The Currency of Life

Some years ago, I was sent a photograph of a little red wren and I smiled.

Look at those legs. Those fine, spindly little things are almost indistinguishable from the twigs supporting him. His tiny feet grip the branches, his feathers ruffle, and his tail points skywards. He's so delicate that you almost wonder how something so small manages to negotiate the world at all.

And yet, there he is. Living. 

That's what makes this photograph so much more than a pretty picture. It's the contrast between fragility and the sheer persistence of life.

We humans tend to equate strength with size, power, money and control. But here's this little creature, weighing next to nothing, going about his business without any grand display of strength.

Operation Dam Busters

The Dusty Gulch Gazette – Special Dispatch from Dusty Gulch

The Trevorite Operation

By Roderick Whiskers McNibble, Chief Investigative Correspondent

There are times when a reporter must put aside the ordinary business of reporting and concern himself with matters of genuine scientific importance.

This was one of them.

Dusty Gulch was once again facing impending doom and disaster. The Water Distribution Pipes were unstable, the Wrong Tower was in danger, Maureen McFookit remained trapped, and the missing washer was still the key to everything.

Unfortunately, nobody knew where it was.

Oil & Coal: The Twin Engines That Built Our World -  And the Politicians Want to Pull the Plug

Every time I hear some politician, influencer or green-tinged academic lecture me about “transitioning away” from fossil fuels, I look around my house and wonder what planet they're living on.

Not this one, clearly.

Because on this planet -  the one with rain, dust, deadlines, tractors, hospitals, factories, shipping lanes and people who need electricity when they turn on a switch -  coal and oil did rather more than keep the lights on.

They helped build the modern world.

So pull up a chair, grab a beer and let's have a yarn about how we got here. No lectures, no fashionable slogans and no pretending that civilisation sprang fully formed from a solar panel and a tofu fry up.

First, though, we need to wind the clock back.

A Whale of a Tale: How Oil Changed the World

Yesterday, we looked at the rare earth minerals buried beneath our feet and the growing appetite for the riches they contain. Today, we're going to sea.

Not for minerals this time, but for a creature that had the misfortune to be swimming around long before mankind discovered just how useful it could be.

I've often pondered why mankind decided to go after the humble whale. After all, the whale was out there in the ocean, minding his or her own business and not causing anyone much trouble. Unless you happened to be a seal, krill or plankton. In which case, you might have had a civil rights claim or two.

Yet these gentle giants weren't bothering us. They were doing what whales had done since God first had a great idea: "I think I'll make a whale."

And the whales just cruised around, having babies, blowing bubbles, migrating to warmer places and generally enjoying a whale of a time.

Unfortunately, mankind had other ideas.

So what did the poor whale do to us? Well, let me tell you a whale of a tale about greed, ingenuity, a rather remarkable change in technology, and how the Industrial Revolution helped change the whale's fortunes.

Critical Minerals: Is Australia Finally Getting More Than the Holes?

A year ago, I wrote about Australia’s habit of digging valuable things out of the ground and shipping them elsewhere to be turned into products worth considerably more money.

I called it Australia: The Quarry Nation.

Since then, the Australian Government has been talking about a new industrial future, backed by a 2025 critical-minerals agreement with the United States. There have been billions of dollars in proposed investment, new project commitments and some interesting developments.

So, has anything changed? Or have we simply found a better-funded way to dig holes?

Ross Perot: The Man Who Refused to Leave His People Behind

Some time ago, I wrote about a man for whom I have enormous regard. Today, I want to look more closely at something I mentioned only briefly in that article: the rescue of two of his employees. I hope you enjoy their story.

Ross Perot, the Texas billionaire who founded Electronic Data Systems (EDS), later became one of the most successful independent presidential candidates in modern American history, winning nearly 19 per cent of the popular vote in 1992. But one of the most revealing episodes of his life took place long before he entered politics.

In late 1978, as Iran moved towards revolution, two EDS employees, Paul Chiapparone and Bill Gaylord, were imprisoned in Tehran. When efforts to secure their release through official channels failed, Perot organised and financed a private rescue mission led by retired US Army Colonel Arthur “Bull” Simons.

The mission became known as Operation HOTFOOT - Help Our Two Friends Out of Tehran.