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Can We Live Without Concrete? (cnn.com)
A combination of cement, water and ground rock or sand, on the surface concrete might seem crushingly mundane. Yet it has defined construction in recent centuries and with it, in part, modernity. From a report: But do we need to re-evaluate our concrete habit for our sakes and the planet's? Production of cement is disastrous for our biosphere, while the degradation of many concrete buildings has some construction experts predicting a colossal headache in the future. There are myriad proposed solutions, such as changing the way we make concrete, creating sustainable alternatives or doing away with it altogether. But would we want to live in a world without concrete? And what would that world look like?
"We make more concrete than anything else, any other product, apart from clean water," says Paul Fennell, professor of clean energy at Imperial College London. One 2015 report estimates that each year approximately three tons of concrete are used for every person on Earth -- roughly, 22 billion tons. To put that in context, a recent study estimated that 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced, ever. Manufacturing cement, concrete's binding agent, is energy-intensive, Fennell says. Ordinary Portland cement -- the most common form in concrete -- is produced by baking lime in a kiln and emits approximately one ton of carbon dioxide for every ton of cement. Concrete production is responsible for approximately 5% of global man-made CO2 emissions, according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
"We make more concrete than anything else, any other product, apart from clean water," says Paul Fennell, professor of clean energy at Imperial College London. One 2015 report estimates that each year approximately three tons of concrete are used for every person on Earth -- roughly, 22 billion tons. To put that in context, a recent study estimated that 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced, ever. Manufacturing cement, concrete's binding agent, is energy-intensive, Fennell says. Ordinary Portland cement -- the most common form in concrete -- is produced by baking lime in a kiln and emits approximately one ton of carbon dioxide for every ton of cement. Concrete production is responsible for approximately 5% of global man-made CO2 emissions, according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Can't live with it, can't live inside it.
Concrete is heavy, and plastic is light. So by weight, it seems reasonable that "we" produce more concrete than plastic.
Is that why there's more gold produced than concrete?
Hemp is a good alternative to concrete. In addition it is renewable and extracts Co2. Plus it makes other useful things like clothing. Unfortunately the cotton industry is preventing the world from growing it. It is those people that are preventing us from having buildings made from hemp today.
Elevators are the reason we want to build things more than four stories high.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
When I was little, I was told a house made of strawbale and another made of wood failed to survive severe weather, particularly strong rain[1] and wind.[2] Or have I been duped all these years by the brick construction lobby?
[1] "The Pros and Cons of Straw Bale Wall Construction In Green Building"
[2] "The Three Little Pigs" by Joseph Jacobs
Even worse:
each year approximately three tons of concrete are used for every person on Earth -- roughly, 22 billion tons.
Every year we are adding 22 Billion tons to the weight of the earth. Sooner or later, that's going to start having an effect.