I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, August 1, 2007. Is aging infrastructure something 'they' don't want to own up to? Should there be more funding? Can we afford it with a growing population and a growing expense for natural resources?Maybe you have been wondering about all the so-called jobs that will come with accepting renewable energy and living in a world with climate change. Well, this article is not directly about jobs, but read it and think about what types of jobs will be required to answer the questions that this article is addressing. The jobs will be unique for the current time, because they will be "thinking" jobs, ones that are not the same old, same old. It is the youth of today who will answer these questions and think up new ideas. What an exciting challenge. And those of you who have been a part of these blogs are well on the way to living in this "new" world that is coming. I have been very impressed with your thoughts and ideas and feel that you are on the right track to exciting opportunities.
And so, what is this article? Transportation. Changes that will be required because of climate change. Specifically it notes:
- increases in very hot days and heat waves
- increases in Arctic temperatures
- rising sea levels
- increases in intense precipitation events
- increases in hurricane intensity.
Each of these climate change results will create infrastructure headaches (and even a few 'good' things, like being able to sail the Arctic!). Things break, things age in the normal course. With climate change it will no longer be the old normal, but a new normal, one that is seemingly random or chaotic - until we have minds that begin to work WITH the changes, instead of trying to do the "conquering of nature" as we have in the near past.
Each of these challenges will require people who are thinking outside the current box, and creating a new box (which, of course, will also require going outside of it). People will need to be expert in various transportation modes, climate change and effects, as well as working with one another to adjust the infrastructure.
Infrastructure. A majority of the roads, bridges, highway, and tunnels in America were completed in the 1960s. That is now getting to be close to 50 years old. Everywhere there are problems with infrastructure that is aging. Roads with potholes, bridges falling down or on the cusp of failure, tunnels losing panels due to poor construction quality, highways congested and worn out. Not only to they all have to be corrected, but rethinking how to proceed into the new sustainable future. Do we all have to have cars ALL THE TIME? Is there a way to share some transportation, or heaven forbid, live nearby our work? Can we change the way we live? As we rethink our infrastructure we will need to also rethink how we live and can we continue as we have been? Do we need to rethink our patterns in life? Hey! we can use a few geographers and urban planners for that.
There are many jobs that have not yet come to be, but if you keep reading the many issues and new opportunities in the sustainable world we are shaping, then, you will find your way.
11 comments:
With global warning no longer being a threat, but reality, many jobs will be created to change the current infastucture of the United States. This will change the way that buildings, bridges, roads and airports are built. Eventually the major goal of all coastal areas will be to move all the airports inland, because it is a lot easier to move the infastructure in than to try to fight against nature. Many roads and bridges will have to be made with new materials that are more able to withstand the drastic temperature changes from the winter to the summer in the midwest. When we look at the bridge falling in Minnesota, we have to really evaluate our infastructure here, because we have some of the same extremes in temps that cause the roads to be effected the way they are. It also is very important for the government to return the wetlands to their original state,which will act as a buffer against hurricanes. In my opinion, a whole program should begin that would be similar to those programs created in the New Deal that would help rebuild the current infastructure that we have. With out this being done, disaster is inevitable.
Charlene Dew
Geog 320 Tues
So is it responsible to tear down the resources of this country's infrastructure (roads, buildings, energy sources, etc)in order to build it back up in a responsible way? That sounds incredibly wastefull. And what happens then in 50-100 years when everyone looks at these eco-renovations and says "well that's out of date and not very efficient, let's rip it down and build it up better". No matter how good the intentions may be, America gets criticized all the time for being wastefull like that. These new eco-jobs/eco-technologies should compromise between the new world we want and the old world we've created. I'd like to see an effort to compartmentalize the population centers we have now and then make off limits for development up to 30% of the earths surface. Then lets invest in environmental science and construction to "encourage" natural protective environments like giant wetlands as hurricane defense, and increased tree canopy for temperture control. The jobs of the future could be to protect our future, and I have a feeling there would be strides in the human development index that we never even expected.
There are no two ways around it, something needs to be done about our current infrastructure. I live at the very bottom of Michigan near Lake Erie. As global warming is continuing, the temperatures in area are very extreme. The freeze-thaw effect has increased significantly, nothing is staying frozen for very long. The roads in the area that I live in are horrible. I think it was back in the 60's or 70's that someone came up with the idea of concrete roads that were sectioned every few feet. This was a bad idea because huge chuncks are coming out of the road every winter. In fact, the road commission has patched about 10 times already this winter. Obviously this infrastructure is out of date and needs to be replaced. By replacing it, more work will be created for people and less cars will be damaged.
Yes, it may seem wasteful to replace the existing infrastructure, but it does need to be done in many areas and will overall boost the economy of our state. And when it comes to people's safety, something has to be done even though it is essentially wasteful. We cannot have bridges collapsing and major roads breaking up into large pieces. This is unsafe for pedestrians and drivers. I totally agree with Charlene that in the future we need to rebuild a lot the old infrastructure or things are going to continue to get worse.
I read the article and the comments, and I just wonder what the right answer truly is. If we tear down our country to rebuild it then I do believe that it would be extremely wasteful, but at the same time, if this country doesn't do something to change the direction we are headed in then we are in a lot of trouble. Global warming is a serious threat that isn't really a threat anymore. It is scary to think about our world ending and it being completely our fault and its happening slowly for us, and fast to the world. This is a disease that we need to find a cure for and as soon as possible. Keeping our world going is the top priority in my eyes seens how we this is truly the only thing we have.
I think this issue let's us know the David and Goliath battle that environmentalist have in this country. The ideas of environmentalist contain a double edge sword. On one end you want to make a difference and on the other end this difference involves a great deal of sacrifice and discipline. If you look at the state of Michigan you will see an example of one reason that it is so difficult to change things involving the development of our infastructure. It's all political. Everytime there is a recession of any sort, government feels it necessary to dump money into road building projects. The problem with this is that, one the roads are not made to last. When you look at the life of roads in Michigan its only a couple of years. Two, the financial boost supposily for the people falls into the hands of a few that hold the road building and the government of Michigan in a choke hold. Like I said first, politics are a dirty game. The longer this country continues its politics as usual nothing will every come of issues that are more serious than many believe.
The way our roads were constructed back in the 60's was fine for that time. I don’t have an exact figure, but I am betting our population back then was substantially less than what it is now. Our ways of transportation have not changed much since that time, but the volume at which we have traveled has. There is going to be a huge need for people to reconstruct our internal infrastructure within the U.S. When the highways were constructed under the acts it created many jobs for many individuals. As Charlene said, under the New Deal it changed our country not only internally and physically but economically. Maybe it is time that we had another such "deal" come into play.
Being nice to earth and ecosystem would be the goal that youth of today.
It sounds wasteful replacing the old infrastructure, however, to keep safe we should replaces some of them. When I moved to Michigan, I was surprised how the roads are bumpy. I heard the road are easily get damaged because workers scatter the icy road with salt during the winter. Because of the damages, I feel somewhere is under construction every year.
Couple months ago, there was a news that the bridge broke down and many people got injury.
To avoid these problems, I think we should have workers to check these old structures periodically.
Yuki Uchida
Geog 320
if we know that signs of global warming is upon us we should have a plan to counteract it. The transporators should devise plans for us if they know what the affects the sea rises has. It seems like to me that if you know something you are more likely to deal with the problem better.
Chaz Douglas geog 320
I think this is one of the hardest questions about global warming. Do we change the whole infrastructure of the United States and in the process, be extremely wasteful? Or do we continue on in the path we are heading, and let global warming take over? This is a very tough decision, but in the end I think the only way to do would be to do anything to end global warming (no matter what the cost). If we don't end global warming now (or at least lessen it), we will have no world to live in at all.
I see the effects of the climate, the pollution, the gasses, the economy and it is devastating. It is beyond words and disgusting. While something drastic needs to be done, I do not believe that recreating our infrastructure is the answer. There are many more logical and more conservative ways to do it. We can renovate, rebuild small portions and go green to name a few. Drastic changes are going to be detrimental to our economy as well as not as quickly feasible. We need the changes now. As we have seen in the texts that we have read, sustainability is hard to accomplish, but starting now makes it a little more realistic. Waiting could mean that it will be too late.
Something really does need to change. I live in dearborn and both Michigan ave, and telegraph are a wreck, pot holes everywhere, construction non stop and for what? So it can be done again in 3 or 5 years. Heck construction on nine fo(I94 thank Kwame for the nick name)over telegraph lasted nearly a year so a unnessary 15 million dollar bridge could be built so people ariving at North West for the super bowl would see something new and nice. There needs to be perminent fixes not jest bandages that need constant repairs. So yes the future is bright for those out side the box thinkers. Who knows we may see a summer with out orange cones, you never know!
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