May 19th, 2009

 

America in Gridlock: [REPORT] The Bank Not Built
President Barack Obama has called for the creation of a National Infrastructure Bank. The intention: To create a structure so public works projects could be, according to the President while campaigning last year, “determined not by politics, but by what will maximize our safety and homeland security; what will keep our environment clean and our economy strong.” Still, it is unclear how a National Infrastructure Bank would function -- or even be established. Felix Rohatyn, author of Bold Endeavors: How our government built America, and why it must rebuild now, on the future of infrastructure investment in the United States.

May 14th, 2009

 

Web Video: Infrastructure?
Ray Suarez (The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer) and David Brancaccio of (NOW on PBS) talk about reporting on America's infrastructure problems with Blueprint America.

April 22nd, 2009

 

America in Gridlock: [VIDEO] Choke Point
Blueprint America -- with The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer -- in a two part report looks at the bottlenecks of America's freight rail network, and the communities the trains intersect.

April 22nd, 2009

 

America in Gridlock: [VIDEO] Choke Point: The Third Rail
Blueprint America correspondent Rick Karr interviews Edward Hamberger, President and CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), about the state of freight rail in America today, as well as its future. The AAR represents the interests of the major freight railroads in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and Amtrak.

April 15th, 2009

 

America in Gridlock: [VIDEO] Clean Coal?
With carbon emissions caps on the Obama Administration's agenda, coal is at the center of the energy debate. NOW's Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa goes to Wyoming to report on the state's coal industry, and its assertion that it can produce "clean coal" -- coal that can be burned without releasing carbon into the atmosphere.

March 11th, 2009

 

America in Gridlock: [VIDEO] Transit in Trouble (1 of 2)
As the economy slumps, Americans have increasingly turned to mass transit, putting new pressure on the agencies that run our buses, trains and subways. In the first segment of a two part report for Blueprint America, correspondent Rick Karr looks at how to operate a transit system with no money. Already, 60 transit agencies nationwide have proposed fare increases, service cuts, or both.

March 11th, 2009

 

America in Gridlock: [VIDEO] Transit in Trouble (2 of 2)
With transit agencies running in the red, some have found themselves linked to complex financial deals -- in the hopes of creating new revenue sources -- that have since soured as a result of the Recession, potentially leaving cash strapped systems owing millions more in debt. In the final segment of a two part report for Blueprint America, correspondent Rick Karr looks at the fallout of these arrangements as, in many cases, it's not just money but the safety of riders at risk. (Part 2 of 2)

March 3rd, 2009

 

Web Video: Smart Cars
Driverless cars, intelligent traffic signals, road signs that speak to cars and cars that speak to drivers... These are not the dreams of mad scientists working in a remote region of the country. These are not part of an upcoming episode of a new series on the Sci-Fi channel either. But, these technologies might help save 21,000 of the 43,000 deaths annually recorded on America’s highways.

February 23rd, 2009

 

America in Gridlock: [VIDEO] The Big Two: Ed Rendell & Arnold Schwarzenegger talk infrastructure reform
Two of the Big Three on transportation and infrastructure reform in America, Gov. Ed Rendell, Democrat of Pennsylvania, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican of California (they make up the group, Building America's Future, along with Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Independent of New York City), in a conversation on that very same subject -- calling for a reprioritization of infrastructure development and planning throughout the country. Not only will it modernize infrastructure, they say, bringing it into the 21st century, but it will also quicken economic recovery. By that standard, America is already a decade behind.