Ed Rendell: Rebuild our infrastructure  The U.S. is in danger of
becoming a third-rate economic power  Share with others:  Print
Email Read Later  Most schools are out for a summer break after
final grades were toted home in students' backpacks throughout
the country. Around the same time, America got its
infrastructure report card -- and the results aren't good.
Imagine sitting around the kitchen table reviewing Junior's
grades. His last report card shows a cumulative average of D. As
a family, parent, teacher or community, wouldn't we do all we
could to try to help this student improve? Of course we would.
It's the same with the state of the country's infrastructure.
Consider some of these "grades," as reported in the American
Society of Civil Engineers' most recent infrastructure report
card: transit, D; energy, D+; dams, D; bridges, C; aviation, D;
drinking water, D-; hazardous waste, D; schools, D; and
wastewater, D-.  I'd say this defines our infrastructure
situation as one in crisis.  The record is c