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According to the new report released last week by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and Value of Water Campaign, the United States is underinvesting in its drinking water and wastewater systems, putting American households and the economy at risk. The report, "The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure: How a Failure to Act Would Affect the U.S. Economy Recovery," finds that as water infrastructure deteriorates and service disruptions increase, annual costs to American households due to water and wastewater failures will be seven times higher in 20 years than they are today -from $2 billion in 2019 to $14 billion by 2039.

It seemed that once the pandemic ended, we would pick up where we left off when it started. Apparently not so. There have been several changes over the past year plus that have made changes more lasting than what was expected.

In short, this is a global challenge because it's not just about food and feeding people, but also about practically all aspects of an economy and society.

Article on the supply chain issues affecting the global economy. The increased demand along with shortages in available labor has added to the problem. Also mention of inflation and how the supply chain bottlenecks is likely to result in continued inflation in coming months. The reliance on ports is critical and with the anticipated growth in coming years, it will be even more critical.

"The wireless occupancy sensors market is expected to register a CAGR of 18.3% over the forecast period (2021 - 2026). Energy-saving has been crucial for growth in any economy, as a result, the government is also coming with several policies to save energy, which will drive the market in the forecast period."

The supply chain issue has been escalated to where the government is getting involved. Biden is talking with big retailers and looking for solutions as the problem seems to be getting worse and more likel to affect the economy

More on the impact of climate change and sea ports and the cascading effect on the economy. Nature of ports makes them more susceptible to environment changes as a result of climate change--increased intense events and rising sea levels. Author calls for change now .

When we modeled what the next two decades would look like if we continued current underinvestment trends, we found that no industry is immune to water disruptions. The most water-reliant businesses will spend $250 billion in 2039 on costs related to water service disruptions. Less reliable water service would make industries less efficient and profitable, and the consequences would ripple across the entire economy, leading to more than $4.5 trillion in lost business sales, a $2.9 trillion decline in the gross domestic product (GDP), and 636,000 fewer jobs. Individual households and communities would also endure the consequences of underinvestment as more frequent and extreme weather inflict shutdowns, and street flooding deteriorating and rupturing water infrastructure. Without proper infrastructure investment, there will be greater costs to US households. At the current rate, costs will be seven times higher in 20 years than they are today, totaling $14 billion in 2039.

Article/presentation by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva where she talks about the current state of things--vaccinations, the economy, and a divergence in economic fortunes around the world is even more evident today.

"Corrosion is a dynamic process, more so than even most corrosion engineers realize. It typically has a number of influencing factors that can vary with time and process variables, and so cause corrosion events or upsets to occur. The reason for the lack of appreciation of this situation is that historically long time intervals associated with inspections and off-line measurements do not afford the opportunity to correlate corrosion excursions with operating and process parameters This paper illustrates the importance of implementing an appropriate and correspondingly dynamic means of corrosion appraisal to help manage industrial processes and related corrosion prevention treatments, and to minimize corrosion upsets and failures, and maximize the availability of the plant assets. Value statements are provided that show the potential savings associated with online, real-time corrosion monitoring."

Child care costs are unrealistic even for middle-income earners

As the pandemic seems to be ending, people are not going back to work. Workers are upset with employers as their wages stay stagnant, and perks that were once the norm, are now few and far between. While many of quite (>4 million in August), many have decided to strike.

A glimpse into the future based on current trends. The outlook is mostly gloomy. Estimates range from one extreme to the other--a renewed democracy or total chaos. The short article touches a lot of the factors that will likley influence the future, but it's hard to say exactly.

Is this a recipe for a social uprising fullscale class warfare revolt? Sure, maybe after the next Super Bowl/iPhone/Video Game Release. > Top 1%'s wealth jumped to a record 27% of the total: Fed data shows. > The top 1% represents about 1.3 million households who roughly make more than $500,000 a year -- out of a total of almost 130 million. > The middle 60% of U.S. households by income saw their combined assets drop to 26.6% of national wealth as of June, the lowest in Federal Reserve data going back three decades. For the first time, the super rich had a bigger share, at 27%. > The concentration of wealth in the hands of a fraction of the population is at the core of some of the country's major political battles.

A survey based on projections for the year 2050. "Majorities predict a weaker economy, a growing income divide, a degraded environment and a broken political system"

McKinsey article, a 'proposal for business, government, and society leaders.' 'We propose a way for changemakers in business, government, and society to explore the problem, a mental model that might offer the best chance to reach the answer.' The article believes all three changes are needed and are synergistic. To find a way to make progress in all three areas would be significant and would be beneficial for all.

This paper uses a scenario-based approach to understand how Congress might function in 2050. At present, Congress appears to be underperforming due to high levels of polarization, hyperpartisanship, and gridlock. Notwithstanding these challenges, Congress will need to address several big and complex issues over the next three decades, including the demographic transformation of the United States into a majority-minority nation, the looming fiscal challenges facing the federal government, widespread automation in the economy, climate change, more diffuse and dangerous patterns of global conflict, and the rapidly evolving media and communications technology environment.

"An interdisciplinary approach is needed to find new solutions to a problem that costs the US economy $276 billion per year. What's already happening in one industry could be the solution to another's problem. A great example of this is the use of NASA's analytical methods to examine bacteria in spacecraft in a breast cancer study looking at the links between the disease and bacteria."