(Above photo by the Bureau of Land Management) There is great uncertainty for state agencies in the upcoming year as finances are battered by the current recession. It is unclear whether there will be meaningful support from the federal government. As states decide what programs to cut, it is likely that capital improvement projects will... Continue Reading →
What is a National Climate Bank? Despite the name, it isn’t really a bank in the traditional sense of the word because it isn’t a depository institution. Rather, it’s a non-profit 501(c)(3) created for the sole purpose of leveraging limited public funding (through financing instruments such as market term loans, soft loans, equity investments, and... Continue Reading →
While we wait for federal lawmakers to pass a comprehensive infrastructure package that may integrate clean energy infrastructure and a sustainable framework for climate change and resilience in the face of continued severe natural disasters, there’s another federal resource worthy of attention. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) launched a new program, Building Resilient Infrastructures... Continue Reading →
The Trump Administration held a flurry of infrastructure related meetings last week. Lawmakers are still waiting for more details on the $1 trillion infrastructure plan that Trump touted during the campaign. There is uncertainty as to how much actual funding will be allocated to the infrastructure plan, and the President has questioned the role of... Continue Reading →
The devastation caused by hurricanes in 2017 to U.S. coastal cities and territories can only be described at this early stage of recovery as historic. The numbers and actual economic impacts in the coming months will no doubt illuminate more deeply the gravity of the situation, and will likely spark a renewed enthusiasm in the... Continue Reading →
According to U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, the Trump administration will unveil a $1 trillion infrastructure plan later this year. The announcement did not offer details of funding for projects, but according to Chao, investment will be valued at $1 trillion over 10 years. The proposal is expected to cover transportation, energy, water, and potentially... Continue Reading →
The dramatic images of water crashing down the Oroville Dam Spillway in California have shown us that we are dependent on infrastructure that is now well over 50 years old. Engineers know that the hydrologic models used to model weather events are based on data that was collected decades ago. As noted in an article... Continue Reading →
Big name companies such as Google, Uber, and major car companies are investing a lot of resources in autonomous vehicles. The focus right now is on these vehicles making driving decisions without driver input and vehicles possibly communicating with each other. Some technologists believe that it is essential that the vehicles also be able to... Continue Reading →
A week ago, the United States of America elected a new president. Now, President-Elect Trump's team must begin the process of setting-up a governance structure that will involve staffing the White House and the Executive Office, making more than 4,000 appointments, getting up-to-speed on the more than 100 federal agencies, building a policy platform consistent... Continue Reading →
Despite warming relations between the United States and Cuba, Congress has yet to change the embargo on most forms of trade (although restrictions on Cuban cigar and rum imports was recently eased, among some other changes). As a result, so many design projects related to tourist facilities, buildings, ports, and other infrastructure improvements have gone... Continue Reading →
