Water is essential to human life and to all living things on the planet. Asset Stewardship explores how this critical asset is planned for, financed and maintained as a useable, healthy part of our environment.
From Helen Cox Richardson’s Nov. 5 dispatch: “At about 11:30 p.m., the House of Representatives passed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) by a vote of 228–206. Biden promised to pass a bipartisan measure and after nine months of hard work, he did it: thirteen Republicans voted in favor of the… Read More
Maintaining our infrastructure is expensive. ITDP estimates the cost to maintain the public’s built infrastructure at 1.4% of the cost to build the infrastructure. What this $1 Trillion infrastructure bill is intended to cover are the one time renovations required in our most essential infrastructure systems. The money will address the renovations needed for roads, bridges, electric and water systems, etc. for the decades of neglect. The money does NOT address the cost of maintaining our infrastructure. Read More
Cape Town, South Africa came close, saved by a rainfall, from running out of water in early 2018. Climate change brings water shortages to many areas in the Middle East and Africa. America is not immune from water shortages. Polluted water strikes closer to home with Flint, Michigan as an example. In America population growth… Read More
A federal judge ruled on Friday (April 19, 2019) that residents of Flint, Michigan, can move forward with a lawsuit against the federal government regarding the city’s lack of clean drinking water. The government is not immune from legal action, ruled Judge Linda Parker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. … Read More
Jeffrey Sachs recommends: Rather than trying to deploy construction workers within the next 60 days, I propose that we envision the kind of built environment we want for the next 60 years. With a shared vision of America’s infrastructure goals, actually designing and building the new transport, energy, communications, and water systems will surely require… Read More
Hundreds of millions of people around the world depend on polluted water sources for their daily drinking water. Over half of the planet’s population lives in cities. Large cities, alone, represent $21.8 trillion (US$) in economic activity, or 48 percent of global GDP *. As the population in cities continues to grow, without… Read More
So you don’t think infrastructure can be fun? Watch comedian John Oliver explain its intricate, critically important, hilarious fascinations in this video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpzvaqypav8 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Infrastructure (HBO) Infrastructure investment will save lives. Also, from: CEO FORUM GROUP: “Infrastructure refers to the large-scale public systems, services, and facilities of a country… Read More
By Luka Oreskovic Without water, humans can only live for a few days. Yet only about 1 percent of the earth’s water is suitable for human consumption. Rising GDP brings increases in demand for food production, including meat, which demands the greatest amount of water. Treating water is therefore a key utility. With over $400 billion in annual turnover, freshwater supply and wastewater treatment account for over… Read More
