This blog series Technology Highlight explores some of the ways that investments in innovation lead to better outcomes for infrastructure and public safety. When technology advances, it often becomes cheaper, more widely available and accessible, and helps facilitate faster, safer, and greener projects. This series has highlighted many of…
Most Americans know hydrogen as being a key ingredient in water, H2O. Of the many chemical elements on the periodic table, hydrogen is the lightest element, while it’s also estimated to comprise up to 90 percent of the visible universe. With its simplicity and unfathomable abundance, might hydrogen be an overlooked…
Coastal tides are a naturally occurring process caused by the moon’s gravitational pull on the oceans of the world. In the U.S., tidal changes vary wildly from coast to coast, with the highest tidal range in Anchorage, Alaska spanning up to forty feet. While the natural movement of water flowing…
Wind generation on land is affected by several factors, such as the topography of the surrounding area, temperature, competing land uses, and human activity. Due to the unevenness and diversity of topographical areas in the U.S., certain areas are not able to harness large amounts of wind energy. Mountainous areas, as…
Going Nuclear Irradiated landscapes, poisoned water supplies, the ubiquitous gas masks donned by radiation cleaners in the Chernobyl HBO series: these are the images that come to mind for many when hearing about nuclear power. Needless to say, this dramatized picture of Soviet infrastructure is a far cry from the true…
Windy days may be a welcome change from summer heat or a warning of the calm before the storm. Whatever its impact, it is almost always there in the background of our lives. Wind has been a great renewable energy resource for centuries and may only be getting better. Not…
The Biden Administration Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, said Tuesday that “pipe is the best way to go” to transport fuel. The comments were made in response to the Colonial pipeline shuttering service due to a ransomware attack. The context is important, as Secretary Granholm’s comments were specific…
The ground we walk on is covered with asphalt for roads, concrete for sidewalks, and is naturally decorated with grass, flowers, shrubs, and trees. Intermingled within are telephone polls, electricity wires, buildings, and other structures requiring power. We all understand that natural organisms have roots that ground them…
Our 3.8 million square-mile nation uses its space for a lot of purposes. About 50 percent of U.S. land is used for agriculture. Roads run for over 4 million miles across the country. Forests occupy nearly 300,000 square miles. But this vast and dynamic country requires abundant energy to…
o one could be blamed for having the wrong impression of pipelines. Views tend to align with politics, and media coverage often casts these silent transport methods in one extreme light or another. The facts about pipelines are quite revealing, but there is a lot of data to discuss…
When you see a tree, you know it has roots. When you pull weeds, you aim to get all of those roots spread across the whole garden just beneath the ground. What you may not think of quite as intuitively is that modern infrastructure has roots too. This month, Aii…
The power pulsing into your home right now probably comes courtesy of an antiquated system of power plants and transmission lines thought up while horse and buggies were still common on the streets. Even with the advent of the Internet age, we largely still use this one-way power network, and…
Forgotten, it seems, in much of the discussion of climate change is the phrase “climate controlled.” This seemingly oxymoronic word pairing usually refers to buildings, which use heating systems and air conditioning to keep what is inside insulated from whatever occurs outside. Clearly climate control does not refer to humanity’s…
Wind energy is often harnessed in large fields and land across the U.S. and around the world. What about offshore wind energy? What if we used the ocean and waterways to expand where we collect wind and take advantage of coastal winds? Would it be an eyesore or harm wildlife?…
The further you may be from the electrical grid, the more likely it is that you recognize the importance of energy storage. If you have access to abundant, reliable energy, then consider how far you would travel without a cell phone battery pack. An extra battery allows you to turn…
