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Monthly archive for September, 2009
New York City’s 10 Worst Bridges – A Horror Picture Show
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
The General Contractors Association of New York today named the 10 worst bridges in New York City. They’re definitely a shabby lot. But it’s actually a little unfair to present this as a case of city government falling down on Read more ›
You’re Hired! 5 More Hot Jobs In Infrastructure
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
A few months ago, when the financial markets were still in freefall, we looked at ten infrastructure-related jobs with bright prospects. As we noted at the time, the global infrastructure sector is poised to see $35 trillion in spending over Read more ›
Meet The World’s Longest Bridge — If It Ever Gets Built
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
. Two tiny little countries in the Middle East are combining forces to show up the rest of the world by the longest bridge ever. It will 1,215 blue whales long! Cetaceans aren’t your preferred distance metric? That’s 24 miles. Read more ›
Other Nations Expand Nuclear Power While America Keeps Watching The Simpsons
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
These days there is a constant drip of news about other countries planning their energy future around nuclear power. Today, for instance, there’s an announcement from India’s prime minister that his country wants to build 470 gigawatts of generating capacity Read more ›
The Daily Dig – ‘Window Washing On The World’s Tallest Building’ Edition
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
. A rash of mysterious water main breaks in LA has caused localized flooding and even a street cave in. City engineers are wondering if recent water restrictions are to blame. (NYT) States stand to lose $9 billion in federal Read more ›
Sexy Coal Miners: Dumbest Ad Ever?
Monday, September 28th, 2009
Sometimes you look at something that a large organization full of smart people does and are left only to stammer… “Really? Nobody in the whole damn place had the good sense to kibosh this?” Such is the case with this Read more ›
Old Penn Station Lives Again In Virtual 3D Model
Monday, September 28th, 2009
The ghost of New York’s old Penn Station will probably never rest. Which is a good thing, because knocking it down to build Madison Square Garden was one of those epic mistakes that deserves to remain a source of some Read more ›
Cities Are For Cyclists, Says Rock Star
Monday, September 28th, 2009
David Byrne–that intense, herky-jerky fellow who sang “Burning Down The House” and various other songs you know from the 80s–says it used to be considered very uncool to ride a bike in New York. It certainly was at the time Read more ›
The Best Of TreeHugger: What’s The Fastest Way To Get Around A Busy City?
Monday, September 28th, 2009
Do a speed test of 18 different types of transport, covering a distance of about 10 kilometers (over 6 miles) during rush hour in Sao Paulo, and the winner will be — you guessed it — cyclists. As Paula reports, Read more ›
We’ve Used Up The Earth For 2009–Time To Hibernate
Friday, September 25th, 2009
On a sunny Friday afternoon it’s always nice to hear that there’s no more planet left for this year. But that’s the sad case today — as of 3 pm or something, we’ve exhausted mama Gaia’s ability to give us Read more ›
Will Florida Be America’s Shining Example That 21st Century Rail Can Work?
Friday, September 25th, 2009
If high speed rail is ever going to have a chance of taking root in the US, we’re going need to need a working example that makes everybody jealous. Specifically, we’re thinking here of a world-class high speed link here Read more ›
The Daily Dig – High Speed Rail Edition
Friday, September 25th, 2009
Our weekly Friday round-up of HSR news from around the world: This winter, 220-mph trains will start plying the rails in Russia, linking Moscow and St. Petersburg. The locomotive-less creation by Siemens is the culmination of a Soviet era dream Read more ›
What’s Up With MagLev? 6 Current Proposals To Build Floating Trains
Thursday, September 24th, 2009
The news last week that the U.S. government would distribute $90 million in grants for maglev planning studies excited those who see the technology as the future of transportation. Rather than relying on steel rails, maglev trains float down the Read more ›
The Daily Dig – Temporary Vertical Algae Bio-Reactor Edition
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
. The leaders of the world’s two biggest carbon emitting countries both talked about global warming yesterday. But Hu Jintao talked about the importance of nuclear power–which almost certainly has to play a major role in a low-carbon economy–while Obama Read more ›
Brains And Cities Obey The Same Growth Laws
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
The fundamental virtue of a city is that it’s a place where connections happen — social, commercial, logistical, and so on. We could all live Unabomber lives in isolated shacks and humanity would carry on, but that would be an Read more ›
The Daily Dig – ‘Mustache Of Understanding’ Edition
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
. For the first time in his presidency, Obama speaks to issue of global warming. It threatens “irreversible catastrophe” for future generations, he says, and he is “determined to act.” (AP) [SButtonZ button="digg"] A small smart grid program in Fayetteville, Read more ›
Dubious Green Schemes: $35 Trillion For ‘Solar Roadways’
Monday, September 21st, 2009
Sustainability is a good thing. So is technological innovation. And the combination is perhaps humanity’s best hope for averting catastrophe in the century ahead. So what’s not to love? Well, stuff like GM’s “algae-filled Hummer.” The notion of an SUV Read more ›
‘Retrofitting’ The Suburbs — It’s About Prosperity, Not Politics
Monday, September 21st, 2009
Over the weekend that silly pinko rag the Wall Street Journal ran a long article looking at suburban “retrofitting”– the process of going back a trying to figure out how to make the ‘burbs look and act less like ‘burbs Read more ›
The Daily Dig: ‘Printing The Whole Internet’ Edition
Monday, September 21st, 2009
. Phoenix’s new light rail network is proving a great success, giving “part of the city a new, dense connectivity that was more or less unheard of in the city two years ago.” One reason? Lots of weekend users. Also, Read more ›
The Art Of The Temporary Park
Friday, September 18th, 2009
(Pic: Gothamist) Being intractable fogies, we tend to look a bit skeptically on events that involve flamboyantly “creative” uses of public space. That’s just a matter taste though. We were even kind of “meh” about the idea of hanging millions Read more ›
