Water
Agriculture
Intent Versus Reality in Conservation Strategies
Last month, the Chicago Climate Exchange announced that at the end of this year it will shut down its voluntary program for trading greenhouse gas emissions. The closing of the CCX comes on the tails of a shift in congressional power in the mid-term elections that most believe indicates the ...
Education
Lessons from Florida for California’s New Legislators
California’s new state education boss, Tom Torlakson, has his work cut out for him. He might start by explaining to parents why Florida, a demographically similar state, continues to outpace California in student achievement. On that score the Golden State still sputters around the bottom of national rankings. California apologists ...
Agriculture
Is Your Food Making the Planet Sick?
Modern agriculture has been blamed for a host of environmental problems, including global warming, water pollution, and ecosystem damage. While growing crops and raising livestock does have significant environmental impact, in many cases the situation has been misrepresented or oversimplified, and some of the proposed solutions have been ineffective or ...
Business & Economics
GOP gets undeserved second chance
SACRAMENTO – President Barack Obama saved the Republican Party from itself. In a two-party system, when one party makes a mess of things, the only choice is to reward the other party and hope that, eventually, one of the parties learns the right lessons. The Democrats received a well-deserved comeuppance, ...
Business & Economics
Unintended Consequences: Eminent Domain:( A Teacher’s Guide)
The Constitution was written to protect individual rights from government power. The Founders believed property rights to be one of the most important individual rights. Eminent Domain is the concept of government taking private property for public use. Fifth Amendment to the Constitution grants the power of eminent domain to ...
Commentary
Florida’s lesson: School choice builds success
Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, and retired administrator Larry Aceves want to be California’s superintendent of public instruction. Voters should ask the candidates why Florida, though demographically similar to California, continues to trounce the Golden State in student achievement. Two years ago, significant numbers of Florida’s low-income and minority fourth-graders outscored ...
Agriculture
Walmart’s Sustainable Agriculture Campaign Benefits Farmers, Consumers and the Environment
Retail giant Walmart announced plans this month to expand their “sustainable agriculture” goals, including sourcing more of the food they sell from small- and medium-sized farms, and doubling the amount of local produce grown and sold to customers within the same state. While critics contend that the corporation is destructive ...
Business & Economics
Broken California
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently warned that if voters approve a November initiative legalizing marijuana, the state will become a national “laughingstock.” The only thing more prevalent than non-Californians poking fun at the state’s enduring political and budget mess these days is Californians who offer counsel on how to save ...
Business & Economics
Progressives for Pension Reform?
With California facing a structural $19 billion budget hole, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has argued that the state will need to tap its general fund for billions to prop up faltering public-employee pension funds. With California facing a structural $19 billion budget hole, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has argued that the state ...
Commentary
Assessing a Teacher’s Value
What are the benefits and pitfalls of using student test scores to measure a teacher’s effectiveness? Help the Parents Lance T. Izumi is the senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute. The “value-added” assessments are useful in analyzing teacher performance, but they can be made better. The ...
Intent Versus Reality in Conservation Strategies
Last month, the Chicago Climate Exchange announced that at the end of this year it will shut down its voluntary program for trading greenhouse gas emissions. The closing of the CCX comes on the tails of a shift in congressional power in the mid-term elections that most believe indicates the ...
Lessons from Florida for California’s New Legislators
California’s new state education boss, Tom Torlakson, has his work cut out for him. He might start by explaining to parents why Florida, a demographically similar state, continues to outpace California in student achievement. On that score the Golden State still sputters around the bottom of national rankings. California apologists ...
Is Your Food Making the Planet Sick?
Modern agriculture has been blamed for a host of environmental problems, including global warming, water pollution, and ecosystem damage. While growing crops and raising livestock does have significant environmental impact, in many cases the situation has been misrepresented or oversimplified, and some of the proposed solutions have been ineffective or ...
GOP gets undeserved second chance
SACRAMENTO – President Barack Obama saved the Republican Party from itself. In a two-party system, when one party makes a mess of things, the only choice is to reward the other party and hope that, eventually, one of the parties learns the right lessons. The Democrats received a well-deserved comeuppance, ...
Unintended Consequences: Eminent Domain:( A Teacher’s Guide)
The Constitution was written to protect individual rights from government power. The Founders believed property rights to be one of the most important individual rights. Eminent Domain is the concept of government taking private property for public use. Fifth Amendment to the Constitution grants the power of eminent domain to ...
Florida’s lesson: School choice builds success
Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, and retired administrator Larry Aceves want to be California’s superintendent of public instruction. Voters should ask the candidates why Florida, though demographically similar to California, continues to trounce the Golden State in student achievement. Two years ago, significant numbers of Florida’s low-income and minority fourth-graders outscored ...
Walmart’s Sustainable Agriculture Campaign Benefits Farmers, Consumers and the Environment
Retail giant Walmart announced plans this month to expand their “sustainable agriculture” goals, including sourcing more of the food they sell from small- and medium-sized farms, and doubling the amount of local produce grown and sold to customers within the same state. While critics contend that the corporation is destructive ...
Broken California
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently warned that if voters approve a November initiative legalizing marijuana, the state will become a national “laughingstock.” The only thing more prevalent than non-Californians poking fun at the state’s enduring political and budget mess these days is Californians who offer counsel on how to save ...
Progressives for Pension Reform?
With California facing a structural $19 billion budget hole, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has argued that the state will need to tap its general fund for billions to prop up faltering public-employee pension funds. With California facing a structural $19 billion budget hole, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has argued that the state ...
Assessing a Teacher’s Value
What are the benefits and pitfalls of using student test scores to measure a teacher’s effectiveness? Help the Parents Lance T. Izumi is the senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute. The “value-added” assessments are useful in analyzing teacher performance, but they can be made better. The ...
