Pollution Solution

What to do about the fallout from air pollution? BUILD with it! Not everyone realizes that ash is an essential ingredient in the manufacture of concrete. The nation’s power plants generate about 130 million tons of fly ash, the fine particles that rise with flue gases during combustion, during the coal combustion process. These dangerous particles can be captured through filtration to reduce air pollution and are often stored at coal power plants or placed in landfills.

A researcher wants to increase the amount of fly ash used in concrete, and if he’s successful, this could divert millions of tons of the waste product away from ponds and landfills and reduce CO2 emissions. It will even make the concrete BETTER: Engineer Jeffery Volz says, "Recent studies have shown that higher cement replacement percentages–even up to 75%–can result in excellent concrete in terms of both strength and durability."

Will we see concrete skyscrapers rising up in our big cities of the future? That may be happening right now in China, where satellites reveal that huge cities are being built in remote areas, even though they remain unpopulated "ghost towns." No one is even expected to live in the future (since they are controlling their population so strictly). However, China IS a very polluted place, so perhaps they are building with concrete. No one knows why they are doing this–the only explanation is a kind of "make work" to keep their carpenters and contractors paid and busy (so they don’t start the kind of rebellion that recently went on in Egypt). NOTE: Subscribers can chat with William and Claire Henry about their Egyptian adventure on Saturday, Feb. 26 from 10 to 11 am Pacific. Don’t forget where you heard about climate change FIRST, while everyone else was still denying it. Help us keep the truth alive: Subscribe today!