Tag Archives: California

How Will California Solve Its Public Health Crisis?

While California has begun to deviate from the traditional coal-fired factories and power plants, managing methane emissions from rangelands and farms should gain a stronger focus.

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Amid Drought, California Experiments With Leasing Water Rights

The state’s cities need water. Its farmers have it. Could leasing rights to it solve the crisis responsibly?

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Past Minimum Wage Gains Make LA’s $6 Hike Appear Puny

Los Angeles' planned 66% increase over five years pales in comparison with many past minimum wage hikes in California and at the federal level.

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Cops May Feel Biggest Impact from Driverless Car Revolution

The dawn of self-driving vehicles will likely lead to the sunset of the modern police force as rule-abiding cars eliminate the need for traffic enforcement.

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Absentee Voting Doesn’t Increase Turnout

In this year’s election, we can expect more and more voters to cast ballots early and by mail. The question is whether more voters will make errors that result in their votes not counting.

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Menu for a Hot Planet

It's not just about oil: To support the world's burgeoning billions in a warming climate, the human race needs to drastically rethink its approach to agriculture.

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Megadrought May Drive Up Olive Oil Prices

Spain produces around half the world’s olives and is the number one producer of olive oil. The drought has speculators, including forecasting agency Oil World, worried that olive yield could drop up to 40 percent year-over-year in 2014.

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End of the Lime

My first inkling of the Great American Lime Crisis of 2014 came when I ordered a vodka tonic in Washington, D.C., recently. I didn’t think much about it when my server told me the restaurant was out of limes and offered to garnish my drink with a lemon instead (pass). But when the same thing happened at a bar in …

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World’s Largest Solar Thermal Plant is Water Efficient

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz marked the opening of the world’s largest solar thermal plant on Thursday (February 13) in the Mojave Desert near the border of California and Nevada. The 392-MW Ivanpah project, developed by BrightSource Energy Co, started operating last month after six years of construction.   With California struggling through one of the worst droughts on record, and Ivanpah …

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Five More States May Legalize Marijuana

Far away from the mainland United States, Alaska is a conservative, red state, but with a libertarian, live-and-let-live hue and a history of openness toward marijuana.   In order to get marijuana legalization on the ballot in Alaska this year, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana in Alaska submitted more than 45,000 signatures to election officials on January 8. With only 30,000 verified signatures necessary to put …

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