Replacing conventional building materials with materials modified to store carbon dioxide could move the planet closer to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study by Elisabeth Van Roijen and colleagues. The researchers calculate that full replacement of conventional building materials with these CO₂-sequestering alternatives could store as much as 16.6 ± 2.8 gigatons of CO₂ each year – an equivalent to about 50% of the anthropogenic CO₂ emissions in 2021. Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, along with decreasing emissions, is important for slowing global climate warming. In pursuit of this removal, construction materials could provide a substantial CO₂ reservoir due to their widespread use and longevity. Van Roijen et al. calculate the global potential to store carbon in concrete, brick, asphalt, plastic, and wood with alterations such as mixing carbon aggregates in concrete or using bio-based materials in bricks. The researchers note that the carbon storing potential of these changes is more sensitive to the amount of material used (the cement aggregates store relatively little carbon but cement is used everywhere) than the quantity of carbon stored per unit mass of the building material. One challenge to overcome is the reluctance of builders to use new structural materials, fearing liability if these materials fail. Other challenges include finding enough carbon-sequestering minerals to use in these materials and establishing a rigorously monitored supply chain, as Christopher Bataille discusses in a related Perspective.

In this Policy Forum, John Bistline and colleagues analyze the potential impacts of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s finalized power plant rules regarding greenhouse gas emissions. Using nine models of the U.S. electric sector and energy systems, the researchers found that the rules would speed up the reduction of emissions in the power sector. Under the rules, the levels of carbon dioxide emitted by the sector would be 61%-81% below 2005 levels by 2040. Under current policies, emission levels would be 51% to 83% below 2005 levels by 2040, indicating that the finalized rules would narrow the range of emission levels. As the U.S. electric power sector is the second-highest greenhouse gas emitting sector in the world’s second highest emitting country, the researchers suggest their analysis can help guide utilities and lawmakers as they make technology and compliance changes in response to the new rules. The models by Bistline et al. also show that the costs of regulations under the new rules are limited relative to costs without the rules, mainly due to the cost-effectiveness of coal CO₂ reductions and flexible compliance options. The rules also reduce co-pollutant emissions that “can bring near-term air quality benefits and improve public health in environmental justice communities, which have historically been disproportionately impacted by pollution, and beyond,” Bistline et al. write. However, the fate of the EPA finalized rules is uncertain under a new presidential administration, the researchers note.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis find cell migration doesn't only rely on generating force. The laboratory of Amit Pathak, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, found that groups of cells moved faster with lower force when adhered to soft surfaces with aligned collagen fibers.