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Oak-covered rolling hills, grassy meadows and roaming cows are still typical scenes in many parts of California. That’s due in part to a state conservation program known as the Williamson Act. For more than four decades, much of California’s ranchland has been protected by the program. But with the state’s budget woes, it’s on the chopping block. And that has both ranchers and environmentalists concerned --as Lauren Sommer reports.

After a series of high-profile recalls, the FDA says it's reconsidering rules that allow cheese makers to use unpasteurized milk in their products. That could mean big changes in Northern California, which has become a hub of artisanal cheese making.

Solar power is booming in California. Last year, state officials approved an unprecedented amount of new solar energy. But both large solar farms and small home rooftop installations have run into challenges. As Lauren Sommer reports, that’s why a new sector of solar is emerging – one that benefits from being in the middle.

This month begins America's long goodbye to the incandescent light bulb. The most common replacement bulbs, CFLs, are just as bright and warm-colored as the old incandescents. So why do so many people complain about them?

After spending hundreds of millions of dollars flooding the market with CFL light bulbs, California utilities are stepping up their efficiency game.

It probably goes without saying: the dentist’s chair isn’t the most popular place to visit. But going the dentist may soon be a very different experience. As Lauren Sommer reports, researchers at the University of California San Francisco are developing new technology that may make dentists' drills less common.

After a century of logging, California’s old growth redwood forests are only a fraction of what they once were. Today, they remain a narrow coastal band that extends from Monterey Bay to the Oregon border. But redwoods are facing a new threat. As Lauren Sommer reports, scientists are trying to understand how these trees are responding to a changing climate.

If you plan to take any long plane trips this holiday season, here are a few things to keep in mind: jet lag, scientists say, often hits women harder than it does men. The direction you're flying matters, too. Jet lag is worse when traveling from west to east than east to west. In fact, studies suggests that jet lag can do a lot more than just wear us out.

California fishermen once hauled in groundfish, like rock cod and sole, as if there were an unlimited supply. But over the years, fish stocks have plummeted. Beginning in January, fishermen in California, Oregon and Washington will try something new. They'll become owners of the fishery, much like shareholders in a company. But as Lauren Sommer reports, not everyone is happy about it.

In the wake of mid-term elections, most pundits agree that a national climate change policy is farther from reach. That puts science museums and aquariums around the state in a bind. Several are currently showing exhibits on climate change in an effort to educate the public on this complicated topic. But as Marjorie Sun reports, these institutions have to walk a fine line through a thicket of sensitive issues.