Nerd Nite 60: Home Edition Vol. 5
LIVEThe Importance of Capturing Stories
by Helen Scarlett
When we think about how we record human history, we often think of rows and rows of dusty boxes and filing cabinets, sitting in a dark warehouse or basement – but what we consider academic forms of documentation have an often overlooked but integral counterpart: Oral Histories. Capturing personal stories can offer invaluable insight into the inner thoughts, feelings and connections built around events, places and people. In addition to our traditional archives, our Oral History project has captured more than 300 such stories since 2005 and continues to be a valued resource to our operations.
Waste not, want not: valourizing mineral wastes from mines as a resource for critical metal recovery and carbon sequestration
By Sasha Wilson
The finely pulverized mineral wastes (tailings) from some mines naturally react with carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere, trapping and storing this greenhouse gas in newly formed minerals. The reactions that trap carbon dioxide in mine tailings can also be used to concentrate and recover critical metals, such as nickel and cobalt, that are needed for green energy production and storage. This talk will highlight laboratory, synchrotron and field experiments that show how rethinking mine tailings as a resource can help fight climate change. It will also describe field experiments involving moonsuits, bacteria, a 24-megatonne pile of asbestos and a lot of sulphuric acid.
Why your hopes are stupid, your dreams are dead and the change you want to make is impossible
By Troy Pavlek
Anyone who has the basest level of political engagement will have, at one point or another, heard a well meaning friend, colleague or public official say those five words: “You should run for office!”. Those well meaning five words which have the intention of congratulating you for being smart, encouraging your drive, and hoping that you can make the world a better place. But what those five little words don’t carry is the incredible investmen in terms of time, finances and internalized emotional trauma that run, which you will definitely lose, will cost you. Join Troy, in the role of trusted Nerd Nite advisor, as he breaks down precisely why your hopes are stupid, your dreams are dead and the change you want to make is impossible.