American infrastructure faces bleak future
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the world’s largest and oldest publisher of civil engineering information, report card on American Infrastructure for 2013 offers a bleak insight on the U.S.’s crumbling foundation.
On an A-F grading scale, the country managed a meager “D+,” a failing grade by any academic standard. Among the components of the assessment, drinking water earned a startling “D,” as did aviation, hazardous waste and roads.
Worse still, seven years after Hurricane Katrina, one of the costliest natural disasters in American history, flood levees topped the list of failures with a “D-.”
The report estimates that approximately $3.6 trillion dollars is required to meet quality standards by 2020, averaging about $514 billion per year in the next seven years. The dreary figures are compounded with the bleak forecast of federal government spending on infrastructure, indicating that only a fraction of the required funds would be allocated towards declining or even obsolete structures.
The report details the implications of underestimating its recommendations. Deteriorating roadways would increase the likelihood of traffic accidents and congestion. Deficient flood levees could invite cataclysmic floods rivaling the likes of Hurricane Sandy and Katrina. Even easily fixed inefficiencies in wastewater treatment plants could produce sewer defects and unsanitary drinking water.
President Barack Obama’s February State of the Union Address touched on the woes of American infrastructure, introducing the “Fix-It-First” initiative, which he reiterated last month when he visited Miami. The undertaking claims to create jobs while improving the nation’s bridges, roads and facilities through a partnership between the federal government and private business — trendy political rhetoric that was popular with both Democrats and Republicans.
Despite the night’s standing ovations, the subsequent U.S. Department of Transportations Continue reading “American infrastructure faces bleak future” »
Infinite Skills’ “Learning AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014 Tutorial”
AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 differs from regular AutoCAD versions in the way it manages project data and the relationship between data and its display. Civil 3D supports Building Information Modeling workflows. Using a dynamic engineering model, it allows for better modeling and collaboration possibilities, helping teams explore civil engineering projects fully through the digital model before they are ever built.
InfiniteSkills’ Learning AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014 Tutorial Video provides a working foundation, explaining all the fundamental tools for designing in AutoCAD Civil 3D, and exploring several real-world applications such as modeling corridors, pipes, and more.
Course author Seth Cohen is currently a vice president of training at CADManage, a consulting company for AutoCAD Civil 3D and other CAD programs. He is an AutoCAD 2012 Certified professional, and an AutoCAD Civil 3D implementation expert with a level five certification as a geospatial technical specialist.
Infinite Skills – Learning AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014 Training Video
Cohen’s experience in training and using AutoCAD Civil 3D make the “Learning AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014 Tutorial,” a fun and informative way to quickly and effectively put this complex and powerful program to use in an engineering practice.
After a chapter exploring the basic interface of AutoCAD Civil 3D, explaining its workspaces, the ribbon,Toolspace, and properties, among other features, Cohen explains the key elements of AutoCAD Civil 3D models, starting with data points and their management and how to incorporate data from a survey.
From there, Cohen explores model creation, explaining how to create and work with surfaces, creating and managing alignments, sharing 3D data, creating assemblies and subassemblies, grading, and much more.
Additional chapters cover pipe and pressure pipe networks, and working with point clouds, parcels, and sheets, and much more.
“Years ago, the biggest problem with working with AutoCAD models Continue reading “Infinite Skills’ “Learning AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014 Tutorial”” »
Emaar launches new Burj Vista project in Dubai
Emaar Properties said on Monday that it is to launch sales at its latest Downtown Dubai project, the Burj Vista.
Located on Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard, Burj Vista features two identically designed towers, one 20 storeys high and the other at 65 storeys, with 120 and 520 luxury apartments, respectively.
Emaar said customers can register online for 1, 2, and 3-bedroom apartments in Burj Vista from 10am on Wednesday at www.emaar.com.
The sales event will start at 9am on Saturday on a first-registered, first-served basis at the Emaar Sales Centre in Emaar Square, Downtown Dubai, a statement said.
Inspired and designed to offer a theatrical experience of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, Burj Vista offers luxury residences with lavish terraces that open to uninterrupted, front-seat views of the city’s skyline, The Dubai Fountain and the wider Downtown Dubai neighbourhood.
Ahmad Al Matrooshi, managing director, Emaar Properties, said: “Burj Vista is an architectural tribute to the iconic Burj Khalifa. It brings the unmatched combination of a spectacular location, elegant architecture, panoramic views and a more sustainable way of living with the unique design promoting energy use efficiency.
“Burj Vista will be an ideal first or second home for the discerning, who cherish a modern lifestyle in Dubai’s most vibrant community.”
He added: “With Burj Vista, we are further strengthening our portfolio of new developments in Dubai. The projects we launched earlier this year recorded overwhelming investor response, regionally and from international markets.
“The robust growth of Dubai as a business and tourism hub, and Downtown Dubai’s status as the heart of the city’s cosmopolitan lifestyle make Burj Vista an attractive investment proposition.”
The Burj Vista towers will be directly linked to the newly opened pedestrian link that connects the Dubai Metro station with Downtown Dubai.
The boulevard level of the towers will feature Continue reading “Emaar launches new Burj Vista project in Dubai” »
ADB: ASIA NEEDS MORE CLEAN ENERGY
Smoke from a coal-fired power plant. The Asian Development Bank warns Asia’s developing countries face an an “environmental disaster” if they fail to come up with alternative sources and end up relying even more on fossil fuels to satisfy their energy demand by 2035. Photo by: CEE Bankwatch Network / CC BY-NC-SA
Developing countries in Asia are facing an “environmental disaster” if they fail to come up with alternative sources and end up relying even more on fossil fuels to satisfy their energy demand by 2035, the ADB said on Tuesday.
In its 2013 Outlook, the Asian Development Bank noted that the region needs massive energy for growth. Oil imports — the bulk of which come from the Middle East — are expected to triple from 10 million barrels per day in 2007 to 30 million in 2035.
This excessive reliance on traditional energy sources is extremely detrimental to the environment, and by that same year Asia’s CO2 emissions will swamp global limits, ADB officials suggested.
To prevent this doomsday scenario, the bank recommended Asian developing countries to:
- Promote energy access for all by curbing demand.
- End fuel subsidies like those in Pakistan that do not benefit the poor and encourage unfettered consumption.
- Harness renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and other off-grid solutions that are ideal for archipelagic countries in the Pacific.
The report presented by the bank’s chief economist Chanyong Rhee also mentioned hydropower and biofuel as alternatives, but warned that developing these energy sources can pose challenges like community displacement in the case of hydropower and food supply for biofuel.
In any case, the ADB stressed that renewables are not enough, and energy from conventional sources needs to be made cleaner.
This is where shale gas development needs to be more closely studied as well as nuclear power generation, which has become even more controversial especially for the Japan-dominated Continue reading “ADB: ASIA NEEDS MORE CLEAN ENERGY” »
5 Middle East Solar Markets to Watch
Solar markets in the Middle East are poised for massive growth, but evaluating new solar market opportunities can be an extremely difficult challenge. Market potential often depends on a number of complicated factors and assumptions that are either hard to quantify or difficult to compare side by side for different regions. Even worse still is the fact that the immense amount of news and data surrounding emerging markets in the middle east can become so overwhelming that it is nearly impossible to separate the wheat from the chaff and determine exactly which pieces of data have significance and which should be outright ignored.
ClearSky Advisors’ analysis has distilled the complex factors surrounding market opportunities for more than 10 countries in the Middle East and has recognized 5 key solar markets that will drive the majority of demand in the region over the next 10 – 20 years. More than 60 key factors are considered for regional forecasts in order to uncover nuances in each market. The market dynamics at play in each region vary significantly and understanding these differences can help stakeholders define the opportunities available and plan accordingly.
The top 5 opportunities in the Middle East include:
Saudi Arabia
Just like all things in Saudi Arabia the solar market there will be of enormous scale. There is little doubt that the Saudi Arabian solar market will grow to dominate the Middle-East within the next 20 years. The Kingdom has established mind boggling renewable energy targets that include 41 GW of solar PV and CSP installations.
The reasons for these targets are quite simple and are grounded in pure economics. Currently Saudi Arabia burns 30% of its domestic oil production for electricity generation. This represents a huge opportunity cost for the Kingdom especially as oil tops $100 per barrel. By freeing themselves of this domestic consumption the Kingdom stands to make a lot of money. Part of the logic is also to develop Continue reading “5 Middle East Solar Markets to Watch” »
