Comments on: Legs To Stand On: Are Multiple (Weaker) Arguments Better Than A Few Strong Ones?

By: greendweller

greendweller — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 22:07:21 +0000

I agree, unless you really need something to stand for 500 years.

By: Andy Collier

Andy Collier — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:28:46 +0000

LOL, I never thought about concrete forming that way before!

You can use up to 40% flyash to replace the Portland cement content of the concrete mix in footing mixes and 25% in walls and slabs.

As an environmentalist I have always had trouble coming to terms with using concrete as it has such a high embodied energy and the production of portland cement is so polluting…

By: greendweller

greendweller — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:54:12 +0000

You’re very right about flyash. I seem to recall from a past architecture project that it can replace up to 15% of the concrete mix, which is a great recycled content rating for a material that isn’t really sustainable to begin with. A professor of mine once offered the following quote about concrete (paraphrased):

“Nowhere else do you build a steel building, build a wooden building around it, pour a concrete building, then dismantle the wooden building.”

By: Andy Collier

Andy Collier — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:55:37 +0000

I would like point out that flyash can be used to replace portland cement in concrete to various percentages (depending on the mix, strength required and environment it’s used in) and as such can be sequestered underground in a relatively inert, stable form and the footings of new buildings. Not only is it using a waste by product in new construction but also offsetting the use of the very high emobodied energy portland cement.

Not using it as a selling point for coal though, just saying….

By: greendweller

greendweller — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 05:34:47 +0000

It took me until the end of writing this post to realize that as most of the audience of The Sietch are probably already environmentalists, discussing such minutia is likely far more welcome than yet another review of the basics. However, it would have been a shame to let all that writing go to waste.

And three eyed fish are indeed awesome.

By: The Naib

The Naib — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:15:25 +0000

An excellent point. I have to admit I kind of wanted to write that article because it afforded me the opportunity to make a graphic with the three eyed fish in it.

But I think you are completely right, when in a debate with a doubter stick to the big importation issues. Sometimes I just like to get into minutia.