On March 2-3, ENR gathered policymakers, scientists and construction industry leaders to brainstorm about how to direct national attention to disaster mitigation. One week later, those conference presentations took on a greater significance in light of the catastrophic events in Japan. “We have less latitude to withstand disasters than we ever have had in our history,” suggested John Voeller, vice president of engineer Black & Veatch, in a video made at the conference and now appearing on ENR.com. Shot by Senior Editor Tom Sawyer and edited by Assistant Editor Luke Abaffy, the video highlights discussions about how disasters can be limited or avoided and what characterizes the most dangerous places in the U.S. The speakers also considered why it might take another major disaster to present the next “teachable moment” on the way to improving U.S. codes and disaster resilience. Find out what the country can do about its increasingly frail infrastructure as you watch the video on ENR.com.

Photo: By AP Images

New York Underground:

Go down into the subway tunnels being constructed under New York City with Aileen Cho and Luke Abaffy in the third and final episode of their transportation video trilogy.

The Engineer’s Perspective:

The usually lighthearted Brian Brenner reflects on the deeper meaning of the disaster in Japan.

Connecting with CONEXPO:

Watch for the updates coming every day from Las Vegas as the ENR team reports from the big equipment exposition and conference.

Wrench Time:

What’s slowing down craft productivity? Join the lively debate engendered by Richard Korman’s latest blog post.