With the construction industry in the toilet across all aspects and across the country believe me I know what this country has been ignoring, we have a big problem with doing that on a whole host of issues {like sending military into invading then long occupations and not listening to them thus not caring for many when they return}, for decades should have been at least more than just started to be taken care of {some states and communities did use stimulus monies for just that but once no money preventive maintenance, or replacement, once again stops} as the collapsed economy started and those with the wealth {that’s how most of theirs is made with breaks given on taxes enhanced development packages just to attract companies and much much more} should be main contributors to upgrading our Deteriorating Infrastructure, and it ain’t just bridges and roads!!
Tag: Infrastructure
Aug 13 2010
So The Stimulus Did Nothing, Huh!
This, directly below, as well as the continuing political? propaganda speak from a certain group that still wear the banner of a once political party, their media mouth and sponsor on 24/7 TV, their so called think tanks and those that want to leave the previous administration in the dust, after agreeing with everything it did, In Our Names, but now don’t want anyone to think they’re associated with that eight years plus so they formed the so called TEA party or as many did even before that started calling themselves libertarians, Has Been Eating At My Craw!!
Summertime Blues: Senator Tom Coburn, M.D., Senator John McCain A u g u s t 2 0 1 0
100 stimulus projects that give taxpayers the blues 74 page PDF, but there’s plenty of articles, by reliable sources, to read all about without downloading.
Mar 28 2010
Sunday Train: Revisiting What’s in SUPERTRAINS for Small Town and Rural America?
Burning the Midnight Oil for Living Energy Independence
Originally late April, 2009
This last weekend I wrote up a small diary, cross-posted to various places … which even stumbled into being wrecklisted at Agent Orange … about the High Speed Rail plan released by the Obama administration.
That diary focused on laying out the three “tiers” of HSR in the announced plan. “Express HSR” is one of the bullet train systems, like they are planning for California. But between that tier and conventional rail, are two more tiers, “Regional HSR” and “Emerging HSR”.
The bullet trains are the show ponies … but for small town and rural America, the genuine seat at the table for Emerging and Regional HSR is the real good news from the announcement.
Feb 24 2010
CBO: Stimulus DID create Millions of Jobs
There was some good news from the CBO today:
CBO: Stimulus bill created up to 2.1 million jobs
By ANDREW TAYLOR, The Associated Press – Feb 23, 2010
WASHINGTON — The economic stimulus law added between 1 million to 2.1 million workers to employment rolls by the end of last year, a new report released Tuesday by congressional economists said.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office study also said the $862 billion stimulus added between 1.5 to 3.5 percentage points to the growth of the economy in 2009.
[…]
CBO projects that the stimulus measure to have a greater impact this year, boosting gross domestic product [GDP] by 1.4 to 4 percentage points and lowering the unemployment rate by 0.7 to 1.8 percentage points.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…
And CBO is projecting even more good news this year, due to the Stimulus Jobs Bill …
Dec 06 2009
Solar Cell 40% Efficiency Breakthough, becomes Product Ready
This 40% breakthrough … has finally become available for your home (maybe?) and office use …
Solar cell breaks efficiency record
Michael Kanellos, CNET News — December 6, 2006
Boeing-Spectrolab has developed a solar cell that can convert almost 41 percent of the sunlight that strikes it into electricity, the latest step in trying to drop the cost of solar power.
Potentially, the solar cell could bring the cost of solar power down to around $3 a watt, after installation costs and other expenses are factored in, over the life of the panel.
[…]
Current silicon solar cells provide electricity at about $8 a watt, before government rebates. The goal is to bring it to $1 a watt without rebates or incentives.
http://news.cnet.com/Solar-cel…
Here is the Final Product from Spectrolab for your Home use. from this week’s news.
Nov 08 2009
It’s Time for a WPA — It’s Time to fix that Leaky Roof
The Problem: Unemployment, is just supposed to keep getting worse:
Unemployment rate rises to 10.2%
It’s the first time it has hit double digits since 1983.
By Don Lee and Jim Puzzanghera — Nov 7, 2009
Not since 1983, after a double-dip economic downturn had sent the auto, steel and housing industries plunging, has the jobless rate gone so high. And many economists predict that it will go higher still in coming months — and remain high for most if not all of next year.
Some 15.7 million workers now have no jobs, the government said in releasing its monthly unemployment report, and an estimated 5 million more are working fewer hours and drawing smaller paychecks than they were before the country fell into the worst recession in a generation.
http://www.latimes.com/busines…
Funny, you’d think that a Country with SO Much to Fix, in the Backlog, could find SOMETHING for ALL those Millions TO DO?
Nov 03 2009
Utopia 16: Student Driver
Oct 26 2009
We Need a New WPA, to “Bridge” Workers with Hope
The Problem: Unemployment, is just supposed to keep getting worse:
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rose More Than Forecast
By Shobhana Chandra
Oct. 22, 2009 (Bloomberg) — More Americans than forecast filed claims for unemployment benefits last week, a reminder that the labor market will be slow to recover.
Initial jobless applications rose by 11,000 to 531,000 in the week ended Oct. 17
[…]Economists project the unemployment rate will reach 10 percent by the first quarter of 2010, underscoring the risk to consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy. Companies cutting costs remain reluctant to hire, even as they’ve eased dismissals from levels seen earlier this year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/…
I heard a news Report this weekend that the +10% is expecting to last throughout most of 2010 too … Uh Oh!
Oct 24 2009
Imagine a 350 World — It IS Possible!
350 is more than a catchy slogan —
350 is a target Ceiling for a very good reason:
that reason:
+6 C
325 or 300 ppm, of worldwide CO2 levels,
would be more like what the world really needs!
Alas, what is an Oil and Coal addicted Planet to do?!?
1) Get educated
2) Don’t lose hope
3) Do YOUR part — No one else, can do that …
Aug 30 2009
Sunday Train: The Appalachian Hub, Part 1
Burning the Midnight Oil for Living Energy Independence , crossposted from The Hillbilly Report
It is widely remarked that the US Department of Transport map of High Speed Rail Corridors leaves a lot of obvious holes.
Often, this reflects a misunderstanding of what the DoT is mapping. This is not a “Master Plan”. There is no HSRail planner division inside the Federal Rail Administration inside the Department of Transport that is working away at deciding which corridor should be added to the corridor.
Instead, what they have mapped are the corridors that are eligible for HSRail funding. The way that things are set up is that a state or group of states do some planning, petition Congress be designated as a HSRail corridor, or added to a corridor, or for less sweeping changes petition the Department of Transport to revise an existing corridor, and {*voila*}, that’s a designated corridor.
Jul 03 2009
Infrastructure Report Card — and the Crumbling of America
America was built on lots of hard work. At the cost of untold blood, sweat and tears. So much so, that we take it for granted. We just assume that all the modern conveniences we enjoy — will just always be there!
Well a team of super serious, civil engineers, is warning our careless assumptions here, could be in for a very rude awaking.
American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE, has issued their 2009 Infrastructure Report Card, for America, and well, it’s far from encouraging …
Apr 26 2009
What’s in SUPERTRAINS for Small Town and Rural America?
Crossposted from Hilbilly Report
This last weekend I wrote up a small diary, cross-posted to various places … which even stumbled into being wrecklisted at Agent Orange … about the High Speed Rail plan released by the Obama administration.
That diary focused on laying out the three “tiers” of HSR in the announced plan. “Express HSR” is one of the bullet train systems, like they are planning for California. But between that tier and conventional rail, are two more tiers:
- “Regional HSR”, with a top speed of around 125mph, able to provide trips at average speeds in the range of 100mph, operating in existing rail rights of way, but mostly on its own track, with upgraded signaling and substantial investment in grade separation and/or the top level of “hardened” level crossings, normally with electrified lines; and
- “Emerging HSR”, with a top speed of 110mph, able provide trips at average speed in excess of 80mph, operating on existing rail right of way with improved capacity, but sometimes sharing track with freight rail, the 110mph standard of quad gate, speed sensitive level crossings, and provided by either electric or diesel 110mph tilt-trains
The bullet trains are the show ponies … but for small town and rural America, the genuine seat at the table for Emerging and Regional HSR is the real good news from the announcement.