ASC's Intersections Newsletter — Week of August 17, 2020
Nora's Note
But you gotta vote. This women-owned business can’t let August 2020 end without drawing a direct line to the suffragists whose decades of work gave women the constitutional right to vote in the US. This month is the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, and while it’s a time to say thank you by planning our path to the ballot box this fall—it’s also the right moment to humble ourselves and realize that the women those suffragists represented were white. It would be many more years, and much more work, to remove barriers to voting for Black women. A hundred years seems like a long time past, but issues around rights to vote and equity at the polls are very current.
Transportation
Can Augmented Reality Address Highway Construction Challenges? Augmented reality (AR) shows a lot of potential in addressing common problems in the transportation sector, from transportation planning to freight operations. Highway construction is another area where AR may provide solutions to common challenges. By providing real-time and integrated information, the use of AR can help ensure highway construction projects run smoothly. Read on to learn more about how AR may be used to support transportation projects in the near future.
Times Union: Seat belts for all back-seat passengers now the law in New York
CNN: Michigan plans to redesign a stretch of road for self-driving cars
High Country News: Essential transportation in rural Alaska is up in the air
Transportation Today: Federal funds target bus infrastructure projects
NY Post: NYC’s new busway program is mired in delays
Philadelphia Inquirer: DRPA breaks ground on solar project to power PATCO trains
Medical Xpress: Increasing active transportation and improving health starts with bettering built environments
The Verge: Waze begins rolling out railroad crossing alerts globally
Energy/Environment
The Covid-19 pandemic is an opportune time to expand renewable energy growth. How can we turn a negative circumstance into something productive? Well, just take a page out of the wind and solar industries' playbook. Despite disruptions in energy demand, local governments and utilities haven’t lost focus on decarbonization and increasing green components in their energy mix. Wind and solar power’s mature technology and low-cost generation have allowed for these renewables to continue growing even amongst challenges posed by the pandemic. This article explores how emerging technologies and policies set the stage for continued renewable energy growth.
Scientific American: Disaster Program Allocates Unprecedented Funds for Climate Resilience
Greentech Media: US Coal Power Generation Plummets 30% in 2020, EIA Says
Associated Press: US West faces reckoning over water but avoids cuts for now
Forbes: Climate, Capital And COVID – What’s An Energy Executive To Do?
Yale Climate Connections: Renewable energy sector needs more women and people of color as leaders
NPR: Pandemic Electric Bills Are Searing Hot, As Families Stay Home
CNN: Regular bricks can be transformed into energy storage devices
WBUR: Fishermen And Scientists Join Forces To Track Effects Of Climate Change
Economic Development
For Cities, Path to Financial Recovery Could Be a Long One. Last week, the National League of Cities released its annual survey of city fiscal conditions. As expected, the report finds that municipal budgets are struggling in the coronavirus era, with revenues collapsing and finance officers pessimistic about the year ahead. While cities across the nation rush to resolve the most urgent fiscal challenges they face, the pandemic’s impact on budgets could linger for years. Find out and read more below to what the long road of recovery ahead may look like.
Federal News Network: Agencies exceed SBA’s women-owned small business contracting goal after years of falling short
Governing: Some Encouraging Steps on the Path to Digital Inclusion
Entrepreneur: His Criminal Record Disqualified Him From Receiving PPP. So He Pushed Back, and Got the Rules Changed.
Brookings: A community-led action plan for addressing structural inequity during COVID-19 recovery
Energy News Network: In Massachusetts, offshore wind opens up job training, economic opportunities
NBC NY 4: Cuomo OKs Gym Reopenings as Early as Next Week; NYC Gyms Likely Delayed Into September
The Conversation: Going green dramatically benefits businesses – it should be central to their coronavirus recovery strategy
WorkScoop: Massachusetts is training local governments on blockchain
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