Aging America: Roads and Bridges

     America's roads and bridges are in bad shape, our arteries and veins are clogging up with a volume of traffic that was never dreamed of. Roads are crumbling, cracking, and falling apart. Bridges are rusting, straining under the weight of cars and trucks, and slowly dying. 20-30 years ago, America's transportation network was the envy of every nation across the world, now, many see it as a system that is slowly tying down the nation's advancement into the future.
     As a driver and a passenger, I think that I can speak for most drivers when it comes to this. All of us have driven on crappy roads before, they're not fun. Every time we go over a rough surface we have this feeling that our cars are going to break. However, it seems like these roads are never fixed either, why? For many reasons, the delays it will cause, the money needed, and the necessity of replacing the road. If a road were in bad condition and it was a main artery whom many rely on for their daily commute to work or home, the task of replacing the road will be a logistical nightmare as planners will have to reroute all traffic while trying to reduce delays. As with everything else in this world, there's a price tag attached. Money is needed to replace these roads and in our current economic turmoil, money is hard to find. One solution is to tax people and businesses in order to pay for construction costs, but that plan will inadvertently cause controversy and anger. However, if people are willing to donate money to help pay for part or all of the construction costs, then we can avoid unnecessary delays that will further drive up the cost. An effective campaign with door to door and town hall meetings will inform people on exactly where their money will go if they decide to give some. By doing this, we will get rid of suspicion and help ease the mind of some who think that the money will go into the pockets of other instead of the road. If not enough donations are obtained then taxes will be the only option, however, in order to keep everybody happy, people who have donated will be compensated with lighter tax increases.
     Keeping traffic from backing up and causing delays and unhappy drivers will be a huge hurdle to overcome. Since many of these roads are main arteries, secondary roads can't handle the expected volume of traffic. The best way is to give advance notice of somewhere between one to two months so that people who need to travel on those roads are informed well ahead of the construction day. Being informed allows people to find other routes or make arrangements to reduce their amount of travelling. Unfortunately, any construction on roads or bridges will cause delay no matter how much careful planning is put in place.
     Roads and bridges are repaired based on their need for repair due to tight budgets. If there's a bad road or bridge that you see, keep in mind that there will always be worse. As Qui-Gon Jinn says, "There's always a bigger fish." This system has its flaws though as many bridge that are in dire need of repair are left to crumble even more because some other bridge or road is in an even worse state.
     These problems can be solved by replacing bridges when possible that use better materials that can last longer and be just as strong. Plastics can be used as part of the main structure that supports the roadway if it was blended with rebar. Similar to pouring concrete over rebar, pouring melted plastic over rebar and allowing it to solidify would allow for strength and extreme durability since plastic does not break down over time like concrete. For bridges that are under capacity, building new ones next to old ones can help increase the volume of traffic that is capable of traveling over it but creates the need for wider road or highways. However, another solution is possible and will be discussed in a later post. Roads that are in bad condition will have to be repaved with the latest in asphalt technology to ensure durability. We could borrow ideas from the German Autobahn which is, in my opinion, the pinnacle in road design. They invest heavily in their road infrastructure allowing it to be the safest and fastest in the world.
     America needs its roads and bridges to survive, they are the arteries of our country and the locations they serve are either organs or cells. If our arteries are clogged, our organs and cells will begin to die and the whole system will fall apart.

Aging America: Pipelines

     America is still a relatively new nation, only 230+ years old with many cities, roads, and people to support its innovation and progress. However, the rate of progress and innovation is beginning to slow down as we begin to become victims of ourselves. The once prestigious roads, bridges, canals, and pipelines are beginning to show their age, sometimes with disastrous results. For example, on September 9, 2010, a 30 inch diameter natural gas pipeline ruptured and exploded in San Bruno, California, leaving a crater 167 feet long and 26 feet wide. The explosion killed 8, injured many others, and destroyed much of the neighborhood in which it was located in. The pipeline had been installed in 1956 with improper welding techniques and sharp turns that prevented inspections and weakened the overall strength of the pipe. Over the years, as pressure varied, the welds grew strained and eventually broke, causing the explosion. Many more miles of pipeline are just like the one in San Bruno, ticking time bombs. As we continue to move forward into the future, these systems grow older and more strained as consumption rises too. Since many of the plans for these pipelines have been altered in some way or designed so that inspection is difficult to carry out, more people are being put at risk. Gas pipelines are not the only kind of pipelines that are suffering or on the verge of breaking, water mains and oil pipelines are subject to the same treatment. Many water pipes are corroding and leaking wasting billions of gallons of water each year. Oil pipelines are being put under pressure as gas demand grows too, threatening to burst. The only way to fix this problem is to go there and replace those pipelines. This procedure is costly and inconvenient but the long term effect will obviously outweigh all of the cons. Money can be gathered easily because many of these utility companies that run and operate these systems have plenty of money. For example, look at the advertising that advocates of oil and coal are doing on television. It takes millions of dollars to air these commercials. So instead of using the money to air commercials that are clearly sending a false, twisted message about the benefits of fossil fuels, they could use it to upgrade their aging systems and then focus on finding alternative sources of energy that will actually benefit EVERYONE, not just their paychecks.
      Many pipelines run through residential and urban areas, posing a problem when trying to access and maintain them. The best solution in my opinion, is to dig them up, completely replace them with new pipelines that use new materials which can withstand more pressure, last longer, and be easier to maintain. Advantages to starting anew include being able to lay down pipes in an orderly fashion that makes it easier to inspect with PIGS. By laying new pipeline, engineers and city planners will also be able to update maps of their locations, making life easier for the people responsible for their maintenance. Installing new pipes also allows technology to gain a handle on relatively old tech. With terrorism part of the new reality, pipelines are especially vulnerable as they run through hundreds of miles of rural areas that are easy targets for anybody bent on hurting someone.New pipes can be installed with sensors that can report any breaches. Another plus side is the ability for the pipelines to monitor themselves and improving efficiency. Old pipelines also have an impact on the scenery of the landscape, sticking out like a sore thumb. New pipelines can blend into the scenery, reducing their visual impact on beautiful landscapes across America.
      However, we must keep in mind that pipelines carrying oil and natural gas will eventually be reduced or even phased out as our world becomes more dependent on CLEAN, RENEWABLE sources of energy. Pipes for water or other non fossil fuel things will be the only kind of pipes. These pipes will always need to be maintained and upgraded from time to time allowing Americans and the nation to advance forward.

Education in America

No one can doubt that the education system in America is one of the greatest and the worst in the world. Our colleges and universities are top notch, the desire of many students from across the nation and worldwide. However, our primary education, that is from K-12, is broken. Elementary, Middle, and High Schools across the nation face problems from everywhere. Our class size is growing, budgets are shrinking, infrastructure is crumbling, teachers are getting laid off. As a high school student myself, I can say that growing class size is not a good thing. Never was, never will be. Many of you have heard the consequences, less teacher-student interaction and what not. Shrinking budgets are a huge problem. Education is OUR FUTURE to remaining of the most industrialized, developed, and best nations in the world. We cannot simply just cut money from budgets and then fire teachers to balance the budget. Teacher tenor must be abolished, it is an antiquated system that boots some highly qualified teachers out the door. While teachers should get rewarded for long years of service to the school, they still need to be tested rigorously to ensure that they are effectively teaching us and we teaching them. There are many areas where money can be cut without damaging the educational system. Becoming more energy efficient is a huge starting place. Turning off the lights or more effectively managing the heating and cooling of school buildings can lead to huge savings. With that in mind, let's focus on the infrastructure of many school buildings. Like much of America, school buildings are getting old and are starting to show their age and antiquity. I go to a school that was newly built. It is a good school with some design flaws in my opinion. However, I have also gone to schools that were built in the 1970s and there is one difference that strikes me, the lighting. Old schools tend to have little natural light streaming in from the outside. A lighter interior makes the atmosphere seem more cheerful and welcoming, encouraging students to embrace the building and the institution instead of rejecting it. Rebuilding many old school buildings will benefit the entire community. One, it creates jobs. Two, students will get a state of the art facility that caters to the modern world of education. Three, the construction of a new school could beef up the surrounding neighborhood, prompting the area around it to become more clean and safe. Education is a complex and highly controversial issue as of now, but in my opinion, this issue should have one and only one opinion. You cannot abandon the educational system because when we do, we abandon the future.

9/11

To all who know or lost someone on this dark day in history, best wishes to you.

First Post

Hey guys:

So this is my first post on this blog. I'll be talking about current issues that are affecting us everyday on a daily or weekly basis depending on my time constraints. So stay tuned for more.