Construction/Demolition: Energy, Water, Waste, Emissions
Posted May 22nd, 2008
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“The U.S. generates 136 million tons of
construction- and demolition-related wastes every
day. Demolition debris alone can contribute to up
to 40% of the country’s waste.”
“When a buildings’ energy and water requirements
are added in, it becomes clear that their
environmental impact is huge. Buildings swallow
up to 30-40% of the world’s energy and 16% of the
planet’s water requirement …”
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Environmental Science & Technology
<http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2008/may/science/rc_buildings.html>
May 21, 2008
Built to demolish, demolish to build
All things must come to the end of their lives,
and buildings are no exception. When buildings
die, they end up in heaps of rubble that make
their way into landfills. Only some parts-the
metals and some of the concrete-get recycled.
Consequently, dead and demolished buildings can
contribute up to 40% of a country’s waste
materials.
“erase carbon footprints†by offsetting carbon emissions. Their promotional materials say, “Global Warming: Solved!†–offering a quick fix to the largest challenge of our times. While they are primarily concerned with “restoring†plankton in the oceans, they have a subsidiary that plants trees in the European Union. The carbon dioxide taken up by the plankton is sold as carbon credits to consumers, businesses and governments. Ocean fertilization is a quickly emerging threat to the oceans and better ways of dealing with climate change; the estimated future value of the market for ocean fertilization is $100 billion. Planktos is likely to make huge profits from the Kyoto Protocol, the market for carbon offsets, the huge carbon footprints of Western consumers, and industrial greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, the world’s oceans and climate are paying the price, with widespread scientific uncertainty as to how they will be affected by iron fertilization. 