Airplanes sink in melted asphalt, trains derail along kinked tracks, highways buckle over dry soil; these aren't scenes from a science fiction film depicting a future plagued by global warming. Climate change is here, and it's taxing our grid.
Matthew L. Wald and John Schwartz describe the rapid changes in weather patterns effecting the nation's infrastructure - from roads to rails to power plants - and taxing the minds of engineers and officials across the county, as extreme weather is the new normal and no area of the country is spared from its effects. "In general, nobody in charge of anything made of steel and concrete can
plan based on past trends, said Vicki Arroyo, who heads the Georgetown Climate Center at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, a clearinghouse on climate-change adaptation strategies."
Although cities and towns across North America are devising and implementing climate adaptation strategies (North Carolina, are you paying attention?), David Behar, the
climate program director for the San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission, believes that, "Even as the effects of weather extremes become more evident, precisely
how to react is still largely an open question."
"Ms. Arroyo of Georgetown said the federal government must do more. 'They
are not acknowledging that the future will look different from the
past,' she said, 'and so we keep putting people and infrastructure in
harm's way.'"
FULL STORY: Weather Extremes Leave Parts of U.S. Grid Buckling
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours
The state’s energy grid was entirely powered by clean energy for some portion of the day on 37 out of the last 45 days.
New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths
Two federal agencies launched a new, easy-to-use, color-coded heat warning system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors.
AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth
Several Texas cities are using an AI-powered platform called NoTraffic to help manage traffic signals to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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