Reducing the world’s carbon emissions, policy solutions to improve health outcomes, and preserving the integrity of the Supreme Court.
A skeptic’s case for court packing “The current battle over the Supreme Court changes the calculus; if Barrett is confirmed and Trump loses the election, adhering to norms and accepting the status quo on January 20 poses a greater harm than expanding the Court would. We have now come to believe, more in sorrow than in anger, that adding justices may be the only way to restore the institutional legitimacy of the Court,” argue Quinta Jurecic and Susan Hennessey. Read in the Atlantic | Health: A new contract with the middle class As America pays close attention to the president’s treatment and condition, it is important to evaluate the state of health of everyday Americans as well. Richard Reeves and Isabel Sawhill write that an individual’s health is intimately connected to their economic resources and opportunities, the structural inequalities they face, the relationships they form, and the respect they are paid. Read more | Heavy transport is a big carbon emitter—how can we change course? In order to avert the worst impacts of climate change, the world needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Samantha Gross explains that meeting these goals will require deep cuts in emissions in the coming decades, including in transportation where emissions are projected to increase significantly by 2050. Read more | A note on the Brookings response to COVID-19: The Brookings Institution campus in Washington, D.C. will be closed through at least January 4, 2021. For more information, read our full guidance here. As Brookings experts continue to assess the global impacts of COVID-19, read the latest analysis and policy recommendations at our coronavirus page or stay up to date with our coronavirus newsletter. | The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars. | |