What civil engineers are reading this week

• Congress makes moves on recycling funding, single-use plastic reduction

  Legislators are working through numerous recycling-related bills meant to prevent plastic pollution and reduce single-use plastic use.

• Lack of water infrastructure costs US $8.6B annually, report shows

  At least 2 million Americans don’t have running water or a working toilet at home, a crisis that costs the U.S. economy billions of dollars each year, according to a report.

• Louisiana initiates highway elevation construction project

  State officials tout the benefits of a recently initiated highway construction project that would elevate 8.3 miles of highway from Golden Meadow to Leeville.

• Yellowstone, states receive $65M in emergency funding to repair flood damage

  Money from the U.S. Department of Transportation will help repair damage that closed Yellowstone National Park and damaged roads and bridges in Montana, Wyoming, and surrounding areas.

• Here's why Egypt's new billion-dollar capital is an urban planning nightmare

  Based 21 miles east of Cairo, the new "smart" capital will house more than 6.5 million residents over 270 square miles.

• Renewable energy is surging, but trouble looms

  The International Energy Agency projects that spending on renewables in 2022 will exceed the record $440 billion invested last year.