Research Library

Attempts to undermine church-state separation in Texas reached a crescendo in 2023, writes nonresident scholar David R. Brockman. In this paper, he explores how three high-profile bills introduced during the state’s 88th legislative session threatened to tear down the wall between church and state.

How can Texas secure an affordable, sustainable, and reliable power supply for all its citizens? This report explores key insights from research conducted at Rice University.

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 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.

This reports looks at the future potential of green hydrogen hubs in Chile, and how to decarbonize the economy while making use of the country's abundant renewable energy resources, wind and solar power.

Kuwait lags behind the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council in its progress toward sustainable energy targets. Its pro-rentier democracy is slowing it down, writes visiting scholar Osamah Alsayegh.

In the next year, the EPA could make a final decision on whether to classify PVC as hazardous waste. What would this entail? Fellow Rachel Meidl explores why a hazardous designation for PVC would have costly implications — moving the U.S. further from its goal of achieving a sustainable, circular economy.

China’s dominance over the supply of rare earths — which are critical for energy transition and defense technologies — should spur U.S. policymakers to bolster raw materials supply chains, write energy fellow Michelle Michot Foss and co-author Jacob Koelsch.

In American Coal Magazine, fellow Michelle Michot Foss examines the world’s continued dependence on fossil fuels as it pursues the energy transition.