| Sep 9, 2015 | Environment / HealthMost of us care about conservation, at least a little. But sometimes we miss the forest for the trees — or in this case, the AC. Take the hostel I recently stayed at in California. All the lights in the hostel were compact fluorescents — those energy-efficient coils...
| Jun 3, 2015 | Environment / HealthThe recent oil spill in Santa Barbara, California hit home for me in a painful way. As a southern Californian for many years now, I take any excuse to head up the coast to Santa Barbara I can get. It’s a particularly beautiful stretch of pristine coastline,...
| May 20, 2015 | Rights / DemocracyEarlier this month, I arrived in San Diego following five days of driving across the country from Wisconsin. I pulled into my friend’s driveway, brought my things inside, and went back to my car to park it on the street. Almost immediately, a cop’s siren...
| Feb 18, 2015 | Environment / HealthFlush with their victory in the midterm elections, the Republicans in Congress promised fresh leadership. Instead, both the Senate and House GOP majorities made the speedy and symbolic approval of Keystone XL pipeline bills one of their first priorities. They did this...
| Jan 14, 2015 | Food / FarmingChickens had plenty to celebrate on New Year’s Day. Supposedly. After a long wait, California’s 2008 ballot measure to improve conditions for laying hens finally went into effect. Instead of living in cramped cages that give each bird less room than a sheet of paper,...
