Research Library

The authors present a case study that considers the technological merits of methane pyrolysis while also addressing real-world implications including health and safety risks and commercial risks for introducing new carbon supply chains. This issue brief is a preliminary paper introducing forthcoming research that will be expounded upon in future publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25613/7tvg-6k39

Energy fellow Rachel A. Meidl examines federal and international efforts to assess the safe transport of crude oil by rail and to specifically consider the roles of vapor pressure and volatility in accident scenarios.

There is a growing global momentum to address the critical economic and environmental problem of plastic waste management. Fellow Rachel A. Meidl discusses the key elements and causes of this problem and explores policy actions for reducing the reliance on single-use plastics.

The 2018 utility fires north of Boston revealed opportunities for PHMSA to reassess and remodel strategic enterprise operations that ensure continuous improvement and sustainability in business practices, regulation review and development, collaboration across the agency, and transparency, writes fellow Rachel A. Meidl.

On August 31, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the shared goal of accelerating and streamlining the permit application review process for proposed LNG facilities. Fellow Rachel A. Meidl explores the significance and possible impact of this MOU.

The toll of Lebanon's dual governance system weighs heavily on the state and its governance structure. The author examines the current need to formalize the country's informal senate.

This brief explores how the alliance between Tunisia's two leading political parties — Nidaa Tounes and Ennahdha — has contributed to the Tunisian public’s growing dissatisfaction with formal politics, which has potentially dangerous consequences for the country’s democratic transition.

This brief explores the Trump administration's policy toward Iran and analyzes the ways in which it differs from that of the Obama administration.

This month, the Syrian Civil War will have lasted seven years. The authors of this brief explore how the United States — first under President Barack Obama and now under President Donald Trump — has struggled to develop a coherent strategy that balances U.S. interests in the conflict with the military, financial and diplomatic resources necessary to pursue them.

In this issue brief, the authors examine the amount of growth and transactional venture capital (VC) in Houston, finding the the city lacks sufficient levels of growth VC needed to support its goals of establishing a high-growth, high technology startup ecosystem.