America's crumbling infrastructure

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/


Our infrastructure is literally falling apart all around us. Thousands of bridges are structurally deficient and there have already been some very high profile collapses. Over 30 percent of the highways and roads in the United States are in very poor shape. Aging sewer systems are leaking raw sewage all over the place. The power grid is straining to keep up with the ever-increasing thirst of the American people for electricity. There have already been some regional blackouts, and unless something is done quickly things promise to get even worse. The truth is that a nation's infrastructure says a lot about who they are. So what does America's infrastructure say about us? It says that we are a rusting, crumbling, decaying leftover from a better, more prosperous time.

Just consider the following facts about America's infrastructure from the Pew Research Center website.....

2a According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than 25 percent of America's nearly 600,000 bridges need significant repairs or are burdened with more traffic than they were designed to carry.

2b According to the Federal Highway Administration, approximately a third of America's major roadways are in substandard condition - a significant factor in a third of the more than 43,000 traffic fatalities in the United States each year.

2c The Association of State Dam Safety Officials has found that the number of dams in the United States that could fail has grown 134% since 1999 to 3,346, and more than 1,300 of those are considered "high-hazard" - meaning that their collapse would threaten lives.

2d According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, aging sewer systems spill an estimated 1.26 trillion gallons of untreated sewage every single year, resulting in an estimated 50.6 billion dollars in cleanup costs.

Are you starting to get the picture? Already the infrastructure in many areas of the United States is beginning to resemble that of a third world nation.

© The Economic Collapse (adapted)

ÉLUCIDATION-EXPLOITATION

Look through the text for the English equivalents to the following French words and expressions / Rechercher dans le texte l'équivalent en anglais des termes et expressions en français qui suivent :

par. 1

par. 1
  en voie de délabrement, délabré, en train de crouler
  tomber en morceaux, partir en quenouille
  dont la structure est compromise
  très remarqué, très médiatisé
  effondrement
  réseau routier
  en très mauvais état, dans une condition très médiocre
  vétuste, vieillissant
  réseau d'égout
  laisser s'échapper
  eaux d'égout non traitées
  réseau électrique
  être mis à rude épreuve pour + inf., avoir du mal à + inf.
  faire face à
  soif toujours plus grande
  panne totale de courant
  empirer davantage
  les vestiges de
  en train de rouiller, rouillé
  en voie de décrépitude, décrépit
   

par. 2

par. 2
  ministère américain des transports
  de grosses réparations
  avoir à supporter une circulation
  être conçu
  l'administration fédérale des autoroutes
  grands axes
  être dans un état en dessous de la norme
  tués sur les routes
  l'association des Responsables dans les États de la sécurité des barrages
  connaître une défaillance
  qui est un risque majeur
  ce qui signifie que, en d'autres termes
  mettre des vies humaines en danger
  l'Agence étasunienne de protection de l'environnement
  laisser s'échapper, déverser, répandre
  mille milliards
  eaux usées non traitées
  entraînant
  mille millions
  coûts de nettoyage
   

par. 3

par. 3
  comprendre la situation
  un pays du tiers monde

 


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© Christian Lassure - EFT
Le 24 octobre 2010 / October 24th, 2010

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