Recently in Infrastructure Category

Source: Daniel Mandel, New America Policy Papers, February 23, 2010

As the Senate takes up a greatly scaled down $15 billion jobs bill stripped of all infrastructure spending, the nation should consider the compelling case for public infrastructure investment offered by Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) and Ed Rendell (D-PA). Appearing on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, the bipartisan Co-Chairs of Building America's Future explained why rebuilding America's infrastructure is the key to both job creation in the short and medium term and our prosperity in the longer term.

Rather than go from one negligible jobs bill to the next, the administration and Congress should, as the governors suggest, map out a multi-year plan of infrastructure investment and make it the centerpiece of an ongoing economic recovery program.

Source: Guest Editor: Jim Young, New Solutions, Vol.19 no. 2, 2009
(subscription required)

New Solutions has been published as a special issue, Green Jobs, Green Recovery.
Articles include:
• New Solutions and the Blue Green Alliance--Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference - Craig Slatin, Editor, Beth Rosenberg, Editor, Eduardo Siqueira
• Global Warming Solutions and the Path to Recovery - David Foster
• Climate Policy Statement - The Blue Green Alliance
• A Chance to Create Jobs that Do Good - Lisa Jackson
• Growing a Strong Middle Class - Martin O'Malley
• A Case for Green Energy Manufacturing - Sherrod Brown
• Change is Happening - Amy Klobuchar
• Embracing a Clean-Energy Future - Kathleen Sebelius
• Rebuild America Clean and Green - Leo W. Gerard
• Start Your Engines - Carl Pope
• Renew, Refuel, and Rebuild - Allison Chin
• Green Jobs to Meet America's Biggest Challenges - Peter Lehner
• Ensuring that Green Jobs are Good Jobs - Sharon Beard
• Changing Course--And the World - Terence M. O'Sullivan
• Jobs and The Environment - Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
• Massive Public Investment Needed to Grow Green Economy - Communications Workers of America
• Together We'll Take America Back - Van Jones
• Global Green New Deal - Achim Steiner
• A Strategic Approach to a Green Economy - Richard L. Trumka
• Blue and Green Working Together - James P. Hoffa
• Green Jobs and a Strong Middle Class - John D. Podesta
• We Want a Made-in-the-U.S.A. Economy - Phil Angelides
• Repowering America - Alliance for Climate Protection
• Wind Energy Can Power a Strong Recovery - Denise Bode

Source: National Governors Association, Center for Best Practices, September 29, 2009

As governors across the country look at ways they can help build a green economy in their state, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) has commissioned Collaborative Economics Inc. (CEI) to prepare a profile of each state's "green" economy. State profiles can be found by clicking on the map above. This data is designed to provide a detailed, empirical account of each state's existing assets across multiple green sectors and serve as a foundation for identifying future growth areas and related needs. The profile is based on a methodology presented by CEI at the NGA Center's Green Economy State Roundtable in April.

Source: Brookings Institution, Energy Security Initiative and Metropolitan Policy Program, September 2009

President Barack Obama has made it clear that transforming the U.S. economy from a fossil fuels-driven to a "green" economy based on domestic, renewable energy sources is a top priority for his administration. The electricity grid is an essential part of this modernization process. The "smart grid" has received considerable attention as well as substantial financing in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. However, electricity transmission and distribution systems remain highly fragmented and regionalized, supported by various owners, regulators, and operators. Major challenges exist around creating the appropriate governance mechanisms to develop our electricity infrastructure.

Source: Ted R. Miller, Eduard Zaloshnja, Transportation Construction Coalition, May 2009

While considerable research has been conducted over the past 50 years quantifying the significant roles motor vehicle design, drunk and drugged driving, speeding and non-use of seatbelts play as factors in the number, severity and economic costs of motor vehicle crashes in the United States, this is the first national study in many years to examine the role and consequences of another major factor in these tragic incidences--the physical condition of U.S. roadways.

The study finds that the cost and severity of crashes where roadway conditions are a factor "greatly exceeds the cost and severity of crashes where alcohol or speeding was involved, or the cost of non-use of seatbelts."

Source Public Works, 2009

Almost 20% of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be spent on improving the nation's infrastructure.The editors of Public Works have assembled a sector-by-sector guide to how much is available and under what conditions. The site includes: News & updates, Fleet services, Public grounds and facilities, Solid waste, Streets, roads, and bridges, Technology and equipment, Water, wastewater, and stormwater, and Other resources.

Source: Lynn Scarlett, Better, Faster, Cheaper, Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School, July 30, 2009

Cities can avoid the need for costly stormwater infrastructure by giving developers the right incentives.

First, the bad news: Nationwide, urban development with impervious surfaces has increased 20 percent over the past two decades. The resulting increase in stormwater runoff is costing cities an estimated $100 billion annually to manage and contain this additional runoff. Proper management of stormwater runoff is important both to prevent flooding and to limit pollutants from entering lakes, rivers, and streams--but it can be very costly.

Now, the good news: New approaches to stormwater management are encouraging greener development, meaning local governments can avoid runoff problems without investing in costly infrastructure.

Source: Jennifer Grzeskowiak, American City and County, May 2009

With little help from the stimulus package, water officials continue searching for long-term funding.

Source: Fred B. Kotler, J.D, Associate Director, Construction Industry Program School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, 2009

From the abstract:
It is especially challenging in these tough economic times for officials within New York City's and New York State's many entities to decide how best to use public money for construction and renovation projects. This article is intended to serve as a resource to help officials make better informed decisions about the value of project labor agreements [PLAs]. It also encourages readers to see PLA use within broader objectives of sound public policy.

PLAs have been demonstrated to be a very useful construction management tool for cost savings, for on-time, on-budget, and quality construction. But PLAs are not necessarily appropriate for every project. This report reviews the background and legal standards for the appropriate use of PLAs on public works projects in New York City and State. It details what PLAs do, how they have been used, and the benefits they offer benefits that extend to workforce and economic development.

This report also tests the validity of the claims made by PLA opponents that PLAs drive-up construction costs. Focus is on the studies conducted in recent years by the Beacon Hill Institute, a particularly outspoken opponent of PLA use in both the public and private sectors.

Source: United States Senate Subcommittee on Green Jobs, Ranking Member Report, Spring 2009

From the press release:
The lessons from Yellow Light on Green Jobs for policymakers include:
· Do not kill existing jobs to create new jobs
· Avoid expensive taxpayer subsidies to pay for green jobs
· Promote only those green jobs that make economic sense

The Yellow Light on Green Jobs report reveals that many green jobs do not offer wages needed to support U.S. families. A coalition of labor and environmental groups found that state and local governments were spending tens of millions of dollars to subsidize only a few hundred green jobs, which were paying as low as $13 to $15 dollars per hour, not much above the federal poverty wage of $10 per hour.