It’s been hard for me to get wood and, therefore, its rare that I’ve been able to lay the lumber. And it’s not me. It’s Canada. And climate change. And high demand. And a nasty beetle. In short, lumber prices are jacked. “‘There are people who say, ‘Climate change isn’t affecting me,’ Janice Cooke, a forest-industry veteran and biology professor at the University of Alberta, told me. ‘But they’re going to go to the hardware store and say, ‘Holy cow, the price of lumber has gone up.'” The Atlantic: How a Hungry Canadian Beetle Helped Triple the Price of Lumber. To reverse this trend, we’re gonna need to do more than knock on wood. (I know, I know. I nailed it.)

+ Leading with lumber allows us to revisit one of the internet’s great satires (also from Canada). Maker Series: Artisanal Firewood.