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Blue Castle Holdings, an ambitious Utah company, wants to build the 3 gigawatt (GW) Green River nuclear plant in Utah. This would be enough power for about 2 million homes and would increase Utah's electricity production by a substantial 50%. But nuclear plants are always controversial, even more so when being planned in areas with perpetual conflicts over water. Nuclear power requires substantial amounts of water for cooling. The plant would use about 53,000 acre feet of water per year, all of

What, you ask, does Nevada and Las Vegas have to do with California water?  Well, water wars aren’t just fought within states. They are also fought between states. Southern Nevada gets almost 90% of its water from the Colorado River. Southern California also gets substantial water from the Colorado, most of which goes to agriculture in the Imperial Valley. The Colorado River has the unenviable status of being the most litigated river in the world. The problem for Nevada is that it agreed to a sm

Yesterday evening, I had a chance to hear my friend Tom Goss sing in my city.  He's from Washington DC, so I usually only get to see him perform once a year.  It's always a good time, and a great way to spend the evening.  But as the night unfolded, my mind did tend to start twirling around an issue... one that he and many others in our nation's capital face.  None of them are fully represented in Congress. Each state within our union has a number of Representatives that is based on population

Jobseekers might consider moving to fly-over states instead of perhaps making dismissive comments about them while on transcontinental flights. With a few exceptions, the lowest unemployment rates are in the heartland. Those looking for jobs there should also get ready for living in the country because the bulk of such jobs are in rural and exurban areas. This certainly is the opposite of the commonly accepted knowledge that big coastal cities are the primary drivers of employment and job growt

Given the public's deep disapproval of the Democratic and Republican parties, there are likely a great many Americans who have already come to the conclusion that this year's race for president will, once again, boil down to a choice between Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dumber. Yet there are alternatives. Earlier this month, we took a look at the Green Party's Jill Stein and Libertarian Gary Johnson. Independents who are thinking outside the two-party box may also consider the candidacy of former Sal

California, Arizona and five other states get substantial amounts of water from the Colorado River, which is rightfully known as the most litigated river on the planet. The water is allocated by the 1922 Colorado River Compact, an agreement that most everyone agrees is outdated. Yet no one really wants to renegotiate it for fear they might end up with less water than they get now.  Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t is the unspoken assumption. You may be startled to learn that C

Legitimacy is integral to voters, political candidates and organizations identifying, advocating or pursuing independent solutions to the partisan deficiencies of our current political climate. Those outside the two-party system face incredible odds. Americans Elect is a well-funded organization who's goal is "to nominate a presidential ticket that answers directly to voters-not the political system". They aim to host an online convention in June, where users will vote for a presidential ticket

[Update - US Department of Health and Human Services website is now healthcare.gov] The Affordable Care Act, before the Supreme Court this week, includes partial elimination for “gender rating”, a practice that costs women $1 billion a year. According to statistics, women between the ages of 19 to 55 tend to use more health care services than men of the same age. They are more likely to visit doctors for regular checkups, have certain chronic illnesses and take prescription drugs. Because of t

The US Supreme Court will hold hearings this week on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Obama’s health care plan. The lawsuit was filed by twenty six states, four small business owners, and the proudly ferocious National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB.)  The lawsuit contends the federal government does not have the authority to order people and businesses to buy health insurance (and face fines if they don’t.)  The hearings will surely be closely watched. Indeed, the future

On March 14th, KPBS San Diego hosted a debate for candidates in the 52nd Congressional District. Due to a time limit of one hour, KPBS invited only three candidates to participate. In a statement, "In an effort to conduct a discussion that allows for time to delve deep on the issues, KPBS has decided to limit the number of participants in this debate. KPBS has set the threshold at 10 percent favorability or above to join the broadcast debate." The invited candidates were incumbent Republican Re