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Cement is the Source of About 8% of the World's Carbon Dioxide Emissions (bbc.com)
Concrete is the most widely used man-made material in existence. It is second only to water as the most-consumed resource on the planet. But, while cement -- the key ingredient in concrete -- has shaped much of our built environment, it also has a massive carbon footprint. From a report: Cement is the source of about 8% of the world's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, according to think tank Chatham House. If the cement industry were a country, it would be the third largest emitter in the world -- behind China and the US. It contributes more CO2 than aviation fuel (2.5%) and is not far behind the global agriculture business (12%). Cement industry leaders were in Poland for the UN's climate change conference -- COP24 -- to discuss ways of meeting the requirements of the Paris Agreement on climate change. To do this, annual emissions from cement will need to fall by at least 16% by 2030.
Let's go back to building with wood and replicate the 1906 fire in San Francisco...
Well, instead of wood, we could try sticks and straw.
But then we might get a knock on the door:
"Little pig, little pig, let me come in."
"No, no, by the hair on my chiny chin chin."
"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in."
Personally, I'll make my house of bricks.
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
Obviously the solution is to tax cement.
There's another problem. Global concrete production is around 4 Billion tons per year. Every year, we're adding 4 Billion tons to the weight of the earth.
Now, the earth is very heavy -- about 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons. But still, adding 4 Billion tons every year will eventually cause problems.
Portland cement absorbs CO2 while setting... Just not as much as it takes to make the clinker using fossil fuels. With solar kilns it could be close to neutral