California
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In the Battle for Rooftop Solar, Advocates are Running Low on Ammunition
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Solar advocates and California utilities have come to a temporary truce after a heated battle over the future of distributed solar regulation. Florida and the Carolinas are home to similar battles but, with the highest penetration of solar power in the country, California exemplifies the novel challenges of an electricity…
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Standardized Testing, College Success, and Diversity: Planning a Predictive Education
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Policymakers and educators have a vested interest in ensuring that each space at universities be filled by the most capable candidates, as spaces are limited. This is especially true at public institutions. Because the majority of funds come from the government, each pupil represents a significant investment of the state’s…
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The Health Consequences of Climate Change
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The earth has warmed by 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century. This may seem insignificant to a layperson, but scientists and health experts agree that climate change poses a serious threat not only to the environment, but also to our health. In a recent study…
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Can Variable Transit Fares Increase Equity?
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Campaigns to introduce what activists call “fair fares” on mass transit systems have recently taken root in U.S. cities. The idea behind these initiatives is to introduce a pricing system that is less regressive in order to promote equity for low-income riders. Most major U.S. public transit systems, including New…
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Vulnerability: Agricultural Workers and Climate Change
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Since the broad discovery of climate change in the 1970s, researchers and scientists have attempted to understand its wide-ranging effects. Previous studies have extensively examined the relationship of climate to water access, human health, economic development, and global food supply. But as researchers tend to focus on the larger-scale threats…
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Save Money, Live Better? The Urban Carbon Emissions of Wal-Mart
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Ongoing research suggests that the economic decisions that Wal-Mart makes may result in the optimization of its energy consumption and in turn a reduction in its carbon emissions.
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Storage Wars: Can Wind and Solar Afford Grid Energy Storage?
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Stanford researchers consider life cycle assessments of wind and solar technologies to determine whether they can afford the energetic costs associated with grid-scale energy storage deployment.
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IOU: Does Democracy Always Deliver for Taxpayers?
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A study of elected versus appointed treasurers finds that cities could save millions of dollars annually by entrusting their finances to bureaucrats.
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Good Day Sunshine: Investigating Solar Installation and Home Resale Premiums
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A new study explores the home resale premiums associated with solar photovoltaic systems and how these premiums compare to predictions from standard appraisal techniques.
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Focus on Finance: the Push and Pull of Los Angeles Labor Negotiations
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Chief Administrative Officer Miguel Santana shares how the City of Los Angeles has shrunk its structural deficit, lowered its pension liabilities, and increased its reserves.
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Insure Thy Neighbor
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Researchers find evidence of negative spillovers from the uninsured onto insured heart attack patients