By Nikki Courtney
Mar 4, 2021
Texas has much to boast about but still a few things that need to be corrected.
Every four years the American Society of Civil Engineers issues a “Report Card” for the nation’s infrastructure using a standard A-F grading scale. Overall, America got a C-, up from a D+ in the last report. With the report’s release, Director Thomas Smith said the nation is failing to maintain aging infrastructure at a high cost to future generations. The 17 areas assessed are aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, energy, hazardous waste, inland waterways, levees, parks and recreation, ports, rail, roads, schools, solid waste, storm-water, transit and wastewater.
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If you’re a Texan who’s feeling overwhelmed right now, psychologist Jeff Temple says you’re not alone.
Temple, who works at the UT Medical Branch in Galveston, says dealing with compounding environmental and health crises – last week’s winter storm; the ongoing pandemic; Hurricane Harvey, which many Texans are still recovering from – can take a toll.
“I used to be a proponent of what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger,” Temple told Texas Standard. “But, the research is starting to tell us that needs to be flipped on its head. It’s stressor after stressor, after stressor is just, it’s hurting us psychologically, our immune system. It’s going to have some long-term mental health effects.”
History proves and future calls for infrastructure and mitigation projects washingtontimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtontimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Eric Berger: It was an endless barrage of storms.
Matt Lanza:Â It just didnât stop. We had very few breaks in anything. Still, a lot of those storms wereâI donât want to say wimpyâbut moderate.
All of this was driven by a number of thingsâweâre in
La Niña. You have an Atlantic ocean basin from the Gulf to the Caribbean to the ocean itself that has just been scorching warm. Water temperatures were through the roof for most of the season. Delta went over some of the warmest water on the planet.
Why should Houstonians not get too comfortable even though we didnât get âthe big oneâ this season?
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed solution to preventing storm surge damage is simply much too weak, a fatal flaw in the system of protection afforded by a coastal spine.