Engineering Influence from ACEC
News:Business News
In a concerning discovery, cities across the US are steadily sinking due to practices such as groundwater extraction, oil extraction, and fracking, exacerbating the impacts of sea-level rise. This article, which originally ran in Engineering, Inc., delves into the severity of the situation, highlighting how a considerable number of American and global cities, housing 10s of millions of people, are dropping at an alarming rate every year. Land subsidence – the sinking of ground level – is largely irreversible and carries serious repercussions, including increased flood risk and potential relocation of affected communities.
As experts emphasize, the primary culprit is the over-extraction of groundwater, which is responsible for more than 80% of U.S. land subsidence occurrences. Despite elemental damages like floods, earthquakes, or landslides being resolvable over time, loss of elevation due to land subsidence is permanent and difficult to notice until it's too late. Therefore, it's vital to comprehend that land subsidence amplifies all other environmental impacts, including relative sea level rise, essentially characterizing the intersections of sinking land and rising seas.
Though land subsidence can't be reversed, stabilization is possible through processes like managed aquifer recharge. Some cities are already testing such solutions with the hope to slow down and stabilize ground subsidence. Nonetheless, considering the increased storm surges and rainfall, the real challenge is to rethink how cities use stormwater to naturally replenish groundwater resources, which currently is not the case in most urban areas. Plans to effectively manage stormwater and allow it to seep back into the ground to recharge groundwater reserves are discussed.
However, the graveness of the issue also extends to climate gentrification. With the rising sea levels and decreasing land, neighborhoods sitting above sea levels are becoming prime real estate, forcing locals out. Experts advocate for infrastructure with multiple functional benefits and a balanced approach that takes into account all members of the community. As cities sink and sea levels rise, engineers are called to action to ensure sustainable futures and reevaluate the relationship between the built environment and nature.
Diversity Roadmap Helps Unlock the Power of Inclusion
ACEC Research Institute Diversity Roadmap: Embracing Differences, Empowering Success
Previewing the New Private Market Brief - Commercial and Residential Real Estate
Catching Up on AI with BST Global’s Javier Baldor
Commercial Real Estate Update with Cushman & Wakefield’s Rebecca Rockey
Firms Must Balance Security and Personal Freedoms in the Age of TikTok
Real Stories of AI Implementation with POWER Engineers
A Closer Look at the Senior Executives Institute
Exploring ACEC’s new Technology Committee
An Interview with CAMEE Chair Adam Rickey
A Conversation with QBS Award Winner Alabama State Senator Clyde Chambliss
An Interview with Polar Explorer Ben Saunders
An interview with Rizwan Siddiqi on the Importance of Community Service
The Growing Partisan Divide with the U.S. Chamber’s Neil Bradley
An Interview with the ACEC College of Fellows Scholar of the Year, Michael Drummond
Operationalizing AI in Your Firm - With POWER Engineers’ Nathan Bingham
Are We Headed to a Government Shutdown?
The ACEC Research Institute’s 2023 Q3 Sentiment Survey
Filling the Practical Skills Gap with VDCI’s David Sellers
Private Market Economic Update with Dr. Anirban Basu
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Pharmacy Podcast Network
Sarah Westall - Business Game Changers
Børsen Morgenbriefing
Wall Street Breakfast
Bloomberg Surveillance