Blog Posts

The Unique U.S. Car Culture

10 Nov 2023, Posted by Andrew Jefferis in All Posts, Blog Posts

America is undoubtedly a nation of cars. There are 908 motor vehicles per 1,000 people in this country, and it is only beaten out by a half dozen micronations like Andorra, San Marino, and Gibraltar for the most cars per capita in the world. With 92 percent of American households…

How Does ChatGPT Handle An Essay Contest?

31 Oct 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

This fall, Aii hosted a nationwide scholarship competition open to all enrolled students in higher education. We received articles from undergraduates across the country as well as masters and PhD candidates all putting their ideas forward on how to solve the nation’s most pressing challenges. The contest details asked students…

A National Comparison to Washington D.C.’s Infrastructure

17 Oct 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

When our Founding Fathers picked ten square miles of swampland on the Northern bank of the Potomac River to house the budding nation’s capital, none of them could imagine what it would look like today. Washington D.C. currently sits as an urban jewel that for some marks the border between…

Why Renewables Will Fail, Unless…

02 Oct 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” -H. L. Mencken   The popular level discussion of climate and energy policy often oversimplifies renewables to the point of parody. Many well-meaning, educated, and intelligent people believe renewables will solve global climate issues, power the…

Heat Makes The World Go ‘Round

28 Aug 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

When people think about energy, they don’t often think of industrial heat. But that heat is critical for sustaining modern life. Without a lot of heat, this very article could not exist. Heat is responsible for all of the infrastructure and almost all electricity in the United States and the…

New Nationwide Student Scholarship Competition

24 Aug 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts, Press Releases

For Immediate Release August 24, 2023 RE: Student Scholarship Competition   Hi Education Boosters, Would you mind sharing this opportunity with your students and network? I appreciate your help getting the word out! The Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure (Aii) is hosting a nationwide OpEd Contest for enrolled college students:…

An NTSB for Natural Disasters?

23 Aug 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has become one of the most trusted organizations in the wake of both national tragedies and lesser known transportation incidents. The fact-focused agency investigates transportation-related incidents to uncover root causes and offer recommendations to industry and policymakers to hopefully prevent future accidents from occurring….

How Excavation Damage Harms the Vulnerable

09 Aug 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

The world beneath our feet is vibrant and complex. Although we cannot see it and often do not think about it, tens of millions of miles of pipelines, cables, and wires run across the country just underfoot. Every time a shovel or power tool makes contact with the dirt to…

New Rail Report Offers Policymakers Insight into Train Length

07 Aug 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Washington, D.C. (August 7, 2023) – The Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure (Aii) published its latest report Monday, Evaluating Train Length: Mitigating the Costs and Enhancing the Benefits of Longer Trains. The report evaluates train length amidst a wide-ranging national debate over railroad safety and issues such…

Preparing Infrastructure for a New Kind of Natural Disaster: Solar Storms

31 Jul 2023, Posted by Andrew Jefferis in All Posts, Blog Posts

Severe natural disasters are increasing in frequency –at least as measured by cost impact – in the United States, costing billions of dollars to infrastructure and property every year. Roads in the U.S. need more investment to stand up to floods and earthquakes, and insurance for natural disasters are becoming unaffordable…

The Role of Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling in Sustainability

26 Jul 2023, Posted by Andrew Jefferis in All Posts, Blog Posts

Just over a month ago, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $2 million investment in Lithium-ion battery recycling. You can find these batteries in almost anything that is rechargeable – power tools, phones, laptops, electric vehicles, and more. But what makes recycling them such a big deal and, according…

Water and Irrigation in the Western U.S.

24 Jul 2023, Posted by Andrew Jefferis in All Posts, Blog Posts

The western United States needs more water. The 2022-2023 winter season brought record amounts of snowpack and has filled reservoirs across the west, but it is a temporary respite from a problem that has plagued settlers since the 19th century. Two-thirds of agricultural irrigation in the U.S. is in the…

Is Climate Throwing the Housing Market into a Frenzy?

20 Jul 2023, Posted by Andrew Jefferis in All Posts, Blog Posts

At any given moment the United States is facing an unparalleled number of crises. While there’s much debate over which ones are actual threats to the American well-being, and which may actually be existential, two that are undeniably impacting the average American are ongoing climate issues and housing crises. With…

How Smart Vehicles Can Change Our Roads

18 Jul 2023, Posted by Andrew Jefferis in All Posts, Blog Posts

As technology and connectivity continue to improve, many things around us continue to become “smarter” – smartphones, smart watches, smart TVs, and even smart refrigerators. All of these devices and machines are tied to what we call the Internet of Things, or IoT, a phrase first coined by Kevin Ashton…