After water, concrete is the most widely used substance on the planet. But its benefits mask enormous dangers to the planet, to human health – and to culture itself.

Taking in all stages of production, concrete is said to be responsible for 4-8% of the world’s CO2. Concrete is a thirsty behemoth, sucking up almost a 10th of the world’s industrial water use. Party leaders need the donations and kickbacks from building firms to get elected, state planners need more projects to maintain economic growth, and construction bosses need more contracts to keep money rolling in, staff employed and political influence high. Hence the self-perpetuating political enthusiasm for environmentally and socially dubious infrastructure projects and cement-fests.....

If the existing ice-skating surfaces are to be used in the future, the condition of the existing rink headers should be assessed. Any proposed changes in size or shape for the ice surfaces for the future will require demolition of the existing surfaces and headers, with new rink floor slabs and brine piping designed to suit the new layout. read more

Dear neighbours,
On Sept.24, City Councillor Ana Bailao posted another in her series of emails for this list, about the need to remove and replace the current Dufferin Rink concrete slabs at the end of the rink season.

I would like to challenge her (and the city's park reno staff) to PROVE IT.

The 2018 engineer's report does NOT say the slabs are in trouble. The 2014 consultant's report says that most of the concrete parts of the rink and building can expect to last 100 years, except for the rink slabs. Those are assumed to have an automatic 30-year expiry date.

-- Says who? (Narrow cracks in the cement have been there almost since the rink was built.)

Tomorrow many schoolkids will go out on a 'climate strike,' and march with placards. Here are some issues that some of the local students might like to put on their signs:

-- From The Guardian, Feb.19, 2019 "concrete is said to be responsible for 4-8% of the world's CO2....[and for] almost a 10th of the world's industrial water use."

-- the city's "TransformTO" report draws attention to the environmental costs that come with "early replacement of [the city's assets], particularly longer lasting assets."

-- If a car owner finds out there's a hole in the muffler, she'd get a new muffler, not scrap the whole car, right?
Last season's delayed rink opening was due to MINOR refrigeration machinery repairs that had not been done in good time because the rink mechanics were not hired until a week before the rink was due to open. That mess-up was then used by Capital projects staff to justify demolishing the rink slabs.

How about just getting new cooling machinery (takes a few weeks to install) and not taking out the concrete until it's actually in trouble?

So far, city staff say that the thousand-signature petition against reorienting the rinks will not change their minds, that in fact there is a "community consensus" in favour of demolition and new rink pads. The new design is set to go. Certainly it seemed like many people who attended last week's rink reno meeting had no objections.

But maybe the young climate strikers will want to find out a bit more about the effects of concrete, and how the rink plans show a local example of things messing up.

The reference page will get longer as the weeks go by. Maybe some of the comments will be from tomorrow's climate strikers. We'll see.

Whatever happens, there will be an interesting ongoing public conversation about practical environmental issues right in this neighbourhood. And the local schoolkids who are marching tomorrow will no doubt be part of that conversation -- probably standing on the outside of a construction fence.

What they learn about bureaucracy and about where the money goes may have consequences in the longer term.
It ain't over 'til it's over.