Debt, Salt Shortages, Protests: What's Ruining Our Cities This Week

Debt, Salt Shortages, Protests: What's Ruining Our Cities This Week

Detroit outlines a plan to get itself out of debt, salt shortages are making a snowstorm near you even worse, and another week of violence is igniting in Kiev. It’s this week’s look at What’s Ruining Our Cities.

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Here's How All That Winter Road Salt Is Made

Road salt has been a point of contention lately, what with all this wintry weather. If you live in a snowy climate, you’re probably used to seeing warehouses and dump trucks full of the stuff. But where does all that ice-melting goodness come from? National Geographic brings us this fascinating, oddly soothing video explaining the unsung hero’s origin story.

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New Jersey Can't Get Its Road Salt Because a Ship Is Missing a Flag

New Jersey Can't Get Its Road Salt Because a Ship Is Missing a Flag

Forty-thousand tons of rock salt meant for New Jersey’s icy roads is currently banned from so much as entering the Port of Newark. The reason? A nearly century-old maritime law that requires shipping vessels to fly the American flag. Naturally.

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The Northeast Is a Mess Because It’s Running Out of Salt

The Northeast Is a Mess Because It's Running Out of Salt

The Northeast may have had its fun mocking the South’s recent descent into chaos in the face of snow, but now it’s our turn to fall apart. This newest storm has shut down I-84—one of the region’s biggest highways—and crippled countless other roads. The culprit? We’re running out of salt.

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