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Wind power is one of the fastest growing electricity sources in the United States. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, wind turbines accounted for 30 percent of all new [...]

ELEPHANTS ARE ONE OF THE WORLD'S ICONIC animals, but they are struggling. Their numbers in the wild are dwindling as poachers kill them for ivory and humans encroach on a [...]

Advanced drilling and production techniques have given the United States more natural gas than its markets can handle. Converting that bounty into liquefied natural gas promises to transform the U.S. [...]

Hurricane Katrina's pummeling of New Orleans and the coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana exposed the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of hurricane defense systems that go beyond the scope of engineering alone. Scientists now agree that another cyclic uptick has begun that will spawn more and greater storms, possibly over the next 50 years and their effects will be compounded by the sea level that has been rising an estimated 2.2 millimeters per year.

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, OR AT LEAST THE SPEED WITH WHICH they deliver people and freight to their destinations, have remained technologically stagnant in the U.S. since the demise of the supersonic [...]

The United States Air Force established a program management office five years into the project after top management became too involved in Italy's Aviano Air Base construction. Pre-bid meetings were established two years ago because of differences in bids by contractors and developers, and has resulted in increased efficiency and speed of contractor performance.

Issues are presented concerning the construction of the West Rail line in Hong Kong which is being built to improve the region's infrastructure. The multibillion-dollar project is 30.5-kilometers in length with three tunnels.

The world's biggest center for the production of nitrogen in Mexico is nearing completion. Some 1.2 billion cu ft/d of nitrogen is needed to increase oil extraction from Mexico's Cantarell offshore oilfield, but tough controls, including restrictions on noise levels, have been imposed because the plant is situated in an isolated environmental preserve.

The Platte River Constructors Ltd. firm has been contracted by the Denver, Colorado government to complete a 30-mile toll road project which would grant commuters better access to the Denver International Airport. The $324.5 million contract, which is expected to be completed by June 1999, is being built in anticipation of the increased volume of traffic by the next century which is forecast to reach 29,000 vehicles daily.

The first phase of the Three Gorges Dam project in Hubei Province, China is expected to be completed by November of 1997 as the Yangtze river is diverted through a channel on its right bank. The second phase of the $24.5 billion project, which involves the positioning of concrete, is being prepared. The 2,300-meter-long, 180-meter-high dam is the largest in the world with an expected energy production capacity of 18,200 megawatts. Power will come from twenty-six 700 megawatt turbine generators that will be housed in two powerhouses.

The $21 bil airport construction program of Hong Kong is considered to be Great Britain's crowning achievement in the region. The Chek Lap Kok airport, predicted to be the world's bustling airport when it opens in April 1998, would house a maintenance hangar, airline corporate centers, cargo warehouses, and a terminal. Its oustanding point is its terminal occupying 1,248 hectares of reclaimed land, and will have 39 gates highly qualified and equipped to manage a Boeing 747.

Acceleration in the construction of the $151-million interchange project in Forth Worth, TX, continues despite the presence of a busy railroad near the worksite. Dallas, TX-based J. D. Abrams Inc., which is building a portion of the I-30/I-35W for a $30.9-million contract, has already erected concrete columns at the worksite, and expects the project to be finished on time despite the daily presence of 144 trains passing through the worksite.

China appears to be slowing down in its race to develop much-needed infrastructure. The construction boom is now concentrated in mass housing and construction of infrastructure for electricity and transportation. Meanwhile, environmental problems continue to arise even as owner-contractor relations are changing to reflect the growing influx of Western capital and expertise in the country.

The new Gateway sports stadium in Cleveland, OH, redefines existing city boundaries and reflects a new trend in sports facility design and construction. The sports facility, which is scheduled for completion in 1994, will feature a 42,000 seat baseball stadium and a 21,000 seat arena in one single complex. The design for the facility features two complex steel structures in a 28-acre site.

Difficult geology and high volume of groundwater inflow led tunnelers in California to work again on the Arrowhead tunnels which is a part of the $1.2 billion Inland Feeder project to supply water for towns east of Los Angeles. The tunnels mark the beginning of the Inland Feeder project, a 44-mile conveyance system that would deliver up to 646 million gallons per day of water from the State Water Project when supplies in northern California are plentiful.

The various plans of Shanghai, China Es premier financial and commercial center, to launch more container ships plying the waters between Asia and North America as its port averages an annual growth rate of 29 percent, which is proposed to be the worldEs largest container port, are discussed. The project officials expect that when it is fully fitted by developing two other islands in the archipelago in 2020, its total costs will reach $18 billion to $20 billion.

A joint venture between U.S. contractor Bechtel Group Inc. and Turkey's Enka Construction & Industry Co. Inc. is at work constructing a multibillion-dollar motorway in Croatia. A goal of the project is to speed access to Croatia's coast.

The petroleum project market is beginning to fragment and smaller firms are beginning to find windows by which to enter the market. Construction companies are beginning to offer innovative project marketing techniques but the US market is generally small with few projects available for companies. The Asian economic crisis is also beginning to fuel the downturn in demand for petroleum projects.

The article reports that automakers have retooled their manufacturing as climate change concerns accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles around the world leading automotive supply chains into turmoil. It mentions that General Motors in 2021 announced it will stop producing gas-powered vehicles, replacing them with electric options by 2035.