Posts Tagged: technology

Opinion

Critical, timely info on medications means better quality care

A doctor and her patient have a consultation over medical care. (Photo: Andrei_R, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: As health care delivery evolves thanks to advances in data sharing and technology, it’s important that health systems harness the availability of these new tools to improve transparency, information dissemination and communications between doctor and patient, allowing them to better work together to make vital health decisions.

Opinion

Keep cool, California: Heat pumps are a good way to go

A building with window air conditioners, which are not as efficient as heat pumps. (Photo: David Crockett, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Unlike states like Texas and Florida, where only 1% of homes lack A.C., roughly a quarter of California homes are not equipped with central cooling. Studies show that the access to cooling in homes is highly correlated with heat-related mortality – and low-income households are less likely to have the cooling they need to stay safe.

Opinion

App-based services helped California survive the pandemic

An app-user types out an order on his hand-held device. (Photo: Billion Photos, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The economic devastation of the pandemic is well-chronicled. At its peak, more than two million Californians lost their jobs. In the wake of such devastation, a recent report found that app-based rideshare and food delivery platforms helped provide earnings for displaced or struggling workers, and helped keep many restaurants and retailers afloat.

Opinion

Flawed ‘net energy metering’ system needs to be fixed

Workers install solar panels on a southern California home. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: All Californians deserve not only a clean energy future, but assurance that the programs we invest in will achieve this goal equitably and at the least possible cost. This is particularly important for seniors living on a fixed income and working families already struggling to make ends meet.cThis is why it is critical that reforms are made to the state’s rooftop solar subsidy program called Net Energy Metering (NEM).

Opinion

CA tech crucial in reaching national greenhouse gas goals

A California power plant at sunset. (Photo: David Crockett, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: President Biden campaigned on a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But this goal will not be achievable without deploying technologies and practices that can pull greenhouse gases from the atmosphere – or from smokestacks of industrial facilities that have few viable alternatives – and securely store it underground or use it in long-lived products like concrete.

Opinion

Aerial firefighting: A crucial tool to protect resources

An air tanker drops retardant on the Olinda Fire burning in Anderson, Calif., October, 2020. Photo: Stratos Brilakis, via Shutterstock

OPINION: As lawmakers across the country return to their Capitol posts, some are kicking off the new year with legislation calling for increased wildfire resources, funding, upgrades, and additional aircraft and crew.

News

Women shatter glass ceiling on redistricting commission

A woman ponders a map and potential political districts. (Photo: League of Woman Voters of California)

Next year, when California lays down political boundaries for a new decade, it will become the first state ever to adopt lines drawn in public by a commission in which women are the majority, election experts say.

Opinion

California can design the future of work

Workers on the job at a construction site. (Photo: fuyu liu, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: As Californians, we should write the history we want – by strategically and pragmatically addressing the present economic challenges in a way that enables the next generation of Californians to thrive. Gov. Newsom this month announced the creation of the Commission on the Future of Work, and this is a powerful opportunity to align new policies and new politics.

Opinion

A deep dive into groundwater, desalination

Marina Beach north of Monterey, near the site of a planned desalination plant. (Photo: Marina Coast Water District)

OPINION: At the height of the recent drought, the legislature passed and Gov. Brown signed legislation, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), that for the first time required California water agencies to account for groundwater pumping and held them accountable for the development of sustainable plans for the future. Groundwater accounts for approximately 30% of the state’s water supply.

News

Hot on the trail of the ‘bots’

A robot typing on a keyboard, a photo illustration depicting automated content. (Image: Mopic, via Shutterstock)

What’s in a name? When it comes to social media, maybe a lot more than you think. There is a move in the Capitol to force social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook to identify “bots,” those robot-like, automated accounts that move through the internet and interact with real people — and each other.

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