Manufacturers Increase Efforts to Woo Workers to Rural Areas

Raton, a town once surrounded by eight coal mines, now has a main street of boarded-up buildings. There is reason for optimism as the town diversifies its local economy, betting on "a mix of small manufacturing businesses, health care and specialty services, and hospitality for travelers" to endure the sudden decline in mining revenue. Its calculated revitalization may hold lessons for other towns.

The rapid development of emerging economies across Asia and Africa is lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty - but there is much debate as to how to best structure this growth. If these economies evolve in the same way as in the West - with unchecked, excessive resource consumption and heavy pollution - the planet may be on the fast track to disaster. Earthrise explores how these nations can grow sustainably using improved, eco-conscious technologies like renewable energy and eco-friendly farming practices.

Across the United States, tribal lands have the lowest access to internet, an issue that restricts opportunity and education in those areas. In New Mexico, several small tribes have partnered to lay fiber-optic cables that connect the libraries, which serve as primary sources of internet connection, to faster, cheaper internet.

Canada and Australia have both used targeted immigration policies to grow their rural populations. But Canada’s more holistic approach seems to match the long-term needs of migrant and local populations better than Australia’s.

To replace lost business and keep their employees on staff, Tasmanian businesses quickly diversified into new product lines to meet COVID-19-related demand. A camera accessories firm that saw nearly all of its sales to the film and TV industries dry up became a manufacturer of face shields. A plastic manufacturer increased its business by turning out acrylic counter-top protective screens. And a whiskey distillery began producing 2,000 liters of hand sanitizer per week.

More than 2,700 police departments in the U.S. have crisis intervention teams aimed at responding to mental health crises with fewer arrests and less violence, but the death of Daniel Prude in Rochester police custody offers clear lessons in the shortcomings and misuse of the CIT model. A lack of adequate mental health services across the country, coupled with superficial training of the police, too often means a police response to a crisis will not de-escalate the situation or lead to meaningful help for the person in crisis. A recent study found CITs have not shown they will lower violence.

A number of barriers prevent young children in Appalachia from enrolling in formal preschool classes. In response, a fleet of buses is traveling to remote communities to teach students academic and social skills.

The New Mexico Rural Library Initiative advocated for an endowment fund to create a perpetual funding source for a group of community libraries in small, low-income towns. The money in the fund is invested, and the interest earned is distributed to the libraries each year.

Commitment to Kashmir (CtoK) incubates small cohorts of young craftspeople, providing financial resources, technology support, and mentorship to support the growth of their craft enterprises. Since its founding in 2010, CtoK has helped 37 people establish businesses within and despite the myriad challenges that exist in a conflict zone.

Farmers in Oklahoma adopted the practice of fencing cattle away from streams and providing alternative clean water sources, dramatically improving water quality, restoring local wildlife, and enhancing veterinary outcomes and productivity for local ranchers.