It was a little slice of Carmaheaven

Light-bulb standards equal energy efficiency

Refrigerators and cars have become more energy-efficient. Water heaters and windows have too. So it's strange that so many politicians cling...

Can Spotify blaze a music trail in America?

The long-awaited arrival of Spotify, a popular European music service, in the U.S. last week marks an important milestone for the music...

History textbooks: No slant required

We don't need any of that Texas-style, right-wing political slant in California textbooks, so it's good to see a bill, SB 302, progressing...

Gun control at the border

The Obama administration took a concrete step toward curbing the flow of semiautomatic weapons to Mexico last week when it adopted a new...

Take the no-pledge pledge

If a major deal on cutting the deficit emerges from debt-reductions talks — one that includes increases in revenue — large...

Kitten season hits hard

In nature, animals often give birth during the safest and easiest time of the year — summer. The climate is temperate; food sources...

California should join the popular vote parade

Though it is rare, the occasional American presidential election goes to the loser of the popular vote, an outcome that undermines basic...

A U.S. connection to Britain's tabloid scandal?

Rupert Murdoch is an attractive target for politicians on both sides of the Atlantic. Allegations that investigators for his flagship London...

Debt-ceiling denial won't work

Even if the White House and congressional leaders reach a deal to raise the debt limit, they face at least two hurdles to persuading rank-...

The Leiby Kletzky killing: Every parent's fear

Like little Leiby Kletzky, my youngest child pleaded for a little more freedom at the age of 8. She wanted to walk by herself the 500 feet...

The risks of the Keystone XL pipeline

The Yellowstone River, dubbed "America's last best river" by National Geographic, is, or was, a pristine 700-mile waterway through Montana...