Comments on: Drive with care over those 151,394 obsolete, unsafe bridges

By: NASA, American exceptionalism, and me: older, and less viable « deadlines amuse me

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:23:55 +0000

[...] nation, we stopped spending sufficiently on the foundations of the Republic that matter — roads, bridges, dams, refineries, airports, facilities to produce safe drinking water or treat wastewater, levees, [...]

By: NASA, American exceptionalism, and me: older, and less viable | Scholars and Rogues

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:16:52 +0000

By: The Unethical Deficit Debate, a Cause for Despair | Ethics Alarms

The Unethical Deficit Debate, a Cause for Despair | Ethics Alarms — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 21:39:16 +0000

[...] than 25% of the 600,000+ bridges in the United States are either either “structurally deficient” or “functionally obsolete” according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Upgrades and repairs are not keeping up with [...]

By: Brian Angliss

Brian Angliss — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 04:01:47 +0000

SkyKing - your information on coal ash is incorrect. It's quite hazardous, given that it's got arsenic, antimony, chromium, mercury, uranium, and selenium (at a minimum) well above safe levels. I recommend that you read the following guest post from Tom Yulsman here at S&R for more information: Coal waste dumps: ticking toxic time bombs. I worked with a guy who was doing radiation testing of electronics and found that their geiger counter was being messed with by the radioactive decay from the coal ash mixed into the wall board. Not necessarily at dangerous levels mind you, but it's still not something to mess with and it certainly doesn't qualify as "inert." As far as using human waste for fertilizer, while I'm generally in agreement that it's a good idea, it only makes sense if we can extract the excess pharmaceuticals and toxins that we, as apex predators, have in our excrement. Lex (our resident plant expert) made a comment about the heavy metals in human waste with regard to using the compost from composting toilets on gardens here, although he may have a different opinion if we're talking processed waste.

By: SkyKing

SkyKing — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:45:38 +0000

Opit,
Coal ash is inert. It’s just the ash left from burning nature’s own decomposed and compressed plants. Any possible undesirable material is so infinitesimal as to be of no effect on anything except the minds of non-scientific people who thrive on supermarket tabloids.
We’ve been using sewage biosolids for agricultural purposes for over half a century. You may have conditioned the soil around your house with Milorganite – sewage sludge from Milwaukee. Crops on undried biosolids produce twice as much food because of the mild fertilizer value, 4-4-0, and the irrigation (70% – 80% water). We’ve been consuming healthy food for decades so fertilized with no deaths. Recent salad vegetable contamination was from untreated sewage directly from farm workers. (How many hours can you go without peeing and pooping?) Compared to the produce fertilized with the product of chemical company laboratories, there’s no comparison, is there? Which produce would you rather eat?

By: Karl

Karl — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:34:38 +0000

Outstanding writing!
Thanks.
Now, nothing gets a lawmaker’s attention like help getting elected.
It’s time for every one of us to join a local political committee in their municipality.
The purpose of a political committee is not to promote ideological positions, it is to get endorsed candidates elected. You want your state or federal congressman or senator to listen to you? Make sure he sees and knows you out there working the polls and the phones to get him elected.
Make it a pleasant task, smiling and greeting your neighbors at the polls. If you’re not willing to make the effort, don’t complain.

By: 1/4 of U.S. Bridges Declared Structurally Deficient or Functionally Obsolete « Christopher A. Haase

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 04:00:24 +0000

[...] Scholars & Rogues blog has a nice overview of the crumbling US bridges issue. In a phrase, upgrades and repairs are not keeping up with wear and tear. Fixing the bad bridges is anticipated to cost "$650 billion over 50 years." Not good news for the 'less government, reduced taxes' crowd. There is good news and bad from a Hugger Posted by chaase Environmental, Health and Safety News Subscribe to RSS feed [...]

By: opit

opit — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:19:08 +0000

Glad to see you take this on. It already made its way through Treehugger to the Care2 newsboard. Infrastructure failure is scary.
But what that fellow said about what they did in the UK for the motorways has been done in some countries for a utility whose failure will hurt like it would in a war zone : water treatment. It’s not the failure to use chlorine that’s the scariest, though. It’s not a disinfectant anyway. It’s the spreading of sewage on crops, ditto coal ash which is full of radioactive toxins, and all this while frackking has crazed the bedrock so that the compounds used in ‘stimulation’ and gas permeate all. Privatized water delivery will arrive after the crash of budgets for public facilities has its inevitable effect.

By: Blame Everyone for Infrastructure Ruin: Unethical, Irresponsible Priorities from Reagan to Obama « Ethics Alarms

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:15:46 +0000

By: Art

Art — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:23:32 +0000

You are not seeing the up side to leaving those bridges to deteriorate. Failure of the bridges is the preferred outcome. Every bridge that falls is one that can’t be counted as deficient. It also eliminates the need to maintain long sections of roads. And anyone who dies when they fall, or drives off thinking it is still there, is a name that won’t be filling the welfare rolls or competing against you for a job. Enough bridges fall and we could largely eliminate the backlog of defective bridges, save significant amounts roads, and move toward full employment. It’s all good.

By: Slatest

Slatest — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:23:25 +0000

[...] has only appropriated $21 billion for the federal Highway Bridge Program since 2005. The blog Scholars & Rogues looked at President Obama’s agenda (“Transportation” is listed under a separate [...]

By: Quarter Of American Bridges Declared Structurally Deficient or Functionally Obsolete «

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:04:07 +0000

[...] Scholars & Rogues blog has a nice overview of the crumbling US bridges issue. In a phrase, upgrades and repairs are not keeping up with wear and tear. Fixing the bad bridges is anticipated to cost “$650 billion over 50 years.” Not good news for the ‘less government, reduced taxes’ crowd. But let’s focus on the environmental dimensions. There is good news and bad….Read the full story on TreeHugger [...]

By: Quarter Of American Bridges Declared Structurally Deficient or Functionally Obsolete | Ozzmoe's Universe

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:25:56 +0000

[...] Scholars & Rogues blog has a nice overview of the crumbling US bridges issue. In a phrase, upgrades and repairs are not keeping up with wear and tear. Fixing the bad bridges is anticipated to cost “$650 billion over 50 years.” Not good news for the ‘less government, reduced taxes’ crowd. But let’s focus on the environmental dimensions. There is good news and bad….Read the full story on TreeHugger [...]

By: Quarter Of American Bridges Declared Structurally Deficient or Functionally Obsolete | EarthChamps

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:07:07 +0000

[...] TreeHugger on 18/07/10 at 9:20 pm Bridge closed. Image credit:Ivan Cockrum Scholars & Rogues blog has a nice overview of the crumbling US bridges issue. In a phrase, upgrades and repairs are not [...]

By: B1 with Earth » Blog Archive » News: Quarter Of American Bridges Declared Structurally Deficient or Functionally Obsolete

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:09:55 +0000

[...] closed.Image credit:Ivan CockrumScholars & Rogues bloghas a nice overview of the crumbling US bridges issue. In a phrase, upgrades and repairs are not [...]

By: Quarter Of American Bridges Declared Structurally Deficient or Functionally Obsolete | Everything Green

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 01:50:42 +0000

[...] Scholars & Rogues blog has a nice overview of the crumbling US bridges issue. In a phrase, upgrades and repairs are not keeping up with wear and tear. Fixing the bad bridges is anticipated to cost “0 billion over 50 years.” Not good news for the ‘less government, reduced taxes’ crowd. But let’s focus on the environmental dimensions. There is good news and bad….Read the full story on TreeHugger [...]

By: Samuel Smith

Samuel Smith — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:50:37 +0000

Glad I don’t have to go down that way very often. I have driven over it, though, and you’re right – that is one more dangerous looking stack of cement.

By: Denverite, I

Denverite, I — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:54:55 +0000

Ahhhhh, yes. In Denver, my money’s on the next collapse being the Evans Avenue bridge over Santa Fe Drive. You can feel that mofo wobbling when cars are on it.

By: Richard Allan

Richard Allan — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:44:12 +0000

Privatise the bridges and let the owners maintain them, and charge for use. We did this here in the UK with the M6 Toll, and it’s a dream to drive.

By: Samuel Smith

Samuel Smith — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:30:03 +0000

I guess I sort of feel relatively insulated – I live in a fairly big city (Denver) and I imagine that most of these deathtraps are out in the woods. You know, backwaters like Minneapolis. Never mind – I’m going to ride my bike from here one out.

*sigh*

Great analysis. Frightening, but great. Anybody want to get a pool going on where the next one will drop into the water?