Miller-McCune

Painting roofs white could have a major impact on global carbon emissions, according to three scientists. But what may seem like a wacky idea has years of data to back it up.

Have high-speed rail stimulus funds put us any closer to technology like mag-lev? A long record of underfunding makes many of such projects shovel-unready, but hopes are still high.

Some organizations believe they hold the key to fighting poverty--economic development in the inner cities, which will in turn bring in private investment. But others maintain that both are hard to come by simultaneously.

America's suburbs are no longer impervious to "slumming," as low income earners are forced into places that were once firmly middle class. Therefore, researchers say, anti-poverty measures should go beyond mere suburb relocation.

The arrival of a town's new Wal-Mart is notorious for being detrimental to the community. But when it comes to social capital, obesity, leisure time, and social and political values, Wal-Mart might not be so bad after all, according to one study.

Last week, a Santa Barbara apartment community, The Garden Center, opened to 38 new residents. The apartments were specifically designed to combat homelessness through housing and mental health care all at once.

With the state gripped in a record drought, public officials are rethinking how water is delivered to California's agricultural operations.