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Cement Produces More Pollution Than All the Trucks in the World

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221–230 of 249 posts

Re: Cement Produces More Pollution Than All the Trucks in the World

#221

One alternative to traditional concrete is autoclaved aerated concrete[1], a 70 year old material that's more eco friendly. Some of the advantages are mentioned in this video[2]. I'm guessing higher upfront cost means it's not competitive with traditional concrete. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoclaved_aerated_concrete [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS3BTDBMt7I

I've run into Siporex panels, which are a type of low density concrete per-fabricated panels. When these panels become water logged their tensile strength drops off quite a bit more than conventional concrete panels. The climate in which these panels are to be used probably plays a significant factor in specifying their use.

IIRC there was/is a company in Pune, India, called B G Shirke and company, that is into prefab Siporex materials.

Google "shirke siporex".

Re: Cement Produces More Pollution Than All the Trucks in the World

#222
So nobody is going to mention that cement itself sequesters carbon dioxide?

https://www.cement.org/for-concrete-books-learning/concrete-...

http://theconversation.com/eco-cement-the-cheapest-carbon-se...

https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780081024447/carbon-diox...

Re: Cement Produces More Pollution Than All the Trucks in the World

#223
post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

60% of America is overweight or obese, and America throws out enough food to feed .. a lot of people, every day. Shame me for eating meat when you stop them from overeating food full stop - and all the farm machinery and transport and packaging involved in that. I don't have children, I don't drive them to school in a SUV or to a holiday in DisneyWorld, I have never launched a SpaceX rocket, or lived on my own in a f…

> f' off about calling people "the most severe cause of climate change" for eating a beef sandwich without considering anything else. It's unhelpful, provocative, and completely incorrect. That's an entire mischaracterization of my argument, which was about willingness to change one's lifestyle in general, not specifically about eating a beef sandwich.

As in recent headline, Carnival Cruise Lines emit more pollution than all the cars in Europe[1].

Ten times more.

And I'm "with blunt honesty: an instance of the most severe cause of climate change"?

No. Just so much no.

[1] https://www.insidehook.com/daily_brief/news-opinion/carnival...

Re: Cement Produces More Pollution Than All the Trucks in the World

#224
post #2

Is there an ordered list of what produces most pollution? What's at the top? Is there an easy way to answer the question "I just did environmentally bad thing X, now what can I do to offset that?"

Fundamentally, there is very little you can change on an individual basis that will make a real difference. By all means, lead by example, but we have to support systemic changes at all levels of government to actually make any head way here.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Re: Cement Produces More Pollution Than All the Trucks in the World

#225
post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>You can argue that the process itself generates co2, but so does producing virgin plastic. It's carbon neutral compared to the alternatives.

Can you explain that to me? I do not understand the concept of comparative neutrality.

Recycling generates co2, but so does producing virgin plastic. If you're not cutting plastic use completely, you're going to produce co2 either way. Assuming that recycling doesn't produce more co2, we're coming out ahead. I realize calling it "carbon neutral" is probably not the best word to describe it (flying a plane isn't carbon neutral just because it produces the same amount as driving).

Re: Cement Produces More Pollution Than All the Trucks in the World

#226
post #222

So nobody is going to mention that cement itself sequesters carbon dioxide? https://www.cement.org/for-concrete-books-learning/concrete-... http://theconversation.com/eco-cement-the-cheapest-carbon-se... https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780081024447/carbon-diox...

As best as I can tell, two of your links talk about development of cement that could sequester CO2 (just like the article we're commenting on mentions too). The problem is that it's too expensive relative to regular cement. One of your links concludes "we don't know" how much CO2 regular cement sequesters.

Re: Cement Produces More Pollution Than All the Trucks in the World

#228
post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you explain that to me? I do not understand the concept of comparative neutrality.

Recycling generates co2, but so does producing virgin plastic. If you're not cutting plastic use completely, you're going to produce co2 either way. Assuming that recycling doesn't produce more co2, we're coming out ahead. I realize calling it "carbon neutral" is probably not the best word to describe it (flying a plane isn't carbon neutral just because it produces the same amount as driving).

Recycling plastic produces more CO2 than producing virgin plastic, I don’t understand assuming otherwise.

Re: Cement Produces More Pollution Than All the Trucks in the World

#229
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If everyone thinks like this nothing will change. You can do both. Campaign for political change and change your personal behaviour. I've done radical changes to my life at least last few years to reduce my pollution/co2 footprint and if more people think like this it _will_ help. So saying that there is nothing that can be done on the individual level is quite dangerous as I personally think over time this will have…

It would be good to have a system in place to reward measurable action on the individual level. One example might be to institute a "carbon savings account" which individuals add to when they add solar panels, buy more efficient vehicles and appliances, reduce their heating bills... whatever's measureable . Mandatory restrictions on carbon-intensive activity (there's no way around that anyway) would enable spending t…

> It would be good to have a system in place to reward measurable action on the individual level.

Wouldn't a Carbon Tax do exactly that? At least it would bring your individual financial interests in line with with society's climate interests. It would mean that doing whatever costs you the least money is likewise best for your carbon footprint (which you would no longer have to think about in order to optimize).

Re: Cement Produces More Pollution Than All the Trucks in the World

#230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fundamentally, there is very little you can change on an individual basis that will make a real difference. By all means, lead by example, but we have to support systemic changes at all levels of government to actually make any head way here.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Quotated, but not attributed?
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