Topic: American Society of Civil Engineers

Energy Voices Fuel barge explosions underscore risks of fuel transportation

Alabama's fuel barge explosions were nothing more than an unfortunate accident, reports suggest. But the fuel barge explosions serve as a reminder that the distribution of often volatile energy resources comes with certain risks.

In Gear The sad, sorry state of US roads

Something has to change about the nation's crumbling infrastructure, Read writes. What would you do?

Army Corps not liable for Katrina damage, appeals panel finds

New Orleans residents were dealt a setback Monday when a federal appeals panel, upending its own earlier decision, ruled that the US Army Corps of Engineers cannot be sued for damages stemming from losses sustained after hurricane Katrina.

The Monitor's View: When half of India loses electricity, time for lessons on going local

India's electricity grid went out for 600 million people Tuesday. The historic blackout shows how nations must reconsider big, complex infrastructure like centralized electric utilities.

Readers Write: Republicans can win Hispanic vote; divorcing my bank

Letters to the Editor for the weekly issue of December 19, 2011: The GOP can win the Hispanic vote – look at the stats – and not by dropping its strict immigration enforcement stance. My own tale of divorcing...my bank.

Eight ingredients for a peaceful society

What makes for a peaceful society? Hot spots from Congo to the Middle East would benefit from such knowledge. But so would the United States, which, at home, isn’t always so harmonious and abroad, is still at war in Afghanistan. The Institute for Economics and Peace, an international research group, has come up with eight ingredients for more peaceful societies. They’re laid out in a report, “Structures of Peace,” based on the institute’s annual Global Peace Index and more than 300 data sets from around the world. The US does pretty well on five of them, but falls far short on three key ingredients. Michael Shank, vice president of the institute’s US office gives his take on eight ingredients America needs to reap the economic and social benefits of peace.

Is Gary Johnson right about shovel-ready jobs? 5 infrastructure challenges.

Republican presidential candidate Gary Johnson scored a rhetorical winner in a Republican debate Thursday by saying that his neighbor's dogs 'have created more shovel-ready jobs than this current administration.' But President Obama's latest jobs plan includes a call for more spending on roads and bridges, an idea that has at least some Republican support. Here's a look at the debate over infrastructure and the economy.

Obama's innovation push: Has US really fallen off the cutting edge?

Obama sees a push to innovate as the answer to a stalled economy and falling US status. Critics say staying on the cutting edge is not what ails America.

USA

Main Street, not Wall Street, should fix crumbling U.S. infrastructure

Repairs will cost trillions. Public pension funds can help pave the way.