Heat, Drought Takes Toll on Infrastructure
PHILLIPS: Roads buckling, train tracks bending and stretching, asphalt literally melting -- the extreme heat isn't just threatening the nation's crops and food prices but also has taken a huge toll on our country's infrastructure. Things like this are happening all across the country. Chad Myers, help.</s>CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know.</s>PHILLIPS: Seriously, that's what a lot of people are saying. And all the city construction workers are called out because cracks are getting wider. It is becoming more dangerous in some neighborhoods.</s>MYERS: It is hotter this year than it has been, and the infrastructure is getting old. I'll be honest, it is old. Some of the roads -- think about the Eisenhower interstate system. How long ago was Eisenhower in the White House?</s>PHILLIPS: It's hard to major in urban planning, right?</s>MYERS: A long time ago. So, things are happening. We were talking about train tracks that are getting so hot, they weren't really melting, but when you bump into each other, there is no more room for them to expand and the train tracks bend a little bit. And the bending tracks and the train goes off of the track and that is not a good thing. Last year we talked about the drought in Texas. The drought got so bad that the dirt was moving. It was almost becoming a brick. It was like an adobe brick, baking. And water pipes were breaking underground because the dirt was moving. You don't want dirt moving when you have solid water pipes underneath. Water was breaking them. It has been a very tough summer, and I don't see any end to this.</s>PHILLIPS: What about the highways and the nuclear plants --</s>MYERS: Yes. The nuclear plants are now getting to the point where, they are cooling water has gotten to about 100 degrees, which is the cut off. After that, the EPA says you cannot dump any more hot water into this cooling water. The Mississippi River now -- a number of in-takes and out-flows of the Mississippi River is the lowest in years, since 1988, and at it's lowest point, the eighth lowest point ever. So that the water is so low that the power plants may not be able to drag water out of the Mississippi River and cool the power plants and go back in. They have to go to the stack system, the internal system.</s>PHILLIPS: Wow.</s>MYERS: It is really getting to the point where we are all saying to ourselves, when does this stop? When doesn't rain in the Corn Belt? And if it doesn't, then what? Because we like to export it, and get some import money. And if we can't export, we won't get money back into the United States. And then, suddenly, everything that we do will be in danger.</s>PHILLIPS: We will keep talking about it, that's for sure. Chad, thanks so much.</s>MYERS: You're welcome.</s>PHILLIPS: And according to "The New York Times," federal authorities are re-examining and re-designing and re-working infrastructure across the country to adapt to the higher temps and the extreme weather. Normally Elise Labott is producing for us out of the State Department and around the world when she's traveling with out diplomats and reporting for us. And she loves Jerusalem, and not just for the international stories, but for one fabulous market. Here is Elise's "Travel Insider."</s>ELISE LABOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jerusalem is famous for the history and the culture, but I love to come to this market here on Jaffa Street. This is where you will find the tastes and smells of Israel. Outside the market, you have the freshest fruits and vegetables. The produce of this country is incredible. Inside of the market, they have all of the breads and sweets and dried fruits and nuts, and all of the great nibbling things they call bissets (ph) here. There is an alley of different restaurants where people can come to eat lunch. But the thing I like the most about the market is that you can find the Israelis and Palestinians from all walks of life here. No matter what the divisions are in this country, everyone can agree on one thing, good food. Elise Labott, CNN, Jerusalem.