A fair number of public relations types read Al's Morning
Meeting, and sometimes they pitch me stories to pass along to you. I seldom do, but this one caught my eye.
Mike
Lizun, who handles public relations for Matcor, says the New York City steam pipe
explosion is a peg for a much larger story about the corrosion of other infrastructures in cities nationwide. Matcor, you should know, studies and assesses corrosion
in pipelines, power plants and such.
Lizun writes:
I believe
that the "Cost of Corrosion" is a story that would be a great fit for
a feature piece. The annual cost of corrosion, pegged at 3.1 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP) in a
1998 study commissioned by the Federal Highway Administration, exceeds
the sum of the agricultural and mining components of the GDP. Further, we
have existing technologies that can greatly reduce/mitigate these costs.
There
are several very interesting sub-stories that could be included in
a story. Perhaps just a briefing initially to discuss this and other
ideas: pipelines, condo buildings, roads, bridges, salt and fresh water issues,
gas storage, piers, concrete structures such as the Jefferson Memorial and
well-known structures all over the world.
Some
other points:
- Major initiatives: The Dept. of Defense has instituted
an initiative to reduce the impact corrosion has on costs and
readiness, including appointing a "Corrosion Czar" to spearhead a
tri-service corrosion initiative to cut across Navy, Army and Air Force
boundaries to employ best practices.
- Small
Business/Jobs: The U.S. is a leader in developing and implementing corrosion prevention/mitigation technologies.
- Legislative Initiatives: The National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) is
promoting legislation to provide tax credits for investments in corrosion
control. That is both pro-business and pro-environment.
- Environmental/safety impact: Leaking gasoline storage tanks pollute our
groundwater with petrochemicals and hydrocarbons. Crumbling highways and
bridges threaten safety. Pipeline and well-casing failures can pollute the
environment. Rusting factories are being rebuilt overseas, costing jobs. All of
these are preventable with the proper application of corrosion control
technologies that often cost pennies on the dollar.
The
topic itself screams for attention: 3.1 percent of our GDP is significant and, more
importantly, largely avoidable. There is a college in Texas that even offers a two-year degree in corrosion technology.
Who
Gets Government Grants and Contracts?
Here is a yummy database you can use to find out who gets federal grants and contracts.
You can break it down by government agency or by state and congressional district. Have
fun.
Viewing Tragedy From the TracksThe
St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times included an interesting and sad story looking at
train crashes from the locomotive engineer's eyes. The story focuses on one engineer who has
been at the controls during three different incidents that ended in death.
There is simply nothing an engineer can do to stop a train
in time to avoid a vehicle or pedestrian sitting on the tracks ahead of them.
Figurines Won't Slow Down Pranksters
The
Boston Globe zoomed in on a story about figurines that warn speeders to slow down in neighborhoods where there are children. Seems as though lots of people enjoy stealing and vandalizing them.
Bus Drivers on Cell Phones
The
Scripps Howard News Service found that in most states, school bus drivers
are free to drive and chat away on cell phones while driving kids to and from
school.
The story says:
"The only kind of communication device a bus driver should be
using ... is an installed portable radio. And even then we would recommend they
use it while they are stopped," said Pete Japikseis, a co-director of the
American School Bus Council and a staffer at the Ohio Department of Education.
That is also the conclusion of the National Transportation Safety
Board that last December called for a coast-to-coast ban. "Professional
drivers who have dozens of passengers' lives entrusted to them should devote
their full attention to their task," NTSB Mark Rosenker said.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's
Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story
excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as
original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly
from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided
whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends on the
accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and
inaccuracies found will be corrected.
