Alberta, Canada is site of the world's largest extraction operations from oil sands, heavy earth laden with bitumen, a hydrocarbon-rich mineral.

FORBES: On The Cover/Top Stories

Shovel small amounts of snow at a time, especially if the snow is heavy and water-laden.

CNN: Shoveling snow? How to protect your back (and your heart)

The corn should be seven feet (2m) high, waving above our heads, green and laden with fat heavy cobs, like the ones you eat slathered in butter.

BBC: US crops tell story of future world food prices

The warm, moisture-laden air brings heavy rainfall and flash flooding to Peru's northern coast, killing villagers and causing havoc to the fragile soils of the desert and of the arid Andean foothills.

ECONOMIST: The unkind child

No doubt its politicians will eventually wean the economy off its heavy reliance on the debt-laden American consumers, but not overnight.

ECONOMIST: Forever free | The

According to the report, which was compiled by more than two dozen scientists, the 2011 runaway bloom was fueled by phosphorus-laden fertilizers that were swept from corn and soybean fields during heavy rainstorms.

WSJ: Report predicts ever-bigger Lake Erie algae blooms