infrastructure failure – Page 5

Age-standardized mortality trends in the United States and other wealthy nations. Figure shows deaths per 100,000 person-years: A) 1933–2021 and B) 1980–2021. The solid thick red line is the United States, the dashed thick grey line is the population-weighted average of 21 other wealthy nations, and the thin grey lines are country-specific trends for each of the other nations. Total mortality was age-standardized to the 2000 US population age distribution. Graphic: Bor, et al., 2023 / PNAS Nexus

July 23, 2023

More than one million Americans “missing” as U.S. endures crisis of early death – “Americans die younger than their counterparts elsewhere because when corporate profits conflict with health, our politicians side with the corporations”

By Tessa Koumoundouros 20 July 2023 (ScienceAlert) – If the United States of America had the same mortality rates as other wealthy countries, more than 1 million people would have avoided death in 2021, a new study found. Researchers have termed these excess deaths the Missing Americans. “The number of Missing Americans in recent years is unprecedented […]

Aerial view of the Paso Severino reservoir that supplies water to Montevideo, Uruguay, in July 2023. It is nearly completely empty and currently only holds only 3 percent of its normal capacity due to three consecutive years of drought. Uruguay is facing the worst water crisis in its history due to the prolonged drought. Photo: Guardian News

July 15, 2023

Three consecutive years of drought leave millions in Uruguay without tap water fit for drinking – Main reservoir for capital at 3 percent of capacity

By Martín Tocar 15 July 2023 (The Guardian) – More than half of Uruguay’s 3.5 million citizens are without access to tap water fit for drinking, and experts say the situation could continue for months. Some had predicted the crisis years ago when pointing out the vulnerability of the single reservoir supplying water to the […]

Steam rises from the cooling towers of the Electricite de France nuclear power station of Le Bugey in Saint-Vulbas near Lyon, 13 April 2015. Robert Pratta / REUTERS

July 15, 2023

High river temperatures to limit French nuclear power production – Hot weather likely to halve available power from two plants

By Forrest Crellin 12 July 2023 PARIS (Reuters) – Output restrictions are expected at two nuclear plants along the Rhone River in eastern France due to high temperature forecasts, nuclear operator EDF (EDF.PA) said, several days ahead of the similar warning last year, but affecting fewer plants. The hot weather is likely to halve the available power […]

Heat index forecast for the United States, 3 July 2023 - 8 July 2023. An estimated 76 million people in the U.S. were exposed to dangerous heat on 2 July 2023. Graphic: The Washington Post

July 2, 2023

Summer in the Southern U.S. is becoming unbearable – “This is how it’s going to be: Things will get hotter, storms will get worse, wildfire smoke will get more common. All the while, the ruts of inequity will be worn deeper, the same people time and time again placed on the front lines of catastrophe.”

By Olivia Paschal 1 July 2023 (The Atlantic) – A few weeks ago, as the first wave of smoke from the Canadian wildfires rolled south, I was getting ready to drive from Charlottesville, Virginia, about 18 hours west to my hometown of Rogers, Arkansas, to visit family. I figured that by the time I hit […]

A car moves through a neighborhood in West Austin that lost power on 18 February 2021 during blackouts that left millions of Texans without power or heat following a devastating winter storm. Photo: Jordan Vonderhaar / The Texas Tribune

July 2, 2023

Texas power struggle: How the top wind power state in the U.S. turned against renewable energy – State lawmakers push bills to support fossil fuel-burning power plants and restrict renewable energy development – “Right now, the wind blows strongly against renewables, and that’s where we are”

By Emily Foxhall, Kai Elwood-dieu, and Zach Despart 25 May 2023 (Texas Tribune) – State Rep. Jared Patterson disagreed with his Republican colleague that Texas should keep supporting the booming renewable energy industry here. Rep. John Smithee was arguing on the House floor in early May that certain solar and wind farms should be eligible […]

Map showing the heat index in the United States for 30 June 2023. Graphic: The Washington Post

June 30, 2023

Solar power bails out Texas grid during major heat wave – “This is what’s happening with 1 degree Celsius of global average warming. And we’re on track for 3 degrees.”

30 June 2023 (Reuters) – The Texas power grid comfortably met record demand during this week’s heat wave with abundant power supply from wind and solar plants, data from the grid operator showed. The Texas grid is a focus in the United States whenever it is tested by extreme weather after a catastrophic failure in […]

On 27 June 2023, Texas once again braced for a record spike in electricity demand as 110F heat spurred air-conditioning usage. An early heat wave gripped the second most-populous US state, buckling highways, stressing oil refineries and pushing up natural gas prices. At least two deaths were attributed to the searing temperatures and it was only expected to get hotter as the week wears on. It was not a new problem for Texas: The Lone Star State broke power-demand records 11 times in the summer of 2022. Graphic: Bloomberg

June 27, 2023

Texas power demand again forecast to peak amid Summer 2023 heat wave – “Texas is running about 2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it did during the 20th century”

26 June 2023 (Reuters) – Texas’ power grid operator on Monday again projected electricity use would break records this week as homes and business cranked up air conditioning amid soaring temperatures. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the grid for more than 26 million customers representing about 90% of the state’s power […]

Meena Tiwari, center, cries standing in front of the body of her son Ashutosh Tiwari, who allegedly died of heat stroke, at the district government hospital, in Ballia district of northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Monday, 19 June 2023. Nearly 170 people have died in the last few days in northern India as searing heat combined with lack of preparedness and resources at local hospitals is resulting in a constantly increasing body count. According to local news reports and health officials in Uttar Pradesh state, 119 people have died and in neighboring Bihar state, government officials say 47 people have died due to heat-related illness. Photo: Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP Photo

June 19, 2023

Days of sweltering heat, power cuts in northern India overwhelm hospitals as death toll climbs – “So many people are dying from the heat that we are not getting a minute’s time to rest. On Sunday, I carried 26 dead bodies.”

By Rajesh Kumar Singh, Piyush Nagpal, and Sibi Arasu 19 June 2023 BALLIA, India (AP News) – A scorching heat wave in two of India’s most populous states has overwhelmed hospitals, filled a morgue to capacity and disrupted power supply, forcing staff to use books to cool patients, as officials investigate the number of deaths that […]

Change Over Time in (a) US Life Expectancy and (b) US Life Expectancy Gap and Rank Relative to Populous Countries (Population>500000), 1950-2021. Phase 1=1950–1954; phase 2=1955–1973; phase 3=1974–1982; phase 4=1983–2009; phase 5=2010–2019; phase 6=2020–2021. Bars plot the difference in life expectancy between the United States and the populous country (population >500000) with the highest life expectancy in the given year. The country with the highest life expectancy was Norway in 1950–1962 and 1976–1977, Sweden in 1963 and 1965–1975, the Netherlands in 1964, Japan in 1978–2007, Macao in 2008–2010, and Japan in 2011–2021. The line graph plots US rank relative to other populous countries, with higher rank denoting lower US life expectancy. Source: Author’s calculations based on UN data. Graphic: Steven H. Woolf MD, MPH, 2023 / AJPH

June 3, 2023

U.S. has been falling behind on life expectancy for decades – Between 1933 and 2021, 56 countries achieved higher life expectancy than U.S. – “Americans are sicker and die earlier than people in dozens of countries”

By Olivia Trani 1 June 2023 (VCU) – When it comes to public health, the United States is at a disadvantage compared with other developed countries. Americans experience more illness, have less access to health care and pay more for health services than citizens in other high-income countries. Americans also die earlier – and have been doing so […]

A worker uses a digital thermometer to record a surface temperature of 42.6°C (108.7°F) in Beijing, China on 15 May 2023. Photo: China Central Television / SCMP

June 3, 2023

Southern China swelters, power grids struggle under “relentless” heatwaves – Pigs, rabbits, and fish dying from searing temperatures – “It’s just been week on week on week of these records being shattered”

By David Kirton 2 June 2023 BEIJING (Reuters) – Heatwaves tormenting parts of southern and eastern China are set to persist through June, putting power grids under strain as air conditioners are turned on full blast at homes, offices and factories in mega-cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen. In the next three days, most of southern […]

Desdemona Despair

Tag: infrastructure failure