Politics:

The U.S. Senate has voted to begin work on President Biden’s infrastructure bill, A.P. News writes.

Social:

The Construction Leadership Council is urging construction businesses to put down their tools and pause for an hour this October as part of their ‘Stop. Make a Change’ campaign, Construction News writes.

Environmental:

As the details of President Biden’s infrastructure plan are hashed out in Congress, congresspeople work to ensure that the clean energy portions of the plan will create sustainable jobs for contractors, Engineering News-Record reports.

Sustainability group Ecosystems Knowledge Network, engineering services consulting firm WSP, and Northumbria University have developed The Nature Assessment Tool for Urban and Rural Environments, which will record and determine how much a construction project delivers a “net gain” for the environment, PBC Today writes.

Professional Development:

Here are some tips on how to deal with burnout.

Economic:

July saw a rise in both construction and engineering costs, reflecting how a lack of laborers and supply chain issues have been affecting the industry post-pandemic, Metal Construction News writes. India is set to see demand for steel rise up to 17% this year since April, a stark contrast from last year, Bloomberg reports

Technology:

Transport Topics discusses how the use of drones in inspecting wind turbines saves time and money for both contractors and turbine owners.

Legal:

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed a lawsuit against the city of Madison, Wisconsin over legislation that made it mandatory for businesses to install ‘bird-safe’ glass, stating that it violates Wisconsin’s uniform building code, U.S. Glass Mag reports. The Department of Labor withdrew a Trump-era rule which hindered holding companiesliable as “joint employers” of contractors under federal wage law, Reuters writes.