Global Dry Construction Marketsize was valued US$ 75.10 Bn in 2019 and the total revenue is expected to grow at 5.5% through 2020 to 2027, reaching US$ XX Bn. The report has covered region wise market trends with competitive landscape.

Dry Construction is a specialized technique, which is used to reduce the use of water and the effect of real estate on the environment. Dry construction is 8-10 times lighter in weight than the cement work and traditional brick, and allows up to 70 % saving of construction time. The width of the wall constructed with dry construction is only 80 mm in comparison to the 200 mm standard walls made of brick is increase of the carpet area in the building.

This type of construction features several benefits like simplicity in installation, moisture resistance, better thermal and sound insulation, and fire safety over wet construction practices. Dry construction includes lightweight construction of ceilings and floors, interior walls, which are referring plastered or microfiber board that is combined at the installation time. Apart from drywall and ceiling, the frontage is also done with aluminum composite panels (ACP) instead of brickwork and plaster, it is widely used in various applications such as commercial, residential, and infrastructure construction.

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The dry construction market has shown significant growth thanks to the recovery of the construction industry after the economic slowdown from 2009. Globally, the dry construction material has gained more popularity due to the improvement in the construction industry with a preference for low-weight construction, and high priority for interior designs. The global dry construction market is driven by rapidly growing population, growing investment in the construction industry, and increasing industrialization. The advertising of eco-friendly technology by regulatory organizations, increasing FDI in construction and shifting focus towards sustainable building techniques are also likely to impel the dry construction materials market from 2020 to 2027.

However, High cost of raw material and waste generated by dry construction are restraining the market growth at the global level. Increasing demand for dry construction techniques at the expense of wet construction methods and replacement of floors are expected to create beneficial opportunities for the key player in the market in coming years. Government and environmental regulations are restricting the new entrants in the market, and unawareness regarding recycled material between industries are affecting the plasterboard market are the major challenge for the dry construction market in the near future.

Based on the material, the plasterboard segment has led the dry construction market in 2019 and is estimated to generate more than US$ XX Mn market revenue by 2027, with a CAGR of 5%. Plasterboard is widely utilized in residential and non-residential frame construction, such as internal wallboard and ceiling lining. It is an unbending gypsum board that is sandwiched between two outer layers of recycled paper. The plasterboard has extensive demand from the construction sector in the last five years, owing to superior quality, low cost, and ease of installation. This type of board provides various properties like moisture resistance, reduction in construction time, fire safety, ease installation sound, and thermal insulation. An increasing economy and growing industrialization are creating the growth opportunities of the plasterboard segment.

Geographically, the dry construction market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America held the prominent market share of XX% in 2019 and is expected to reach US$ Mn by the end of 2027, with a CAGR of XX%. Thanks to the presence of major market players in the region. Developed countries like the US, Mexico, and Canada are presenting huge building renovation activities, which are increasing the adoption of dry construction. These nations also giving preference to the do-it-yourself process is allows the user to construct using dry construction material himself if provided accurate information and training. Moreover, the rising investments in research and development activities for the introduction of advanced dry construction material is predicted to accelerate the growth of this region in the near future.

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In terms of value, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to command XX% market share during the forecast period. Increasing disposable incomes in emerging countries, growing industrialization, and changing behavior of people towards sustainable building techniques are fueling the dry construction market growth in Asia Pacific. China and India are the leading contributor to the regional market growth. The markets in developing countries such as India and China are showing a significant growth rate of XX% during the forecast period due to its increasing population and need for better housing technologies. Smart City project undertaken by the government of India, with the mission to develop 100 smart cities in India, will require an investment of over US$ 150 Bn, which would drive market growth. China a major plasterboard producing nation, manufacturing over 1.5 Mn metric tons of plasterboard yearly that is extensively used in ceilings and load bearing walls.

A report cover the recent development in market for the global dry construction market e.g., November. 25, 2019, Armstrong World Industries, Inc., has completed its acquisition of MRK Industries, Inc. (MRK), a manufacturer of specialty metal ceiling, wall and exterior solutions.November. 5, 2019, Etex Group, Building materials group Etex plans to build a new plasterboard plant in Portbury close to the port of Bristol, in South West England. The capital expenditure will reach more than US$ 179.19 million.

The objective of the report is to present a comprehensive analysis of the Global Dry Construction Market including all the stakeholders of the industry. The past and current status of the industry with forecasted market size and trends are presented in the report with the analysis of complicated data in simple language. The report covers all the aspects of the industry with a dedicated study of key players that includes market leaders, followers and new entrants. PORTER, SVOR, PESTEL analysis with the potential impact of micro-economic factors of the market have been presented in the report. External as well as internal factors that are supposed to affect the business positively or negatively have been analyzed, which will give a clear futuristic view of the industry to the decision-makers.

The report also helps in understanding Global Dry Construction Market dynamics, structure by analyzing the market segments and project the Global Dry Construction Market size. Clear representation of competitive analysis of key players by Application, price, financial position, Product portfolio, growth strategies, and regional presence in the Global Dry Construction Market make the report investors guide.Scope of the Global Dry Construction Market:

Global Dry Construction Market, by Type:

Supporting Framework BoardingGlobal Dry Construction Market, by Material:

Plasterboard Wood Metal Plastic Glass Carpet OthersGlobal Dry Construction Market, by System:

Partition Ceiling System Wall System Flooring System Door systems OthersGlobal Dry Construction Market, by Application:

Residential Application Non-Residential ApplicationGlobal Dry Construction Market, by Region:

Asia Pacific North America Europe Latin America Middle East AfricaGlobal Dry Construction Market, Major Players:

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. Etex Group Fletcher Building Limited Saint Gobain Xella Group CSR Limited Knauf Gips KG Pabco Gypsum Panel Rey USG Boral Limited Beijing New Building Materials Promax Group Inc. Masterplast Plc. Arcelor Mittal Winstone Wallboards Limited Georgia-Pacific LLC China Baowu Steel Group Corp., Ltd.

MAJOR TOC OF THE REPORT

Chapter One: Dry Construction Market Overview

Chapter Two: Manufacturers Profiles

Chapter Three: Global Dry Construction Market Competition, by Players

Chapter Four: Global Dry Construction Market Size by Regions

Chapter Five: North America Dry Construction Revenue by Countries

Chapter Six: Europe Dry Construction Revenue by Countries

Chapter Seven: Asia-Pacific Dry Construction Revenue by Countries

Chapter Eight: South America Dry Construction Revenue by Countries

Chapter Nine: Middle East and Africa Revenue Dry Construction by Countries

Chapter Ten: Global Dry Construction Market Segment by Type

Chapter Eleven: Global Dry Construction Market Segment by Application

Chapter Twelve: Global Dry Construction Market Size Forecast (2019-2026)

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GLOBAL DRY CONSTRUCTION MARKET : INDUSTRY ANALYSIS AND FORECAST 2027 - MR Invasion

April 28, 2020by John Cox

At the beginning of this year I was excited about the opportunity to fish the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and the Bassmaster Elite Series. I was most excited about fishing the spawn in March and April on some of my favorite lakes. When the schedules for both circuits were first released I was feeling very confident about doing some sight-fishing on Santee Cooper, Eufaula and Lake Hartwell. Its been difficult missing out on tournament fishing during the peak of the spawn. Just like everyone, Im trying to adjust to the change of plans.

This is usually the busiest time of year for me. Normally I would be at a tournament or making plans and packing to drive to the next one. Id be studying maps of lakes and checking the Weather Channel and strategizing for the next tournament. Then when Im home, the kids are busy with the spring softball season and soccer and we stay on the go with everyones schedules. Our way of normal life has come to a stop as most everyones has. The one nice thing is that quarantine has freed up a lot of time I dont normally have.

For a while now we have been wanting to close in a room in the garage, but just havent had any spare time. Being home with nowhere to go has forced us to finally tackle this project. With the help of my buddy Keith Carson, his girlfriend Natalie, and my wife, Melissa and kids we almost have a room built in the garage.My wife and kids have been learning how to hang drywall, scrape popcorn off ceilings, use a drill, mud the walls, sand drywall, hang a ceiling fan and paint. Its been a learning experience for the kids and I bet theyll be ready to go back to school by the time this project is over. Drywalling and painting has taken me back to my roots. Back in the day, Keith and I used to paint apartments to earn enough money to fish our next tournaments. Man, I dont miss those days. Doing this remodel project makes me appreciate even more the opportunity to fish for a living to provide for my family. Sometimes you dont realize how much you love something until you arent able to do it anymore.

Its not been all work and no play though. Weve been accomplishing a lot on the house, but weve also made some time to do what I love and thats fish. I dont normally get the opportunity to fish with the family on our home waters during this time of year because Im always gone. Ive been able to take all the kids fun fishing and drag some shiners. Weve been limited on what lakes we can go to because a lot of boat ramps have been closed, but fortunately our county is still open. Weve also taken advantage of the pond in the backyard. My big stress reliever isgoing down and feeding my fish. I recently discovered that my fish love bologna. You should see the looks I get at the dollar store when I clear the bologna shelf. Were still testing out what our pet fish will eat. This past week, my daughter Lily gave one of the bass a Peeps from her Easter basket and he loved it!

This quarantine is an adjustment for everyone with the uncertainty of what the future holds, fears of not being able to bring in an income, school cancelled for the year, virtual learning for the kids and everyone being home together all the time. I really hope we can get back to tournament fishing, but theres also been good to find in all of this. We live such a fast-paced life. We are ALWAYS on the go, whether its prepping for a tournament, practicing for a tournament, competing in a tournament orbeing on the road and away from family. During the last month of this quarantine Ive been able to enjoy some time with my family without the rush of an alarm or time clock. Ive been able to get a fishtank and net with Lily and watch her excitement daily as she catches tadpoles and baby bass and adds them to her tank. Ive been able to play catch with Savannah and I finally talked her into holding abass. Ive been able to go on some late night runs to Dairy Queen and just talk to my son, Adam, about life. Ive enjoyed watching Netflix with my wife after the kids are in bed. Weve been able to sleep in together.Theres so many important events and occasions I have to miss out on when Im traveling. With my original tournament scheduleI was going to be away on Easter this year but with the quarantine I was able to see my kids faces on Easter morning. Iwas able to be home when my daughter, Alyssa, did her gender reveal to announce Im having a grandson!

So as much as I cant wait to get the green light to go back to tournament fishing I am choosing to see the positive in all of this. Im thankful were all healthy and safe. Were always wishing that time would slow down and right now for a small bit of time, the world has come to a stop and Im taking advantage of it to enjoy my family. I think a good life lesson to take from this quarantine is to not take what we have for granted because life can change in a moment. I didnt truly value the opportunity to make a living fishing until now. My prayers are that we can all safely return to tournament fishing soon. Until then be safe, stay home and enjoy the time with your family and hopefully we can all return to doing what we love soon.

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Originally posted here:
Making the Most of Quarantine - Fishing League Worldwide (FLW, LLC)

ARMONK, N.Y. The IBM (NYSE: IBM) board of directors today declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $1.63 per common share, payable June 10, 2020 to stockholders of record as of May 8, 2020. Todays dividend declaration represents an increase of $0.01 per common share.

This is the 25th year in a row that IBM has increased its quarterly cash dividend. IBM has paid consecutive quarterly dividends since 1916.

Arvind Krishna, IBM chief executive officer, said, IBMs free cash flow and our strong balance sheet gives us confidence to both invest aggressively in cloud and AI technologies, while also returning value to our shareholders. We remain fully committed to our dividend even during this unprecedented time, and we recognize the importance of the dividend to the more than 2.3 million investors in IBM.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200428005594/en/

Contacts

IBM Edward Barbini, 914-499-6565 barbini@us.ibm.com

#distro

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IBM Board Approves Increase in Quarterly Cash Dividend for the 25th Consecutive Year - Goderich Signal Star

NEW YORK GetSwift posted its March 2020 quarterly results today, indicating a 14th consecutive quarter of revenue growth.

The Company posted a 336% sequential increase in revenue and other income to the previous quarter and a 702% increase compared to the same quarter last year. The Company has been able to achieve a 24X revenue increase over the last 24 months, and a 74X since listing in December 2016. The Company expects growth to continue.

GetSwift CEO Bane Hunter said, We are pleased that our long term strategy is becoming a reality. We will continue to relentlessly pursue growth across multiple domains, as in our opinion, the Company is well-placed to provide a number of services and products to both new and existing customers. We will continue to work hard on behalf of our shareholders, clients, and partners, and we thank them for their support. As an essential service provider in the USA, we are proud to be of service in any way we can.

About GetSwift Limited

Technology to Optimise Global Delivery Logistics

GetSwift is a worldwide leader in delivery management automation. From enterprise to hyper-local, businesses across dozens of industries around the globe depend on our SaaS platform to bring visibility, accountability, efficiency, and savings to their supply chain and last-mile operations. GetSwift is headquartered in New York City and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: GSW). For further background, please visit GetSwift.co.

GetSwift is an emerging growth company and is subject to a variety of risks. The company is not yet profitable, and there can be no assurance that it will achieve profitability. The companys business and a variety of investment considerations are discussed in more detail in the companys filings with the Australia Securities Exchange (ASX). Investors are encouraged to review the more complete information contained in such filings.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200428005591/en/

Contacts

Media enquiries: James Richardson, Public Affairs Advisor james.richardson@dentons.com +1 202-408-9160 Investor enquiries: investors@getswift.co Company Secretary: julian.rockett@boardroomlimited.com.au +61 2 8016 2841

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GetSwift Announces 14th Consecutive Quarter of Revenue Growth Totaling $8.7m - Goderich Signal Star

The Lutz family finally got some long-awaited good news last week.

Construction of their new house had come to a halt on March 19 when Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the stop of all business activities that he deemed not life-sustaining, to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Then on Thursday, Wolf announced that construction statewide can resume May 1 under certain conditions, which the Lutz's contractor, Alden Builders, will fulfill.

That will enable the Lutz family to move into their new house in Mount Joy on June 12, six weeks later than originally scheduled.

"I was definitely relieved, said Dory Lutz, whos temporarily living in an extended-stay hotel with her husband, their two children, two cats and one dog. At least we know when (we can move).

But whether the houses kitchen cabinetry gets finished by then remains to be determined. Cabinetry manufacturers such as Signature Custom Cabinetry, which is ready to build the Lutzs kitchen, remain sidelined by Wolfs order.

It doesnt make sense for construction to open, but not their supply chain. They need a kitchen to get an occupancy permit to move it. So one would assume wed be included, but as of now it is still up in the air, said Signature CEO Kent Martin on Friday morning.

The uneven application of the shutdown policy has been a major source of frustration for business owners such as Martin, as well as some state legislators, ever since Wolf ordered the closures March 19.

The referee in these matters, the state Department of Community & Economic Development, is granting puzzling exemptions without explanation, the business owners and legislators say.

The result is that some businesses in a given industry have been closed while others in that industry in Pennsylvania (and other states) are open and snagging customers from the idled businesses.

Lancaster Chamber President and CEO Tom Baldrige said the vast majority of businesspeople hes spoken with understand and support making public health and safety the priority during the pandemic.

At the same time, though, many of those same businesses have expressed frustration with both the waiver process and the rulings that have resulted, he said Thursday.

Primary among the concerns has been some of the inconsistency and the lack of transparency in the process that has led to competitors being treated differently and state lines creating artificial boundaries for business operations, Baldrige said.

Martin, meanwhile, is doing his best to be patient with the process.

I figure Gods in control, so we try to not allow ourselves to get worked up into too big of a panic. But it is frustrating. Every day that were closed, every week, is just digging a deeper hole for us, said Martin, whose Ephrata-area company does not deal directly with consumers.

Were anxious to get back to work. We believe fully that we can do it in a very safe and appropriate way. Wed just like to be on the list of companies that can do so, he added.

Martin noted that a Snyder County cabinetry firm has gotten a state waiver allowing limited production -- finishing jobs for people who had no kitchen in their home. That left Martin puzzled by the inconsistencies in the states decision making, since his firm has orders for kitchens for households in the same predicament.

In contrast, consider the situation at Conestoga Wood Specialties, a maker of cabinetry parts including cabinet doors, drawer boxes and drawer fronts. Conestoga Wood, with 700 employees at its East Earl headquarters, told LNP | LancasterOnline it was briefly closed by the state then permitted to reopen.

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Meanwhile, rivals in other states, where the cabinetry industry is deemed essential and is allowed to operate, echoing federal guidelines, are snatching business that Signatures customers interior designers, kitchen dealers and builders initially had promised to Signature.

Its been a real challenge, said Martin. Each day and week that go by, the damage increases. We had been their sole supplier. There are some long-term, very entrenched relationships that are being put in play by this mandate.

Martin had no estimate of the amount of revenue Signature has lost to competitors. Last year, Signature posted revenues exceeding $22 million.

With Wolfs order, Signature furloughed 114 of its 125 employees. We just hired one or two people at the beginning of that week. We were in a growth mode, he recalled.

Spaced out

Signatures 75,000-square-foot plant at 434 Springville Road is laid out to provide well in excess of six feet of social distancing for nearly all of the employees inside, according to Martin. There are a few that we would need to modify slightly.

A ventilation system would provide another safeguard, he said. Each of the plants 14 finishing booths, where varnish is applied, have exhaust systems that filter and suck out air.Makeup-air units pump fresh air back into the plant.

Martin is trying to get the chance to put the plants coronavirus-prevention features into practice. Hes communicated with his state representative, Mark Gillen, the staff of his state senator, Ryan Aument, and his trade association. Hes asked the state for a waiver, to no avail.

But Martin is going to keep trying to get the green light to resume production, for a simple reason. We have customers calling us and begging us for deliveries.

Meanwhile, the Lutzes are rooting for Martin to succeed.

Jason Lutz, 49, whos been laid off by CNH Industrial in New Holland, where hes a CNC operator in the plant, and Dory Lutz, 41, a returns clerk at Costco, had planned on spending three weeks at the MainStay Suites in Mountville.

That would have taken them from the sale of their old house in Landisville on April 10 until their originally scheduled moving day, May 1. Now theyll spend an extra six weeks in the hotel, costing the family an extra $3,600, said Dory Lutz.

Dory Lutz said the sudden shutdown of construction of their Gables at Elm Tree home, stopping the process after the drywall had been hung, shocked the family. Besides having the kitchen installed, painting, flooring and other work needs to be done.

There was no warning. It was a complete surprise. We were under the impression that they would continue as far as the painting, then everything would be delivered. We didnt realize everything was going to completely stop, she said.

That was followed by a nerve-wracking time of uncertainty. As Dory Lutz put it, Its the not knowing thats very stressful.

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Slanted playing field: Ephrata cabinetry firm, idled by Wolf's shutdown, rues loss of customers to rivals - LancasterOnline

CALGARY Severe flooding on the Athabasca River has submerged much of downtown Fort McMurray, a key city near Canadas largest oil facilities, exacerbating economic hardship in a region already reeling from natural and economic disasters.

Our community has seen devastation on all fronts, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo councillor Keith McGrath said, referring to the 2016 fire that ripped through Fort McMurray and burned over 3,000 of houses and businesses, followed by persistently low oil prices that devastated the regions economy.

McGrath said an ice jam has caused the Athabasca River to flood past levels seen in the 1970s and is damaging businesses and homes that had been rebuilt after the fire.

People had just come out of the rebuild and now they see their house is flooded, so the mood is pretty sombre, McGrath said. Its a travesty.

Residents in the area say ice on the river began to break amid warmer weather, allowing water to begin flowing on Sunday, an event that community members in Fort McMurray and downriver in Fort McKay gather to watch every year.

But as the ice began flowing down river, it formed a 24-kilometre long blockade called an ice jam, which impedes the flow of water downstream and causes water levels to rise.

Chunks of river ice beneath bridges crossing the Athabasca River in Fort McMurray on Sunday, April 26, 2020.Vincent McDermott/Fort McMurray Today/Postmedia Network

The municipality issued a series of community updates as the situation worsened Sunday night and Monday morning. Voluntary evacuation notices turned into mandatory orders in a matter of hours and those orders spread to more and more neighbourhoods in Fort McMurray overnight Sunday.

At 1 a.m. on Monday morning, Alberta Health Services directed the municipality to issue a boil water advisory for parts of the area.

The Athabasca River is currently breaking and water levels are extremely high, the municipality said in one mandatory evacuation order. Residents in flood-prone areas should prepare a 72-hour emergency kit and stay alert.

The order advised residents to check in at the evacuee registration centre and continue practicing physical distancing while evacuating.

The region is currently dealing with two states of emergency, McGrath said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic that has kept people in their homes and now the flood, which forced the evacuation of downtown Fort McMurray.

McGrath said that 2,000 people are currently signed up to stay in the municipalitys emergency evacuation centre.

Nearby oilsands producers Suncor Energy Inc. and Syncrude Canada Ltd. have offered specialized pumps to help remove water out of the municipalitys flooded downtown core.

A sign from the municipality warning people about the breakup of the Clearwater and Athabasca Rivers on Sunday, April 26, 2020.Vincent McDermott/FortMcMurray Today/Postmedia Network

McGrath said he expects additional help from the province and federal governments and the municipality, which is the local government for multiple communities in a broader region, is working to open more centres for evacuees and people affected by the flood.

One man, travelling through the citys downtown in a boat, posted a video on social media Monday morning that showed just the tops of cars and upper halves of trucks sticking out of the water like icebergs as much of downtown is submerged.

Every time we feel like were getting ahead, we get knocked down again, said Ron Quintal, president of the Fort McKay Mtis Nation, adding that the string of natural and economic disasters is testing our resolve.

Mercifully, Quintal said, the deluge that has submerged parts of Fort McMurray isnt yet affecting communities downstream along the Athabasca River.

Our ancestors were pretty smart. Were fortunate they built Fort McKay on a pretty high hill, Quintal said.

But the situation in Fort McMurray will have a ripple effect on communities down the river that rely on stores in Fort McMurray for supplies, said Jim Boucher, former long-time chief of the Fort McKay First Nation and a long-time resident of Fort McKay.

Every time we feel like were getting ahead, we get knocked down again

Ron Quintal

Were certainly tied to Fort McMurray for our resources, Boucher said, speaking from his house in Fort McKay overlooking the Athabasca River. His house, he said, is still about 30 feet above the water.

The last time he can remember the river had flooded to this extent was in the 1970s. At that time, he said, the flooding lasted roughly a week. He hoped the water subsides in a few days.

Fort McKay is a Indigenous community in the heart of the oilsands region, with major oilsands mines to the north and south of the town along the river. Suncor, Syncrude and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. all have operations that dot the landscape on either side of the river.

The flooding in the Fort McMurray region has affected certain bus routes, however, there is no impact on operations at this time, Canadian Natural spokesperson Julie Woo said in an email.

Suncor spokesperson Erin Rees said the company was monitoring the flooding but has not experienced any flooding at this point. She said Suncor was working to enable employees to volunteer to help with the recovery effort.

Pipelines run at the McKay River Suncor oil sands in-situ operations near Fort McMurray, Alberta.Todd Korol/Reuters files

The region is incredibly important to Albertas economy as its a major source of employment and the centre of most of oil output in Canadas biggest oil-producing province, which is already anticipating a deep recession as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the collapse in global oil prices.

Unemployment in the Municipality of Wood Buffalo, stood at 11.2 per cent in March, above the provincial average of 8.7 per cent and the national average of 7.8 per cent, Statistics Canada data shows.

On Monday, the Western Canada Select benchmark price for heavy oil produced in Alberta fell almost 24 per cent to US$6.32 per barrel.

Theres no way to sugar-coat it: the recession brought on by COVID-19 and the oil glut will be the worst downturn in Alberta since the 1930s, ATB Financial chief economist Todd Hirsch wrote in a report published late last week.

However, he said, governments are responding more quickly to the current recession. The Alberta government is expected to announce plans to relaunch the provinces economy later this week.

The economic pain has been deep and sudden, and the recovery will not be as V-shaped as wed like, but the downturn will pass much sooner than it did in the 1930s, he wrote.

Financial Post

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'Devastation on all fronts': For Canada's oil town, severe flood just one in a series of disasters - Goderich Signal Star

Buildings of the future will be grown on-site, says Wil Srubar. Theyll be made from hemp, or algae or specially engineered wood or bacteria that can photosynthesize, like the cyanobacteria mortar he and his research team recently grew between a lattice of sand and water-based gel.

In my future world, we dont burn limestone to make cement, and we dont melt sand to make glass, he says. Instead, essential building materials might be grown from bacteria that glow (bioluminescence) or from engineered lichen, so that walls are infused with the organisms remarkable properties. Imagine a house that could filter carbon dioxide from the air or change color if harmful gases are present.

This may sound fanciful, but the work is already underway. Srubar, an assistant professor of architectural engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, runs the Living Materials Laboratory, where he and his colleagues fiddle with living bacteria to create building materials that grow themselves.

Srubar grew up outside of Houston, on a cotton farm and cattle ranch, where things were very much alive. Buildings, in contrast, were so static and nonliving, he says. The skyline of Houston inspired him to become a structural engineer, but he wanted to do it differently. Why cant we bring building materials to life? he says.

The construction industry from the mining and smelting of raw materials to dealing with the waste from demolished structures has a huge environmental footprint that is often overlooked. It produces 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Thats a staggeringly high number, four times the emissions of the whole aviation sector. Added to this, the United Nations predicts 2.3 billion more people will live in cities in 2050 than do now. Construction will have to expand rapidly to keep pace.

But in that same period, greenhouse gas emissions must be cut sharply; emissions must drop 7.6% every year this decade to hold warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) or 2.7% each year to hold it below 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) according to the U.N. The global scientific community considers warming beyond 2 degrees C to be catastrophic, but crisis conditions could arise from levels of warming lower than that.

For Srubar and a growing group of material scientists and designers like him, the increasing need for more buildings is a threat to sustainability but also an opportunity to do things very differently. The consequences of failing to change the industry are just too high to ignore revolutionary ideas are badly needed to stave off catastrophic climate change.

A Concrete Problem

The vast majority of constructions huge carbon footprint comes from concrete the most widely used substance on Earth after water. Chances are, if youre reading this in a multi-story building, youre encased in concrete right now or at least sitting atop a concrete foundation. Sidewalks are concrete, bridges are concrete, warehouses are concrete.

The ubiquitous material is strong and resilient, but producing it is extraordinarily harmful to the planet. It accounts for about8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Humans have been making concrete since ancient Roman times. Roman concrete, which was made with volcanic ash, enabling it to grow harder as it took on moisture, was so tough that many of their cement structures are still around today.

Isabella CarapellaThe construction industry accounts for 11% of all global emissions, with the bulk of that (8%) coming from cement production.

Modern cement the active ingredient in concrete is made primarily from limestone, which is heated with other raw materials in a kiln at more than 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit. Limestone is mostly calcium carbonate. The intense heat breaks apart the molecule, burning off carbon dioxide as a gas and leaving calcium oxide behind, which coalesces into gray marble-sized spheres called clinker.

The clinker is cooled and ground into a powder that hardens phenomenally well when combined with different amounts of water and an aggregate, like sand. The final product is known as concrete.

Making clinker produces the vast majority of the emissions associated with the final concrete product. In addition to the CO released from the kiln, just getting the kiln that hot takes a lot of fuel. And cement companies often burn the dirtiest ad-hoc fuels to fire their kilns, like old tires. The U.S. is big on that, says Sabbie Miller, a materials scientist at the University of California, Davis. We use a good amount of tire burning, as well as pet coke, she says of the extremely high-carbon waste product from the oil refining industry.

If cement manufacturing were a country, it would have the third-highest carbon emissions in the world. It emits more pollution than all the trucks in the world. While the climate effects are astronomical, the health effects are also dangerous. In addition to carbon dioxide, cement production emits sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, which are precursors to ozone better known as smog. It also spews fine particulate matter into the air. Both ozone and particulate matter are linked to a long list of health problems, including asthma, lung cancer and developmental delays in children.

Bloomberg via Getty ImagesA cement kiln preheater tower, right, stands above factory buildings and storage silos at Holcim cement plant in Dotternhausen, Germany. Fuels used to heat the kilns contribute greatly to pollution.

Currently, [these] external costs of concrete production from climate change and air pollution are comparable to the total market value of the industry, wrote Miller along with her colleagues in a paper released last month in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Then there is the issue of sand by weight, it is the biggest component of concrete. Each ton of cement is combined with 6 or 7 tons of sand or gravel; the cement is the structural glue that holds the sand together. Sand mining can have devastating repercussions for communities, both due to land erosion as well as from air pollution. Illegal sand mining is common, leading to unchecked environmental destruction. At least 24 small Indonesian islands had disappeared by 2010 due to sand mining.

Concrete may have an outsized environmental impact, but its far from the only problematic construction material.

Just as concrete dominates the outer structure of our built environment, gypsum drywall has become the default for our inner walls. Gypsum is a naturally occurring mineral composed of calcium, sulfur and oxygen, and it is incredibly abundant the U.S. alone has more than 55 gypsum mines. When pressed between sheaves of paper, it makes an excellent, customizable, naturally fire-resistant and incredibly cheap wall material. Since skyrocketing in popularity after World War II, gypsum drywall has become ubiquitous in U.S. homes.

But the incredible utility of drywall is not without its costs. Workers in gypsum mines and on construction sites may inhale gypsum and silica dust, which can provoke a range of respiratory diseases and can increase the risk of silicosis and lung cancer.

Respiratory conditions can also make a person more susceptible to the worst effects of lung infections, like COVID-19, while air pollution can make a person more likely to contract viruses in general.

Unlike steel and wood, which are recycled from construction products at a high rate, almost no gypsum drywall gets recycled. When drywall gets wet or dirty, it is almost impossible to use again, and it crumbles easily, making it hard to reuse. Roughly 13 million tons of drywall is generated as waste in the U.S. per year, of which about 2% is recycled.

That means nearly all gypsum drywall winds up in landfills, where it can get wet. Wet gypsum produces hydrogen sulfide, a gas that smells like rotten eggs. Not only is it a nuisance, but the gas also poses potential health risks to communities near landfills. Hydrogen sulfide gas is toxic at high concentrations. Some communities in Canada wont even accept drywall at landfills due to concern over hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide runoff, meanwhile, can contaminate water, threatening wildlife.

Concrete and drywall are just two parts of the vast, complex ecosystem of construction materials. Both are miracle materials but also outsized threats to sustainability.

Isabella CarapellaThe amount of U.S. commercial building space is poised to reach 126.1 billion square feet by 2050. This rapid growth comes at the same times as the world must drastically cut its carbon emissions to tackle the climate crisis.

Construction is predicted to grow as urbanization increases across the world, especially in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. By 2060, the U.N. projects the international construction community will add 2.5 trillion square feet of buildings, which is equal to the worlds entire current building stock. That rate of addition is the equivalent of adding an entire New York City to the planet every 34 days for the next 40 years.

Cement production is projected to increase to over 5 billion tons over the next 30 years. Yet, to achieve the goals set out by the Paris climate agreement, annual emissions from the cement industry would have to fall by at least 16% by 2030.

Sustainable Solutions

There are solutions. Miller and her colleagues identified a range of promising changes to make to the concrete industry that collectively could reduce its climate and health damages by 44%.

Not all of those solutions are immediately available, however. For example, the team included carbon capture technologies, which would use tools to capture carbon emissions before they have a chance to be released into the atmosphere, that are unlikely to be deployable for five to 25 more years.

But others are available now. One simple improvement would be to stop using ultra-dirty fuels to heat kilns; just replacing old tires and other low-quality fuel with conventional oil would reduce greenhouse gas emissions of concrete by 9% and could reduce the health damages associated with air pollution by 14%. So could reducing the proportion of clinker to each batch of concrete. Using other materials as aggregate like salvaging glass from waste streams and grinding it into a fine powder would replace the amount of cement needed per each batch.

Substituting some clinker for other materials can be deployed cheaply and immediately, according to a report from the British policy institute Chatham House, because it doesnt require new equipment. It is, therefore, especially important to scale up clinker substitution in the near term while more radical options, such as the introduction of novel and carbon-negative cements, are still under development, the reports authors state.

One of the biggest obstacles, though, says Miller, is the industrys hesitation to try new things. Its a really slow-moving industry.

Where Miller sees hope for more immediate solutions is in the design phase not production. Designers and structural engineers, she says, could have tremendous power to change the equation by designing buildings to use less concrete in the first place. Engineers do have a huge amount of control over how designs are being specified. Just the smallest changes can have a huge benefit.

Kate Simonen, an architect and structural engineer at the University of Washington, agrees.

We need to think about not just what materials we use but how we use them and what we choose to build, says Simonen, who is also the director of the Carbon Leadership Forum, a 10-year-old consortium of building experts pushing for the decarbonization of the construction sector.

Dont tear down buildings and rebuild them if you can reuse them, she says. Although its often a lot less labor-intensive to demolish and rebuild, rather than to retrofit an existing building for a new use, says Simonen, there is a tremendous climate cost to using all-new building materials.

She thinks theres a role for near-term solutions, such as making the materials that already exist more efficiently, as well as pushing ahead on the longer-range development of materials like the cyanobacteria bricks.

Designers and researchers across a range of disciplines are currently chasing a slew of solutions to bring down the embodied carbon in buildings meaning the carbon emissions attributed to the manufacturing of building materials.

Kaiser + PathThe tallest all-wood building in the U.S. is Carbon12, a condominium building in Portland, Oregon.

Among those techniques, mass timber, an approach using ultra-strong engineered wood as a replacement for reinforced concrete in buildings, probably comes up the most among architects and designers the potential for wooden skyscrapers is an extremely hot topic. An 18-story mass timber building went up in Vancouver, Canada, in 2016, and in Norway, an 18-story tower opened last month.

There is growing support for this in the U.S., where several projects are already in the works. At the moment, however, wood buildings in the U.S. cant legally rise past a six stories Carbon12, an eight-story building in Portland, Oregon, is currently the tallest all-wood building in the country. But in 2021, building codes are set to be updated to permit high-rise wood buildings up to 18 stories.

Proponents of mass timber say that using sustainable forestry methods to grow enough wood to replace concrete in buildings could have a greater climate benefit from solely planting trees because it would lock in place the carbon inside the trees, rather than it being released, as happens when a tree dies and decomposes, or burns in a wildfire. Plus, the emission savings from using wood instead of concrete would be formidable. In other words, cities of the future could be transformed from carbon sources to carbon sinks, simply by being built with engineered timber.

But drawbacks remain: There is unlikely to be enough wood in the world to construct wood buildings on a mass scale. And it remains to be seen if forestry can truly be made sustainable enough for this to be a helpful, rather than harmful, approach. The carbon-sink argument applies only to new forests; old-growth forests that have been standing for hundreds of years are excellent long-term carbon sinks and are extremely vulnerable to being lost.

Other innovations involve using agricultural products as building materials. In certain circles, support is growing, albeit slowly, for hempcrete, a building material made from hemp. Hemp has been used as a traditional building material in Europe for thousands of years. The plant grows quickly, unlike wood, and uses far less fertilizer than traditional crops, such as corn. Hemps fibers mix readily with lime to create a strong, light concrete. It doesnt mold, and its naturally pest-resistant. There are still relatively few hemp buildings in the U.S.; the first was built in California in 2010, and as of 2018 there were 50 homes made with hempcrete, according to a New York Times report. But that could soon change: The most recent farm bill in the U.S., signed into law in 2018, permitted industrial hemp farming in the country for the first time.

One benefit of using plants is the potential to grow your building material nearby, eliminating international supply chains. I see a great potential of reimagining local supply chains, Simonen says. For example, she asks, where is there a lot of agricultural waste, and how can we turn it into a building material?

In Europe, commercial-grade wall panels are being made out of pressed strawand are being installed in multi-story buildings. A company in California is making rice husks into pressed-board panels; rice farming produces a lot of unusable straw that often gets burned as waste or thrown into waterways and landfills to rot, both of which produce carbon emissions. By pressing the husks into a building material, that carbon stays locked up.

For now, these solutions are small. And while these niche solutions could eventually scale up, those dreaming of a concrete-free world should keep their feet on the ground.

Concrete is incredibly useful. You can put it into contact with the ground, it doesnt rust or wash away. It can also use a lot of local materials, Simonen says, making it an equitable material in the sense that no single country has a monopoly on its production. The goal of eliminating use of cement is not a realistic position.

We need to be more intentional about everything we build, instead of focusing on eliminating one material. All materials have their place, she says. Instead, the industry must focus on making building materials more efficient and using them more thoughtfully, and only in quantities that are absolutely necessary. We shouldnt use them willy-nilly, Simonen says.

As for living materials, like Srubars cyanobacteria bricks, these are visionary yet far-off solutions.

In one study, published in October, Srubar and his colleagues genetically programmed E. coli to create limestone particles of different shapes and toughness that could, in theory, be used to develop a novel building material.

And in his teams latest work, published in March, they demonstrated that not only could they grow bricks from cyanobacteria, but they could keep them alive and prompt them to reproduce. One brick would grow into two, which would grow into four. We were toying with the concept of exponential manufacturing, he says. At certain temperatures, the bacteria were dormant, like how you put yogurt in the fridge to prevent bacteria growth, he explains. But change the temperature or humidity, and you can certainly bring them back to life to self-heal or grow another generation of bricks.

Right now, he says, the final product is literally green, thanks to the color of the cyanobacteria itself, and has the load-bearing capacity of typical mortar (think of the concrete between bricks on a building). With more work, he hopes to increase its strength to that of a structural brick. Were just scratching the surface with what the living bacteria would do.

And while solutions like these are years away and have yet to make it out of the lab and into real-world application, they paint an alluring picture of a future where building cities is no longer an existential threat to the habitability of the planet.

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Construction Causes Major Pollution. Here's How We Can Build Better. - HuffPost

This undated file picture shows Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Ladin speaking at an undisclosed place inside Afghanistan. AFP PHOTO / FILES

Former president Bill Clinton signed an order in August 1998 preventing the CIA from organizing a kill operation against al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to a new documentary.

The revelation is discussed by former CIA station chief Bob Grenier in the new Showtime documentary The Longest War, which was released Tuesday. Grenier, who was based in Islamabad, Pakistan, explained that the agency was permitted to engage in lethal activity against the terrorist leader but could not perform a strike with the explicit purpose of killing him under the terms of the Memorandum of Notification enacted by Clinton.

We were being asked to remove this threat to the United States essentially with one hand tied behind our backs, Grenier said. He also explained a specific opportunity that the CIA had to eliminate bin Laden using intelligence sourced from tribal networks in Afghanistan.

Our tribal contacts came to us, and they said, Look, hes in this location now. When he leaves, hes going to have to go through this particular crossroads. And so what they proposed was to bury a huge cache of explosives underneath those crossroads so that when his convoy came through, they could simply blow it up, Grenier recounted. And we said, Absolutely not. We were risking jail if we didnt tell them that.

Clinton has previously acknowledged another instance in which he was in a position to kill bin Laden but claimed that doing so would have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people in the Afghan city of Kandahar.

I nearly got him. And I could have killed him, but I would have to destroy a little town called Kandahar in Afghanistan and kill 300 innocent women and children, and then I would have been no better than him. And so I just didnt do it, Clinton said on September 10, 2001, in Melbourne.

A day later, the World Trade Towers were struck.

This image taken from C-Span television shows US President Bill Clinton giving videotaped sworn deposition in the Paula Jones sexual discrimination suit. The tape was played during impeachment hearings in Washington, DC.AFP PHOTO/C-SPAN

Marty Martin, a former CIA counterterrorism officer, highlighted the consequential decision against killing bin Laden in the 1990s and tied it to events happened more than two decades later.

The threat was real, Martin said. And if President Clinton had taken action and killed Osama bin Laden, there wouldnt have been a 9/11, and if there wouldnt have been a 9/11, there wouldnt have been an Afghanistan, and if there wouldnt have been an Afghanistan, there probably wouldnt have been an Iraq. What would the world be like?

Bin Laden was eventually killed during a U.S. operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011. By that point, he had become a sort of symbolic figurehead for al Qaeda, which has been in steady decline.

Bin Ladens No. 2, Ayman al Zawahiri, is still presumed to be alive and leading the terrorist group. The U.S. killed a top al Qaeda leader, Qassim al Rimi, earlier this year in another decisive blow to the waning organization. Bin Ladens son and presumptive heir, Hamza bin Laden, was also killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation.

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Bill Clinton blocked the CIA from killing Osama bin Laden, former station chief says - Goderich Signal Star

Hands up if youve hurt yourself doing something stupid during a home workout. I, for one, smacked my hand into the ceiling-mounted garage door opener while following along with a dance workout. And twice now Ive had a dumbbell fall apart mid-lift because I hadnt tightened the collars enough.

I got off easy. There are many ways to get seriously injured working out at home, and these risks take us by surprise because they arent things were used to thinking about. The gym doesnt have low ceilings in its dance studios. Their weights dont fall apart.

Were all in new territory now. If you got some new home gym equipment, you may not be used to using it. If youre improvising with the things you have around you, you may not be aware of their limitations. So here are a few tips. (And if you dont believe me that some caution is warranted, watch this compilation of home workout fails, which I do not find funny at all, but sad and terrifying.)

Your ceilings may be lower than you think. And youre probably not thinking about things that hang down lower than the ceiling itselfthat garage door motor in my case, or the light fixture in one of the clips above. Check your overhead clearance before you start.

I lift outdoors, but I have some hard-and-fast rules about when I consider it safe to do so. If its threatening to rain or if the ground is wet, I dont do certain lifts because I know my feet could slip.

If youre trying new exercises, make sure to look up the proper technique for them. You found a tire you can flip? Great, but dont forget that theres a serious risk of bicep tears if you do heavy tire flips. Take a minute to learn how to do it safely.

Same goes for any other lift thats new to you, especially anything heavy or awkward. Deadlifts? Front squats? Picking up heavy rocks? Get your technique down before you go all-out.

Resistance bands can snap unexpectedly, even in the best of times. The rubber breaks down over time, so most brands recommend you replace them every few months. Check the manufacturers website for guidelines. If you dont know how old your bands are, use them with caution, and stop using them as soon as you detect any cracking or other signs that theyre breaking down.

If your barbell or dumbbell has collars to hold the weights on, always check that theyre properly tightened. Even if you dont normally worry about the collars, home is a different place than the gym. Maybe youre on uneven ground, or maybe youre doing a lift that you might fail in a different way than you expect. Tighten them. Double up if youre not sure how secure they are.

We dont always question whether chairs can hold our weight, but if youre holding a hundred extra pounds of iron, maybe you should. The fail video above includes several examples of people using lawn chairs to set up an incline bench press (where youre leaning back). The same warning could apply to seated overhead press, or to step-ups or box jumps where youre putting your feet onto a piece of furniture. Make sure that anything you use is strong enough to hold your weight, and stable enough that you wont tip over.

While were at it, dont trust anything. Wall ball slams are great for cinder block walls, not so great for the drywall in your living room. Before you make use of anything in your living space, ask yourself: How is this different from the equivalent thing in my gym?

A properly installed over-the-door pull-up bar should be pretty trustworthy, but check the instructions to make sure youve done it right. Also take note of what exercises are safe to do with it: a bar that can withstand strict pullups may wiggle loose if you try to do the kipping kind.

The same goes for wherever you anchor your suspension trainer. Again, check the instructions that came with it.

If youre doing hanging exercises outdoors, please remember that dead tree limbs snap easily. They may look sturdy, but when they break they can do so suddenly. Dont do pullups off a branch that conveniently has no leaves on it. If you arent sure how much weight a branch can hold, dont risk it.

Once youve gathered your equipment and settled into a routine, you may be tempted to get complacent. But bolts can work loose and bad decisions can come back to haunt you. Make a habit of checking your space and your gear before every workout. Are the bolts on that pull-up bar still tight? Is the ground dry? Are those resistance bands still looking fresh?

I also like to look at my routine from a vantage point of: what if I do something stupid? For example, I can hold a light barbell while stepping over my duffel bag. But what if one day Im a little bit tired, or I dont see that the strap of the duffel is sticking up a little? I probably wont trip over it, but why not remove the risk? So I try to keep paths clear and arrange my stuff in a way that will keep me safe even if I forget to be careful.

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How To Prevent Injuries When You're Working Out At Home - Lifehacker Australia

Jessie James Decker visits Build to discuss the weight loss program The South Beach Diet at Build Studio on Jan. 14, 2020 in New York City. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Country star Jessie James Decker has fired back at critics who took aim at her for posting an underwear shot featuring her young son online by insisting shes trying to teach him to appreciate the body is beautiful.

The I Look So Good singer was trying to show fans what her workouts under lockdown were like in the playful shot, but some followers felt the photo was inappropriate, especially as her kid appeared in the background.

One critic asked, You walk around like that with your kids around, prompting the singer to reply: No different than a swimsuit. I teach my children the body is beautiful. Nothing to be ashamed of.

Responding to another follower, who suggested the star is desperate for attention, the Flip My Hair singer joked: Yeah, I dont get enough love. Can I get a hug?

But not everyone had a problem with the photo, which was posted online on Tuesday one fan wrote: If I looked like that Id walk round everywhere like that.

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Jessie James Decker claps back after posting underwear photo with son in the background - Goderich Signal Star