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What are we reading? December 12, 2019

Each week, BIV staff will share with you some of the interesting stories we have found from around the web. Kirk LaPointe, editor-in-chief: Marriage Story is one of the best movies of the year. A couples therapist has a look-see.
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Each week, BIV staff will share with you some of the interesting stories we have found from around the web.

Kirk LaPointe, editor-in-chief:

Marriage Story is one of the best movies of the year. A couples therapist has a look-see. – The Atlantic

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/12/a-couples-therapist-watches-marriage-story/603502/

The discriminatory approaches of some of JPMorgan’s employees were captured on tape by a client and an employee. An unflattering picture emerges. – The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/business/jpmorgan-banking-racism.html?action=click&module=Editors%20Picks&pgtype=Homepage

An insightful piece on the near-reclusive Vancouver writer William Gibson and his methods of generating some of the most fascinating science fiction. – The New Yorker

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/16/how-william-gibson-keeps-his-science-fiction-real

Timothy Renshaw, managing editor:

Here's another look at how much it's going to cost to get green with energy. Might be less than you think. – DNV-GL

https://eto.dnvgl.com/2019/the-affordable-energy-transition

Is the World Trade Organization too damaged to operate effectively? – Peterson Institute for International Economics

https://www.piie.com/publications/policy-briefs/wtos-existential-crisis-how-salvage-its-ability-settle-trade-disputes

Babbel recently released its 2019 list of the top 10 mispronounced words:

Anyone want to take a stab at Eliud Kipchoge of Flygskam? – Insider

https://www.insider.com/the-most-mispronounced-words-this-year-2019

Mark Falkenberg, deputy managing editor:

With NAFTA 2.0, Canada has officially become a “vassal state” of the U.S., says Irvin Studin, president of the Institute for 20th Century Questions think tank. – Star

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/12/10/canadian-foreign-policy-has-official-died.html

Sustainable tech entrepreneur Asad Hamir warns that there are e-waste is an overlooked menace: “There are more mobiles in the world than there are people, and those phones are a particular threat to the global environment. They are often designed with planned obsolescence, meaning that once we upgrade after a year or two, our old phones often end up in our desk drawers and eventually landfill.” – euronews

https://www.euronews.com/2019/12/10/it-s-not-just-carbon-emissions-posing-a-threat-tech-waste-is-a-climate-disaster-view

Nelson Bennett, reporter:

It’s estimated that between 2,000 and 4,500 children in undeveloped countries in Africa and Asia die every day from vitamin A deficiency, and according to the World Health Organization, 250,000 to 500,000 children go blind every year. Yet environmental groups like Greenpeace continue to campaign against Golden Rice, a genetically modified strain of rice that would give people in poor countries, who often eat little else but rice, sufficient levels of vitamin A to prevent these deaths and blindness. In this opinion piece, the three scientists who developed Golden Rice talk about their frustrations with environmental groups like Greenpeace and their questionable motives. – Leapsmag

https://leapsmag.com/we-pioneered-a-technology-to-save-millions-of-poor-children-but-a-worldwide-smear-campaign-has-blocked-it/

Life after coal. The town of Coronach, Saskatchewan is facing the loss of 300 jobs over the next 10 years with the phasing out of coal power. Global News looks at how the town is already studying how to make the transition to a coal-free future. – Global News

https://globalnews.ca/news/6289836/we-have-a-decade-to-try-and-figure-out-a-future-for-coronach/

Tyler Orton, reporter:

2019 Global AI talent report breaks down how Canada is punching above its weight in terms of cultivating AI talent. The problem, however, is the country is performing far below average in terms of women in this sector. A BIV story coming out soon will look into how one B.C. organization is launching efforts to change that. Element AI

https://www.elementai.com/news/2019/2019-global-ai-talent-report 

As if climbing to the peak of Everest could be any less appealing to me … this story digs into the incredibly dangerous traffic jam that unfolded (and got exposure via a viral photo) at the top of the world. GQ

https://www.gq.com/story/mount-everest-chaos-at-the-top-of-the-world?utm_source=pocket-newtab