Concrete didn’t become the default building material because it was fashionable. It won because it made sense. It was durable. It was local. And for a long time, it was the economical choice when you looked at the whole building—not just…
Making it look easy. Adobe For a long time, success in the concrete industry was simple. Know the spec.Hit strength.Keep the schedule moving. If something went wrong, you pointed to the drawings, the mix design, or the standard and moved …
CO₂ capture. Because photosynthesis apparently doesn’t matter. (Adobe) I got another message this week. Same theme as a few others. “Anti-PLC.” “Only talking about it because it draws an audience.”…
Fire 'em back up. (Adobe) Every now and then something crosses my screen that stops me mid-scroll. This week it was an argument that coal fly ash might help break China’s chokehold on rare earth elements. It is not a bad though…
Follow the Line. Follow the Money. If you’ve been following the Type IL situation the last few years, you’ve heard every excuse under the sun about why Portland limestone cement suddenly became the “future” of American concr…
Pipe dream. (Adobe) Every once in a while, the cement industry drops a headline so painfully obvious you wonder if anyone has been awake for the last decade. This week’s gem? Europe is sounding the alarm that cement prices cou…
Changing of the guard. (Adobe) Back in July, we covered the U.S. Department of Energy report A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the U.S. Climate. It didn’t get nearly the attention it deserves. The report—…
A rare glimpse of the Creative Minds of Cement in their natural habitat - a castle. (OpenAI) It was a crisp autumn morning in late 2021 when the tolling of bells echoed through the vaulted halls of Castle Valkenhorst, perched high on a Euro…
Back in 2011, the cement industry told us portland-limestone cement (PLC) was no risk. The updated State of the Art Report 2024 walks that back. Now it admits PLC can have higher carbonation, chloride ingress, and admixture sensitivity—but don…
I don’t spend my days at the country club or hanging out in boardrooms. I’m a business development guy in concrete construction. That means I’m chasing projects, knocking on doors, and keeping our name out there. If I end up on a g…
The Department of Energy just released a report that probably isn’t getting the attention it deserves: A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the U.S. Climate (July 2025). It was written by a group of respected scientists&…
Cement plant at Lime, Oregon (Credit: Middlebury College) The EPA is trying to roll back the 2009 Endangerment Finding for motor vehicles. I haven’t heard anyone else say it, but I think there’s a chance that move could spill over into …
The EPA is moving to roll back the 2009 Endangerment Finding — at least for motor vehicles — and with it, scrap the CO₂ limits that were supposed to tighten the screws on model years 2027 through 2032. If this happens, automakers…
Three Gorges Dam | Doomberg I was recently catching up on my favorite Substacker Doomberg's insightful piece titled "Five Dams in Tibet," discussing China's colossal Medog hydroelectric project. Scrolling through the comments, I stumbled upon a sta…
I’ve never been a flag-waving cheerleader for American imperialism. In fact, I used to be pretty disgusted with how we tried to run the world. But lately, I’ve changed my mind—not because we got better, but because I finall…
Fort Monroe, Virginia - Oldest Military Base | Source: Visit Hampton Virginia The latest spending bill—officially called the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act"—just landed, and while everyone's busy debating tax cuts and defense budgets, we'r…
Heat might help your schedule, but it’s hurting your concrete. We’ve said it before on the podcast, and after spending another hour with Bob Higgins, it’s worth repeating: hot weather pours don’t give you better concrete&mdas…
It’s hard to keep track of all the green buzzwords floating around the concrete industry these days—“net zero,” “low-carbon cement,” “sustainable construction.” On the surface, it sounds like p…
Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Trump administration announced a formal reconsideration of the critical "Endangerment Finding," the 2009 determination that greenhouse gases (GHGs), including carbon dioxide …
Portland Stone (Adobe). The Portland Cement Association (PCA) recently rebranded itself as the American Cement Association (ACA). When I heard this news, it got me thinking—has PCA changed its name before, and what was the original reason beh…
The concrete world is buzzing right now. New mix designs, new ways to reduce cement use, and a lot of noise about “green” concrete and low-carbon alternatives. Recently on the Concrete Logic Podcast, I had the chance to sit down with Joh…
If you’ve ever worked with concrete, you know that things don’t always go as planned. Whether it’s cracks appearing out of nowhere or floors that won’t stay level, concrete can be a tricky material. But what if I told you tha…
The 28-day compressive strength test has long been considered the gold standard for evaluating concrete performance. It's been the go-to method for everything from design decisions to regulatory compliance. But, as we dug into in our latest episode,…
Federal Incentives and Policy Drivers for Type IL Cement During 2019–2024, multiple federal actions incentivized the cement industry’s shift to Type IL (Portland-Limestone Cement). Congressional legislation explicitly promoted lower-car…