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:…
3D printing has come a long way over the past few decades, with the first iterations patented in the 1980s. Since then, the technology has evolved to be useful in a variety of industries including furniture, toys, tools, and more. But one of the most intriguing of the modern uses…
As temperatures rise and the summer power demand begins to take form, policy makers and industry leaders gathered in Columbia, South Carolina to discuss the state’s energy future. From economic competitiveness to new manufacturing, the need for new and resilient energy to meet current and future demand is essential. The…
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…
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…
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…
Blue, Grey, Green – oh my! The road to the emerald city of the future seems to feature a number of alternative energy projects with varying levels of promise. Perhaps the most touted yet least utilized at scale is hydrogen. But there seem to be many variations of hydrogen comprising…
The Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) Report from the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) is the definitive word on excavation damage to underground facilities. Stakeholders and policymakers alike go to this resource to understand the level of damage, estimate the costs imposed on society, and peer inside the root causes in…
If the threat is as dire as some believe, we cannot wait for policy changes to take effect. Realistically, tax and regulatory policy cannot bring about the type of innovation revolution needed. Taxes discourage growth and regulation restrictions action. While restriction may be worthwhile when it prevents and holds back…
There is an energy crisis in the United States impacting families at the pump, diesel-powered supply chains, and the broader electricity grid. With gasoline and diesel prices skyrocketing in recent months – reaching all-time record highs – the Biden administration is considering temporarily suspending the federal excise tax on fuel…
Looking ahead to the year 2030, we hope to see technology integrated into virtually every activity we do. For damage prevention, this is not merely aspirational, it is a necessity. Fortunately, industry groups have already cast this vision, stating in the latest Common Ground Alliance (CGA) Technology Report that the…
With gas prices on the rise and the population growth rapidly increasing every year, major cities are having to prioritize innovations in public transportation. One historic project that recently received a go-ahead will soon take travelers underneath the Hudson River– the Hudson Tunnel Project. On March 28, the U.S. Department…
Up to this point, we have explored a range of benefits that accrue from the use of technology in the damage prevention process. Not only is technology vital to avoiding damage, but it makes the process more efficient, reduces environmental hazards, enables cost savings, and more. One final benefit emerges…
There is a clear connection between effective damage prevention and cost saving – when you avoid a damage, you avoid all of the direct and indirect costs that come from it. But the use of innovative technology in the damage prevention process can also help stakeholders in saving time and…
This blog series is laser-focused on innovative technology that can improve the damage prevention process. While this particular series only discusses one technology – Electronic white-lining (EWL)– we have covered its manifold benefits, including public safety, damage reduction, and communications value. Electronic white-lining has multiple advantages, but here we focus…
