Research Library

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is facing a historic impeachment trial in the state Senate. Fellows Mark Jones and Ed Emmett unpack the issues and make predictions regarding the trial in this episode of Baker Briefing.

Six years after Hurricane Harvey deluged the Texas Gulf Coast, how exposed are Houston and Harris County to flooding risk? Jim Blackburn and Jennifer Borski examine key challenges and changes needed going forward.

This week, the White House announced a new initiative to tackle the growing use of fentanyl laced with xylazine — known to many as "tranq." This combination of drugs poses an alarming and significant threat to public health.

“Green brain capital” places a central emphasis on the brain to deliver a healthy environment, and likewise on a green environment to safeguard brain health. The authors look at the existing literature and explain how this concept can help us build a sustainable future.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Earl Anthony Wayne and the Center for the U.S. and Mexico's Tony Payan explore the complex relationship between Mexico and the U.S. and what their future might hold.

Some court losses turn into wins. This paper explores two Texas coast cases with wider environmental implications for any community concerned about flood control, water recycling or endangered species.

This report explores the motives underlying Mexico’s contradictory climate change policies. Given the fossil fuel-centered actions of the López Obrador administration, the author argues that Mexico’s recent clean energy turn is merely an attempt to lower tensions with the U.S. — not a true commitment to combatting climate change.

Electronic waste is surging globally, presenting growing threats to the environment and human health. Rachel A. Meidl explains how coordinated action can help us move to a sustainable, circular economy of electronics.

Young people in the U.S. face an unprecedented mental health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated rates of depression, anxiety and suicide among adolescents that were already at historically high levels before the pandemic. Since 2020, mental health-related emergency room visits have increased 31% among adolescents while suicide rates among teenagers increased 25%.

This report takes a deep dive into how expanding the scope of the nonimmigrant TN Visa — available only to Mexican and Canadian citizens — could help solve the U.S. labor shortage. In a political climate where full-scale immigration reform seems impossible, more temporary work visas can help bridge the labor gap.