Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC
President, Chen Moore and Associates

As published by the Sun Sentinel on January 6, 2023

Last week: I hope for a speedy and full recovery for Damar Hamlin. What baffles me is the obsession that people have had with the injury. It was the most watched Monday Night Football ever, but only after the injury. Stadiums across the country are showing their support. Scrutiny is running over sport journalists that didn’t immediately demand the game be canceled. That same day, though, a baggage handler was killed in Alabama when he was sucked through a jet engine. Dozens of construction workers are killed annually just doing their jobs. Where is the outcry for them?

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC
President, Chen Moore and Associates

As published by the Sun Sentinel on November 11, 2022

Last week: I just wanted to give a quick thank you to everyone who ran for office, regardless of the success of their campaigns. America was built on everyday people giving of themselves for the betterment of their communities and I’m proud of everyone who put themselves out there. Win or lose, there are always positive things to take away from the experience.

Looking ahead: Well, the deck is stacked more than ever in the favor of the majority party as we looked forward to the special session on property insurance in mid-December. There are so many reasons why this is critical for the state of Florida, and this is the first great test of the now more deeply red environment. With 7.03% of the homeowners claims originating in Florida, but 76.32% of the homeowners insurance lawsuits originating in Florida, there are many reforms needed. From eliminating one-way attorney fees to tightening the definition of bad faith to Citizens Insurance reforms, we need change now.

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC
President, Chen Moore and Associates

As published by the Sun Sentinel on October 21, 2022

Last week: The Clean Water Act (CWA) was signed 50 years ago this week. The CWA is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the integrity of the nation’s waters. The law recognizes the responsibilities of the states in addressing pollution and provides assistance to states to do so, including funding for publicly owned treatment works for the improvement of wastewater treatment and maintaining the integrity of wetlands. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has delegated authority to manage and, sometimes, fund this in Florida. This was a great day in American history.

Looking ahead: Recently, the largest clean energy lending institution, Ygrene, stopped funding PACE loans to homeowners in Florida without warning. Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs provide an alternative way for Florida homeowners to finance energy efficient upgrades to their home, like impact windows and doors. This financing program allowed participating counties and municipalities to assist homeowners in financing these improvement projects. Not only are they not funding any more projects, but they are not funding any projects that have already been approved. Homeowners that were trying to do the right thing were left out in the cold. They need help soon.

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC
President, Chen Moore and Associates

As published by the Sun Sentinel on October 7, 2022

Last week: I’ve seen a lot of people that excitedly posted about dropping gas prices due to the gas tax holiday that is taking place the entire month of October 2022. This effectively reduces the price of gas by 25.3 cents per gallon. Sadly, most Floridians don’t know that these taxes go to fund a large portion of the Florida Department of Transportation and local governmental budgets for capital projects and mass transit. In this particular case, the lost money will be offset by federal COVID relief dollars, but robbing Peter to pay Paul isn’t great policy.

Looking ahead: The University of Florida’s Presidential Search Committee has unanimously recommended U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse as the sole finalist to become the University of Florida’s 13th president. Sasse currently serves as a senator from Nebraska and is a former college president, highly accomplished scholar and nationally recognized authority on higher education. While this still needs to move forward for approval by the Board of Trustees, this is a huge change for the state’s flagship university.

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC
President, Chen Moore and Associates

As published by the Sun Sentinel on September 30, 2022

Last week: For Floridians, the story of the week was Hurricane Ian. For those of us that grew up on 1990s end-of-world disaster movies, though, the story of the week was NASA’s successful Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission relating to altering the trajectory of asteroid Dimorphos. While It will take days to weeks for astronomers to confirm whether DART accomplished its primary goal, which is to speed up the time Dimorphos takes to orbit its partner asteroid, Didymos, by perhaps 10 or more minutes, the mission to make contact with an object 11 million kilometers from Earth was achieved.

Looking ahead: Hurricane Ian is heading to Tampa … Tallahassee … Tampa … And then it ends up in Fort Myers. In the time following recovery and rebuilding, there will be much learned from the data collected and how it impacts the models used to predict the path and intensity of hurricanes. Similarly, engineers use past information to calculate the duration and intensity of rainfall to prevent loss of life from hurricanes and random December rainstorms. Collaboration between cities, counties, water management districts and other stakeholders helps put the big in “big data,” which continues to make predictions better — but not perfect.

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC
President, Chen Moore and Associates

As published by the Sun Sentinel on June 3, 2022

Last week: The condo reform legislation passed as a “side thought” in the special session on insurance reform was the gem of this legislative year. Putting in place a comprehensive program for inspections, with special emphasis on high risk properties, along with not allowing condo boards to waive reserve funds specifically used for the maintenance of these structures will save lives, period. Just as importantly, this legislation restores confidence in the value of condo structures as a viable place to live and invest. The Florida Legislature showed leadership with compromise and understanding to benefit all Floridians.

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC
President, Chen Moore and Associates

As published by the Sun Sentinel on April 2, 2022

We are barely scratching the surface. What’s next for our nation’s infrastructure? | Opinion

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC
President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: This past week, President Biden signed into law the appropriations behind the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), providing significant funding for the next five years for various infrastructure initiatives. This includes a 43% increase in funding for highway programs, a 61% increase for public transportation projects and a 137% increase for airport construction. Each of these is a significant “down payment” towards the nearly $2.2 Trillion in funding gap between what is authorized and what is needed according to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ recent 2021 Failure to Act study. Let’s keep the momentum going!

Looking ahead: Next week I’ll spend my 21st consecutive year judging a civil engineering competition called the Concrete Canoe. The concept is to gain a hands on knowledge of the design, construction and racing of a canoe that is made of concrete products that floats. Since the early 1970’s, experiments in light weight concrete led to the development of concrete canoes, but the first National competition was held in 1988. The competition includes a technical paper, presentation and aesthetics, going well beyond the typical purposeful designs that engineers are typically synonymous with. These are our next generation of infrastructure leaders.

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC
President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: The past week, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) unveiled the first of five digital worlds within the Future World Vision (www.futureworldvision.org) project. To build the future, first we must visualize it. Mega City 2070 is not science fiction. It’s not a video game. Guided by extensive scenario planning and grounded in deep research, Future World Vision introduces a plausible city and its evolution from 2020 to 2070. The immersive, 3D digital model puts users at the heart of Mega City, inviting contributions to the platform. Thinking about the future guides the decisions we make today.

Looking ahead: In light of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict, a new European Union energy strategy is expected to be unveiled March 2. It calls for a 40% reduction in fossil fuel use by 2030, coincidentally the approximate amount that the EU receives from Russia, and requires European energy companies to fill their storage tanks with natural gas this summer so that the continent is less dependent on Russian gas next winter. A focus on renewable energy is a large part of that strategy and reminds us here, far from the conflict, of the importance of energy independence.