Overview.

• Position: Concrete's effect to climate change - Brief article

Stepped on for more than 2,300 years, concrete rarely gets the respect it deserves. Perhaps the most ubiquitous building material, concrete strengthens our homes, schools, office buildings, and hospitals. Its manufacture is also among the most energy-consuming and polluting industrial processes. Analysts expect greenhouse gas emissions from global concrete production to become a larger contributor to climate change than the European Union in the next 20 years.

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Concrete--a mixture of cement, sand, and water, heated in a kiln--became commonplace during the Roman Empire. Although visionary architect Vitruvius wrote that the sand should be free of any earthy...