theme but at some point, need to view it as an evolving “trend” that will hopefully lead to an overall cleaner environment because if we continue on this path, it may not matter what we do because the hole we dig will be too deep to get out of. Thank you Mel. Had a 2 kW Honda generator we carried in our van motorhome to run the air conditioner and make coffee. Maybe a good idea to keep one in your forthcoming electric car along with a couple of five gallon cans of gas. Thank you Duane P. "Get a plug-in hybrid." Thank you Jeff K. Anyone concerned about EV car battery exhaustion should not: 1) Voluntarily buy an EV car or 2) Be forced to buy an EV car by climate alarmist influenced governments that show many signs saddling Canadians with a Soviet style centrally planned economy. Cheers...I am a supporter of free choice in the marketplace. Thank you Peter. As for EV battery life - as the owner of a full electric vehicle for most of the past year I haven’t had ‘range anxiety’ since the first month of getting used to the vehicle. Mine has 450km of range when fully charged. For most day to day city driving I charge it to 65% which provides over 300km of range. My schedule is flexible so I can plan my trips and avoid traffic jams. I never leave the garage with less than 100km of range so even with a glitch in traffic I should have enough to get home. Cold weather reduces range so that has to be taken into account. Going to Vancouver along the TransCanada highway was no problem - Supercharger stations all along the way. But there are other parts of Canada with fewer or slower chargers and travel to these would be more problematic and require more planning. But new chargers are coming online all the time. Thank you Jeff U. Many people don't know the reality of the electricity distribution system. Charging stations are indeed everywhere already -- there are thousands of times more places to charge your car than there are gasoline stations. You need to take a step back in your forecasting of the future and look back at the introduction of any new technology in society and see how it proceeds and progresses... then once you learn more about the past, please re-write your "Worry #2" editorial. Sheesh... how can you be a leader towards the future when your mindset refuses to leave the past? Thank you Gordon. In line with your EV question...this is actually right up my alley. I work directly in the infrastructure sector of the industry and work to get these chargers in as far and wide as I can. Thank you Richard. ADDITIONAL WORRIES Violence erupting as churches are burned in Indigenous communities in four Canadian provinces. HERE Climate change legislation varies from introducing accountability as in Canada to Germany where courts warn that civil liberties and actions addressing climate change must be balanced.
Network comment. Near term effects of climate change (wildfire, drought, storms, extremes of weather, etc. and of course the long term effects - annihilation of life as we know it. It’s not likely going to shorten my life but I worry for the children of my grandchildren. Disinformation by social media could be a threat to civilization HERE Network comment. I also worry about anti democratic forces and creeping authoritarianism. Attached to these are a complacent populace and weaponized social media platforms. The end of truth concerns me greatly. A complacent and ignorant populace, and a belief that capitalist economies cannot compete with authoritarian regimes, are strengthening anti-democratic forces. We look for the ‘strongman’ leader and a fascistic cult develops. I think the answer is more competition and political and corporate collaboration - intelligent incentives AND regulation that subsidize what we need more of and tax what we need less of. Instead we have gridlock and crazily misaligned incentives. We better figure this out or we will get our asses handed to us and democracies will be imperiled. Government's lack-lustre performance, weak accountability, and controls are worrisome. Is there not a way to convince people that they should think before they act or even before they speak? The “King of the World” view that can be said of the leadership of China, Russia, many South American countries, several in the Middle East and, most recently, Canada to some degree, is troublesome. Can this be averted? What will it lead to and will this be better for us? The Pharaohs had their people build pyramids. Was that to keep them “busy” so they would not stage uprisings? When will governments begin to do similar things to keep everyone in line… and productive? |
WEBINAR ALERT Human Resource Management - THE Post-Covid Challenge Webinar 4:00-5:30pm MT Friday July 16th https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85896241732 Presentation followed by a panel discussion and public Q&A. Remote vs In the Office vs Hybrid Effects on culture, production, morale, and engagement. Creating, accommodating, and flexible work environments. How to monitor/ measure effectively. Managing Voluntary Departures People leaving who don't want to come back into the office. Were they managed effectively during Covid? Understanding your employees needs and how to retain your top talent. HR Delivery in a new age HR is more important than ever. Everything is changing faster than ever before including HR services. Technology and outsourcing cannot be ignored for achieving and managing growth. Balancing the supply and demand for labour/ employees has always been complicated warranting government intervention in regulatory legislation and ethical considerations in practice by HRM professionals. The future of work has been a topic of some concern given the emergence of AI and machine learning. Now - post-Covid recovery, is further complicating HRM: altering the workplace and benefits, introducing new recruitment schemes, elevating the relevance of activism in ESG, and accelerating innovation. Join us July 16th for our deep-dive webinar: Presenter Moderator Panelists |
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