Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now

Climate change is impacting the Panama Canal — and the trade that moves through it

Sep 5, 2022
Officials are searching for a way to increase the flow of water without disrupting the environment and Panamanian society.
Freighters enter the Panama Canal on the Atlantic side. As droughts and storms become more common, the canal needs to find fresh sources of water and new ways to store it. 
Searagen/Getty Images

Big storms are coming. Are we ready?

Jun 1, 2022
Networking plays a huge part in how prepared – and funded – communities can be for disasters.
Trees bend in the tropical storm wind along North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard as Hurricane Irma hits the southern part of the state September 10, 2017 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The powerful hurricane made landfall in the United States in the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. after raking across the north coast of Cuba.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Durable goods orders sidetracked by February storms and pandemic shortages

Mar 24, 2021
Despite disruptions caused by bad weather and limited semiconductor supplies, durable goods shipments are up 2% year-over-year.
Durable goods are big-ticket items that last for three years or more, like clothes dryers and vehicles.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Iowa farmers struggling after storms "flattened all of our crops"

Aug 27, 2020
Iowa corn and soybean farmer April Hemmes says that for many farmers, "it's like they lost their job and their house all in one day."
Damaged grain bins in Luther, Iowa, on Aug. 11. The state is also suffering a drought.
Daniel Acker/Getty Images

Stalled federal storm relief hurts communities of southwest Georgia

May 13, 2019
An impasse in Congress has life difficult for farmers and businesses serving them.
Seminole County, Georgia, Nov. 2018.
Emma Hurt

How do hurricanes affect the jobs picture?

Nov 2, 2018
The number of people without jobs in the United States is expected to remain largely unchanged when the Labor Department reports the official unemployment rate Friday. One thing that could affect those numbers: a pair of hurricanes, Florence and Michael, that hit the Eastern Seaboard back to back. 
In this NOAA satellite handout image, shows Hurricane Florence it just makes landfall off the coast of the U.S. in the Atlantic Ocean on Sept.13, 2018.
NOAA via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Duke Energy CEO on the future of energy

Oct 9, 2018
The company's big challenge is keeping pace with technology.
Lynn Good, president and CEO of Duke Energy, speaks at the KPMG Women's Leadership Summit in 2015 in Harrison, New York.
Scott Halleran/Getty Images for KPMG

Tariffs on imported materials could push up post-disaster costs

Sep 13, 2018
Hurricane Florence, currently tearing along the Southeast coast of the U.S. could bring wind gusts of 80 mph. The governor of North Carolina said that “tens of thousands of structures are expected to be flooded.” The post-storm costs could be high as communities buy up the drywall, lumber, and steel to rebuild. The price of […]
Waves created by Hurricane Florence are seen along Cherry Grove Fishing Pier on September 14, 2018 in North Myrtle Beach, United States. 
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In Houston, small business revenue was back on track a week after Harvey

Oct 4, 2017
While rebuilding will take time, many small businesses have rebounded quickly.
Anastasia Gentles, co-founder of  NightLight, stands before the storefront of  the north Houston branch, which was flooded. She says she still has to turn customers away all the time. 
Florian Martin/ for Marketplace