Our Research
Pollution from agribusiness is responsible for some of America’s most intractable water quality problems – including the “dead zones” in the Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico and Lake Erie. Corporate Agribusiness and America's Waterways reveals the role of some of the world's largest agribusiness firms in the pollution of our waterways and calls for solutions to address the problem and ensure that corporate agribusiness firms take responsibility for their pollution.
(November 2010)The ability to see how government uses the public purse is fundamental to democracy. Spending transparency checks corruption, bolsters public confidence in government, and promotes fiscal responsibility. Wisconsin’s online government spending websites are disappointingly incomplete. Wisconsin has a very long way to go to match the spending transparency efforts of leading states such as Illinois and Minnesota in the movement toward “Transparency 2.0” – a new standard of comprehensive, one-stop, one-click budget accountability and accessibility.
(October 2010)The ability to see how government uses the public purse is fundamental to democracy. Spending transparency checks corruption, bolsters public confidence in government, and promotes fiscal responsibility. Pennsylvania Spending Transparency 2.0 explains how Pennsylvania’s new online government spending Web site – the Contracts e-Library – represents a good first step toward greater transparency. But Pennsylvania has a long way to go to match the spending transparency efforts of leading states in the movement toward “Transparency 2.0” – a new standard of comprehensive, one-stop, one-click budget accountability and accessibility.
(October 2010)The Midwest’s congested airports and crammed highways hinder travel around the region. As the main source of our dependence on oil, our transportation system also leaves us vulnerable to oil price spikes and pollution. Connecting the Midwest explains how an intercity passenger rail network linking all the Midwest's major cities could help address many of the region’s toughest transportation challenges, while delivering badly needed economic activity.
(September 2010)Patterns of extreme weather are changing in the United States, and climate science predicts that further changes are in store. Global Warming and Extreme Weather reviews the latest science linking global warming to expected changes in flooding, snowfall, drought, heat waves, wildfires and hurricanes, and highlights recent extreme weather events across the United States that illustrate the costs of inaction on global warming.
(September 2010)