Analysis

A Longer View on Longer Trains: Part 3 Climate Impact

08 May 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

This is the third and final policy blog in the series investigating train length. The purpose is to survey the impacts and implications of longer trains to the U.S. economy, public safety, and the world. Because railroads are so central to the nation’s supply chain and transportation network, it is…

A Longer View on Longer Trains: Part 2 Costs

01 May 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

In this blog series, we are tackling the question of what longer trains mean for the United States and the world. We are using three lenses to evaluate this policy issue: safety, costs, and climate impact. Be sure to read our first blog overviewing modern day freight rail and explaining…

A Longer View on Longer Trains: Part 1 Safety

22 Feb 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

Longer trains can be a blessing or a curse, depending on where you sit. Certainly when stuck at a blocked crossing, one can only see the negatives. But what does a more wholistic assessment of longer trains reveal? Does the frustration outweigh the benefits, or are longer trains a key…

What the Data Says About Train Crew Size

13 Dec 2022, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

Following two significant railroad incidents in 2013, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) began taking a sharper look at train crew sizes. Under the theory that human error was causing substantial harm to rail workers, the public, and the environment, the FRA proposed a minimum crew size on locomotives to ensure…

Three Stages of Pipeline Opposition and What Each Gets Wrong

14 Jan 2021, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

  generally comes in three key stages. Each stage has its merit, but opposition to natural gas pipelines in many instances leads to negative consequences. To separate fact from fiction and dive deeper into the issue, this policy blog explores some of the broader considerations for natural gas pipelines and…

Why Do Some People Not Worry About Climate Change

22 Oct 2020, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

  – formerly Global Warming – is as controversial as any topic in politics today. As wildfires rage, sea ice melts, droughts appear, storms batter the coasts, and temperatures climb, it is easy to see climate change as the controlling factor lurking behind it all. How then, can some people…

532,000 Excavation Damages Cost The US $30 Billion in 2019, What Are States Doing About It?

16 Oct 2020, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

Excavation Damage Every person is required to call 811 or notify their safe digging One-Call center before breaking ground. That is for backyard projects, tree planting, home construction, or professional-level excavation. Failing to do this threatens to expose or damage a pipeline, electrical line, telephone or Internet cable, water main,…

The Longest Running Statistic

18 Aug 2020, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

Beneath Our Feet Underground infrastructure in America run for millions of miles. These make possible the basics of modern American life, carrying water, energy resources, electricity, cable, Internet, and phone service. Often we see utilities over our heads, like electrical lines, or even along the sidewalk, like pad-mounted transformer boxes….

Improving Pipeline Safety by…Drone?

19 Apr 2016, Posted by staff in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

Written by Shane Skelton, Aii Executive Director Commercial and private drone use has become a frequent topic of discussion around the country and in Washington, DC these days. New regulations and registration requirements from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), reports of close calls with air traffic, the desire to use…

The European energy union: A win for both continents

06 Apr 2016, Posted by staff in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

Energy Union In a first step toward creating an integrated energy grid, the European Commission last week allocated € 200 million ($223 million) for cross-border energy infrastructure projects aimed at increasing the efficiency of energy transportation across European Union members. While these grants signal momentum toward a desired “Energy Union,”…

Guest Blog: Netflix and Fly? A Brief Look at In-Flight Wi-Fi

31 Mar 2016, Posted by staff in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

By Chanil De Silva, Director of Policy at Nouveau Inc. Innovation can be a wonderful thing, especially when it allows you to continue watching your favorite Netflix series while soaring 30,000 feet above the ground. In-flight Wi-Fi initially limited to certain domestic flights is available almost universally, on both domestic…

Increasing Internet Access Through Lifeline Program

23 Mar 2016, Posted by staff in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

On March 31, the Federal Communications Commission will vote on a new plan for the Lifeline subsidy, which will help the program’s recipients apply the subsidy to mobile or fixed broadband should they choose to do so. The program originated in 1985 to provide discounted landline phone service to low-income…

Guest Blog: Just Say No to Europe and Nord Stream 2

15 Mar 2016, Posted by staff in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

Written by Debra Cagan, Senior State Department Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, Johns Hopkins, SAIS One would think that with plunging oil and gas prices, with suppliers tripping over themselves to desperately gain market share in a flooded market, and more choices than ever in securing gas for the European…