Monthly Archives: January 2022

A Dozen Things That Helped and Hurt Climate Progress in 2021

2021 may turn out to be the most critical year in our efforts to combat climate change. After four years of inaction and backpedaling by the Trump administration, the U.S. under President Biden is attempting to make up for lost time. A lot has happened here and around the worldsome of it good, some of it not so good. As the year draws to a close, lets take a look at where we stand.

Just hours after his inauguration, President Biden rejoined the 2015 Paris climate agreement from which former President Trump had withdrawn.In November, Biden attended the Glasgow climate talks, also known as COP26, to further the efforts of the Paris agreement. The meeting resulted in the Glasgow Climate Pact, an agreement endorsed by almost 200 countries. While the nations commitments were not ambitious enough to meet the aspirational goal of the Paris accordto keep global warming to 1.5C136 countries pledged to reach net zero in the next few decades. One hundred and fifty-three countries enhanced their nationally determined contributionstheir nonbinding climate action plansand they are expected to return next year, instead of waiting another five years, with even more ambitious action plans.

Over 100 world leaders pledged to end deforestation by 2030, including Canada, Russia, China, Indonesia, Brazil, and the U.S. Over 100 countries also signed the Global Methane Pledge, committing to cut methane emissions 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030. For the first time, climate negotiators called for the phasing out of fossil fuels, and set forth rules to establish international carbon markets. And in a surprise announcement, the U.S. and China agreed to work together to try to limit global warming to 1.5C by cooperating on regulations and environmental standards, policies to promote decarbonization, green design, and the implementation of new technologies.

Jason Bordoff, co-founding dean of the Columbia Climate School and founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy, said, This was a notable year for climate progress because the U.S. is back in a leadership role, with President Biden reversing many of the actions taken by his predecessor, including rejoining the Paris Agreement.And there has been a notable shift in the way both policy makers and the public talk about climate change and the need to address it. I am heartened to see that the way we discuss climate action now matches the urgency of the challenge we face. Before the Paris Agreement, the world was on track for warming levels of 3.5 to 4 degrees Celsius. After Glasgow, we are on track for somewhere around 2.5 to 3 degrees. Thats far short of where we need to be, but it shows progress is possible.

President Bidens $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which he signed into law in November, provides billions of dollars to combat climate change. To enable more use of renewable energy, $73 billion will go towards upgrading the electrical grid. Forty-seven billion dollars will be directed to climate resiliency to help coastal communities deal with more hurricanes and flooding, and help other areas combat increasing wildfires.

To speed the decarbonization of transportation, 500,000 new charging stations will be built for electric vehicles.

Bidens Build Back Better bill, if it gets passed, would be the largest effort in American history to deal with climate change. It would offer rebates and tax credits to motivate consumers to transition to clean energy and electrification, and provide incentives to expand solar and wind power. It would also invest in natural climate solutions such as forest management and soil conservation, establish a Civilian Climate Corps to conserve public lands, and provide grants to environmental justice communities. Now stymied by Senator Joe Manchin, the Build Back Better bill will need to be renegotiated to have a chance of passage.

President Biden withdrew the permit his predecessor had given the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Commissioned in 2010, the pipeline was designed to transport 900,000 barrels of dirty tar sands oil each day from Alberta to refineries in Illinois and along the Texas Gulf coast. Tar sands mining and production result in three to four times as much greenhouse gas pollution as conventional oil production. After 10 years of Indigenous-led protests, TC Energy finally cancelled its plans for the huge crude oil pipeline.

NASA announced plans for a new fleet of Earth-observing satellites. The Earth System Observatory will monitor clouds and aerosols, and give scientists new insights into the planets temperatures and chemistry. The data the satellites gather should improve severe weather forecasts, assess water levels and droughts to enable better planning of water use and disaster response, and allow researchers to study how climate change affects food, agriculture, water, and energy use. The findings will be free to researchers around the world. After former President Trumps attempts to cancel NASAs earth science missions, with this new fleet of satellites, NASA is once again integral to shaping the countrys climate policy.

According to a recent Lancet study, almost 60 percent of young people under 25 said that they were extremely concerned about climate change. This year, thousands of young people in over 1,500 locations around the world took to the streets before COP26 to compel leaders to forcefully tackle climate change. And in Glasgow, tens of thousands, many of them young people inspired by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, marched for systemic change.

In the end, Thunberg deemed COP26 a failure because leaders had not taken drastic enough action to end fossil fuel use, but her fight continues. She tweeted to her five million Twitter followers, The real work continues outside these halls. And we will never give up, ever.

The Columbia Climate Schoolwelcomed its inaugural class in 2021. The first new school to be established at the university in 25 years, the Climate Schools goal is to marshal Columbia Universitys academic resources to meet the challenges of climate change. The 12-month interdisciplinary Master of Arts in Climate and Society program it offers trains professionals and academics to understand and deal with the impacts of climate change on society and the planet.

A school like no other, the Columbia Climate School aims to ensure that the latest research in climate and sustainable development has a real-world and real-time impact on all lives, especially those that are affected most by the climate crisis.

At COP26, countries were supposed to have reviewed their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and ratcheted them up to be more ambitious as per the Paris agreement. While many countries did comply, some major countriesresubmitted the same targets they had in 2015 (Australia, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, Vietnam); some submitted even weaker targets (Brazil, Mexico); and Turkey and Kazakhstan didnt submit new NDCs at all.

Climate financing fell short as well. Because the developing countries of the world have contributed least to global warming yet stand to suffer the most from climate change impacts, in 2009, wealthy countries pledged to provide $100 billion a year by 2020 to help them transition to clean energy and build resilience to climate change impacts. According to the OECD, in 2019, almost $80 billion was raised, but the $100 billion goal will likely not be reached until 2023. Although countries promised millions in new pledges at COP26, many were skeptical because the original commitments havent been met. Rich countries are resisting attempts to get them to pay for damage inflicted on more vulnerable countries by climate change. Biden promised to raise the U.S. contribution to $11.4 billion a year by 2024, but according to global think tank ODI, the U.S.s fair share should be more like $30 to 47 billion a year.

The Global Carbon Project found that emissions from coal and gas increased in 2021, with fossil fuel emissions rising between 1.4 to 5.7 percent globally after a 5.4 percent decrease during 2020 due to the pandemic. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere broke another record this year, peaking at 419ppm according to NOAAs Mauna Loa Observatory. This is the highest level recorded since precise measurements began 63 years ago. The level of CO2 in the atmosphere today is about what it was between 4.1 and 4.5 million years ago when sea levels were 78 feet higher than they are today.

2021 was a year of devastating extreme weather. In the U.S., there were record-breaking heatwaves in the Pacific Northwest, flash floods in the Northeast, damaging hurricanes in the Atlantic and Caribbean Oceans and the Gulf of Mexico, and historic drought and raging wildfires in the Southwest. Many other countries around the world were hit with heavy precipitation and flooding too.

Extreme heat waves hit Japan, Ireland, Turkey, and England, and many parts of the Mediterranean experienced record high temperatures and drought. Wildfires produced 1.76 billion metric tons of carbon emissions globally, with fires in Siberia, Turkey, and the U.S., wildfires breaking records for the amount of carbon they emitted. Global mean sea levels reached new highs in 2021: The latest measurement was approximately 100mmup from its previous record high in 2020 of 91.3mm above 1993 levels.

Deforestation in Brazils Amazon rainforest increased 22 percent, reaching its highest level since 2006. From August 2020 to July 2021, more than 5,100 square miles of forest were razed, an area almost 17 times the size of New York City. Although Brazils President Bolsonaro has claimed his government is slowing deforestation, he has encouraged development of the Amazon for mining and large scale farming, and failed to enact laws to prevent deforestation.

Despite President Bidens campaign pledge to end new fossil fuel drilling on public land, he has approved more permits to drill for oil or gas on public lands than Trump did in any of the first three years of his presidency. So far, the Bureau of Land Management has approved 333 drilling permits each month, with a peak of 652 in April. Moreover, it is planning to hold more leasing auctions in the first quarter of 2022. In November, oil and gas companies won rights to drill offshore across over 1.7 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico in the largest offshore lease sale in U.S. history. That sale has the potential to emit 723 million metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere over its lifetime, equivalent to operating more than 70 percent of the United States coal-fired power plants for a year, according to the Center for American Progress.

After the Biden administration paused all new leasing last year, it claimed that the courts had required it to hold the auction, but later acknowledged that it actually had not been forced to. And even as Biden called on every nation to reduce emissions at COP26, he was urging energy-producing countries to ramp up production to expand the oil supply due to high energy prices.

The prices of oil, natural gas, diesel and coal surged more than 80 percent in 2021 because the demand for energy rebounded after the pandemic faster than production could handle. Natural gas and coal prices reached record highs and a global gas shortage led to more demand for coal.

Gas shortages resulted in lines at gas stations. Photo: CWMc

As a result, global coal generation is expected to rise 9 percent this year. The Energy Information Administration predicted that U.S. home heating oil bills would be 39 percent higher than last year, natural gas would be 26 percent higher, and electricity 6 percent higher. Households could end up paying from 22 to 94 percent more to heat their homes this winter. While this would be a logical time to redouble efforts to transition to clean energy, soaring energy prices may in fact hinder the movement towards renewables.

Public support for decarbonization is at an all-time high, Bordoff said. But if forced to choose between emissions and expenses, many consumers will prioritize the latter, and who can blame them?Moving to a clean energy system may actually reduce energy costs, but there is every possibility that the road will be bumpy and we should expect more energy price volatility in the future. It is my hope that we will be able to sustain support for climate action even amidst a turbulent transition.

When asked whether he was ultimately more or less optimistic about climate change after what has occurred this year, Bordoff replied, Overall, Im trying to stay optimistic, but 2021 was a tough year. Devastating floods in the U.S., China, and Germany and other destructive weather events have shown us the deadly results of a warming planet. And after a brief reduction, emissions again are on the rise and will be even higher than pre-COVID levels. But its the publics concernespecially among young peopleover the climate crisis that gives me hope that we can finally make some of these difficult policy decisions that didnt garner a lot of support in the past. The big question is whether we can take action in time because time is running out to act. Were not yet on the path to solve the problem, but were heading in the right direction.

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A Dozen Things That Helped and Hurt Climate Progress in 2021 - State of the Planet

With the anticipated need for a lot more lithium to put into batteries to help power a greener future, you might think environmentalists would give a pass to some of the negative effects of the proposed lithium mines that are being planned at sites around Nevada. Thats not the case. The opposition to some of the proposed mines has been strong and may even be ramping up.

Thacker PassLithium Americas Thacker Pass lithium mine may be the biggest project on the horizon, and it is facing lots of opposition.

Lithium Americas has been working for years on plans for Thacker Pass, which is about 60 miles northwest of Winnemucca.

The companys website says Thacker Pass is the largest known lithium resource in the United States. Lithium Americas estimates there is $3.9 billion worth of recoverable lithium at the site. The company has said it hopes to start mining operations next year.

Lithium Nevada's Thacker Pass site in Humboldt County will become a mining and production location, if all goes as planned for the company.

The mine is expected to produce up to 60,000 tons a year of battery-quality lithium carbonate, which would be a huge boost to the world supply of lithium. The mine is expected to employ about 300 people and have a 46-year mine life.

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On Jan. 15, 2021, the last Friday of the Trump Administration, the Bureau of Land Management approved the Record of Decision for Thacker Pass, giving federal approval to the project.

That evening, Will Falk and Max Wilbert set out on an eight-hour drive to the Thacker Pass site to set up a camp nearby to protest the mine. People have been camped out there ever since.

Falk and Wilbert are radical environmentalists, with Falk writing on the protectthackerpass.org website that I hate fossil fuels and actively advocate for the dismantling of all industrial infrastructure

Elisabeth Robson wrote on the website, Many people believe they cant live without cars. But all humans lived without cars until a mere 113 years ago, and we can do so again. A world without cars is a quieter, slower, and more wonderful world, not just for humans but for everyone.

I hope one day a militant and offensive environmental movement forms, Falk wrote.

The people opposed to the Thacker Pass mine and other lithium mine projects dont all hold these views, of course, but have a variety of reasons for their opposition.

A March 10 letter in the Elko Daily Free Press from Alex Eisenberg said the plan to transition to electric vehicles in the years ahead is incredibly short-sighted and irresponsible and will do virtually nothing to curb carbon emissions, as electric car production is completely reliant on the fossil fuel industry.

The Thacker Pass mine alone would burn 11,000 gallons of diesel every day for onsite operations, the letter said. Double that for off-site operations. Carbon emissions are expected to be 150,000+ tons per year, equating to 2.3 tons of carbon for every ton of lithium produced. Hundreds of tons of sulfur (ironically a waste product from oil refineries) would be used daily in mine operations.

This sign was placed by protesters at the site of the proposed Thacker Pass lithium project in Northern Nevada.

On Feb. 11, 2021, Edward Bartell, a rancher who owns property above and below the mine, filed a lawsuit with a long list of objections to the mine. One of his big concerns is the water the mine will use. The projects Environmental Impact Statement says the projected water demand for years 5 through 41 is equivalent to an average pumping rate of 3,224 gallons per minute.

On Feb. 26, 2021, the Western Watersheds Project, Wildlands Defense, Great Basin Resource Watch, and Basin and Range Watch filed a lawsuit saying the Thacker Pass Record of Decision did not adequately gauge the mines impacts on greater sage grouse and other wildlife.

Local Indigenous communities say Thacker Pass is important to them historically and in their daily lives. Local tribal members have been camping near the mine site to protest the mine.

The tribal council of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, which is about 26 miles from the mine site, made an engagement agreement with Lithium Nevada in 2020, but withdrew from the agreement in March 2021.

On July 28, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and Atsa Koodakuh Wyh Nuwu/People of Red Mountain were allowed to intervene as plaintiffs in the lawsuits against the mine. On Aug. 6, the Burns Paiute Tribe was also allowed to intervene.

Additional court filings have been made since then.

On Sept. 5, U.S. District Court Judge Miranda Du denied a request from the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and the People of Red Mountain for a preliminary injunction to temporarily halt work.

Falk is a lawyer for the People of the Red Mountain, but he told The Guardian he is skeptical they will be able to win by arguing the right things.

Eventually were going to have to be ready to physically block construction equipment. I think that one of the ways to wake up people in the United States (is seeing) people getting dragged away by the police for trying to protect their land. And I think thats where this is going, Falk said.

Humboldt County Manager Dave Mendiola told Inside Climate News, I guess you can chain yourself to the fence like some of the protesters might do and I dont blame them for that. But in the end, as a company, if theyve followed all the rules, youre probably not going to stop it. What we can do as a county is monitor it and come up with ways to address problems now.

Rhyolite RidgeAt ioneers proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine about 65 miles southwest of Tonopah, debates continue over the Tiehms buckwheat that is found only on the site.

James Calaway, executive chairman of ioneer Ltd., said the company is working to protect the plant and increase the size of its habitat. He said about half of the plants were destroyed by drought and rodents last year.

John Scire, PhD, an adjunct professor at UNR, said in a December editorial that the bottom line is that the Fish and Wildlife Service should veto the false claims by the Las Vegans that the ioneer mine will wipe out the buckwheat plants and should consider instead the macro environmental impacts of not letting the mine get cranked up ASAP. The best available science supports that the mine and the plant can co-exist.

However, Patrick Donnelly, the Nevada director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said he disagrees with ioneers expectation that the wildflower can be established near the current growing site.

Attempts to propagate the plants failed, Donnelly told Mining the West magazine. They all died, so ioneer doesnt have a plan. Their plan is bunk and doesnt reflect the consensus of the scientific community.

There is no compromise. They cannot hurt the buckwheat, Donnelly said.

He said the Center for Biological Diversity does not oppose lithium mining, and lithium is all over the place in Nevada.

Other companies are working on developing other possible lithium mine sites around Nevada.

Mike Kobler, general manager of U.S. operations for Tonopah Lithium Corp., told the Nye County commissioners at their Nov. 2 meeting that his companys mine site about six miles northwest of Tonopah could become one of the biggest lithium resources in the world.

We are in the perfect location in Nevada, Kobler said. We dont have the sage grouse issues that they have up north, we dont have the desert tortoise issues that they have down south, we have not found any Tiehms buckwheat; weve cleared all of our environmental hurdles and cultural hurdles, so were just moving ahead.

In addition to Nevada, companies are also working on proposed lithium production sites in California, Oregon, Tennessee, Arkansas and North Carolina.

The United States is not the only country with pushback against new lithium mines.

In Serbia, Rio Tinto has been planning a $2.4 billion lithium mine. For three consecutive weekends in late 2021, thousands of protesters blocked roads in Serbia to protest lithium mining, with environmentalists saying that extracting lithium causes huge damage to mined areas.

On Dec. 16, authorities in western Serbia suspended a plan that would allow Rio Tinto to operate the lithium mine.

We will continue to provide information on all aspects of the project for which we are responsible and in which we participate, Rio Tinto said in a statement.

Chile, which has about 44% of the worlds lithium reserves, elected leftist Gabriel Boric as president on Dec. 19, but it is not clear what impact Borics election will have on lithium mining. Boric has supported mining tax hikes and royalties and promised to create a state-run lithium company.

If efforts to stop proposed lithium mines in Nevada and elsewhere in the United States are successful, then as the need for lithium ramps up, lithium mining could escalate in countries that have fewer environmental regulations than the U.S., and more fuel will be burned shipping lithium and batteries around the world and to the U.S.

In the National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries 2021-2030 published in June 2021, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm wrote, The Biden Administration has laid out a bold agenda to address the climate crisis and build a clean and equitable energy economy that achieves carbon-pollution-free electricity by 2035, and puts the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050 to the benefit of all Americans.

The report says the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries will secure U.S. access to raw materials for lithium batteries by incentivizing growth in safe, equitable, and sustainable domestic mining ventures while leveraging partnerships with allies and partners to establish a diversified supply.

The worldwide lithium battery market is expected to grow by a factor of 5 to 10 in the next decade, the report says. The U.S. industrial base must be positioned to respond to this vast increase in market demand that otherwise will likely benefit well-resourced and supported competitors in Asia and Europe.

However, on May 25, 2021, Reuters ran a story saying, U.S. President Joe Biden will rely on ally countries to supply the bulk of the metals needed to build electric vehicles and focus on processing them domestically into battery parts, part of a strategy designed to placate environmentalists, two administration officials with direct knowledge told Reuters.

The plans will be a blow to U.S. miners who had hoped Biden would rely primarily on domestically sourced metals, as his campaign had signaled last autumn.

Currently about 46% of the worlds mine production of lithium is in Australia, and about 21% is Chile and another 16% is in China, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. In the United States, all the lithium mining is at one mine in Nevada, and accounts for less than 2% of the worlds mine production.

Albemarle Corp. produces lithium carbonate from brine at its Silver Peak operation in Esmeralda County. Photo courtesy of Albemarle Corp.

Albemarle Corporations Silver Peak lithium mine is about 40 miles southwest of Tonopah and has been in operation since the 1960s. A May 6, 2021 New York Times story said Silver Peak produces about 5,000 tons of lithium a year.

On Jan. 7, 2021, Albemarle announced that it planned to invest $30 million to $50 million to double the lithium production at Silver Peak by 2025.

The company also said it planned to begin exploration in 2021 and evaluate technology that could accelerate the viability of lithium production from clay resources in the region.

The lithium produced at Silver Peak is shipped to Asia to be made into cathodes for batteries.

China has for years been focused on building capacity at every stage of the battery supply chain, according to a Sept. 1, 2020 VOA News story.

China has been buying stakes in mining operations in Australia and South America where most of the worlds lithium reserves are found, the VOA story said.

Chinas Ganfeng Lithium, which has been snapping up lithium mines and salt lakes abroad as it plots out an ambitious road map for growth, according to a Dec. 8, 2021 Nikkei Asia story, is the largest shareholder in Lithium Americas, the company planning the Thacker Pass mine, according to the New York Times story.

To add to all the lithium news and heat up the global competition for lithium resources even more, lithium prices shot way up in 2021, increasing about 240%.

In the years ahead, refining capacity might be built in the U.S. as more battery factories and electric vehicle factories are built here. The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Dec. 20, 2021 that 13 new electric vehicle battery factories are planned in the U.S. within the next five years. Most of these factories will be in the Southeast or Midwest.

So, although U.S. will lag behind China, parts of the EV battery supply chain will be growing in the U.S. in the years ahead. But the question remains, how much of the lithium and other elements needed for the supply chain will come from mines in Nevada? Well being finding that out as the approval and funding processes and the legal battles and protests roll on.

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Native American tribes have been especially vigilant in encouraging COVID-19 vaccines and enacting stringent safety protocols.

The next challenge for these communities that have been hit particularly hard during the pandemic: the omicron variant. Tribes and the federal Indian Health Service reported huge case spikes in the days after Christmas, reflecting the situation across much of the country.

The Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma and the Menominee Nation in Wisconsin since Monday have reported daily case increases at least five times higher than before Christmas. The federal Indian Health Service reported positivity rates going from 9.1% before Christmas to 13.7% after the holiday, according to data from 356 medical facilities.

"We feel like we're back in crisis mode again," said Dr. Amy Slagle, clinical director of the Menominee Tribal Clinic, which postponed an early New Year's closing to remain open Thursday. "It looks like omicron may have arrived."

The Cherokee Nation, which experienced about 30 new infections per day leading up to Christmas, counted 174 new cases Monday and 148 Tuesday. The Menominee Nation, which had been averaging three to five new cases per week, recorded 36 cases Wednesday and 31 Thursday.

"It's very concerning that the numbers are increasing," Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said.

A nurse takes a swab sample from a Navajo Indian woman complaining of virus symptoms at a coronavirus testing center at the Navajo Nation town of Monument Valley in Arizona in May 2020.

Tribal leaders said high vaccination rates, mask mandates and social distancing rules helped limit the delta variant and put them in a better position to deal with this latest COVID-19 variant, but new protective measures also are being pursued.

Thursday, Cherokee leaders announced a twice-a-week testing program for the tribe's 4,000-employee governmental workforce to go along with vaccination and mitigation initiatives, citing "observations and projections (of) a new surge occurring in Cherokee Nation as it is across the country."

Although the new Menominee cases weren't specifically categorized as omicron, Slagle said the difference in post-holiday cases after Thanksgiving and Christmas suggests the highly transmissible new variant is responsible.

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"We didn't even have a blip after Thanksgiving," she said. "Something's drastically different."

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Menominee County, the tribal home of the Menominee Nation and about 4,500 members in northeastern Wisconsin, has had the highest vaccination rate in the state among adults, Slagle said. Many testing positive have had two shots, reflecting omicron's potent transmissibility, but few new cases involve people who received the booster shot, which the tribe encourages, she said.

Dr. Loretta Christensen, IHS chief medical officer, said the spike probably resulted from omicron, delta and holiday gatherings.

"Unfortunately, omicron, in the way it's so easily transmitted, even if we (ask) our population to stay home, they still have to get groceries, pick up their kids, get gas, all the normal things that we used to do and, just in those exposures, they can get omicron transmitted to them," Christensen said. "Add the holidays and COVID fatigue, as we call it, and even if they're careful, a lot of people will still get omicron."

A health care worker administers a COVID-19 vaccine shot at the Anadarko Indian Health Center in Oklahoma in early November at an event featuring vaccines for children from 5 to 11.

The IHS has planned for weeks for a case surge, one that could continue well past the holidays, Christensen said. That included making sure a substantial number of coronavirus tests, both lab and at-home kits, are available. Christensen said the IHS ordered tests in advance and is in "good shape." Tribal leaders said that for now, they have enough tests, which have been scarce in many parts of the country.

Native Americans and Alaska Natives have the highest vaccination rate of any racial or ethnic demographic, said Christensen, who praised tribal leaders for encouraging vaccination and maintaining health protocols.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said a high tribal vaccination rate (72% receiving two shots and 85% of elders over 65 inoculated), along with consistent protocols related to masking, social distancing and indoor crowd limits, puts the community in a better position to deal with COVID-19 than in the early days of the pandemic.

Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Chuck Hoskin Jr. speaks at the Cherokee Immersion School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, during a visit by first lady Jill Biden in early December.

What's different this time around is that we have a higher rate of vaccinations and we know what to do now. So I think that's really been a key factor in keeping the COVID-19 numbers manageable up to now, he said.

Prevention is particularly important for Indigenous communities, which have been hard-hit by COVID-19. According to November data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Indian and Alaska Native people experience higher COVID-19 case, hospitalization and death rates than any other demographic group. They are more than three times as likely to be hospitalized and twice as likely to die than non-Hispanic white people.

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A number of factors contribute to greater susceptibility, including poverty, inadequate nourishment, underlying health conditions, overcrowded housing and lack of access to medical care and even running water in some rural areas, medical experts and tribal leaders said.

However, a history of mistreatment that led to those vulnerabilities also built resilience, said Spero M. Manson, director of the Centers for American Indian & Alaska Native Health at the Colorado School of Public Health.

"This is not our first experience with pandemics and epidemics. We recognize that these kinds of chronic stresses and strains have been present in the lives of Native Americans for generations," he said. "For us, it's a matter of survival."

Jonathan Nez, president of the Navajo Nation, says more than 70% of the tribe is vaccinated.

High vaccination rates and prevention efforts have kept COVID-19 from causing even greater harm to Native American communities, said Dr. Laura Hammitt, director of infectious disease programs at the Center for American Indian Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

"With this most recent surge over the summer and fall, hospitalization and death rates have been much lower compared to earlier in the pandemic. I think this is really attributable to the vaccinations," Hammitt said.

As careful and diligent as Native American communities have been, they can't control conditions in surrounding communities where members work, attend school and live, tribal leaders said.

Hoskin said masks are required at Cherokee Nation government work sites and its tribal school, while educational messaging and financial incentives ($300 for vaccinations and also the follow-up booster) resulted in the Cherokee Nation's 4,000-employee workforce topping 80% in vaccinations. However, many of the 150,000 tribal members in northeastern Oklahoma live in communities outside the nation's authority where vaccine rates are lower and prevention efforts are weaker, he said.

A patient is taken from an ambulance to the emergency room of a hospital in the Navajo Nation town of Tuba City, Ariz., during a 57-hour curfew imposed to try to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus May 24, 2020.

"We're doing very well, but were not in isolation. We dont live on an island," Hoskin said. "We're in a region of the country where the vaccination rate is low, the use of masks is not what I'd like to see. And, frankly, the most charitable thing I can say is that our governor (Kevin Stitt, a Republican) has been missing in action on COVID."

Nez shared a similar account from the Navajo Nation, where many tribal members go into surrounding Arizona communities with looser COVID-19 rules.

"It's really difficult when other jurisdictions don't mandate masks or politicize wearing masks or getting their shots, he said.

Although many cite personal freedom to oppose masks or vaccines, "Indian tribes throughout the country have a different perspective of how to fight this virus. It's not like, You're taking away my freedoms. Here in Indian Country, it's about keeping our family safe, keeping our communities safe. ... Theres a sense of a nation to protect our people, Nez said.

For the Cherokee Nation, the death of many elders, a population that includes the majority of fluent speakers who help connect the tribe to its history, is a particularly difficult loss, Hoskin said. He's heartened that tribal elders set a great example in getting vaccinated when the shots were first available.

"Our elders, our fluent speakers have led the way. What we've tried to appeal to is the reason the Cherokee people are still here in a literal, concrete sense, because our ancestors put their community ahead of themselves," he said. "We would not have survived our removal in the 19th century, our forced removal along the Trail of Tears, had we not had some collective sense that we needed to take care of each other."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19 omicron variant poses new threat to Native American tribes

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Native American tribes have made progress against COVID. Omicron has them 'back in crisis mode.' - Yahoo News

The Detroit Lions are making progress down the home stretch and much of that can be attributed to their throwback head coach, Dan Campbell.

The NFL lost one of the greatest names in league history this week. John Madden, the Hall of Fame coach, broadcaster, and the man behind EA Sports Madden Football has passed away. The majority of people who work in or contribute to the league have been inspired by him.

Madden was a throwback who aged better than fine wine, and was never surpassed by the game. Unless youre of a certain age you cannot truly appreciate all three facets of his contributions.

Since Madden left the sidelines the game has changed. Offenses have become more and more innovative, and defenses have become increasingly more dynamic.

Here in Detroit, the Lions dont have a legend. But they do have head coach Dan Campbell, who is a throwback in his own right.

As a player, Campbell was influenced by Bill Parcells. It formulated his philosophy of physicality and running the ball. After his playing days and a short stint in Miami where he did gain some experience as their interim head coach, Campbell landed in New Orleans.

It was there that Saints head coach Sean Payton taught Campbell about offenses taking flight. About how important the diversity of slicing up opposing secondaries is to the ground game and creating uncertainty in opposing defenses.

Campbell and the Lions have spent the better part of this season losing games and looking lost. Yet, Campbell has not swayed in his beliefs or philosophy.

The irony is that the change for the better which has occurred over the last six weeks started with Campbell taking over the play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn. It was a rough transition, as Campbell has never called plays before, however, the entire team started to raise its level of play.

The Lions are 2-4-1 with Campbell calling the plays. One of the biggest changes that has occurred has been with Jared Goff. Over his last four games, before sitting out Week 16 on the COVID list, he was among the leagues highest-rated passers.

Is Goff the long-term answer? Most fans dont believe so. But if he can continue to play at the level he has lately, then he should at least not be a liability until the Lions acquire their passer of the future.

The turnaround hasnt been all about Campbell. Aaron Glenn has done wonders with a defense that has resembled a M.A.S.H unit. The special teams guided by Dave Fipp have been good all year. But how hard the Lions play reflects back to Campbell.

The one comparison we can make between Campbell and Madden is that the players love Campbell, just like the Raiders of yore loved Madden.

Even when the Lions have made costly mistakes and shot themselves in the foot repeatedly, they have never quit. Campbell is changing the sour culture Matt Patricia left behind, and quite frankly has been commonplace for this franchise for 60 years.

Madden had only three rules and one would suppose that Campbells rule book is similar: be on time, pay attention, and play like hell when told to.

The Detroit Lions will need to find much more talent and a new offensive coordinator to take over the reins of calling plays before this team has a chance to be legitimately good. Campbells greatest strength is being a leader and motivating his players. He needs to be completely free to do just that.

When the dust finally settles on the Campbell era, whether it be in two years or 10, only then will we truly know if he was able to succeed in turning the Lions into champions. But hell do the old school way in many respects, for better or worse.

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Dan Campbell is a throwback who is making progress as Lions head coach - SideLion Report

Mac Jones and the New England Patriots will face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17. Before the game, Patriots GM Bill Belichick was evaluating the abilities of Jaguars rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He was giving an insight into the progress that Lawrence has made this season. The No.1 draft pick of the year 2021 has come a long way.

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While talking about Trevor, Belichick couldnt help but talk about the progress his own rookie quarterback had made. Bill also shed some light on Mac Jones hard work and dedication towards his team.

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Mac Jones has been very impressive in his first season. However, the New England Patriots have been on a stint lately. They have lost their last two games against Buffalo Bills and Indiana Colts.

Just like Trevor Lawrence, Mac Jones is also a first-round draft pick. In recent games, Jones has stumbled a bit. In the Week 16 loss against the Bills, Jones only got a QB rating of 31.4. He threw two interceptions back to back.

Read More: Hell be a Solid NFL Player: Bill Belichick Envisions Bright Future for this Rookie QB

Other than that, Mac has had a fantastic run. He is a top-class rookie. Jones stands 18th in the entire NFL with a season rating of 90.2. Jones is just one win away from becoming the first QB since Dak Prescott to get double-digit victories. With the help of Mac Jones, the New England Patriots can still get into the playoffs.

Bill Belichick is known to have an eye for young talent. He knows a good quarterback when he sees one. Bill praises the work ethic of Mac Jones. He appreciates the hard work Jones puts in every day of the week.

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Belichick says that Mac is one of New Englands most consistent players.He works hard. He continues to improve. There are new things every week from a game plan scheme, matchups standpoint,Belichick then proceeds to talk about Jones ability to adapt to any situation.He continues to gain experience processing those and doesnt repeat many errors.

Things are still relatively new for Jones in the NFL. Lot of which he hasnt faced before. But according to Belichick, Jones handles everything pretty well. He is quick and consistent on his feet. Let us find out who comes out on top in the battle of rookie quarterbacks in Week 17.

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Will Mac Jones and the New England Patriots triumph over Trevor Lawrence and his Jacksonville Jaguars?

Watch Stories: Five Things That Took Place When Aaron Rodgers Threw His First TD Pass for Green Bay Packers

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Bill Belichick Sheds Light on Mac Jones Progress and Development as a Rookie QB - EssentiallySports

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and her administration are lifting up key accomplishments on behalf of the residents of Chicago over the course of 2021, a year of recovery and investments. With equity as its North Star, the Lightfoot administration passed the most transformative budget in the citys history, ensured that all communities had access to the life-saving vaccine, and focused unprecedented resources on public safety.These investments, along with major reforms and initiatives made over the year, set Chicago on a path to continue to empower residents, transform neighborhoods, create jobs, and bring new businesses to the city.

The year of 2021 continued our fight against the pandemic and the surge in gun violence.Despite these challenges, we rose to meet them and made some remarkable progress on behalf of our residents. More hard work lies ahead in 2022, but it is important to reflect not just on the challenges but also on the opportunities. I want to thank all of our city and sister agency leadership as well as the front-line workers who delivered for Chicagoans. I also want to acknowledge and thank the vast number of community partners whose partnership is essential to the work that we do day in and day out for our residents. We made enormous progress this year in our work to improve the lives of Chicagoans, said Mayor Lightfoot. From ensuring residents access to vaccines, to working hard to make our neighborhoods safer, to the passage of a historic budget and everything in between, we have been laser-focused on investing in our communities. Our work isnt done. Were aiming higher to do even greater things for Chicagoans in 2022 with the once-in-a-lifetime resources that we now have at our disposal. We are ready and excited about the opportunities that the new year will bring.

Keeping Communities Safe

Equitable Economic Recovery

Improving City Services

Keeping Up the Fight Against COVID-19

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Mayor Lightfoot reflects on City of Chicago's progress in 2021 - The - The Chicago Cusader

This morning, we have good news in the form of an Alex Caruso sighting at the Advocate Center! Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago shared a short clip of Caruso putting up some shots after the morning shootaround, which is a great sign.

Of course, Caruso is still listed as out for tonights game with the Atlanta Hawks, but just seeing him out on the floor putting shots up is a positive sign for his return from a sprained foot that has sidelined him since December 20. Caruso started the Bulls December 20 matchup with the Houston Rockets after missing time with a sore hamstring and played just six minutes in the victory over Houston before injuring his foot and leaving the contest.

The Bulls have done an excellent job of navigating their way through a wild month of injuries, COVID-19 cases, and stoppages in play as a result. Currently, they hold a 21-10 record and are the second-seed in the Eastern Conference despite the decimated roster that has seen a whopping 17 players hit the NBAs Health and Safety Protocols thus far.

Seeing Caruso get healthy brings the Bulls one step closer to finally having the complete roster back together, hopefully, sometime in January.

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Good News on the Progress of Alex Caruso - bleachernation.com