Hedonistic sustainability: sustainability can be fun
In the Middle Ages, alchemists sought in vain to turn base metals into gold. Now all that remains of alchemy is some laboratory equipment. But imaginative urban planning offers a […]
Sustainability
ASTM C1798 permits safe reuse of returned fresh concrete
CALGreen requires the reuse, recycling, or salvage of at least 65% of the waste from construction and demolition. A previous blog discussed how to reuse water from concrete production. Another […]
ASTM C1602 conserves resources
Some of us who live in arid parts of the world think about water with a reverence others might find excessive.—Joan Didion, “Holy Water”, 1977 Most of us learned in […]
Net zero concrete
Climate change is already affecting everything from wildfires to coral reefs. To combat climate change, the cement industry has announced its 2050 Carbon Ambition, pledging to produce carbon-neutral concrete by […]
The Responsible Minerals Initiative promotes ethical sourcing
For their senior design projects, engineering students at the University of St. Thomas analyze the ethical factors in accordance with the ABET criteria for student outcomes. These include “an ability to […]
Background on ASTM C1866
We’ve previously discussed a new standard that promotes sustainability through the use of ground recycled glass in concrete. Now let’s get some background on ASTM C1866.* Most glass falls into […]
Green stormwater infrastructure
With increasing urban development and a changing climate, city governments need to consider new ways to manage stormwater. “It’s not easy being green,” a recent paper from the University of […]
What you need to know about CALGreen
The 2019 edition of the California Green Building Standards Code, also known as CALGreen, took effect at the beginning of this year. Its goals include: reducing greenhouse gas emissions from […]
Biomimicry: reverse engineering nature
Biomimicry comes in two forms. The first is simple imitation of the appearance of nature. The ancient Greeks proportioned their buildings according to the golden ratio φ = (1 +√5)/2, […]
Resilient engineering for climate change
Resilient engineering is design of infrastructure to withstand and recover from such major hazard events as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. It goes beyond design for life safety. It also […]