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Concrete

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Concrete
What are the benefits of concrete in today’s society? Concrete plays a crucial role in our day to day lives and in society as a whole. Concrete’s benefits toward society are massive, being used to build our schools, hospitals, apartments, bridges, tunnels, pavements, runways, roads and more. Many people do not know that concrete is the most used man-made material in the world and is packed with many environmental benefits. The environmental benefits of concrete, among others, are: strength and durability, versatility, low maintenance, affordability, fire-resistance, relatively low emissions of CO2, energy efficiency in production, excellent thermal mass, locally produced and used, and the albedo effect.
Concrete is used in the majority of buildings, bridges, tunnels and dams for its strength. It gains strength over time, and is not weakened by moisture, mold or pests. Concrete structures can also withstand natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. Roman buildings over 1,500 years old such as the Colosseum are living examples of the strength and durability of concrete. In the result of concrete being motionless, compressed, and non-porous, it does not attract mold or lose its key properties over time. Concrete compared to other building materials is extremely durable, yet remains affordable.
In addition, concrete is naturally fire-resistant and forms a highly effective barrier to prevent the spread of fire. Concrete walls and floors slow the passage of heat moving through, in result, reducing temperatures. The process of creating concrete uses less energy than the producing of other comparable building materials. Concrete reduces energy needs from heating or air-conditioning, offering year-round energy savings over the life-time of the building. The albedo effect reflects light which means less heat is absorbed, resulting in cooler temperatures.
Concrete has many benefits to today’s society from having great stability to lowering electric3 bills.

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