The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - How About Something Very Different -- A Story About Moon Rocks

Episode Date: December 22, 2020

And news about this week's contest for a free signed copy of "Extraordinary Canadians"!

and hello there peter mansbridge here with the latest episode of the bridge daily it is tuesday of week 41 you know from my earliest days remembering Christmas morning, especially as the fact that we'd come over from Britain in the mid-1950s, in my early days growing up in Ottawa, I can remember one of the things we had to do on Christmas was listen to the Queen's message. And in those days, it was radio we listened to it on. And eventually, of course,

it was TV we watched it on. And boy, have we all grown up with her, right? She's a remarkable woman. No question about that. Anyway, we used just listened to it, and the Queen's message was a big deal. It was always part of the day. So I was thinking about that when I was trying to craft what our contest for this week would be. Aside from the fact that the winner will get a signed copy of Extraordinary Canadians, that extremely popular book. Great Christmas gift. If you're looking for the last-minute Christmas Canadians, that extremely popular book. Great Christmas gift. If you're looking for the last-minute Christmas gift,

that's the one. Extraordinary Canadians. Mark Bulgich and I, who wrote it, will be very happy if that's what you choose. Anyway, I was thinking of The Queen's Message

And I thought Okay here's the contest And you've only got A couple of days To get your entry in Because I think we'll Pick the winner on Thursday On Christmas Eve

I toyed with the idea Of maybe we should do A podcast on Christmas Day That'd be different Nobody else would do that But I don't know Probably be Thursday podcast on Christmas Day. That'd be different. Nobody else would do that. But I don't know. Probably be Thursday. But let's see. Let's see how the entries go.

Here's the contest. I want your message. I want you to be queen for a day. What would your message be if you had a message this Christmas? You know, it can be funny. It can be serious. It can be emotional. It can be whatever you want it to be. But it's your message. Your message for this Christmas. And I don't want it to be long.

You know, I'm sure you can do this in a sentence or two sentences. Or maybe at the most three. But let's keep it short. And that way I can get more and more of these in. All right, your message for Christmas 2020, as if you were the queen. My husband and I. You don't have to say that.

Okay. So that's the contest this week. Get it in to the Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com, the Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. You can send it in whenever you want as of you hearing this today. But we'll plan to have the results on Thursday, on Christmas Eve. Now, story time. Because I know you like anecdotes.

And I tell you, when I was sifting through some of these things that I've been collecting over the last little while, this one kind of jumped out at me. The year, I think, was 1974. I was based in Winnipeg at that time. For the CBC, I was a local news reporter doing radio and television. And one of the issues that was kind of around in those years was something called the Garrison River Dam. And the Garrison Dam was in North Dakota. Garrison Diversion Project, it was called.

They were going to dam the waterways in the area called Garrison, in kind of central North Dakota, which would obviously have an impact on the surrounding areas, surrounding waterways, surrounding lands, and in that case, a couple of Indian reservations in North Dakota. So there was a lot of debate around this, and the debate carried over across the border because some of the waterways and the irrigation projects that impacted southern Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan would be resulting from the garrison diversion project. Okay? So given that, we did a lot of stories on it.

And one of those stories had me down in North Dakota at the actual site of where this would take place. And part of the story became, you got to interview the governor. And the governor of North Dakota at that time was a chap by the name of Arthur Link. He was a Democrat. He'd been elected the year before after a long run of Republicans.

And since Arthur Link was governor, it's been pretty well all Republicans. I think there's one Democrat in the almost 50 years since then. But Arthur Link was the governor. And so, you know, I called his office, asked if we could have an interview, and they said, absolutely. We agreed on a time, and it would be right at the North Dakota Statehouse. And so up I went to the Statehouse. And the capital,

Bismarck, was, was or is a little south of where the garrison project was so i'd done some shooting and interviews around gara the garrison area and then i was heading down to bismarck and i ended up uh in the governor's office in the state house and i can i i'll tell you honestly i don't remember a single thing about that interview in the governor's office, in the state house. And I'll tell you honestly, I don't remember a single thing about that interview. But I do remember his office.

Because just outside his office, in a public viewing area, was something pretty special. Keep in mind, this is 1974. It's five years after Neil Armstrong landed on the moon and was the first man on the moon. Now, just outside Governor Link's office was a special display. And you know what that display was? If you guessed moon rocks, you're right.

One of the things they did with the Apollo mission that took Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin and the third guy who never got to land on the moon, up to the moon, one of the things they did was bring back moon rocks. And they brought back enough moon rocks that the U.S. government made displays for each of the 50 states to put in the statehouse of each state. So the people could see the moon. Couldn't touch it, be behind glass, but they could see the moon. Couldn't touch it, be behind glass, but they could see it.

And that was a big deal. And it was a big deal in 1974 when I saw them sitting there. They put the, they call them moon rocks, which makes it sound like, ooh, big rock. It was actually like a tiny little piece of a pebble of the moon. But it was the moon. And there it was behind glass on a plaque engraved beside the governor's office. And Governor Link took great pride in saying, that's the moon.

You're looking at the moon. And it was a big deal. And I thought it was a big deal. And as I say, that's all I remember about that day with Governor Link was him showing me pieces of the moon. now they moved them away from there the governor's office in 1982 and put it in a better location for for a wider array of visitors being able to see it

it's in the state historical society of North Dakota building now now why am I telling you this story about the moon chunks building now. Now, why am I telling you this story about the moon chunks? Well, I'm telling you because a capsule containing moon rocks collected from the lunar surface by China's Chang'e 5 mission has been brought back to Earth. That's just been in the last couple of weeks, right? So here's your question.

How many countries have actually brought lunar samples back to Earth? Well, there have actually been three. Obviously, there actually mean three. Obviously, the Americans, the Russians, and now the Chinese. Now, these kinds of moon sample return missions, according to National Geographic, are beneficial for scientists because the kind of analysis that can be done on Earth is far superior to the science that can be performed by rovers or orbital missions taking photos,

and there have been a lot of those. The Chang'e 5 is a crucial step, says National Geographic, toward an audacious future sample return mission to Mars, a goal laid out in China's space exploration roadmap for late this decade, as well as a mission to sample a near-Earth asteroid. So as you can tell, China is ambitious on so many different fronts and apt to and including space. But as soon as I saw that story about moon rocks, I remembered old Governor Arthur Link in North Dakota, in Bismarck, outside his office, standing there, looking at chunks of the moon.

Chunks is an overstatement. But tiny little pieces of the moon. And it was pretty neat. I got quite a kick out of it. All right. Next up in our, I guess we can call this kind of a grab bag of things that have been kind of sitting there on the shelf, waiting to be picked away at

by yours truly. Here's the next one. And this is a classic, you know, it's a showcase of how things are sort of cut into two areas in our world today, the rich and the not so rich, or the rich and the poor, to put it more directly. So listen to this. This comes out of the pandemic hit. 45 of 50 have turned profits. While nearly 8 million Americans have fallen into poverty since June.

Boy, now, if there are two stories that underline the difference in America and, for that matter, in many parts of the world today, it's these two. At least 27 of those 50 largest firms held layoffs this year, collectively cutting more than 100,000 workers. Simultaneously, the increase in poverty this year is the biggest jump in a single year

since the government began tracking poverty 60 years ago. Talk about the best of times and the worst of times. This post goes on, furthering the juxtaposition, they reported CEO confidence in the third quarter of this year, the confidence of chief executive officers, was 48% higher than at the beginning of 2019, while consumer confidence was 16% lower than in January of 2019. The expiration of enhanced unemployment benefits played a big part in the poverty spike, economists

told the Post. And finally, leaders will need to be hyper-aware of this divide, the great divide, between the rich and the poor, the advantaged and the disadvantaged, and the perception of challenges these data points expose. Well, here's an example on one company and what it's been doing, but for a variety of reasons, not just the simple fact that they've been impacted by the pandemic.

Coca-Cola, you know, I think it's got like more than 100,000 workers worldwide, but Coca-Cola is cutting 2,200 jobs worldwide, including 1,200 in the U.S., as the soda maker deepens its restructuring efforts amid ongoing shutdowns of soft-drink friendly venues like movie theaters, bars, and stadiums. This according to Bloomberg. The reductions totaling two and a half percent of the company's total workforce involve a combination of voluntary buyouts and layoffs. The company says the pandemic was not a cause for these changes, but it has been a catalyst for the company to move faster. This news comes as many companies are looking at how to restructure

for the present with plans to meet future needs, proving difficult for some when so much is still unknown as to what the future is going to look like. Now here's a different way to look at the whole issue of the rich and the poor, and what the rich can do to help the poor. I want to check something here. I meant to check this before I started. I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but I want to check something here. I meant to check this before I started. I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but I want to check it.

Do you know who Mackenzie Scott is? Okay. I can tell that some of you are working on that right now. I'm just typing it into Google here to make sure I'm right. Yes, ma'am. I am right. Mackenzie Scott was married to our friend Mr. Bezos of Amazon.

Up until what, about a year ago? Then there was a divorce and a huge settlement. Where Mackenzie Scott became one of the richest people on earth. So here's her story right now. Mackenzie Scott is giving away her fortune at an unprecedented pace, donating more than $4 billion in four months after announcing $1.7 billion in gifts in July, this according to, once again, to Bloomberg. Scott is the world's 18th richest person.

And she outlined the latest contributions in a blog post on Tuesday, saying she asked her team to figure out how to give away her fortune faster. Can you imagine that? I called the staff in. We're having an all-staff meeting, sit down, okay, listen, I've got way too much money. I've got so much money, it keeps getting more money. So you've got to find a way to give it away faster than I'm already giving it away, which is a pretty historic rate already. So she asked the team to figure out how to give away her fortune faster

as her wealth has climbed $23.6 billion just this year. So her total value, her total worth, is $60.7 billion. $60.7 billion. $60.7 billion. Recipients include more than 30 institutions of higher education, including several tribal colleges and historically black colleges and universities. More than 40 food banks received money, as did almost four dozen local affiliates of Goodwill Industries International. Scott's behavior shows action that so many citizens are asking for amongst

the world's ultra-rich, and her doing so sets a new standard for what is possible? You know, it's... We spend a lot of time criticizing the rich and the super-rich. And about the kind of world we live in where some people are astronomically rich while others are unbelievably poor. And what should, can, will, might be done about that? Well, Mackenzie Scott isn't waiting around.

She's saying, give my money away faster, find better ways to do that. And she's clearly picking the areas that she wants to work on in terms of areas that are historically poor or disadvantaged. You can see that by her choices of which colleges and universities, which food banks, which affiliates like Goodwill are getting some of the money that she's added to her fortune just this year. So good for Mackenzie Scott. now here's another nice one to kind of close out today's podcast we have we have talked often over these past months

about what impact the pandemic is having on the environment generally. Are there areas that have been hit hard because of the pandemic? Are there areas that have actually benefited? You've heard me talk about how unconvinced the garden here in Stratford this year was much greener than normal. And could that be because there's less traffic, less traffic on the ground, less traffic in the air? It's made the air cleaner and the environment safer. Could be.

I don't know. I think so. Maybe. Well, here's one that's not directly related to the pandemic, perhaps more to the issue of the warming climate. In some ways, I think it's all mixed in together. Populations of the bowhead whale have nearly returned to their numbers pre-commercial whaling. Remember when the commercial whaling of the bowhead whale was big time

and it almost killed off the entire population of bowhead whales. And when it stopped, the slow buildup began. And apparently, according to the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, it's almost back to where it was before commercial whaling. The NOAA suggests, this is in of Arctic warming, bowhead whales have multiplied in Alaskan waters. the natural inaccessibility of their icy habitats, and the sustainable management of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission have brought this species back from the brink. It goes to show that cooperation among indigenous hunters, policymakers, and researchers can accomplish major conservation goals.

The species' long life and sensitivity to changes, can also help researchers understand how a key species in the Arctic is adapting even as warming there worsens. So, it is important to remember that there's upsides and downsides to the warming of the Arctic climate. It is a new Arctic that's developing. One of the things that I'm hoping to do in 2021, as you know, part of my work in the retirement period, aside from the podcast, speeches, board memberships, lectures, book writing, is doing two major one-hour documentaries a year for the CBC.

And one of the ones that was slated for this year but had to be postponed because of the pandemic, is involving me going back to the Arctic once again, a place I love so much, as many of you know, and perhaps a visit to Iceland and Greenland as well, looking at new aspects and new angles to this whole issue of the warming of the Arctic climate. But as this points out, the automatic think might have been that the bowhead whales were going to have more problems in the Arctic as a result of warming waters.

Well, it turns out in this case, no. The answer is no. They're thriving in it. Their population is back to almost where it was before commercial whaling began. So that's all good. Now, tomorrow. Tomorrow we've got a special edition of The Bridge. The podcast within a podcast, truth mirrors, truth, let's get this right, smoke mirrors and the truth. With Bruce Anderson and myself.

We'll be joined by Kathleen Petty who joins us from Calgary where she hosts her podcast, West of Centre which is a great sense of the way Westerners and specifically in her case Albertans are feeling about the country these days on different issues. But Kathleen's going to join us where we're going to do the kind of review

of the year in quiz form, and we're going to try and have a little fun with that, you know, the hits and misses of 2020, aside from the obvious, you know, aside from the pandemic. So we're looking forward to doing that. That'll be tomorrow night's podcast. All right? Kathleen, Bruce, and myself on that one. And then Thursday, depending on how you send in your thoughts on this question

of you doing the Queen's message, what's your message this year? And keep in mind, we're looking for two, three sentences max. If you can do it in one sentence, it's terrific. If you can do it in one word, that's even better. But you do as you wish. Send them in to the Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. The Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. I'll go through them. I'll go through them. I'll pick a winner.

Love picking winners. And the winner will get a signed copy of Extraordinary Canadians. Well, one of the most popular books out there for sale. Out there, the kind of top three, and they've bounced around a little bit. We've all been in first place at one time or another. Extraordinary Canadians. Jan Arden's book. And Brian Burke's book.

Good company to be in. But here it is, December 22nd. If you're looking for a Christmas gift or a gift to mark anything about this time, which is a holiday time for many of different faiths, last week, this week, next week, I don't mind suggesting, because I'm very proud of it, Extraordinary Canadians,

which you can find, if it hasn't sold out already, at most book outlets and your independent bookstaller in your town, in your neighborhood, they'll have it as well. Okay. This has been fun. I'm Peter Mansbridge.

This has been the Bridge Daily. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back again tomorrow with that special end-of-year quiz on smoke, mirrors, and the truth. Kathleen Petty joins Bruce Anderson and myself. Looking forward to it. So we'll be back in 24 hours.