From an early age, children spend many hours interacting with screens: phones, tablets, and laptops. A new policy brief from the Child Health Policy Program explains the importance of unstructured free play for healthy child development and recommends four policy approaches to reduce screen time and ensure children’s well-being in the digital age.
Ann Lê, Katarina Reyes, Ethan T. Hunt, Christopher F. Kulesza, Zoabe HafeezApril 5, 2024
Non-medical drivers of health, also known as social determinants of health, have a significant impact on health outcomes. As fellow Sandra McKay and her co-authors explain, adequate funding to identify and address non-medical drivers — housing and food insecurity, transport issues, and financial strain — can improve patients’ health and health care delivery systems, while also reducing costs.
Qualities like amazing tensile strength and electrical conductivity offer a huge range of uses for carbon nanotubes. In a new policy brief, fellow Rachel A. Meidl and her co-authors Dana Goerzen and Daniel A. Heller explain that to ensure carbon nanotubes’ role in a circular, sustainable economy, a coordinated system for classifying, testing, and identifying CNTs and a life cycle approach to risk assessments are needed to better understand impacts to facilitate consistent communication among researchers, industries, and policymakers.
Dana Goerzen, Daniel A. Heller, Rachel A. MeidlFebruary 28, 2024
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
This policy brief explores the dangerous potential of neuroweapons, the need for a “Neuroshield” to protect democracies from the risks of disinformation, the implications of brain-computer interfaces and other national security considerations related to brain health.
Harris A. Eyre, William Hynes, Geoffrey F. L. Ling, Jo-An Occhipinti, Rym Ayadi, Michael D. Matthews, Ryan Abbott, Patrick LoveAugust 10, 2023
With the 45V tax credit, the U.S. is well poised to compete for the growing pipeline of clean hydrogen projects globally, writes fellow Rachel Meidl. But if the Treasury adds restrictions to the new tax credit, the U.S. could lose its advantage and a key opportunity for large-scale decarbonization.
If implemented, the Handle with Care program could provide a significant opportunity to help students facing trauma, write scholar Christopher Kulesza and co-author Abigail Levine. Their new policy brief urges Texas legislators to enact the program statewide.
Christopher F. Kulesza, Abigail LevineFebruary 16, 2023
As the judicial battle over Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates continues, the authors argue that the most effective way to protect children from COVID-19 is to require masks in schools. Click below for their full list of policy recommendations, including what exceptions should be made, and when and how to end school mask requirements.
Quianta Moore, Christopher F. KuleszaDecember 9, 2021
Carbon nanotubes are critical components for future decarbonization strategies and a clean energy revolution. If the U.S. is to reestablish climate leadership, advanced nanotechnology solutions must be a national priority, argues the author.
Integrating a life-cycle dimension into future policies to assess the social, environmental and economic implications of various products across their life cycle and throughout their value chain is critical to achieving sustainability and a circular economy, writes Rachel A. Meidl, fellow in energy and environment.