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- Adaptation: Designing built environment for changing climate
Many engineers and builders are now focused on how to strengthen buildings and other infrastructure to better handle the effects of frequent extreme weather events, increased temperatures and sea-level rise. "Society and its infrastructure were designed for the climate of the past, not for the rapidly changing climate of the present or the future," according to a National Climate Assessment draft report. As a result, rather than arguing about whether climate change is real, many engineers and builders now address climate adaptation in their designs. Engineering News-Record
(2/27)     
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Transportation industry calls for making infrastructure more resilient: Massive damage from Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy has heightened the transportation industry's "sense of urgency about responding to severe weather events and building more sustainable facilities." While some bridges have taken nature into effect, "climate change has not been systematically considered in infrastructure planning," said Anne Hobson, a Government Accountability Office senior policy analyst. The industry is awaiting pending reports that are "expected to address the issues of sustainability and resiliency in transportation infrastructure." Engineering News-Record
(2/27)
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Experts: Rising sea levels pose increasing risk for coastal cities: Sea level is rising along nearly all U.S. coastlines, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says. Environmental issues associated with climate change affect nearly 75% of U.S. coastal cities, whose planning for such environmental changes falls short compared with the rest of the world, according to a survey by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives. Reuters
(2/27)
| Infrastructure Watch | | |
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- Senators propose to create fund for transportation projects
Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., have introduced the American Infrastructure Investment Fund Act of 2013 that would create a fund specifically geared toward transportation projects. It would be funded with $5 billion a year for two years. "This bill would establish a creative new way to leverage federal funding and increase investment in projects that will expand rail capacity, like the Gateway Tunnel, and projects that will modernize our ports and other infrastructure to meet the growing demands of the 21st century," Lautenberg said. The Journal of Commerce
(2/27), StreetsBlog.org/Washington, D.C.
(2/27)
- Los Angeles pushing envelope of bridge design
Some bridge designs in Los Angeles are pushing the design envelope, with multi-modal transportation a priority, writes Marissa Gluck. The Gold Line bridge with its "curvilinear basket design" is one; and the proposed Sixth Street bridge replacement with its "repeated series of concrete arches" is another. "These bridges aren’t embracing decorative elegance for their own sake; they’re also serving a wider swath of the public, including bicyclists, pedestrians and trains," Gluck notes. The Atlantic Cities
(2/27)
- A look at 17 heavily trafficked bridges in urgent need of repair
Transportation for America released a report of the "most trafficked structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges" in the U.S. From that list, Business Insider lists the 17 that are most heavily trafficked, including one on Interstate 95 in Jacksonville, Fla.; the I-64 ramp in Louisville, Ky.; and along I-35E in St. Paul, Minn. Business Insider
(2/27)
| Trends & Technology | | |
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- 3D printing adds a fourth dimension
So-called 4D printing takes 3D printing a step further, enabling individual chunks of material to assemble themselves intelligently into any form desired. The new technology from Skylar Tibbits activates individual strands of material that in turn guide themselves into the prescribed shapes. The process also has the advantage of enabling the objects to be self-adapting after their creation. Wired.co.uk (U.K.)
(2/27)
| Sustainable Development | | |
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- Pair of towers covered in trees, plants rising in Milan
Bosco Verticale, a pair of towers in Milan, Italy, is being covered with trees, groundcover plants and shrubs in an attempt to absorb dust and create a microclimate that "filters sunlight out." The structures are "a kind of biological architecture, which refuses to adopt a strictly technological and mechanical approach to environmental sustainability," says Stefano Boeri, one of the principal designers. The Guardian (London)/Gardening blog
(2/27)
- Tallest CSP tower in the world is under construction in Nev.
The world's tallest concentrating solar power tower, with a height of 640 feet, is under construction at SolarReserve’s Crescent Dunes in Nevada. "The tower’s foundation has 900,000 pounds of steel reinforcing rods and 4,800 cubic yards of concrete and the tower has 800,000 pounds of rebar and 4,300 cubic yards of concrete," said Crescent Dunes Site Manager Brian Painter. The project is expected to be operational by the end of the year. Greentech Media
(2/25)
| Advancing the Profession | | |
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- Leading your company through positive change
 Positioning a good business to be even better requires going beyond setting up the right structure, Robert S. Olszewski says. He advises companies to evaluate how they can cut waste in seven key areas, identify their sustainable competitive advantage and disrupt routines. "Companies that can clearly demonstrate why and how the change will have a positive impact, leading to dissatisfaction, have a higher probability of effective change," he says. Smart Business/Philadelphia
(2/2013)
| News from ASCE | | |
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Join ASCE in Charlotte this fall for our 143rd Annual Conference
Block out this Oct. 10 through 12 on your calendar and plan to head to Charlotte, N.C., for ASCE’s 143rd Annual Civil Engineering Conference. Meet with fellow pros for three days of invigorating discussion and interactive presentations on current issues. Among the sessions sure to generate buzz are Mechanisms for Financing Infrastructure and Personal Career Development. Watch the official website for updates on all the great events being planned around the conference theme, Civil Engineers -- Foundation of the Nation. See you in Charlotte!
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 | He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator."
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