The COVID-19 pandemic has already shown a dispersion away from the nation’s most urban and densely populated counties to suburban, somewhat whiter, and less politically Democratic parts of the country.  Yet the group of counties that newly qualify as areas with a high prevalence of COVID-19 cases are even more dispersed, and represent places where…

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, America has begun to open up for some business and limited social interaction, especially in parts of the country that did not bear the initial brunt of the coronavirus.  However, the number of counties where COVID-19 cases have reached “high-prevalence” status continues to expand. Our tracking of these…

With the goal of improving the management of oil, gas, and mineral revenues, curbing corruption, and fighting inequality, African countries—like Ghana, Kenya, Guinea, and Liberia—are stepping up their efforts to support good governance in resource-dependent countries. Long-fought-for gains in transparency—including from initiatives like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)—have helped civil society and other accountability…

With the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) replacing No Child Left Behind as the new federal education law, states have gained greater freedom to personalize their education policies. ESSA’s promise of decentralization is a victory for state education leaders, but also transfers to them the responsibility of ensuring that school systems are held accountable. During…

1.1 What's the issue? Incomes in developed and developing countries have been converging, especially since the turn of the century, but the unevenness of that trajectory merits further examination. Beginning in the early the 2000s, the average per capita income of developing countries (adjusted for purchasing power parity) has increased substantially relative to the average…

Rather than Italy leaving the euro, it’s now that the euros are leaving Italy. In the recent weeks, after doubts emerged about the government’s will to remain in the European monetary union, Italians have transferred dozens of billions of euros across the borders.  Only a few days after the formation of the new government, the financial situation almost slid out of control. Italy’s liabilities with the euro-area (as tracked by…

The horrific attack in Nice last week underscores the acute terrorist threat France is facing, writes Bruce Riedel. The French parliamentary recommendation to create a French version of the National Counterterrorism Center is a smart idea that Paris should implement.

President Bush has proposed adding optional personal accounts as one of the central elements of a major Social Security reform proposal. Although many details remain to be worked out, the proposal would allow individuals who choose to do so to divert part of the money they currently pay in Social Security taxes into individual investment…

What we know depends on what we measure. Traditional income-based metrics, such as GDP and poverty headcounts, tell a story of unprecedented economic development, as seen by improvements in longevity, health, and literacy. Yet, well-being metrics, which are based on large-scale surveys of individuals around the world and assess their daily moods, satisfaction with life,…

The following is part of the Series on Counterterrorism and American Statutory Law, a joint project of the Brookings Institution, the Georgetown University Law Center, and the Hoover Institution Introduction It is a slight exaggeration to say that Barack Obama is the first president in American history to have run in part on a political…

The global outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus, which causes the disease now called COVID-19, is posing significant challenges to public health, the international economy, oil markets, and national politics in many countries. Brookings Foreign Policy experts weigh in on the impacts and implications. Giovanna DeMaio (@giovDM), Visiting Fellow in the Center on the…

Just what we've been waiting for - an automated home fermentation device that can turn fruit or honey into wine, mead, or cider.

The World Happiness Report 2015 takes a look at well-being for the good of social progress and public policy.

Who wins this year's crown of contentment? The results are in for the UN's World Happiness Report 2016.

But the United States has opted out.

It is now 2011 which means Fashion Week in New York is just around the corner. Making news abroad, Norway has banned fur from the biannual Oslo Fashion Week, Ecouterre reports (via Huffington Post) making them the first country to

You can see these magnificent photo portraits of Londoners on a wall or on the web.

Stand Up (On Your Bike) And Be Counted I've already written about Copenhagen's cyclist counter a while ago. I still think it's a great idea, not only to count cyclists, but as a subtle tool to show the strength of the local bike community and to add a

London's international embassies are showing off their countries' design as part of the London Design Festival.

It may lead to as many as 20,000 passive houses being built over the next five years.

There is a certain irony in the fact that some of the best biking in the U.S. is in an area where people have rejected the modern world -- including bikes (for those of the Old Order).

220 years ago a lot of people wanted to move to Canada. Here is how they were welcomed.

Neri&Hu turn climbing the stairs into an experience for Bloomberg in Hong Kong.

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are banding together to combat unlawful timber products and curb deforestation.

A vagrant Cape Sea Lion that made a record trip to Kenya is rescued from a fisherman’s gillnet.

This soil-free smart garden promises fresh greens and veggies that are grown as local as it gets.

The numbers are in for the World Happiness Report 2017; who wins this year's crown of contentment? Think of it as a love letter to Scandinavia.

While advertising her new film "Beauty & the Beast", Watson wants people to think about how and where clothes are made.

This is beginning to get real.

The Muslim American Society of Charlotte isn't just putting solar on its mosque. 40 of its congregants are going solar too.

Photo: Stephanie Says, Flickr, CC Turning Food into Fuel is Not the Solution The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) has released a warning that U.S. and European policy to increase the production of biofuels could lead to almost

Is the conventional wisdom that we need not worry about tailpipe emissions in biofuel-powered vehicles, because the plants had been absorbing carbon while growing, grossly misguided?

Not waiting for national legislation to set a price on carbon and kickstart the journey to a low-carbon future, Montgomery County, Maryland has enacted one the country's first carbon taxes. Passed by a vote of 8-to-1 the tax

The largest greenhouse gas emitter wants wiggle room when it comes to cutting emissions.

Environment minister called waste importers 'traitors' who don't care about the country's long-term sustainability.

We take a tour of a sustainable factory that turns discarded glass into durable building materials.

Inspired by arthropods, this minimalist all-wood home features a spacious-feeling interior and energy-efficient, passive heating and cooling strategies.

Boom-and-bust cycles are no coincidence.

The technology could save countless lives.

Why so much focus on packaging when product waste is equally important to consider?

While the immense amount of rain and devastating floods that hit Colorado nearly two weeks ago were already tragic , they have also exposed a concern regarding the lax environmental regulations that allow the oil and gas industry to drill in flood zones.

The rupture spilled thousands of gallons of oil, contaminated at least four miles of beach and spread into the ocean.