Face masks have flown off the shelves around the United States amid the coronavirus outbreak, even though experts have advised people against wearing them unless they are sick. That has triggered a shortage for farmworkers, who wear masks to avoid inhaling pesticides or field dust.

Even the special interests that helped kill a California Senate bill aimed at reforming beverage bottle recycling say the state needs to fix its broken system. And one lawmaker who voted no on the bill says he might just introduce his own. 

For many, an understanding of rural living is less about population numbers and topography and more about a sense of being.

Part of this month’s Rural Living series.

There are many benefits to living in rural areas. But doing so comes with its own challenges. PG&E’s answer to the challenges of wildfires: Shut off power — a move that has hit rural areas the hardest.

We can continue our costly, 100-year-old pattern of trying to find new water supplies, or we can choose instead to focus on smarter ways of using – and reusing – what we already have. 

Ten of the 20 most destructive wildfires in state history have occurred since 2015. These megafires fueled by hot, dry winds and climate change seemingly blanket every late summer with gray, smoky skies and a gnawing worry among Californians that the next one might take out their home.

A growing movement of farmers is focused on agricultural practices that can mitigate or adapt to an uncertain future brought by climate change.

Part of this month’s Innovation issue

In California, where 90 percent of American strawberries are grown, the time is ripe for a faster, better way to pick them. That’s the idea behind Advanced Farm Technologies, a Davis-based startup that uses customized tools to lend farmers a helping robotic hand.

Research shows being close to so-called “blue space” like river trails, a lake or even urban fountains can have certain psychological benefits similar to those associated with green nature.

If you’re shopping for a live Christmas tree this year, you may have to search harder than in the past. Over the last five years Christmas tree shortages have been reported in many parts of the U.S.