Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Green Cement

This looks like a technology worth watching. I'm a bit wary of sequestering gasses in cement -- what if they get out? -- but just reducing the amount of carbon dioxide produced in cement manufacture would be helpful.

Green Cement May Set CO2 Fate in Concrete
Carrie Sturrock, The San Francisco Chronicle: "[Stanford Professor Brent] Constantz says he has invented a green cement that could eliminate the huge amounts of carbon dioxide spewed into the atmosphere by the manufacturers of the everyday cement used in concrete for buildings, roadways and bridges. His vision of eliminating a large source of the world's greenhouse CO2 has gained traction with both investors and environmentalists."
Tags: economics, environment
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  • 5 comments
glitteringlynx

glitteringlynx

September 4 2008, 05:59:17 UTC 12 years ago

As much as I love the technological advances we are FINALLY seeing in the West for reducing our global impact, it will have almost 0% impact vs the pollution that is increasing out of China and India. Esp China. :(
ysabetwordsmith

Hmm...

ysabetwordsmith

September 4 2008, 15:25:35 UTC 12 years ago

The problem is so complex, it can't be solved by a single response. We have to build up different solutions, and in that case, every little bit helps. Maybe China will like the green cement. Maybe they'll come up with some other technology that we'll like. Our behavior has been impacting the environment, a complex system; complexity is needed to address that. We have to learn to think systemically.
glitteringlynx

Re: Hmm...

glitteringlynx

September 4 2008, 15:35:44 UTC 12 years ago

We also need to explain to China and India somehow that, no, they can't have their wasteful polluting period that the rest of the world had because we know better. Besides, we have better technology now than we did at the start of the industrial revolution and no one has to be that wasteful anymore.

That's the main claim from developing nations who are resistant to setting ANY environmental policies. Like China. Which is why they have so many particulates in the air from smog. They are going to see so many respiratory diseases in the people of China as a result. :/

You're right, it's incredibly complex. It's also the one thing which is truly international, so it's best if countries work together rather than independently (which the Kyoto Protocol was an effort to produce for at least one issue). The Environment isn't really an "us vs them" sort of issue; it requires everyone working together. Which is hard when some people don't even care about the consequences because they're too concerned with their own economic boom (which I understand, but they can be environmentally friendly and still have an economic boom).
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Hmm...

ysabetwordsmith

September 4 2008, 17:07:37 UTC 12 years ago

If the developed nations want the developing nations to skip the messy stage, they will have to share the more advanced, cleaner technology at a price the developing nations can afford. Otherwise economic pressure will drive them down the messy route.

People also need to understand that the economy and the environment are not opponents: the economy is a subset of the environment. No environment, no economy.

Deleted comment

ysabetwordsmith

Thoughts

ysabetwordsmith

September 4 2008, 17:04:33 UTC 12 years ago

>> I'd think that any gases sequestered in concrete would escape when the concrete breaks up and down.<<

That was one of my suspicions, yes. A key question is: how durable is this new cement?

>> The other thing about concrete is its durability. Build to last. I wouldn't doubt that it pollutes more to rebuild stick-built houses that keep getting knocked down by hurricanes or tornadoes, or that go up in flames, and I think about the lives that could be saved. <<

In particular, geodesic domes built with concrete are highly storm-resistant. There are photos of post-hurricane neighborhoods where the concrete domes are the only homes left standing! Geometry matters.

As for alternative building, I'm all for it. A major barrier is not cost, but red tape: the building codes in most areas don't allow for such energy-efficient renewable methods as straw bale building. That needs to change. And the methods that work best in each region depend on its climate so the codes need to be flexible; one size does not fit all.