Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Umair Haque reminds us that the COVID pandemic is far from over, while Julie Bosman, Amy Harmon and Albert Sun discuss the escalating U.S. death toll which now includes one of every hundred Americans over 65. Will Stone, Jesse Bloom and Sarah Cobey, and Carl Zimmer and Andrew Jacobs each offer summaries of the current state of knowledge surrounding the Omicron COVID variant. Bruce Arthur writes that booster vaccinations are a necessary but not sufficient response to a variant that spreads far more quickly and easily, while Holly McKenzie-Sutter asks the experts what needs to be done (with preparations to account for spread among health-care staff looming as a crucial step).

- Keenan Sorokan reports on a survey showing deteriorating morale among Saskatchewan's health care workers who have already been overworked and disrespected even before a fifth wave crests. Laura Osman reports on the prospect that at least some of the strain on surgical capacity can be relieved by ensuring more consistent scheduling.  

- David Wallace-Wells offers a reminder about the immense global death toll caused by air pollution. And Debarati Guha-Sapir and Ilan Kelman write about the importance of reducing people's vulnerability to the climate disasters which can't be averted. 

- Kathryn Blaze Baum discusses the possibility of treating our natural environment as a form of capital in order to try to reflect its value. Max Fawcett writes about the need for the federal government to step in and protect water sources from the Alberta tar sands, while Ollie Williams reports on the Northwest Territories' rightful unwillingness to stand idly by if the UCP plans to allow the toxic contents of tailings ponds to be dumped into the broader ecosystem.  

- Natasha Bulowski reports on new research showing the increasing concentration of wealth in Canada. Magdalena Sepulveda recognizes that tax justice is an essential precondition to the exercise of human rights. And Sara Mojtehedzadeh investigates how truck drivers have been systematically exploited. 

- Finally, Dimitri Lascaris writes that Canada needs to be preparing for the collapse of the U.S. in both economic and democratic terms. And incase anybody was under the illusion that we're immune from similar forces in our domestic politics, Simon Little reports on the B.C. COVID denialists who have taken to hanging politicians in effigy, reflecting the violence and ignorance behind the attempt to undermine public health.