Drought is straining China’s energy resources, with Sichuan’s largest coal-fired power plant operating at full capacity for much of August. Energy fellow Gabriel Collins remarked that this was "eye-catching" because “the average plant utilization across China over the last few years has been closer to 50%."
Beto O’Rourke’s ability to bounce back from an illness that's caused him to pause his campaign tour will determine to what extent, if any, the postponement of in-person events may damage his race for Texas governor, said fellow Mark P. Jones. “If it becomes more serious, that he’s unable to maintain such a vigorous pace, it would begin to have a negative impact on his attempt to close the gap with Abbott.”
Five years after Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston, fellow Ed Emmett reflected on his top 5 lessons learned from the impactful event and how taking “an interest in each other as individuals” is the key to defining the “Houston Way.”
"The homes being built today will be facing storms in 2050, 2060," said Baker Institute Rice Faculty Scholar Jim Blackburn, on the ongoing development of Houston's floodplains. "I’m worried, with bigger rains ... that the water will demand more space."
A looming water crisis in China not only could affect the country's grain and electricity production, it could also induce global food and industrial materials shortages, wrote fellow Gabe Collins and co-author Gopal Reddy.