Technology is changing infrastructure | 04.10.2006 | 09:38:25 | Views: 5181 | ID: April 10 '06: City-wide wireless networks and alternative energy resources are some of the ways the face of critical infrastructure is changing according to several stories in the New York Times on Monday. Reports, that communities in the south eastern Atlantic states, like North Carolina that are embracing plans for construction of nuclear plants "promises to be the first large-scale wave of nuclear plant construction since the 1980's," the Times found. And in San Francisco, the city council, under direction from Mayor Gavin Newsome, plans to "blanket the city's 49 square miles so that all residents can connect to the Internet from their homes and offices and even from their neighborhood park." Much of the growth in the nuclear energy arena has been spurred by moves to create cleaner energy and the lure of job creation in an area that has been economically depressed. Safety concerns raised by the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl disasters in the 1980's have faded according to the Times, and safety experts in the nuclear industry have said the technology has come a long way, though some environmental organizations like the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, based in North Carolina, plans to oppose the construction of a plant near the town of Gaffney. According to the Times, "Some 1,500 new jobs are expected in the construction phase of the $4 billion to $6 billion facility," in Gaffney, "and then running the plant will take 1,000 employees. In addition, the plant is to pay $8.5 million in annual taxes, to be split between the county and the state." In California, the wifi plan in San Francisco will be a cooperative between Google and Earthlink. Earthlink has had experience in building municipal networks in the construction of a network in Philadelphia, the Times reported. The service will be free for access to the Google network which will have connection speeds of 330 kilobytes a second - about six times faster than dial-up. For a $20 fee, the Earthlink-available service will be provided at speeds of about four-times that of the Google service. With the free Google service, adds along the banners of the web browser will be placed targeting the internet user while their will be no adds with the Earthlink service, the Times wrote. In other parts of the country, wireless networks have been installed to help connect first responder communities as well as other parts of the public sector such as government, schools, and municipal services. Last year, Wyoming state officials installed a 700-square-mile wireless network to help farmers and chemical plant workers communicate with local responder communities. More information on nuclear clean-up can found in an article appearing on ABC News' website.
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