Articles by Jen Skerritt and Olivia Rockeman

Ian Aftermath Even Harder to Fix With Supply Chain Tattered

The difficult job of rebuilding communities pummeled by Hurricane Ian is expected to be made even worse by a problem that’s lingered since the early days of the pandemic: snarled supply chains. Ian tore a path of destruction across Florida, …

Canada Crop Land ‘Deteriorating’ as Heavy Rain Hinders Planting

Farmers in parts of Canada’s Prairies are struggling to get crops in the ground as heavy rains continue to wallop the eastern region in the latest threat to global grain supplies. Virtually no seeding has been done in Manitoba as …

Extreme Weather Threatens Global Wheat Crops – With One Notable Exception

As Russia’s invasion chokes off Ukrainian wheat exports, pushing up bread and noodle prices, the global harvest faces an added test: extreme weather. Droughts, flooding and heatwaves threaten output from the U.S. to France and India, compounding shrinking production in …

Farm Workers Getting Sick, Spreading Coronavirus As Peak Produce Season Begins

All of the roughly 200 employees on a produce farm in Tennessee tested positive for Covid-19 this month. In New Jersey, more than 50 workers had the virus at a farm in Gloucester County, adding to nearly 60 who fell …

Meat Workers Taking Leave, Quitting as Plants Reopen Amid Coronavirus Scare

America’s meat-processing plants are starting to reopen but not all workers are showing up. Some still fear they’ll get sick after coronavirus outbreaks shut more than a dozen facilities last month. Employees are taking leave, paid and unpaid — or …

Canada Delays Sales of Recreational Cannabis in Retail Stores as Legalization Looms

Canada’s largest province is delaying the launch of private marijuana sales in bricks-and-mortar stores until April 2019, nearly six months after the drug is legalized for recreational use. Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government said Monday it will start cannabis sales with …

Some Recreational Cannabis Products to Remain Banned Under New Canada Law

A key segment of Canada’s marijuana industry will remain banned for up to a year after the drug becomes legal for recreational use — making it harder for Justin Trudeau to kill off the black market. Edibles, beverages, and pot …

Legal Marijuana Worries Canadian Oil Companies with Strict Drug Testing Regimes

Once recreational marijuana becomes legal in Canada, Garnet Amundson says it will get a lot harder to find the workers he needs at Essential Energy Services Ltd. And he isn’t the only employer who’s worried. Essential Energy provides services to …

British Columbia’s Wildfires Threaten Lumber Supplies, Force Mine Closures

Wildfires sweeping across British Columbia, the world’s biggest exporter of softwood lumber, sent timber prices surging and forced the closure of two copper mines in the western Canadian province. More than 375 fires have swept across the province, burning forests, …

300-Plus Canadian Wildfires Force Closures of Lumber Mills, Natural Gas Facility

More than 300 wildfires in British Columbia have forced Canadian lumber mills and an Enbridge Inc. natural gas compressor station to shut as hot, dry weather fans blazes across swaths of western Canada and the U.S. Enbridge said Tuesday [July …