← on nowLGR-042 · v0.1.0 · model · estimate concrete: how much, per second and per year
concrete · the most used substance on earth after water
poured, tonnes
30 billion
a year
951
a second
82 million
a day
co2 from making the cement, tonnes
2.5 billion
a year
79.2
a second
6.8 million
a day
method USGS cement production (~4.1 Gt) scaled to concrete (~30 Gt); cement CO2 from GCP/Andrew.
- humans now pour more concrete each year than the weight of every living thing on earth.source: Elhacham et al. 2020, Nature; USGS
- sand is running out. the sand in deserts is the wrong shape. it is dredged from rivers and beaches, and the beaches go.source: UNEP 2019 Sand and Sustainability
live. this is the channel itself. embed it anywhere:
<iframe src="https://thetoll.earth/?channel=concrete" width="100%" height="520" style="border:1px solid #D9DDDB" title="the toll · concrete"></iframe>
or the whole broadcast, every channel, the same for everyone:
<iframe src="https://thetoll.earth/?embed=1" width="100%" height="520" style="border:1px solid #D9DDDB" title="the toll · on now, everywhere"></iframe>
how this number is built
- method
- USGS cement production (~4.1 Gt) scaled to concrete (~30 Gt); cement CO2 from GCP/Andrew.
- range
- concrete 25–33 Gt/yr; CO2 2.3–2.7 Gt/yr
- confidence
- estimate
- weakness
- concrete tonnage is inferred from cement; the 'weight of every living thing' comparison is Elhacham 2020 (biomass ~4 Gt wet).
- dispute
- dispute LGR-042 · corrections are credited
- data
- channels.json (sign-in) · full entry · CC BY 4.0