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New buildings sequester carbon, especially if it doesn’t use recylced wood. Additionally high density housing and cities are vastly more energy efficient than

New buildings sequester carbon, especially if it doesn’t use recylced wood. Additionally high density housing and cities are vastly more energy efficient than sprawling suburbs based on at least one simple factor: cars.

TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
In what sense do large high density housing projects sequester carbon? They’re typically made from a lot of steel and concrete, both of which are carbon intensive. No one will be building high density housing from recycled timber any time soon.
- chrischen 9y ago
  Totally possible: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/wooden-skyscrapers-timber-trend-catching-fire-duplicate-2/index.html https://www.cnn.com/style/article/wooden-skyscrapers-timber-... Large housing projects require less material and construction than low density housing. Why? Because low density housing is essentially doing a relatively giant housing project per person, spread over way more physical distance. People have to live somewhere, so if high density housing isn't made then they have to live in energy and resource wasting low-density housing. That being said, living in high density will always be more energy efficient as less energy is wasted on locomotion for people, less energy is needed to service garbage pickup/disposal, less electricity is needed for heating/cooling, less material to construct a habitable unit, less energy is wasted transporting people to their work, less energy is wasted getting food to people (one grocery store to serve a whole high density area rather than a large distributed network of grocery stores), less energy wasted on food delivery (delivery driver can just go to one building versus driving the car around the suburbs)... and the list goes on.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
    Yes I realise this, it’s just that you said: New buildings sequester carbon Carbon sequestration is usually meant to mean carbon emissions are locked up in something, typically CO2 pumped in to a stable geological formation. Whereas my point is that new buildings are carbon emissions insensive.

TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago

In what sense do large high density housing projects sequester carbon? They’re typically made from a lot of steel and concrete, both of which are carbon intensive. No one will be building high density housing from recycled timber any time soon.

chrischen 9y ago
Totally possible: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/wooden-skyscrapers-timber-trend-catching-fire-duplicate-2/index.html https://www.cnn.com/style/article/wooden-skyscrapers-timber-... Large housing projects require less material and construction than low density housing. Why? Because low density housing is essentially doing a relatively giant housing project per person, spread over way more physical distance. People have to live somewhere, so if high density housing isn't made then they have to live in energy and resource wasting low-density housing. That being said, living in high density will always be more energy efficient as less energy is wasted on locomotion for people, less energy is needed to service garbage pickup/disposal, less electricity is needed for heating/cooling, less material to construct a habitable unit, less energy is wasted transporting people to their work, less energy is wasted getting food to people (one grocery store to serve a whole high density area rather than a large distributed network of grocery stores), less energy wasted on food delivery (delivery driver can just go to one building versus driving the car around the suburbs)... and the list goes on.
- TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
  Yes I realise this, it’s just that you said: New buildings sequester carbon Carbon sequestration is usually meant to mean carbon emissions are locked up in something, typically CO2 pumped in to a stable geological formation. Whereas my point is that new buildings are carbon emissions insensive.