May 29
2009

The New York Times

The New York Times has posted an opinion piece advocating for some important legislation regarding our nation’s infrastructure that has been lost in light of carbon trading, Supreme Court nominations, etc.  This legislation would establish a national infrastructure development bank.  The bank would use its own permanent fund to issue long-term, low-rate loans and bonds for the purposes of building road, public transit, drainage, water supply, flood-control, environmental mitigation, waste treatment and disposal, power, communications, and other projects.  In short, it would make it easier to create and maintain all those things, seen and unseen, that keep our world going.  This would be a great thing as the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) rates almost all of these categories as a C- or lower in its annual report card due to a lack of investment.  The ASCE doesn’t mention internet access, however, which is also much faster, cheaper, and more generally available in other developed countries.  We have some catching up to do and this seems a good way to get there.

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May 28
2009

Lisa Jackson, center, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, tours IJburg, a residential district built on reclaimed land in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday May 26 2009. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Lisa Jackson, center, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, tours IJburg, a residential district built on reclaimed land in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday May 26 2009. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

With the high cost of maintenance and the variability of its implementation, rising seas, and changing weather patterns, many are questioning the use of artificial flood control measures such as levees or dykes.  Instead, flood control has come to mean either avoiding the floodplain altogether, or developing it in a way that accommodates the natural flood pattern.  At least that is what has happened in the Netherlands, a place that was largely created by holding back the seas, and it seems that the Obama Administration may be coming around to the idea itself.  Lisa Jackson, head of the US EPA indicated as much during a recent trip to the Netherlands.  It also seems to be the thinking in Louisiana as this was the third trip that Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La) has made since Katrina.  There has been no word yet if this means that New Orleans will be jacked up on stilts or made to float with the rising water, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea.  In any case, the idea of restoring floodplains to their natural state has caught on with some US municipalities as shown in this testimony: Viewpoint: Protecting the Flood Plain.

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May 21
2009

Construction workers used saws to remove the broken pipe alongside Bethesdas River Road in December. The 66-inch-diameter pipe had been placed directly against jagged rock instead of in the required bed of gravel. (By Sarah L. Voisin -- The Washington Post)

Construction workers used saws to remove the broken pipe alongside Bethesda's River Road in December. The 66-inch-diameter pipe had been placed directly against jagged rock instead of in the required bed of gravel. (Image By Sarah L. Voisin -- The Washington Post)

ASCE alerted me to this story in their latest news brief.  It was a reminder as to why we do the things we do as engineers as well as the problems that we face with aging infrastructure.  This 66-inch water pipe exploded under pressure.  It is thought that installation next to jagged rock put undue stress on the pipe much as one would experience by having a knee pressed into one’s back.  The pipe should have been over-excavated and placed on a bed of gravel.  The wonder is that it took 44 years for this mishap to occur.  I expect more such ticking time-bombs will come to our attention as they cannot escape the clock and our infrastructure isn’t getting any younger.

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May 21
2009

Triangle Land ConservancyI was reminded in my most recent trip to the TLC’s Irvin Learning Farm just how much of a problem that ticks can be.  I did not think to wear any insect repellent or tuck my pants into my boots.  I did not check closely enough when cleaning up in the shower either as it was not until the next day that I noticed the bite marks and one tick still clinging to my mid-section.  As a result, I had to suffer through the consequences and, this time it meant body aches and fatigue.  It has not turned out to be serious, but it is a reminder of just what diseases ticks carry and the risks one takes when not taking the proper precautions.  I don’t think I will forget this the next time I venture out into the field.  I just forgot that “the farm” is “the field” and that most any tall grass poses a potential risk.  Usually, when I am in the field, it’s completely undeveloped and/or abandoned except for the odd trail.

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