For the past few days during the giant snowstorm, multiple states in the Eastern U.S. claimed that the pipes underneath their towns and cities are under a big threat. Ice is very damageable to pipes because water expands when turning into ice, so there's a chance that the decade-old pipes might burst if ice forms inside the pipes. In Detroit, one pipe manage to burst and flooded an entire neighborhood for days. Luckily, no one was injured. Because of this, many road crews were put on double shifts to keep the pipes from bursting.
All of the bursting pipes are causing a financial uproar from around the cities that witnessed broken and damaged pipes from the frost storms. With revenues below the pre-recession levels, many local and state governments face a new financial error from storm-related increases in spending on overtime pay, contractors and supplies for all the damage created. James Brooks, a director for community development and infrastructure at the National League of Cities, tells New York Times about the financial issue: "Cities still do not have a lot of cash available, so this particular storm season is having a really severe impact on their budgets. We’ve also had many years of disinvestment in things like roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, which makes them more vulnerable when something like this happens." (McKinley, A Severe Winter Breaks Budgets as Well as Pipes). Stephanie Miner, the mayor of Syracuse, believes that the people are overlooking things when politicians want to spend more money on economic developments: "You don’t cut ribbons for new water mains, but that’s really what matters." (McKinley, A Severe Winter… Pipes).
This makes me feel very sad for the nation at the moment. People are having to work in conditions they are not prepared for, they’re having to work overtime, and they are using dated equipment. You can tell by their responses and comments that they are stressed and frustrated.
The author’s claim is that the current weather conditions are causing damage to the pipes all around the Eastern States. The Northern Regions have older equipment while the Southern Regions do not have proper equipment for the recent blizzards. Both regions are lacking funds for more suitable equipment for the damaged pipes. When the author interviewed representatives from the different regions, she specifically asked questions about the damage, dated equipment, and lack of funding. One example is the interview with North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, his reply was, “We don’t ask those questions, but we do keep receipts. At this point in time, you’re putting out the fires.” (McKinley, A Severe Winter… Pipes). He is referring to the fires as the damage caused by the ice storm on the pipes.
Muhammad, Ozier. Police Checking Damage of New York City Pipes. 2014. Photograph. New York City. New York Times. New York Times Company, 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/us/a-severe-winter-breaks-budgets-as-well-as-pipes.html?hp&_r=0>.
I like how this topic relates to what is going on in the United States. I also like how you included quotes from governors from different states. The one thing that I would change would be the layout of the blog. Maybe not such a skinny column. Other than that I enjoyed reading your blog.
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