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Monthly archive for October, 2010
Can We Save America’s Crumbling Water System?
Friday, October 29th, 2010
Water infrastructure may not be a sexy topic, but it’s becoming an important one. The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave America’s drinking-water systems a grade of D-minus. Roughly 10 billion gallons of sewage seep into these crumbling pipes Read more ›
The Morning Dig: The Future of California’s Clean Energy
Friday, October 29th, 2010
• In a new ad (above), “Avatar” and “Titanic” director James Cameron comes out swinging against Proposition 23 on the California ballot, since it would stop an important global warming law and hurt that state’s clean energy economy. • Just Read more ›
The Morning Dig: The Environmental Costs of Building a City in the Desert
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
• After years of fast growth, Dubai is facing environmental problems. (NYT) • Some European airlines are complaining that U.S. security rules are too tight and are hurting business. (AP) • After a recession that hurt demand, business jets are Read more ›
The Road Signs Are A-Changin’
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
America’s road signs are about to undergo a massive makeover. The Federal Highway Administration is requiring that signs cease and desist their all-cap ways and instead use mixed-case lettering—dropping MAIN ST. to Main St. Letters will be written in a Read more ›
DOT Releases $2.5 Billion in High-Speed Rail Funding
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
The sorely needed ARC tunnel appears to have died a second death this week, but not before several train lines got a second wind. The Department of Transportation has reportedly issued $2.5 billion to various rail projects across the country, Read more ›
The Morning Dig: The Crucial Importance of Water Infrastructure
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
• Bob Herbert has a good column looking at why infrastructure (especially related to water) is not taken seriously in this country. (NYT) • And Tom Friedman has decried the fact that election campaigns in the U.S. have not discussed Read more ›
The Rise of the Walkable City
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
The sun may finally be setting on America’s suburban empire. Home designers are calling for the death of the McMansion. Planners are listing the economic, health, and environmental drawbacks of sprawl. Policy analysts are highlighting the importance of major metropolitan Read more ›
The Morning Dig: The Feds Get Serious on Solar Power
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
• The Obama administration has approved the biggest ever solar power project on federal lands: a thousand megawatts in California. (AP) • Today, the water level at China’s Three Gorges Dam has risen to its maximum level, leading to the Read more ›
Luxury Carmakers Now Making…Bicycles
Monday, October 25th, 2010
There are big changes afoot in the car industry. The media is reaching a fever pitch over electric vehicles as the Chevy Volt prepares to hit the market, with its rumors of 127 mpg (and predictions of substantial CO2 savings). Read more ›
TIGER II Proposals Already Under Attack by Auto Interests
Monday, October 25th, 2010
Opponents of balanced transportation wasted no time denouncing some recipients of the TIGER II infrastructure grants, announced last week. Noting that less than a third of the $600 million in federal funding went to “road projects,” Marc Scribner of the Read more ›
The Morning Dig: How the Head of New York’s Subways Is Faring
Monday, October 25th, 2010
• Transportation correspondent Michael M. Grynbaum looks at how MTA director Jay Walder is doing after a year in office. (NYT) • Acclaimed journalist Seymour Hersh has an in-depth article about whether to worry about terrorists using cyber-war to attack Read more ›
New Report Shows States Want to Cut Infrastructure Spending
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
Earlier this month the White House released a report stating that most Americans—84 percent, in fact—are perfectly happy to spend money on the country’s broken infrastructure. But a new study also released this month suggests that such approval exists only Read more ›
The Morning Dig: The Story of a Streetcar Entrepreneur
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
• A video report (above) looks at an American company which is building streetcars for some U.S. cities. • Cambodia will probably be getting much-needed passenger train service after its rail system was privatized. (AP) • An article looks at Read more ›
Should We Raise the Price of Street Parking?
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
When it comes to parking, many drivers embrace the George Costanza system: Look for the dream spot, then “slowly expand out in concentric circles.” Georgie Boy’s philosophy may be a great metaphor for life, as Harvard’s president recently claimed. But Read more ›
The Morning Dig: Why Can’t New Jersey Just Get a New Tunnel?
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
The ARC tunnel saga: a sad state of affairs • Brian Donohue of the Newark Star-Ledger has a good rant (video above) questioning why Europe and Asia care about their rail infrastructure more than some U.S. politicians like NJ Governor Read more ›
DOT Announces $600 Million in ‘TIGER II’ Grants
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
Today the Department of Transportation announced the recipients of the TIGER II grants for major infrastructure projects. Nearly $600 million was awarded to 42 capital construction and 33 planning projects in 40 states. According to a department press release, 29 Read more ›
Construction Begins at New York’s New Rail Hub
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
The transformation of the James A. Farley Post Office into Moynihan Station, an expansion of New York’s Penn Station that will ultimately become the city’s passenger rail hub, began earlier this week. A host of officials attended the groundbreaking—or, in Read more ›
The Morning Dig: Hollywood Embraces Biking
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
• A video (above) looks at how Hollywood is beginning to stray from its car-loving characters and show more bike-riders in movies. • One gleaming new city in China has everything but is lacking in one small detail: people. (NYT) Read more ›
Was Obama’s ‘Shovel-Ready’ Statement Really Controversial?
Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
President Obama’s statement that “there’s no such thing as shovel-ready projects” has stirred what could be termed a tempest in a pothole. The quote was reported in a New York Times Magazine piece from last week, and afterward Times columnist Read more ›
The Morning Dig: Christie Sounds the ARC’s Death Toll
Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
• New jersey Governer Chris Christie has announced he will pull the plug on the ARC tunnel project “unless another financial source is found.” (NJ.com) • In a Streetsfilms video (above), Dr. Donald Shoup, professor of Urban Planning at UCLA, Read more ›
