On 25 September, at dusk, Antananarivo went dark. Mothers lit candles to cook dinner; children did their homework by phone light. By midnight, thousands were in the streets, demanding power — the kind that runs lights and governs nations. Years of neglected infrastructure, mounting debt, and mismanaged fuel supplies had finally caught up with the […]
Tag: infrastructure
A High-speed Game of Catchup
In 1963, America stood unrivaled as the world’s leader in all things infrastructure. It was a nation of engineering marvels, with millions flocking to witness the products of publicly-funded infrastructure projects, such as the Golden Gate Bridge and the Hoover Dam. Six decades later, the year is 2025 and we’ve fallen seriously behind. What’s New? […]
CA’s High-Speed Rail Project and Its Future
California’s High-Speed Rail project seems to be in a state of perpetual limbo. Historically, progress on this project has been very slow, with local politics preventing its route from being efficient. Additionally, budget problems mean it won’t be finished anytime soon. To compound the problems the potential rail line already faces, because of the project’s […]
Southeast Asia is Rebalancing the Scales
At the height of the Cold War in the 1960s, much of anti-communist Southeast Asia aligned itself with the United States, entrenching U.S. hegemony around North Vietnam and its close allies in communist China. These countries regarded ties with the U.S. as a way to maintain and develop their economic and political strength in a […]
CA Isn’t Ready to Close Its Last Nuclear Power Plant— But It Can’t Stay Open
On the first of February, 79 top energy experts signed an open letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, urging him to halt the decommission of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, California’s very last operational source of nuclear power. The group behind this letter includes dozens of prominent energy executives, professors from Berkeley, MIT, Stanford and more, […]
Revising the Community Reinvestment Act Under Biden: Advocacy, Targeted Reinvestment, and the Reversal of Redlining
Manilatown was supposed to be an asylum for Filipino men immigrating into San Francisco in the ‘20s and ‘30s. It wasn’t formed by resident choice, however, but rather necessitated by neglect and violence — beatings of Asian immigrants, redlining, and broader trends toward gentrification ultimately forced these Filipino immigrants into Manilatown where they managed to […]
American Public Transportation: Failures to Modernize
Ideally, a public transportation system is an economical and environmental alternative to driving cars, as it lightens the burden of congestion in mega-cities like Los Angeles and New York City and reduces carbon emissions. It also balances social and geographic inequality by providing an affordable alternative to those who cannot afford to own and operate […]
SB50’s Failure: Lack of Leadership Amidst Regional Divide
Why Can’t California Build? It is no secret that California has a monumental and expanding housing crisis on its hands. In fact, for Californians experiencing it, it has become glaring and inescapable in daily life. And yet, on Thursday, January 30th, landmark housing bill SB-50 failed to pass in the California State Legislature. This marks […]
California Gas Tax Increase Fuels Opposition
California gas taxes are notoriously high. The average California driver pays around $3.05 per gallon at the pump compared to the national average of $2.26, and the statewide $0.72 tax per gallon is almost entirely responsible for this difference. Many disgruntled Californians are pushing back against the tax by targeting Senate Bill 1 (SB1), or […]
Who Will Rebuild America?
Infrastructure has always been used to build up the United States. Though the Great Depression was a time of loss, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt embraced the opportunities it presented. He took bold strokes to better the United States through public works projects, which strengthened America’s infrastructure and economy. A few decades later, President Eisenhower […]