President Biden wants to use his $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan to shore up child and home care. A scholar explains why that kind of care is just as critical as roads and bridges.
A lead pipe (left) seen through a hole in the kitchen ceiling in the home of Desmond Odom, in Newark, New Jersey.
AP Photo/Julio Cortez
President Biden has proposed spending $45 billion to replace every lead water pipe and service line in the nation. A public health expert explains why he sees this as a worthwhile investment.
Joe Biden has signed dozens of executive orders during his first 100 days in office, many of them reversing Trump-era policies.
Evan Vucci/AP Photo
An infrastructure boom threatens endangered tigers across Asia. Scientists want to know more about how tigers behave near roads so they can design wildlife-friendly transportation networks.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gives Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland the thumbs up after she delivered the federal budget in the House of Commons.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Budget 2021 includes significant investment in Indigenous communities. Moving forward, post-pandemic recovery and future budgets need to address systemic inequalities.
New research finds that tap water avoidance is on the rise in the US, especially among minorities. An expert on water and health calls for better public education about water quality and testing.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Pine Tree Wind Farm and Solar Power Plant in Tehachapi, Calif., 115 miles from LA.
Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The US electricity grid is actually five regional grids, and it’s hard to share power between them. A macrogrid could bridge the gaps, making electricity cheaper and more reliable.
Biden is asking companies to cover the tab for his infrastructure plan.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
The corporate tax was created on the principle that people and companies should be taxed based on what they receive in benefits – and US corporations have received an awful lot.
The infrastructure gap has forced Indigenous people to think outside the box, leverage their own funds.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
A Labor government would set up a $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund to promote manufacturing in Australia’s post pandemic economy. The fund, to be announced on Tuesday as Labor begins its national…
Sites of pilgrimages are few and far between in the U.S.
Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images
James Mills, State University of New York at Oneonta
The pandemic has curtailed religious tourism for many. As the US opens up, perhaps Americans can find solace and healing in the age-old tradition of pilgrimage.
Women and girls are forced to spend hours each day hauling water for their households. Beyond harming both physical and mental health, this takes time away from economic activities and caregiving.
The Bui Dam was the subject of political contestation during its construction.
ZSM/Wikimedia Commons
Dam politics have resurfaced in Africa as the continent’s urban population grows.
Maize is the staple food in Mozambique, consumed across the country and predominantly by the poorest households.
Photo by: Edwin Remsberg/VW PICS/UIG via Getty Image
A study of the impact of a major bridge over the Zambezi River in Mozambique provides insights into the magnitude of the economic impact new infrastructure investments can have.
Nearly five million homes and businesses lost power in Texas on Feb. 15, and millions remained without power throughout the week.
(AP Photo/LM Otero)
The weather-related impacts of climate change will increasingly threaten critical infrastructure in the future. Shifting electricity grids towards microgrids could help.
A woman drying red chillies outside her hut in Niger State, north central Nigeria.
Photo by Jorge Fernández/LightRocket via Getty Images
For Nigeria to feed its growing population efficiently and support food production by small farm holders, investment in rural infrastructure is key.
Bendable concrete created at the University of Michigan allows for thinner structures with less need for steel reinforcement.
Joseph Xu/University of Michigan College of Engineering
Researchers are developing ways to lock captured CO2 into cement. It could help rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure and deal with climate change at the same time.
The Port of Savannah used to export cotton picked by enslaved laborers and brought from Alabama to Georgia on slave-built railways. Cotton is still a top product processed through this port.
Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Geographers are documenting slave-built infrastructure, from railroads to ports, in use today. Such work could influence the reparations debate by showing how slavery still props up the US economy.