SCS Natinoal Engineering Handbook: Section 15, Irrigation, Chapter 12--Land Leveling

Land leveling or land grading for irrigation is modifying the surface relief of a field to a planned grade to provide a more suitable surface for efficiently applying irrigation water. Normally land leveling requires moving a lot of earth over several hundred feet. This should not be confused with land planning, land smoothing, or land floating. They are usually accomplished with special equipment to eliminate minor irregularities, and they do not change the general topography of the land surface. Rough grading is removing knolls, mounds, or ridges and filling pockets or swales in a field that is not to have a planned grade. Often no construction stake. are set and reliance is placed on the eye of the equipment operator to obtain the desired field surface. Rough grading is seldom adequate for lands to be surface irrigated

The Road Ahead for the U.S. Auto Industry

[Excerpt] In 2004, U.S. light vehicle sales were up slightly, reversing a moderate slide that began in 2001. The 1.3 percent gain brought the market total to 16.8 million units, approximately the same level as 2002, and the fourth highest sales on record. The trend, which began in 2001 of offering low or no cost financing along with high rebates has cast a cloud over the otherwise sunny sales outcome for the year. American consumers have continued the long-term shift towards a preference for light trucks over passenger cars. Trucks passed cars in 2001, hitting over half the market for the first time that year. In 2004, light trucks accounted for over 55 percent of the U.S. passenger vehicle market. Light truck sales reached 9.3 million units, up 3.6 percent over 2003. Passenger car sales were down 1.4 percent compared to 2003, reaching only 7.5 million units

The Road Ahead

[Excerpt] Growing competition, the economy, and the automakers’ financial difficulties have lead to great uncertainty for the industry. In the midst of these troubled times, worldwide pressure is on for the automotive industry to develop fuel efficient vehicles with advanced technologies. A combination of regulations and consumers will ultimately decide the replacement of the more than century-old internal combustion engine, and how soon it will happen. Without a doubt, it is certainly a turning point in the history of the automobile. For the near-term, a combination of technologies will be developed and offered, including hybrids, biofuel engines, plug-ins, hydrogen fuel cells, and advanced diesel engines. Whether one technology will become dominant, remains to be seen