Green Technology

Concrete is everywhere and is a key component of modern infrastructure .... used in roads, buildings, bridges, etc.  It is also anything BUT green.  Not only is it typically gray - its manufacturing process is quite dirty.

"MIT Prof. Franz-Josef Ulm is obsessed with concrete and how to make it greener ... behind the reinvention of this backbone material ... that  happens to contribute up to five per cent of the world’s carbon emissions. "

" ... in concert with the Portland Cement Association and the Ready Mixed Concrete Research & Education Foundation will try to ... reduc[e] ...the carbon emissions in concrete production by 83 per cent over the next 40 years."

" ...  25 billion tons of concrete are produced annually on a worldwide basis versus 3.3 billion tons of lumber. ... production ... emits carbon dioxide (CO2) in two ways. Cement forms the glue in concrete and is made from limestone. However, limestone isn’t cement until the CO2 is baked out, a process that makes up half of concrete’s carbon emissions. ... other 50 per cent ... comes from fossil fuels used to heat the limestone up to 1,300 degrees Celsius. ..."

Via:  Smart Planet  LINK