natural disasters

View of a cobblestone street that split in half after the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Photo courtesy of Getty images.

At the crack of dawn on Friday, April 18, an earthquake rocked the Midwest. You read correctly -- the Midwest.

Now let's back up. When we think of tornadoes we think of the Midwest. When we think of hurricanes we think of the Florida coast, and sadly, due to Katrina, New Orleans. When we think of earthquakes we think of California. But we don't think of the Midwest.

That said, on April 18th (...

A fast-unfolding food shortage is engulfing the entire world, driving food prices to record highs. (Check out the full report or podcast.) Over the past 50 years grain prices have occasionally spiked due to weather-related events -- such as the 1972 Soviet crop failure that led to a doubling of world wheat, rice, and corn prices. The situation today is entirely different, however. The current doubling of grain prices is trend-driven, the cumulative effect of some trends that are accelerating growth in demand and other trends that are slowing the growth in supply....