With the 2024 presidential election, Taiwan faces a major decision about its energy future. A potential phaseout of nuclear power could put the island’s energy security and decarbonization efforts at risk, writes the Center for Energy Studies’ Shih Yu (Elsie) Hung.
Recent findings from research focus groups show that business owners in Houston’s Third Ward feel excluded from economic development processes happening in their community. Plans to revitalize the neighborhood are ongoing, but current business owners agree that the revitalization process has done little to benefit existing businesses.
Alisha Small, TaCorra Brooks, Lebena Varghese, Ana HoganDecember 15, 2023
Legalizing recreational marijuana was intended to remedy the racially disparate effects of cannabis prohibition. But new research from our experts finds persistent racial disparities in the legal system’s practice of mandating treatment for cannabis use.
Katharine Neill Harris, Christopher F. KuleszaDecember 12, 2023
Baker Institute Rice faculty scholar Luz M. Garcini and co-authors analyze existing research on the compounded stressors and health risks faced by undocumented Latino older adults in the United States. Using a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) lens, they examine the environments, conditions, and social structures that influence health risks, and provide policy and advocacy recommendations to address the issues.
Luz Maria Garcini, Vyas Sarabu, Elizabeth Buchwald, Lauren Rahman, Jin YanDecember 7, 2023
Almost all of the progress the U.S. has made toward its Paris Agreement target for 2025 has come from falling CO2 emissions from energy use. But greater declines in other greenhouse gas emissions are needed to reach our goal, writes fellow Mark Finley.
"Decoupling” from China would come at the cost of American opportunity and influence, writes fellow Gabriel Collins. Instead, “de-risking” — loosening China’s grip on global supply chains without cutting ties entirely — would better serve American interests.
Are our views of sustainability becoming distorted by the often unsubstantiated “green” actions of companies and organizations? This brief explores why we urgently need a new framework for sustainability — one that relies on a holistic, cross-disciplinary, and multidimensional life cycle approach.
Rachel A. Meidl, Kenneth B. Medlock IIINovember 8, 2023
A new migrant caravan with over 7,000 individuals has formed in Mexico and is headed to the United States. What will its arrival mean for border cities, and what challenges will it bring for U.S. security?
As China appears ever closer to attempting a coercive annexation of Taiwan, this report explores how such a move could trigger a chain of nuclear proliferation — potentially adding thousands more warheads to stockpiles globally.
Gabriel Collins, Andrew S. EricksonOctober 25, 2023