Coal is now used to generate half the electricity consumed in the United States, and its use is likely to grow as efforts are made to reduce dependence on foreign oil. Coal-powered plants, however, create carbon dioxide, a main contributor to global warming. It is estimated that coal-fired plants cr

In the wake of the Super Tuesday primary elections on Feb. 5, the field of candidates for the 2008 presidential nominations has been clearly defined. The contest for the Democratic nomination has been reduced to two, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, either of whom would break with historical preced

The withdrawal of former Senator John Edwards from the Democratic primary field following his third-place finish in his native South Carolina deprives the national political debate of an uncommon degree of honesty and intelligence. Early in the campaign, contrary to conventional political practice,

There is general consensus among economists and business leaders that the United States is entering a recession. The indicators look bad, including a decline in consumer spending and confidence, the collapse of the housing industry, the credit crunch and increases in unemployment. What went wrong?

With income inequality in the United States hitting ever higher levels, it nonetheless comes as a jolt to learn that the share of after-tax income going to the wealthiest 1 percent of households has reached its highest point since the start of the Great Depression. Such is the conclusion of several

The political news from Iowa and New Hampshire has undercut the conventional wisdom about our present political culture. The surprisingly decisive victory in Iowa of Barack Obama, an African-American candidate campaigning in a predominantly white state, damaged the image of Hillary Clinton as the in