The Overseas Highway
The first mention of land transportation between the Florida Keys and mainland Florida appears to be from a political address given in 1835 by George W. Allen. Mr. Allen was a reverend and member of what would become one of the largest black families on Key West...
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The Hoover Dam
Since the early 1900’s, the U.S. government had an eye on the Black Canyon, situated on the border between Nevada and Arizona. The Black Canyon was a potential site to build a dam that would provide flood control, irrigation, and hydroelectric power to the nearby...
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Part 2: Getting to Work with the PWA.
Renamed the Work Projects Administration (or the WPA) in 1935, the Public Works Administration was initially created in June of 1933 in the National Industrial Recovery Act. It was designed to fund massive public works projects and provide employment and economic...
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Civil Engineering in the Era of the New Deal Part 1
Part 1: The Depression and the Enacting of the New Deal In the wake of the stock market crash in October of 1929 and the subsequent effects of the Great Depression, the United States was in turmoil. Unemployment went from 4% before 1929 to around 25% following the...
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The Sewers of Ancient Rome
Of the absolute plethora of landmark examples of civil engineering that Ancient Rome offers, few give us as much insight about Roman life as their sewer systems. While these systems were not the first sewers in human history (as humans have been digging permanent...
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The Emerald Dream of Green Engineering
While Environmental Engineering is a specific discipline dealing with the cleaning of contamination caused by humans and the prevention of future for the sake of both the overall environment and the health and safety of the human population, Green Engineering more of...
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What Is Environmental Engineering Anyway?
Ever since humanity first decided to stop wandering through the wilderness in order to create a more permanent, stationary civilization we have engineered the land to suit our needs. From the construction of aqueducts and canals to the building of bridges, we have...
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CARLSBAD CAVERNS NATIONAL PARK: PART 2 – Jim White
Jim White: Discovery, Business, and Bats Most of the initial exploration of the Carlsbad Caverns were done by a teenage boy named Jim White, who discovered the caverns while he was riding through the Chihuahuan Desert in search of stray cattle. He saw a plume of bats...
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Carlsbad Caverns National Park: Part 1
The Permian Sea If you happen to be traveling down US Highway 62/180, just to the Southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico then you’ll find yourself driving past the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, one of the Southwest’s most unique tourist attractions. While...
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So What Is Civil Engineering Anyway?
Not surprisingly, most people don’t really know what the term ‘civil engineering’ actually means or what it entails. Fewer people realize that it is actually one of the oldest engineering disciplines in the world. Going back to the earliest moments of when humanity...
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