Research Library

Recycling solar panels is an expensive, complicated and energy-intensive process, writes energy fellow Rachel Meidl. But with cumulative solar waste projections expected to rise globally over the next few decades, she argues that it is vital to design a more circular and sustainable management system for end-of-life panels.

This October the U.S. and Mexico agreed on a new bilateral security program, but "unless the United States and Mexico pursue domestic structural reforms ... both nations risk backsliding to the failures of the drug wars," writes MGA student and Drug Policy guest contributor Sidney Phillips.

Mexico's complex land governance regime does not generate certainty for foreign investors, writes nonresident scholar Miriam Grunstein. In this paper, she explores land classifications in Mexico and the challenges investors may face when attempting to acquire acreage.

In this working paper, the author examines the economic effects of enacting a proposal by the Biden administration to tax long term capital gains at ordinary income tax rates for those with taxable income above $1 million and tax unrealized gains at the time of death for single (joint) filers with more than $1 million ($2 million) in unrealized gains. A similar version of the report was prepared with the financial support of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation.

In the push for decarbonization, "turquoise" hydrogen offers a unique, commercially viable technology that reduces CO2 emissions, argue Rachel A. Meidl and Kenneth B. Medlock III.

With its significant reserves of critical metals and other geographic advantages, Chile is well positioned to help enable the energy transition. The authors discuss the country's leveraging of its copper and lithium resources and its growing trade with China.

An emerging perspective in U.S. public discourse claims that a buildout of renewable electricity would exacerbate supply risks, mining intensity, and import dependence. This ScienceDirect article from fellow Jim Krane and graduate student Robert Idel contends the opposite is true, demonstrating how transitioning to renewables hugely reduces the materials, mining and political risk involved compared to coal.

Millions of undocumented immigrants have lived in the U.S. for decades and become part of America's fabric. This brief makes the case for prioritizing their legalization — and shows how it can be done.

In this report, the authors outline the U.S. federal budget process for scientific R&D, discuss trends in federal R&D funding and provide an outlook for federal scientific R&D funding during the Biden administration.

Read the PDF below for a report on the results of a workshop on U.S. immigration policy, hosted by the Center for the United States and Mexico and the Center for Houston's Future.