Energy-Intensive Industry Eyes Sustainable Future

Some airline publicity claims that airlines are responsible for 2% of greenhouse gases whereas this post claims that cement manufacture is responsible for 5%.

So surely, on that basis, mankind would do better to reduce by the same proportion cement consumption, rather than flying?

I had a similar thought. 5% is a significant amount and other industries (airlines?) must be under similar scrutiny and, I would hope, self reflection.

But, I am also interested to know who determined that the cement industry is responsible for 5% of all greenhouse gases. What is the source of that information?

<5% of all greenhouse gases>

Prove this with detailed analysis!

Also all cements harden by absorbing Atmospheric CO₂. So initial CaCO_3-->Ca+--CO₂-->CaCO₃ AGAIN!

How does that modify the 5%?

Maybe they are responsible for 50% of the CO2 and 45% get absorbed. nett = 5%.

I wonder what percentage will be reached if all the CO2 claims are added.

The poor us : everything will be prohibited.

Should we dig caves and return to the stone age? (No - I suspect woman will drag men around by their hair (or lack of it) this time)

A knowledgeable friend of mine is emphatic. He is working on a chemical reaction whereby limestone treated into calcined limestone will, by his new method, absorb CO2 .

As this is not my area of expertize I prefer to abstain . Yet as limestone is a part of cement manufacture I can not but wonder why no one has yet started to compel cement manufacturers to use :

1.fly-ash from coal burning power plant (Yes of course some of them do it. However they are not very determined ).It requires Country wide standards to oblige them to separate the type i.e defining the amount of fly ash in the mix , and specific and authorized use of ready mix. This of course pre-suppose that the ready mix people (as well as the end-user ) will be responsible to use the mix into : a. low bearing concrete and separately ( with less fly-ash) and for load bearing or structural concrete .

2.The second item is that there are huge deposits of pozzolan world-wide. In fact wherever there is volcanic activity at present ( or even centuries ago ) pozzolan is available. It requires no crushing and in most cases only drying (natural or accelerated by minimum heating). No one should forget that there are structures built by the Romans using this material , which are still standing. These were built originally with this material as binder .

I deplore having to say ( and particularly in this case) that commercial "appetite" is the cause of most of humanity's deplorable excesses. However in the case of cement one has only to look at the Owners of most of the cement plant in the worl to know that the individuals involved in that industry in : Switzerland will never lift a little finger to change the status quo. This of course means that the pressure point is :exposed, visible, easy to use and very much concentrated.(Much easier than airlines ! ).

We could say : " Engineers of this world unite !"

What , with : Who , Where and When do we start

Labor Omnia Vincit