Eighty Percent of Contractors Report Difficulty Finding Qualified Craft Workers to Hire as Firms Give Low Marks to Quality of New Worker Pipeline
Firms Are Boosting Pay and Benefits, Adding New Training Programs and Adopting New Technologies to Cope, but Labor Shortages Threaten Broader Economic Growth as Officials Outline Federal Measures to Help Eighty percent of construction firms report they are having a hard time filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce, according to the results of an industry-wide survey released today by Autodesk and the Associated General Contractors of America....
Renewables 'Eliminate' Base Load Reliance in South Australia
Picture: Nathan Rodriguez. An Australian state once ridiculed for its reliance on renewable energy sources is being used as a global example of how traditional “base load” generation can be eliminated from the electricity supply system. South Australia already leads the nation in the uptake of wind energy and roof-top solar with renewable sources accounting for more than 50 per cent of the electricity generated in the state. This followed the closure of the state’s last coal-fired...
New Rider Data Shows How Public Transit Reduces Greenhouse Gas and Pollutant Emissions
Public transit has long been an answer for people looking to leave their car at home and reduce their air pollution emissions. But now, with better rider tracking tools, the University of Utah and the Utah Transit Authority can better answer the question: How much does public transit reduce pollution emissions? In a paper published in Environmental Research Communications, University of Utah researchers Daniel Mendoza, Martin Buchert and John Lin used tap-on tap-off rider data to quantify the...
National League of Cities Report Backs Congestion Pricing
A new 24-page report issued by the National League of Cities on August 7 recommends congestion pricing as a key tool for “solving the growing infrastructure crisis in American cities, towns, and villages.” [Above photo by the New York City Department of Transportation.] The report – entitled “Making Space: Congestion Charging in Cities” – encourages cities and other localities to consider congestion charging systems as a “potentially economical solution” to “build thriving c...
Report: Cost of Congestion to Hit $200B in 2025
If more Americans are working, a new report confirms, more of us are also tied up in traffic. The picture is painted clearly in the 2019 Urban Mobility Report, published by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). Along with illustrating the problem, researchers also stress the same straightforward solutions they’ve long advocated: more of everything — roads, transit, squeezing as much efficiency out of the existing system as possible, reducing demand through telework, better balancing dema...
Stormwater Management System Protects University of Michigan Campus
The system protects university buildings from potential floods while benefiting the environment and the city of Ann Arbor. The University of Michigan’s Central Campus is a gathering spot for students and visitors. It’s also a stormwater collection point in the downtown Ann Arbor, Mich., area, particularly during large storm events. A new underground stormwater infiltration system was designed to protect the campus and adjacent historic buildings from a 100-year storm event while pr...
New Ranking Shows Norway, Finland, Japan, U.S. Lead in “Mission Innovation” Clean Energy Commitments
WASHINGTON—As part of the 2015 Mission Innovation initiative, 23 countries and the European Union committed to double their public investments in clean energy research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) within five years. As the five-year mark approaches, a new Global Energy Innovation Index from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)—the world’s top-ranked think tank for science and technology policy—finds that, among the member countries, Norway, Finland, Japan, and th...
ASCE Structural Engineering Institute Announces New Prestandard for Performance-Based Wind Design
RESTON, Va. – The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) has published ASCE/SEI Prestandard for Performance-Based Wind Design. SEI received a research grant from the Charles Pankow Foundation for $150,000 with co-funding support from the ACI Foundation, American Institute of Steel Construction, ASCE Industry Leaders Council and the MKA Foundation, to develop and publish the Prestandard. This Prestandard presents a recommended alternative to the pres...
Improved Transmission Needed to Reap Benefits of Renewable Energy, According to White Paper
LYONS, NEBRASKA – Clean power commitments have increased at the county and city levels, with 11 counties and 104 cities nationwide pledging to 100 percent clean energy goals at the end of 2018. As more renewable energy is developed across the nation, regulators and policymakers must prepare for the changing electric power landscape, according to a white paper released today by the Center for Rural Affairs. “Capacity for Change: The Role of Transmission Infrastructure in Energy Transition” tak...
The World’s Top 4 Ride-Hailing Companies Are Worth More Than $166 Billion
Shared Mobility Poised to Disrupt Multitrillion-Dollar Auto Industry BOSTON, MA – The rise of shared mobility services like Uber and Lyft is threatening to disrupt a multitrillion-dollar industry. Self-driving cars, zero-emission vehicles, connectivity, and innovative materials are defining the future of mobility. To guide innovation and investment in the mobility space, the team at Lux Research, a leading provider of tech-enabled research and advisory services for technology innovation...