Is 'Green' Cement Actually Sustainable?

You know, when you come down to it, there are some things we've come to depend upon as a society without thinking about it much. I'd say cement is one of those things.

Think of all the roads, the buildings, the bridges, drainage ditches, and so on and so forth.

In point of fact, we rely upon cement for our infrastructure and other needs.

Therefore, this article about an engineer who's trying to develop a more eco-friendly form of cement was most interesting.

I highly recommend you read it, because I had no idea there was so much to know about cement.

Here's the thing, I guess.


Check the bottom lines (and I quote): 

The major obstacle that the company still has to overcome is history. Portland cement works. Always has, since that afternoon in 1824 in Joseph Aspdin’s kitchen. "Cement has been around a very long time," [Dheeraj] Bhardwaj said. "People trust that. They can look around at all the buildings that have survived hundreds of years. So for Novacem, the proof of durability will take time. They will have to go slow. If I have to build a bridge or a building using Novacem cement, how do I convince people that that is OK? That's the challenge. Nobody wants a bridge to fall down."

Asked whether he would cross a bridge built with Novacem cement, Bhardwaj said, "I would have no problem with that." But that bridge hasn't been built yet.

Yeah. You might want to make real sure before you build that bridge, too.