Airliners stuck in melting asphalt. Highways in Texas are buckling. A New York subway train derails after heat stretches the track. America is becoming alarmed by the effects of extreme weather on its aging infrastructure.
In the midst of the worst drought since the Dust Bowl, America's infrastructure is taking the toll. This year has recorded the warmest spring since record-keeping began in 1895. July 2011 to June 2012 was the hottest 12 months on record.
This summer, a Chicago nuclear power plant was required to get permission to keep operating because the pond it used for cooling water reached 102 degrees, surpassing the legal limit by two degrees, and a power plant nearby was forced to shut down because much of its cooling water had dried up.
Severe storms have also been leaving their mark. On June 29th, a storm in the Northeast left 4.3 million people without power, causing electric company Pepco to seriously contemplate burying its power lines – an endeavour which, at a cost of $1.1 to $5.8 billion, it ultimately deemed too expensive. In the past two and a half years, Pepco has dealt with five storms for which recovery took at least five days.
In 2011, 14 extreme weather-related events cost the US economy more than $55 billion.
And then there are the wild fires - like the fire that wiped out large parts of Colorado this summer. Aside from immediate damage caused by fires and storms, they can also affect water quality and water use, since run-off from storms and falling ash can shut down reservoirs.
As the US continues to melt, crack and burn with each major storm and drought, its infrastructure continues to collapse, as it already struggles with crop harvest shortages and rising food prices.
