Concrete: the most destructive material on Earth
Limestone quarries and cement factories are often sources of air pollution. Photograph: Zoonar GmbH/Alamy
After water, concrete is the most widely used substance on the planet. But its benefits mask enormous dangers to the planet, to human health – and to culture itself
A brief history of concrete: from 10,000BC to 3D printed houses
John Vidal: Concrete is tipping us into climate catastrophe. It’s payback time
by Jonathan Watts
Mon 25 Feb 2019 01.00 EST
Last modified on Mon 25 Feb 2019 15.04 EST
In the time it takes you to read this sentence, the global building industry will have poured more than 19,000 bathtubs of concrete. By the time you are halfway through this article, the volume would fill the Albert Hall and spill out into Hyde Park. In a day it would be almost the size of China’s Three Gorges Dam. In a single year, there is enough to patio over every hill, dale, nook and cranny in England.
After water, concrete is the most widely used substance on Earth. If the cement industry were a country, it would be the third largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world with up to 2.8bn tonnes, surpassed only by China and the US.
The material is the foundation of modern development, putting roofs over the heads of billions, fortifying our defences against natural disaster and providing a structure for healthcare, education, transport, energy and industry.
Concrete is how we try to tame nature. Our slabs protect us from the elements. They keep the rain from our heads, the cold from our bones and the mud from our feet. But they also entomb vast tracts of fertile soil, constipate rivers, choke habitats and – acting as a rock-hard second skin – desensitise us from what is happening outside our urban fortresses.
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https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/feb/25/concrete-the-most-destructive-material-on-earth