DrumBeat: October 2, 2006
Posted by threadbot on October 2, 2006 - 9:16am
Topic: Miscellaneous
Bad roads drive up motorists' costs
ATLANTA — Crumbling roads and highways in the nation's metropolitan areas are imposing a "hidden tax" on motorists by increasing costs to maintain their vehicles, according to a survey released today....The survey comes as transportation policymakers debate how to pay for building and maintaining roads. The costs of materials such as concrete, asphalt and steel are rising sharply. Also, there is little public will to raise the federal gasoline tax, part of which is returned to states for highways, says Alan Pisarski, author of Commuting in America.
Many industry professionals believe the gas tax "has seen its best days and that new funding mechanisms are in order," Pisarski says. States increasingly are planning or considering toll roads as one such measure, he says.
Miners and utilities at odds over uranium price forecasts
Nowhere was it more evident of battle lines being drawn between suppliers and end users in the nuclear fuel sector than at the Platts Second Annual Nuclear Fuel Strategies conference on September 26th. Since April, various utility consultants and fuel brokers have routinely contacted StockInterview to 'talk down' the uranium price. Frequent is the mantra about how speculators and hedge funds are driving the spot uranium price higher. But spot uranium and long-term contracts march higher each month. While utilities appear complacent, there is now an underlying panic lurking beneath the surface....Had he not scrambled away from the conference, [Vice President of Nuclear Engineering for Florida Power and Light Rajiv] Kundalkar might have been shocked by the disclosures in the afternoon presentations which followed him. Had Kundalkar presented his thesis to a less savvy audience, he might have received something more than a polite applause when he stepped down. From the disgruntled audience, one long-time industry consultant asked Kundalkar point blank: Have you heard of peak oil?
Kurt Cobb: The infrastructure of the future
Bangladesh: Outages and outrages
ANGRY demonstrators rampaged through the streets in the city and elsewhere in the country on Wednesday and Thursday last attacking a number of power stations and clashing with the police in protest against power outages. Following huge power shortage, there have been frequent outages in the capital and elsewhere across the country causing great difficulties to the people who, obviously, have the right to lodge protest to the authorities concerned and to the government that should have a firm commitment in democracy. But all the unfortunate happenings in the last two days in and around the city by organised gangsters created rather much outrage among the citizens as vandalism reigned supreme in the name of 'agitation' programme almost in line with the opposition agenda as manifested through activities and slogans.
Giant Industries reports fire at Virginia refinery
Midwest farms reap benefits of ethanol boom
Ethanol plants are changing farming across the Midwest. The last time there was such a dramatic shift in agriculture was "when electricity came to the rural people" in the 1930s and '40s, says Dave Hughes, president of the township board and a farmer who invested in the plant.
British Expert Warns of Negative Outcome if Russia Buys Into Shell, BP
A former British government adviser has warned it is “only a matter of time” before BP or Shell faces a bid from a Russian state-owned group such as Gazprom which could threaten Western oil supplies. Professor Peter Odell called for creation of a new UN body that would police energy markets.Odell, an energy economist, says ExxonMobil is also vulnerable to a Chinese takeover as the large UK and American stock-listed oil groups lose their influence in global markets.
America is living beyond its means
It's 2056. After a coup in Saudi Arabia, the new government announces it is cutting off supplies of its dwindling stock of oil to the United States. The White House responds by sending in the troops, but is forced to withdraw after Beijing says it will only continue shoring up the dollar if the military action is called off.
[Update by Leanan on 10/02/06 at 10:27 AM EDT]
BP was warned: Interviews with employees and a 2002 letter predicting 'catastrophe' show that BP's problems should have come as no surprise to management.
- Oil was up over $63 overnight, but has pulled back before the bell this morning to $62.50 (look for it to go back over $63 by EOD).
- DJ Futures are down -14 before the bell. Look for it to struggle up to positive for awhile and then fight to break even by EOD.
- Gold strong over $600 and US$ keeps gaining ground.
Who's got the tea leaves to tell us what it all means?All I know is that Elway has the ball on his own 20 yard line and there are 2 linebackers rushing fast.
Well, there's another hour yet...
Good thing, I don't really "play" the market...I just like to see if I can guess where it's going based on redundant patterns.
There is shut in capacity out there (Iraq in particular) and new discoveries coming on line.
meanwhile higher prices will reduce demand, it just takes time.
There has been a degree of political fear and financial speculation in the oil price, which could rapidly dissipate, especially in a mild winter. US oil stockpiles are at record highs.
In a nearly 100% fixed cost industry, when prices start to slip, they really slip.
that would correct the US trade deficit. In fact, either that happens, or the US has a really nasty recession. Or both.
Warning: very stale bear on USD.
This is an important aspect of the infrastructure situation that I have not seen addressed at all in the Peak Oil/sustainable society literature.
Though a newly paved asphalt stretch is certainly more comfortable to ride over, the difference between it and the brick (when well done) is not that great - especially considering the number of paths which people ride over fields or through forests - those tend to be a bit harder going.
Such simple solutions are the sort of thing which people need to think about - the bricks seem to last decades, whereas asphalt has a much shorter lifespan. Of course, we all know that only asphalt or concrete, handled by heavy equipment, is the only way for humans to build roadways - even for bicycles or walking.
- The weather is more extreme, especially in terms of water/ice. European weather is more temperate (boring) than the weather I grew up with in Northern Virginia.
- The Germans do a much better job building this way. For example, a good number of Aldi parking lots here are made like this, and even after years of cars and the regular 18 wheel delivery trucks, the parking lot is still in fine shape. The various brick shapes, tools, equipment (compacting the soil and sand especially), training, etc. are well tested in practice.
- Unlike in America, the German emphasis tends to be on the long term - in other words, the job is done right since it is supposed to last, not merely save money or be attractive. This also includes maintenance.
Personally, it is a good bet that the weather is a solid reason for the difference, but the other two factors also play a major role. All the work I have seen in America wouldn't be acceptable here for even the most casually done homeowner job.Although I have been to other European cities (not German) where they had pavers hundreds of years old, only they did have slight uneveness to them. This is one of the reasons that sturdy walking shoes are helpful. We now adhere to ADA (American with Disabilities Act) that I think requires a certain smoothness to all surfaces and it was this requirement also that I think drove Arlington to go back to concrete.
But with some experience in pushing people in wheelchairs here, I can say that the German sidewalks definitely stand up well to comparison.
It also occurs to that Germans use fairly heavy and largish bricks in general, while the stones I have seen in American are quite small.
The key with pavers and indeed any pavement is the base. I think inproper base preparation is often the reason you see them fail.
They are going down my street now and tearing up and repouring 5-20 foot lengths of concrete sidewalk where the sections have heaved, mostly due to tree roots.
The downside is that the number one expense of making bricks is energy. so the cost of bricks will rise in lock step with energy. The energy source, however, is flexible. Electric heat or direct burning of coal or gas are most common, but gas from landfills is also being used. Some brick factories are placed next to sawmills and burn sawdust and scrap wood as the energy source. Many brick factories close during winter months due to high NG prices.
Seriously, one issue we have with concrete pavers is aesthetics. They look nice when you first install them, but after a few weeks or months, weeds start growing between the cracks. Property owners find this very unattractive. The solution? Spray herbicide regularly.
But probably the main reason we don't use pavers more often is the expense. Asphalt is a lot cheaper.
No, no...just kidding. Harmless little buggers that grow no more than 1/4 inch.
BTW, they are called earwigs because they infest corn ears; specifically the silks, which they will eat. This leads to ears missing rows of kernals. Sometimes, if there are enough earwigs, there is a complete absence of kernals...pretty poor eating, that.
Bicycle paths need hardly any upkeep, if built well, whether asphalt or paved. Spivak and Hart's The elephant in the bedroom states the example of university campuses as good use of roads. Negligible maintenance.
There are cobblestone roads in Europe that are 100's of years old. Zero maintenance.
Decrease traffic, and it makes little difference what you make the road of. But then comes stormwater runoff. The idea that screwed up everything, especially in urban areas, is 'facilitating traffic', making them move as fast as possible. The opposite is much better: make it hard to go faster than a bicylce, that should be the speed limit. There is research that says that in areas where 25 years ago kids could move freely around the house at age 5, now it's age 9 or 10. That's 5 extra years of TV and video games. And fat.
I think there are two different explanations for this -
- The paving base. Clays and soils containing organic matter are bad. They allow the base to slowly compress over time. Virginia, if I remember correctly, has a lot of clayey soils. Drainable gravels and sand, when well compacted, are very strong bases. Roads built on solid rock last the longest.
- The size of the traffic that goes over the paving. Large vehicle like trucks damage the base and the paving materials far more than small vehicles.
- The weather. Freeze thaw cycles and de-icing materials such as salt can deteriorate a road surface very quickly.
- and finally high traffic volume of traffic also increases wear-and-tear.
I suspect that German paving stones last well because of good base preparation and favorable traffic characteristics.Though the truck part seems to be obviously true, it is surprising to see how well different parking lots hold up under the 18 wheel (more like 12 wheel, but still the same size tractor trailer) trucks - possibly, that section of the parking lot is built to higher standards, or the trucks drive carefully, to reduce the impact. Or simply a couple of trucks a day doesn't really play a role.
My street, St. Andrew, is 28 feet wide (~8.3 m), one way, with cars parked on both sides. The speed limit of 25 mph (40 kph)and common sense keeps traffic slower than that :-)
Narrow streets with rare off-street parking also keep urban density high. More area for people & parks & green, less for autos.
Best Hopes,
Alan
Bad roads probably would mean a fatter tires in general.
I really wish the Ivy League schools provided high-quality classical education. Any "person of means" has a lot to learn from the history of city states in ancient Greece...
Meanwhile, really fat tires work well for me on the trikes with trailers.
We have some bad roads here in Minneapolis. We also have chunks of ice and ice ruts in the winter time. These make for some rough riding!
Much depends on how much the upper and middle classes try to maintain the easy-motoring lifestyle at the expense of everyone else, and how that class wrfare plays out.
If we work together, we might create a more sustainable transportation system. If we move into even greater economic stratification -- whoch is the current trend -- we will not create a better, more sustainable transportation system.
If we continue to follow the path we are following, we will end up with bad roads and increased violence occuring on those roads. That will be as big a consideration -- or bigger -- than potholes.
The front page of the local paper here talks about San Jose having the worst roads in the country, and I agree, in the city center / older industrial area and the older neighborhoods. At least traffic speeds are lower there, meanwhile out on the sprawly edges, the streets are long, streight, and smooth, and new.
The conclusion of the local paper's writer is that the roads are worst in San Jose and a bunch of other California places because of all the large heavy vehicles, trucks and yes they mention SUVs by name, er, acronym.
The problem would be if we attempted to maintain the entire road network with only the resources for a much smaller system, so that the whole system turned into pothole rubble at the same time. In that case, I would expect to see crews out there with hot patch filling in just enough for the 9' single-lane that the bicyclists and buses use.