Heat Hard on Infrastructure

The extended hot dry weather in much of the United States is taking its toll on our infrastructure.  Roads are buckling, barge traffic is limited, water supplies are under watch, electrical supplies are strained by demand.  A US Airways jet even got stuck in a melting runway.  Links to several articles on this subject are listed below.

Global Warming Imperils Nation’s Energy System (National Wildlife Federation)

Heat is Making Roads Crack (Essley, L., Washington Examiner, July 6, 2012)

Mississippi River Low-Water Mark is a Concern for Shippers (Belz, A., Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 31, 2012)

Mississippi River Runs Low as Drought Grips St. Louis Region (Gustin, G., St. Louis Post Dispatch, July 17, 2012)

Mississippi Rivers So Low, Cargo Barges Rund Aground (Sainz, A., & Mohr, H., Associated Press on NBCNew.com, July 16, 2012)

The Not So Mighty Mississippi: How the River’s Low Water Levels are Impacting the Economy (Sanburn, J., Time, July 30, 2012)

So, How Hot Was It? (Wald, M. L., Green blog at New York Times, July 17, 2012)

State Works Quickly to Patch U.S. 50 (Thompson, C., Baltimore Sun, July 9, 2012)*

U. S. Infrastructure in Disarray Due to Extreme Weather, Climate Change (Common Dreams, July 26, 2012)

Weather Extremes Expose Flaws in America’s Crumbling Infrastructure (Nisen, M., Business Insider, July 26, 2012)

Weather Extremes Leave Parts of U.S. Grid Buckling (Wald, M. L., & Scwartz, J., New York Times, July 25, 2012)

*Incidentally, Infrastructure Watch is close to U.S. 50, though a very long drive from Baltimore.