Canadian concrete companies running deceptive ad campaign against wood construction

by Lloyd Alter at TreeHugger.com
Design / Green Architecture
December 12, 2013

Wood construction is gaining in popularity around the world. New technologies have made it possible to build higher and stronger. Sustainably harvested wood stores carbon dioxide, while reforestation absorbs yet more CO2. That's why the new wave of wood construction is so exciting, and why so many jurisdictions are looking at changing the building codes to promote the use of wood and allow taller wood buildings. Particularly in North America, where the forests are  under attack by the pine beetle and will just rot if not cut and used, building with wood makes more sense than ever.


The manufacture of concrete, on the other hand, is responsible for almost  5% of the world's annual CO2 production. The aggregate that is mixed with cement to make concrete is another problem. Any switch from concrete to wood construction is going to be good for the climate. Who it is not good for is the people who make and build with concrete, like the Canadian Concrete Masonry Producers Association. . They have turned themselves into environmentalists, with headlines like If current deforestation rates continue, critical habitats could disappear within the next hundred years. Their full-page ads and press releases tug at the heartstrings and drop names of prestigious organizations...read more  here