Tag Archives: concrete

Skyscrapers: A bad idea as energy declines

Preface. One reason Paris is such a lovely city is that it was built to human scale, with buildings of five stories or less, because that was about as high as people were willing to climb, so not surprisingly, rents … Continue reading

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A Century from Now Concrete Will be Nothing But Rubble

Photo: road abandoned since 1984 in the Florida Keys Preface. Much of the material that follows is based on Robert Courland’s 2011 book Concrete Planet, which explains why concrete is an essential part of our infrastructure. And it’s all falling … Continue reading

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Peak Sand

Preface. With world peak oil production in 2018 so far (Peak oil is here!) it looks like peak sand won’t be the main factor in the fall of our fossil-fueled civilization. After all, oil makes all materials and activities possible, … Continue reading

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Concrete: the most destructive material on Earth

Preface. Some of the points I found most alarming or interesting: After water, concrete is the most widely used substance on Earth. Concrete is a thirsty behemoth, sucking up almost a 10th of the world’s industrial water use. This often … Continue reading

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Climate change may corrode concrete even faster

[ I’ve paraphrased and shortened this article about how climate change will corrode concrete faster in the future from increasing carbon dioxide levels, and in coastal cities, from the chloride ions in sea spray. After that is the introduction section … Continue reading

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China consumes mind-boggling amounts of raw materials

September 10, 2015. China Consumes Mind-Boggling Amounts of Raw Materials. Visual Capitalist.           Over the last 20 years, the world economy has relied on the Chinese economic growth engine more than it would like to admit. … Continue reading

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Wind turbines hit limits to growth before 50% wind power penetration

Material requirements of 50% wind power in the USA hit limits to growth Also see: Davidsson, S., et al. 2014. Growth curves and sustained commissioning modelling of renewable energy Investigating resource constraints for wind energy. Energy Policy. Fizaine, F., et … Continue reading

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Why is modern concrete falling apart?

Here’s more information from Courland’s book “Concrete Planet” and other information I found on the web since I wrote Enough energy after Peak Oil to rebuild and repair concrete infrastructure? Lawrence Berkeley National laboratory has been trying to figure out … Continue reading

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How long will concrete last if it isn’t maintained?

As energy grows scarcer and is devoted to growing food and other life-support services, our infrastructure will crumble. Bob Holmes. 12 Oct 2006. Imagine Earth without people. NewScientist.com Lack of maintenance will spell an early demise for buildings, roads, bridges … Continue reading

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