2023-10-22 14:30:00
NEW MEXICO
Evidence points to footprints as oldest sign of humans in Americas
New research confirms that fossil human footprints in New Mexico are likely the oldest direct evidence of human presence in the Americas, a finding that upends what many archaeologists thought they knew regarding when our ancestors arrived in the New World.
The footprints were discovered at the edge of an ancient lakebed in White Sands National Park and date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, according to research published Oct. 5 in the journal Science.
The estimated age of the footprints was first reported in Science in 2021, but some researchers raised concerns regarding the dates. Questions focused on whether seeds of aquatic plants used for the original dating may have absorbed ancient carbon from the lake — which might, in theory, throw off radiocarbon dating by thousands of years.
The new study presents two additional lines of evidence for the older date range. It uses two entirely different materials found at the site, ancient conifer pollen and quartz grains.
The reported age of the footprints challenges the once-conventional wisdom that humans didn’t reach the Americas until a few thousand years before rising sea levels covered the Bering land bridge between Russia and Alaska, perhaps regarding 15,000 years ago.
The new study isolated regarding 75,000 grains of pure pollen from the same sedimentary layer that contained the footprints.
Ancient footprints of any kind — left by humans or megafauna like big cats and dire wolves — can provide archaeologists with a snapshot of a moment in time, recording how people or animals walked or limped along and whether they crossed paths. Animal footprints have also been found at White Sands.
Governor: State agencies must switch to all-electric fleet by 2035
SANTA FE — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order on Oct. 16, directing state agencies to switch to an all-electric vehicle fleet within the next 12 years.
Lujan Grisham also said she intends to pursue tax credits for electric vehicles during the upcoming legislative session.
The Democratic governor made the announcement during her Symposium on the Future of Transportation in New Mexico.
“The fact of the matter is that consumers and dealers want better access to electric vehicles, and the actions we’ve taken through Clean Car rules and now tax credits are leveling the playing field,” Lujan Grisham said. “I also took action today to make sure the state is ‘walking the walk’ when it comes to widely adopting low- and zero-emission vehicles by requiring the state fleet to be zero-emission by 2035.”
The proposed tax credits would apply to new and used electric vehicles to help meet climate goals.
Lujan Grisham’s order directs departments to purchase zero-emission vehicles for all new acquisitions where one or more options are available.
Exceptions to the order include law enforcement vehicles, firefighting trucks and some other heavy-duty vehicles.
UTAH
State alleges TikTok lures kids into addictive, destructive habits
Utah became the latest state on Oct. 10 to file a lawsuit once morest TikTok, alleging the company is “baiting” children into addictive and unhealthy social media habits.
TikTok lures children into hours of social media use, misrepresents the app’s safety and deceptively portrays itself as independent of its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, Utah claims in the lawsuit.
“We will not stand by while these companies fail to take adequate, meaningful action to protect our children. We will prevail in holding social media companies accountable by any means necessary,” Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit, which was filed in state court in Salt Lake City.
Public health concerns are cited in the Utah lawsuit. Research has shown that children who spend more than three hours a day on social media double their risk of poor mental health, including anxiety and depression, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit seeks to force TikTok to change its “destructive behavior” while imposing fines and penalties to fund education efforts and otherwise address damage done to Utah children, Reyes said.
“TikTok has industry-leading safeguards for young people, including an automatic 60-minute time limit for users under 18 and parental controls for teen accounts. We will continue to work to keep our community safe by tackling industry-wide challenges,” TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek said in an emailed statement.
Utah earlier this year became the first state to pass laws that aim to limit children and teen use of social media apps such as TikTok. The laws are set to take effect next year.
ARIZONA
Ex-Navajo Nation president announces congressional bid
FLAGSTAFF — Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez announced on Oct. 16 that he’s running for Congress.
Nez, a 48-year-old Democrat, will vie for the seat occupied by incumbent Eli Crane, a Republican who has represented Arizona’s redrawn 2nd Congressional District since last year.
The district covers a large portion of northern and eastern Arizona and includes 14 of the 22 federally recognized tribes within the state.
Nez was the Navajo Nation’s president from 2019-23 following serving four years as the tribe’s vice president.
Nez lost in his presidential reelection bid last year and now hopes to become the first Native American to represent Arizona in Congress.
However, the state’s 2nd District has regarding 30,000 more voters registered as Republicans than as Democrats with an estimated 160,000 voters registered as independent.
Nez said he believes voters care less regarding which party holds the seat than whether their representatives are taking concrete action to improve their lives.
At least two other people have filled out paperwork to possibly run for the 2nd District seat — Lindsay Bowe, a Democrat, and David Bies, a Libertarian.
NEBRASKA
CO2 pipeline on hold while company reevaluates route
OMAHA — Navigator CO2 Ventures announced on Oct. 10 that it is putting on hold one of the two biggest proposed carbon dioxide pipeline projects in the Midwest so it can reassess the project.
The company withdrew its application for a key permit in Illinois and said it it was putting all its permit applications on hold. The decision comes following South Dakota regulators last month denied a permit.
The proposed 1,300-mile project would carry planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from more than 20 industrial plants across South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. The Illinois permit is crucial because that’s where the company planned to store the carbon dioxide underground.
Navigator said it is not abandoning the project. It plans to reapply for permits where appropriate following completing its evaluation.
Opponents cheered the news that the project is being put on hold, and promised to keep fighting when the company reapplies. Opponents had organized landowners who were concerned regarding the project.
Proposed pipelines in the region would use carbon capture technology that supporters believe would combat climate change. Opponents question its effectiveness at scale and the need for potentially huge investments over cheaper renewable energy sources. New federal tax incentives and billions of dollars from Congress toward carbon capture efforts have made such projects lucrative.
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