The world's first wooden satellite has been launched into space, and a local legal battle between dental giants
Plus: Caring in a time of crisis. And, I guess we should talk about tariffs
Let’s start with something cool via Reuters:
The world's first wooden satellite, built by Japanese researchers, was launched into space on Tuesday, in an early test of using timber in lunar and Mars exploration.
LignoSat, developed by Kyoto University and homebuilder Sumitomo Forestry, will be flown to the International Space Station on a SpaceX mission, and later released into orbit about 400 km (250 miles) above the Earth.
Named after the Latin word for "wood", the palm-sized LignoSat is tasked to demonstrate the cosmic potential of the renewable material as humans explore living in space.
"With timber, a material we can produce by ourselves, we will be able to build houses, live and work in space forever," said Takao Doi, an astronaut who has flown on the Space Shuttle and studies human space activities at Kyoto University.
"Early 1900s airplanes were made of wood," said Kyoto University forest science professor Koji Murata. "A wooden satellite should be feasible, too."
Now this is wood innovation!
The wood used is honoki, a magnolia tree that grows in Japan.
"It may seem outdated, but wood is actually cutting-edge technology as civilisation heads to the moon and Mars," he said. "Expansion to space could invigorate the timber industry."
Caring in a time of crisis
Zoe Meletis writes:
Your comments today on acting locally reminded me that we would love to have IWAU 2024 included in your newsletter. It is coming up quick and will run Nov 13-20. Please find the full schedule here:
The theme is Caring in a time of Polycrisis—right on point for how many of us are feeling about the world right now, and one of the things that can help to get us through.
All of the activities are free except for a reasonably priced local play, and 2 fundraisers.
There are MANY opportunities during IWAU 2024 for people got gather, grieve, and get active on improving gender relations, and helping to make this world a better place.
IWAU is Inspiring Women Among Us, and it is open to all genders. With the link above, here’s a smattering of some of the events:
Care Activism: Learning from Migrant Domestic Workers on how to create communities of care, subvert unequal power structures and build movements.
Self/Other Care in Eco-anxious Times
Art as a way to grieve, care & connect
And many more.
Let’s talk about the tariffs, I guess
In a completely unrelated segue, there’s lots of pieces up on what a new Trump presidency will mean for Canada. Most of them are focused on trade and tariffs which, in the context of Prince George, is largely about softwood lumber which is already slapped with duties — a tariff supported by Democrats and Republicans alike for a long while now. Here’s Bloomberg from three days ago — before the election:
The southern US is poised to surpass Canada’s long-held dominance over the North American lumber industry as decades of trade restrictions take a toll.
The US region is set to eclipse Canada for softwood lumber capacity for the first time since at least 1970, according to commodity pricing agency Fastmarkets. It’s a remarkable turnabout that signals how much a key Canadian resource sector has diminished due to years of US duties and other challenges including wildfires, land-use regulation and insect infestation.
The US hiked import duties on Canadian softwood lumber by almost 81% in August, the latest move in a simmering four-decade dispute between the trading partners. Analysts anticipate that levies — currently at 14.54% — could double again by next year under the Commerce Department’s annual review.
The measures show how trade policies can reshape an industry, creating new winners and losers in the process. Import restrictions have been a hot topic during the US election, with Republican candidate Donald Trump calling for sweeping tariffs on foreign goods entering the US.
The article goes on to include praise from U.S. lumber producers and trepidation from those in B.C., while also noting that most analysts see Canadian lumber as a continued need in the U.S., and one likely to grow in the coming years. That 14.5 per cent increase, by the way? That was promised by Biden.
The other big resource industry here is mining. At Capital Daily News, Sidney Coles writes:
BC firms exporting critical minerals vital for the advanced manufacturing and tech sectors will likely continue to find opportunities in the US.
In March, Biden’s Pentagon was promising Canada could apply to a fund of $250 million in cash to producers of critical minerals.
BC mining companies working in the green mining and clean tech space will likely continue to find partners in the US. H
owever, after cutting its budget dramatically during his first term, Trump has promised to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency, opening the floodgates to mineral exploration in previously protected areas, including oceans.
BC mining companies facing pressure to reduce their impact on the environment and engage in sustainable exploration practices as part of corporate social and environmental sustainability and responsibility initiatives may feel they can take the brakes off those efforts in trade with American partners and clients during this forthcoming Trump era.
More local reaction:
“Discontent with status-quo” paved way for Trump victory: Bond.
UNBC prof says Trump’s protectionist ways could spell bad news for BC’s forestry sector.
Acting locally
Councillor Garth Frizzell has spearheaded an application for Prince George to join a group called the Strong Cities Network:
“It’s a network of municipalities all across the world that are dedicated to eliminating all forms of hate, extremism, and polarization,” said Councillor Garth Frizzell.
Frizzell noted he attended one of the organization’s online sessions.
“The messages resonate, and they’re consistent with the directions that we’ve been looking to achieve through things like our commitment on anti-racism here the city,” he said.
“I support the idea because I really think, as so many issues we see in our society, they are lived and we feel them in our cities,” said Councillor Trudy Klassen.
“They might be sort of traditionally considered provincial or federal in jurisdiction, and yet they happen here, and so if cities can educate themselves and learn to gather some tools to try to nip those things in the bud so that we can all live together in a city that we enjoy and feel safe in, I think that’s an important aspect and something that needs to be attended to.”
Their most recent event was focused on how cities can respond to hatred against immigrants fuled by online disinformation campaigns. It also links back to this guide that makes an argument for why this should be taken on at a local level:
Local governments of all sizes are uniquely placed to understand and engage with and to provide public services to their communities. Not only do they witness how wider tensions and conflicts play out locally, but they also bear the brunt of extremist and hate-motivated violence that disproportionately targets communities and infrastructure in urban areas. Equally, for residents, the main points of engagement with government actors are likely to be when they access services and interact at the local level…
Those who seek to divide communities, stir hate, incite extremism or espouse violence often do so by trying to exploit hyper-local challenges before tapping into wider grievances and building polarising narratives. If we recognise that the challenge is in our neighbourhoods, streets and small towns, then involving local government in the effort to make these places strong, resilient and peaceful is clearly a vital step.
It builds on lessons from all around the world and is overall very much tied into what I wrote yesterday about acting on a local scale in the face of global politics.
News roundup:
Prince George City Council implementing new Tree Donation Program.
Tourism PG to open outdoor skating rink at Canada Games Plaza.
City of Prince George accepting applications for 2025 Celebrate PG grant.
Theatre NorthWest to host stage reading for Remembrance Day.
In the archives: A piece of Prince George’s military history.
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Send feedback by emailing northerncapitalnews@gmail.com. Find me online at akurjata.ca.
The dental industry is quite scummy, cartel-like and incredibly non-transparent.
As a consumer, you have almost no power with dentists. They don't post prices, are often secretive about 'extra' costs or 'mark-ups' they place on insurable activities and it can be incredibly difficult to get even a cost-breakdown. This places you, the consumer at a massive disadvantage, particularly if you don't have insurance. You can't shop around. You can't compare. You have almost no idea what you are paying for.
When I first heard about the Strong Cities thing my first thought was skepticism that we needed to spend time on something like this. Unfortunately, even a casual glance through many of PG's local Facebook pages have become horrifying in their unchecked, even *applauded* racist comments. It's kind of sickening, actually, and terrifying that it's happened so easily. Good luck to council on this one.