We all know the impact the gases from our cars can have on the environment. What if there was a way to reduce the impact of tens of thousands of them, without having to take them off the road? One company has found a way, and they're using something that's often hidden in plain sight.
From busy highways to skyscrapers, concrete is everywhere. But we rarely think about how it's made, and the impact it's having on our environment. Cement, concrete's essential ingredient, releases carbon dioxide or CO2 into the atmosphere. According to NASA, when CO2 concentrations rise, so does the temperature of the planet.
The company Thomas Concrete is doing their part to change that.
"We've been able to keep 16,000,000 pounds of CO2 from going into the atmosphere," says Justin Lazenby with Thomas Concrete.
Thomas Concrete has started making some of their concrete with CarbonCure, a system that adds CO2 to concrete. It reacts with the concrete and becomes a mineral, trapping the CO2. And get this--it makes the concrete even stronger.
"We can reduce our cement content which therefore reduces clinger consumption, which reduces greenhouse gases," Lazenby explains. "So were able to pull all that good out for the environment and we still meet the same performance."
Concrete with CarbonCure costs the same traditional concrete, but Lazenby says the payoff goes far beyond that.
"You really look at it you're removing around 150 million cars off the road with that number," Lazenby says. "I mean it's a huge deal."
Now, Thomas Concrete is using carbon cure on projects like this, a mixed-use development which will be the largest building ever made with carbon cure concrete.
Correspondent Kumasi Aaron asked, "What do you hope is the future of this technology?"
"I hope it grows," Lazenby replied. "We don't have to do what our dad's did and our grandad's did. Let's move forward and do something better."
