Tech & Science

At some point over the past several years, the public perception of energy stopped being just an irritation about rising prices or the occasional annoyance of possible shortages and became one of the greatest geopolitical, environment, and social issues we all will face over the next
fifty years.

    There are many opinions, theories, and facts behind this change in public awareness. This is a good thing as these are critical issues and people need to be informed and able to debate the options. A sobering fact, however, leads to sobering conclusions—industry and gover.... READ MORE18

The Georgia Transportation Institute (GTI) was established nine years ago to coordinate and act as a focal point for transportation research in the State of Georgia.
    The lead institution, the Georgia Institute of Technology, is affiliated with other members including Albany State University, Clark Atlanta University, Georgia Southern University, Georgia State University, Southern Polytechnic and State University, and the University of Georgia. The combined transportation research, education, and training activities that constitute the member institutions' portfolio make t.... READ MORE18

Drip irrigation as a wastewater reclamation solution is coming full circle as engineers, developers, government decision makers and others charged with guarding our water resources seek practical, immediately deployable water conservation technologies.
  
Drip technology uses sub-surface irrigation to distribute large volumes of wastewater uniformly and in controlled application doses at the root level of vegetation. Not only does this controlled distribution prevent surfacing and run-off, but it also enhances nature's "bio-filter" to clean the wastewater, convert and consume .... READ MORE18

The green movement is improving the bottom line. Economic analyses strongly indicate that organizations with effective environmental management systems outperform more poorly rated counterparts in growth, revenue, profitability and employee satisfaction. The reasons are obvious: a well managed organization is able to anticipate and address change proactively.

Environmental Management Systems (EMS) are emerging as critical tools in successful green programs. A useful EMS is "alive." It constantly monitors activities, makes adjustments and fosters continual improvement. As a result.... READ MORE18

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GAEPD) finalized the Streambank and Shoreline Stabilization Guidance in July 2007.  The guidance provides information on how to correct existing erosion problems and protect water quality in Georgia.  The guidance states that there are three levels of streambank and shoreline stabilization: non-structural ("preferred"), integrated ("acceptable"), and structural ("discouraged") stabilization methods.  The GAEPD can enforce the stabilization methods through the Georgia Stream Buffer Variance (SBV) permit process.  Any land distur.... READ MORE18

Other than the introduction of high-occupancy vehicle lanes in the mid-1990s, the freeway system in metro Atlanta has not seen any major operational changes in the last few decades. While lanes have been added and some interchanges have been modified, the basic concept of a limited-access roadway with entrance and exit ramps has remained virtually the same. That changed in 2008 when the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) began implementing region-wide ramp metering on nearly all the freeway entrance ramps in the Atlanta metropolitan region. These devices introduced the concept of "con.... READ MORE18

By: Jason Wiser, John Willis, Randy Shaw and Cliff Arnett

When the Columbus Water Works wanted to modify the existing meso-philic anaerobic digestion process at its South Columbus Water Reclamation Facility (SCWRF) to achieve Class A biosolids, it turned to the environmental engineering and consulting firm of Brown and Caldwell.  Together CWW and Brown and Caldwell developed what is now known as the Columbus Biosolids Flow-Through Thermophilic Treatment process, or CBFT3 .
   
The CBFT3 process is also being coupled with a Cogeneration System where methane gas.... READ MORE18

It' s time to make our transportation network better. For everyone.  Georgia's Investing in Tomorrow's Transportation Today (IT3) initiative gives us the opportunity to do just that.
   
IT3 is developing a business case and a guiding strategy for improving Georgia's statewide transportation network—its roads and highways, public transit, bridges, railroads, airports and seaports. Rather than just building projects we can afford and then seeing if they get us where we want to go, as we do today, we'll first figure out where we want to go and then build the projects t.... READ MORE18

In January of 2006, Mayor Rex Millsaps told me directly that the water department budget is going to be in the black or we are going to get out of the business. Needless to say, the Mayor had my attention! I was determined to demonstrate the potential for producing up to 80 percent of the city's daily water needs from the wells that we had. Most were drilled over the last 22 years but there are two that are much older. Well #1 was drilled in 1915, and well #14 was drilled in 1945. The city relies on Gwinnett County to make up the difference the wells cannot supply. The city does not have the c.... READ MORE18

Ever since local governments got in the business of supplying water, citizens have generally been happy with the arrangement. They watered their lawns, washed their cars, bathed, and enjoyed clean tap water without a second thought about that water’s source or seeming abundance.

But more recently, water has been a source of citizen discontent for many municipal governments in Georgia. As the Southeast’s lingering drought caused reservoirs to shrink and intensified the Georgia-Florida-Alabama water war, local water authorities urged their customers to conserve, with many imposing us.... READ MORE18

A lonely survey party hacked its way along a ridge into Georgia's interior wilderness in the 1830s and drove a stake into the ground near the Chattahoochee River.  Its purpose was to mark the beginning point of a railroad to Ross's Landing on the Tennessee River (now Chattanooga).  

At the same moment, railroads were being built into the interior lands of Georgia from Augusta and Savannah, but with only a vague notion of their endpoint.    These two railroads were privately funded, constructed, and operated.  In due course, they met at the surveyor's .... READ MORE18

In the weeks and months leading up to Barack Obama's
inauguration-and since-three topics have dominated the news: the ailing economy, the need to create better job opportunities for middle-class workers, and the development of clean, home-grown sources of energy.

I would like to offer an across-the-board solution: nuclear power.

The fact is that few initiatives can achieve the "hope and change" promised by our new president like a nuclear renaissance: jobs for the middle class, economic growth, energy independence and a cleaner environment.

While some people on.... READ MORE18

The date is set and the final logistics are in the works for the 2009 ITS Georgia annual meeting and conference.  The dates are October 4 -6 at beautiful Brasstown Valley Resort in the north Georgia mountains.
   
Our theme for this year is "Improving Transportation Sustainability," which correlates to our organization's name and is one of the core principles driving intelligent transportation technology.
   
So, how does ITS equate to Improving Transportation Sustainability?
   
The three fundamental tenets of sustainabili.... READ MORE18