Rice Husks Concrete?

Concrete made from rice husk and coal ash waste is being developed in a scheme to tackle climate change.

Traditional methods of concrete production release large quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere so British and Indian researchers are working together on the scheme to cut the carbon footprint of concrete. The scale of the problems facing infrastructure development in India and the UK means that collaboration between a number of institutions is the only way to reach their goals. The researchers have been working as part of a UK-India Education & Research Initiative (UKIERI) project, led by the University of Dundee. A major component of traditional concrete is Portland cement but for every tonne of cement produced about one tonne of CO2 is released into the atmosphere. As a result concrete production amounts to approximately 5% of global CO2 emissions.

Concrete is the second most used material in the world after water, and so reducing the CO2 emissions produced by it could make a real difference to climate change. Rice husk is already used as a fuel in the boilers for the processing of paddy and for power generation. The ash of the rice husk (rice husk ash or RHA for short) is used as a super-pozzolan to make special concrete mixers. There are many uses for this RHA, such as green concrete, ceramic glaze, oil-spill absorbent, insulator, flame retardants, insecticide, bio-fertilizers and more.

I didn't know rice is super useful man! It's waste has more uses than human waste. Maybe we should make more studies on our waste (poo) to see what else we can use it for :) Well cow dung is used as a source of fuel..

Tip of the day: Have a quick or navy shower to save water. It is the
no.1 used material in the world so please save water and it is still wasted everyday! Or you can shower together with your partner. It helps saves water. Whatever works for you ;)

How the Swedes keep themselves warm :)

There's a town in beautiful Sweden that uses a very interesting way to keep themselves warm during their very cold cold winter.

The people in Halmstad, Sweden uses the heat from burning bodies to keep themselves nice and warm! Don't worry, they're not ruthless killers. It's from the crematorium. Cremation of human remains can release toxins, like mercury from dental fillings, so the filtration of off-gases is very, very important. In order to effectively clean the emitted gases, they have to be cooled from 1000°C to under 150°C. Recovery of this heat for warming first the crematorium buildings and later the public heating system will save costs and use less water as well.

Heating is one of the biggest perpetrators of energy guzzling and carbon emissions in any house that needs it. Instead of having people paying so much for fossil fuel heat, why waste all that heat when people can reuse it to heat up their loving homes :)

Tip of the day: Or if you live alone with your partner, you can always keep each comfortably warm by stripping down to nothing and using your body warmth ;) But please remember to cover your windows with your curtains. You wouldn't want to be labeled as an exhibitionist or have peeping-toms hanging around. The first you'll save money on electricity and the latter as well, plus more! That is for the colder climates. For us people living on this hot hot island of Singapore, instead of blasting the air-conditioner to -10°C (that is sarcasm) or a more likely 18°C, just use less clothes or thin ones when you sleep and you can put the air-con up at a comfortable 24°C or just the old mighty fan :)

How quitting the soda will be good for the environment

So what is in a can of soda? Lets have a breakdown of it and use my dearest friend, the diet coke, as an example.

These highly addictive drinks are made up of soy and corn which is two of the biggest GM crops so it's likely that the soda companies are using these Genetically Modified crops. The artificial sweeteners used is not only polluting our bodies but may be contaminating our drinking water since sewage treatment plants don't seem to be effective at removing them from waste water. This study was done by German researchers. The bottles are not so innocent as well.

Only 25% is made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and the rest of the 75% is made from fossil fuel based plastic and these bottled water industry uses 17 million barrels of oil a year to produce its plastic bottles. Naughty naughty. The more you should carry your own water bottle which you can reuse over and over again. The can is made from half virgin aluminum which is an abundant resource but unfortunately is environmentally destructive to mine. The aluminum industry uses as much electricity as the entire African continent! and a ton of toxic chemicals is left behind for every ton of metal produced, The can lining contains packaging additive bisphenol A (BPA), a toxic chemical that's been linked to cancer, sexual development abnormalities, and heart disease, among other serious health conditions, and is present in most plastic.

A Health Canada study last year found BPA levels in soda to be below what's been deemed a "safe limit," but other studies have found even extremely low doses of the chemical to spur cancer cell growth in test animals. Plus they are planning to ban the use of BPA in baby's bottle and products. Diet coke is made from 99% waterwhich coca cola is proud of, but all the water has to come from somewhere and guess where it all comes from. From areas severely afflicted by water shortages, most notably drought-stricken India, and continuing their bottling operations there. And don't forget the energy cost of manufacturing, distribution and refrigeration. The equipment used in retail outlets just to refrigerate its drinks account for over 70% of the company's carbon emissions!

I'm sure there are other greener ways to curb your soda cravings.. Treat yourself to a fountain-dispensed glass of soda at a restaurant or purchase your own home soda maker (yes there is such an invention, its the Sodastream :) )

Tip of the day: From what I've written, I hope you can cut down on your soda drinks and soon ban it from your life forever :) It will not only help the environment but also your health....

If U.K can do it, why can't we?

The U.K government has plans to upgrade 7 MILLION homes in Britain to be more energy efficient by 2020, cutting carbon-dioxide emissions and reducing fuel bills.

The “eco-upgrades” include installing smart meters, which allow customers to monitor and reduce their energy use, in all homes by 2020 and cut carbon emissions from home by 29 percent by then. It also aims for insulation in all possible lofts and cavity walls by 2015. Research has shown that more than a quarter of carbon emissions come from homes so it is necessary for people to make the improvements that will lead them to smarter use of energy. Home owners, private landlords and tenants will receive help to achieve this.

I think this is a good move as they will definitely save on their electricity bill, which always increases every other month! and plus we are running out of the black gold aka oil. If they are able to make the move, why is it so difficult for other countries to follow suit? Are they worried that the power supply companies are gonna be upset as there'll be less usage, hence less profit for them? I'm sure it is achievable e.g they can change the street lamps to solar powered ones for starters so less electricity would be used in the country. Is the Earth not important enough for us to save it? What about their fellow country men? I guess money is more important to them. What do you think?

Tip of the day: Buy your own solar powered lamp! Charge it by the window or wherever the sun hits most and use it at night :)