Other Contributors

“Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.” Remember the old spiritual? Well, bones aren’t dry at all. Rather, they are really quite complex–and remember they are living tissue. Just because they seem sturdy and firm doesn’t mean that they don’t need nutrients and oxygen, just like all the rest of […]

Through history, different preoccupations have shaped human life. It was agriculture for a thousand years, industrial development for several hundred. The information age dominated for about 70, and now we are entering the bio-economy. Each kind of activity remains with us. But the dominant forces change. What will be next, […]

The World Future Society prepares an annual “round-up” of forecasts at the start of each year. Here are some items from “Outlook 1999” (but the predictions go well beyond the year!) To emphasize opportunity, I’ve picked some positive points from the various categories. Do these apply to Northwestern Ontario, and […]

As the earth makes its majestic circle around the sun, it gives us the seasons. I bet a lot of you here in the north figure that the earth gets cold because it is further from the sun in the winter–right? Well, wrong! As a matter of fact, the earth […]

Before World War Two, a particular plant was grown in different parts of the world. It was prized mainly for the quality of its fibre–long and strong, good for rope and textiles. Recognize it? It is coming into vogue again, having battled a “bad rap” although it has not won […]

How much difference do you think there is between representative and participative democracy?How about a world of difference! We’ve had representative democracy for longer than all our lifetimes. It means designating or voting for someone to represent our views in government. That also works in the institutions through which society […]

U.S. President Bill Clinton’s private affairs affect not only U.S. politics and economy but reverberate right around the globe. The poor economy of eastern Germany has helped oust one chancellor, install another, and keep Europe favourable as an investment climate for Canadians. Problems of governance in Latin America and the […]

One hundred years ago, Dry Caribou Bones was a stop-off for nomadic Ojibwa, and for the odd trapper or prospector. A picturesque river wended its way along a valley floor. On this site was to spring up Atikokan–Ojibwa for Dry Caribou Bones. Atikokan is a special northern town. It has […]

Every year we hear stories about people and bears. Some of them are tragic–young campers being killed, people mauled, badly wounded, and sent to hospital, and even one or two cases of people being killed and partially eaten by bears. These are horrifying stories. But in almost every case, common […]

A small car drove in and out stepped a slightly greying man and two teens. “Remember me? Allan Earle [with son an daughter],” he said. Yes! A 1970 heavy equipment operator graduate, and son of Cliff McIntosh’s recreation director friend, Del Earle, formerly of Marathon. Allan used to challenge me […]

When it seems that things aren’t as good as they used to be, we may be thinking 20 years back.How about doubling the span. Did you know that there was no university, no college, no arts complex, no so-many-other-things in Northwestern Ontario? Quetico Centre was the first adult education institution […]

Something special is happening in health care in Northwestern Ontario. No, it’s not the doom and gloom, roof-is-falling-in stuff in the daily media. It’s ordinary people doing extraordinary things as they respond constructively to change. For more than a decade, the do-better-with-less revolution has hammered every workplace. Hospitals and health […]