Tag: construction industry

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Simply Scientific: Living cement

Every couple of kilometers, there lies huge concrete monoliths that are argued to screw up nature, also known as cities.

The cement industry alone is said to contribute to five percent of global CO2 emissions. But, what if I told you that a new “living” construction material could be the future of architecture?

A team of researchers from the University of Colorado, Boulder, created a new form of concrete that uses bacteria to grow––and even heal itself.

The bricks created by Dr. Wil Srubar and his team are composed of sand particles bound together by natural glue. The process is very similar to the formation of seashells. The bacteria that thrives on CO2 produces tiny limestones that act as glue to bind the sand particles together. This process is called biomineralization.

Some may think the bricks would be gooey or soft––and they are at first––but a monitored and controlled dehydration process makes the organic concrete completely solid. Once solidified, the cells shut down and stop the production process, so your house won’t become a skyscraper within weeks. However, in a controlled environment, the cells could be woken up and temporarily keep growing. Think of all the benefits and advantages this could bring to repairing buildings!

In an interview with CBC, Srubar said the bricks take less than a day to grow. On top of that, his team experimented with different methods and came to realize that when divided, the two new half-bricks grow individually to become two fully grown blocks.

Since the bacterias live off CO2, this new method is argued to be sustainable and environmentally-friendly. This is exactly where Srubar was taking his research, he said on CBC Radio’s show, Quirks & Quarks. According to him, the next generation of technology findings will be based on biology principles. He finished the interview by saying that his new finding could be an asset to human space exploration, arguing that it is easier to use growing blocks rather than carrying tons and tons of cement into space.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

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Opinions

Opinions: Montreal’s poor infrastructure needs to be dealt with now

Image via Flickr
Image via Flickr

Montrealers live life dangerously. They take risks everyday by simply walking down the street or driving through the Turcot interchange for a little trip to Ikea. It’s thrilling really. Even parking — not the action of parking but being parked — can turn into an adventure involving cars being swallowed by sinkholes. Or, a walk to class can become an exhilarating water slide down the street wherein the building of a dam ensues.

The sinkhole at the Trudeau airport that partially swallowed two cars did not come as a surprise. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that when a water main broke on Jan. 28 releasing 40 million litres of water down McTavish St., that was not a surprise either. Are we ever really surprised? When a block of cement falls from a bridge through someone’s windshield? When a 25-tonne slab of concrete falls onto the Ville-Marie highway? Or similarly, when in 2000, an overpass killed five people? That one was disconcerting.

The city keeps emphasizing a need for gentrification but there isn’t much talk about fixing what is behind the scenes. Roadwork has become synonymous with patchwork. Parts of Montreal’s underground water system, indeed, date back to the early 20th century. Thankfully, as part of a billion-dollar project, pipes and underground water systems are set to be repaired in the next 10 years.

Even Montreal’s 2012 municipal budget acknowledged the “decades of neglect” justifying its plans to go from $265 million in its spending to $1.5 billion.

“We have spent billions and billions of dollars since the end of the ‘80s, early ‘90s on our infrastructure. Do you find there is much improvement at all?” said Toronto Sun journalist Brigitte Pellerin at a conference organized the Fraser Institute on March 23.

What with the Charbonneau commission, I think we’ve all figured out where the money’s been going (down a sinkhole along with the noses of those two cars). We’ve gotten so used to this dangerous lifestyle that we don’t have the energy to confront. Proof is the Charbonneau commission was brought about after a series of really good journalistic investigations were made, namely, by La Presse.

Yes, media is society’s voice, but it is moderated, malleable and not a perfect two-way form of communication. Granted, our government hasn’t exactly been transparent about its spending, but isn’t that something that we should be questioning by ourselves? That’s why I think, although radical, it’s healthy to have people protesting in the streets despite the fact that it doesn’t always represent widespread views.

I can just imagine city officials pacing in their office with sudden bursts of energy:

“OK! Infrastructure. What do we do about that one, Gérald?”

“What do we usually do?”

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Opinions

The making of an informed people

Image via Flickr.
Image via Flickr.

They don’t have the power to put criminals behind bars. They don’t have the power to take people to court. They certainly don’t have the power to accuse witnesses of wrongdoing. However the Charbonneau Commission has the ability to inform the people and in a society like ours, an informed people is the greatest power of all.

“The commission’s investigations are going well, in terms of one of the purposes of the commission, which was to make public the corruption in Montreal,” said Marcel Danis, Concordia University professor, lawyer, and former politician, in an interview with The Concordian.

The Charbonneau Commission was created by Jean Charest’s Liberal party on Oct. 19, 2011. As I look at the past year, I must say, I’m fairly impressed with the work this commission has done. As a result of the testimonies made by witnesses on the stand at the commission, two major Quebec politicians, Gerald Tremblay, now ex-Montreal mayor, and Gilles Vaillancourt, ex-Laval mayor, have resigned amid corruption allegations.

This is what Montreal’s corrupt construction industry, and the system as a whole, needs; a fresh start. The Charbonneau Commission, chaired by Justice France Charbonneau is doing just that. Although they don’t have the power, like I said, to accuse people in court, they have shed substantial light on the process in which public contracts are given out, and many politicians, Vaillancourt and Tremblay among them, were ratted out in the process.

The commission, however, does have certain drawbacks. Not only can they not make arrests, but witnesses who testify are completely protected. This, according to Danis, has pushed many people to come and testify.

“One of the bad things about the commission is that when someone goes to testify at the commission, what they say cannot be used against them,” said Danis. “That’s why some police officers were against the fact of creating the commission in the first place.”

However, one must not focus on that aspect of the commission, because it seriously undermines what the commission is actually doing, which is more valuable; scaring corruption out of the industry.

Lino Zambito, ex-construction boss and one of the more popular witnesses at the Charbonneau Commission, said it himself that the “process really hasn’t been the same lately.” People are finally aware of how corrupt the process was, and measures are being put in place to try and fix the system. This, all thanks to the commission.

“There’s no doubt that one of the good things of the commission is that it will scare people who are civil servants to work in the city of Montreal,” said Danis. “They’re more likely to be very careful at least for a number of years.”

According to Danis, prices for public contracts have dropped substantially since 2009, having “gone down between 25 and 30 per cent for sewer work and sidewalk work.”

More importantly, the commission is enlightening the people. Montreal is littered with corrupt politicians and a large mafia. Joe Pistone, also known as Donnie Brasco, infiltrated the New York mafia in the 1970s and ‘80s, and was invited to testify at the Charbonneau Commission. His experience has taught him a lot about the inner workings of the mafia, and he put it simply enough.

“Without that corruption, they really can’t operate,” said Pistone. “And as soon as the public realizes that, it lessens the impact that the mafia can have on us.”

Montreal needs to get back on track as one of the best cities in North America. The first step is by cleaning up our streets, and we have the Charbonneau Commission to thank for the progress we’ve made this year.

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