Research Library

This brief reviews the cost and development problems associated with NASA's plan to return to the moon by 2024 and argues that it is crucial for officials at NASA and the White House to review and adjust the current plans in order to ensure a successful lunar landing.

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.

Due to its high launch costs and the availability of other, more cost-effective commercial launch vehicles, the Biden administration should review the need for NASA's Space Launch System during the negotiation of the annual federal budget, writes George W.S. Abbey, senior fellow in space policy.

As the Biden administration confronts a difficult economic environment, experts at the Center for Public Finance highlight key policy levers Congress might use to stabilize the U.S. fiscal situation and propose three main dimensions on which fiscal policy proposals should be evaluated to ensure transparency.

As a nation, we need to immediately focus on the availability of advanced materials that can drive the performance of both legacy and alternative energy fuels and systems and ensure sustainable footprints. This brief lays out why it is vital to do so.

With the cost of virgin plastic directly affected by oil and natural gas prices, the global plastics economy is highly vulnerable to shocks. The authors argue that in order to advance sustainability and solve existential crises like resource depletion and the environmental and social impacts of climate change, high-income countries should take the lead on the development of transparent, closed loops for plastics. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25613/JXVH-K250

Experts from the Center for Energy Studies offer nine climate policy recommendations for the Biden administration and argue that a bipartisan legislative push could accelerate a move toward significant action on climate change.

The authors assert that the time is ripe for the United States and Europe to take the lead on shepherding a systems-level change in the recycling market, strengthened by government regulation and legislation. They examine the economic, social, and environmental impacts of mismanaged waste and argue that the Covid-19 pandemic could serve as a catalyst for action toward a global, circular economy.

An increasing number of lawful permanent U.S. residents from Mexico could lose access to their U.S. social security contributions as a result of deportation.

The authors outline a cure for a component of the U.S.-China Phase 1 Trade Agreement that requires China to purchase $50 billion of energy products in the next two years.