Alaska Is Falling Apart As Climate Worsens

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As climate change accelerates, infrastructure is important for several reasons. First, heavy storms can damage the systems that deliver key services, led by electricity. The current situation in Texas, where one million people are without electricity several days after damage from Hurricane Beryl, is a case in point. Additionally, people’s ability to travel from one place to another, often in the face of emergencies, relies on bridges and roads.

Structure Damage –New York Bridge Challenge

Weather Challenge –New Mexico Drought

CNBC recently rated the best states for business. Among the factors considered, infrastructure was weighted the most heavily. The category was based on data about highways, bridges, air travel availability, broadband, Utility infrastructure, water, and waste systems were also included.

The CNBC methodology is important because it points to the economic cost and potential loss associated with underdeveloped or aging infrastructure.

Roads And Bridges

The state with the worst infrastructure grade was Alaska. The length of its power outages per year was very high at 9.6 hours. Bridges in need of repair were 8.1% of the state’s total. Roads in “unacceptable condition” were also high at 21.6%.

Temperature extremes affect the quality of roads and bridges, making Alaskans particularly vulnerable. Power outages are among the events that can most endanger a population and cause substantial damage.

One hurdle the Alaska problem creates is that the amount needed to repair infrastructure problems is well into the hundreds of millions of dollars. That investment is not available and almost certainly won’t be.