Statisticians call it a correlation when two sets of data are strongly linked.  Last Friday, the governor of California declared a state of emergency arising from the persistent drought that resulted in 2013 being the driest year on record.  In June of last year, a federal judge in the Northern District of California ordered the implementation of certain policies relating to the epidemic of Coccidioidomycosis (aka Valley Fever or cocci) in the California prison system, including the transfer of certain prisoners from certain prisons.  Is there a connection? Governor Brown&rsquo...

Tomorrow bald and golden eagles will sleep less soundly.  On January 8 the Fish and Wildlife Service’s new rule revising the regulations for permits for the taking of golden eagles and bald eagles goes into effect.  According to the FWS, “This change will facilitate the responsible development of renewable energy and other projects designed to operate for decades, while continuing to protect eagles consistent with our statutory mandates.” Eagles and other migratory birds are a substantial threat to wind projects and not because they will cause turbine blades to fai...