American steel just got greener, says AISI
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported this week that the United States steel industry has achieved a new milestone in energy efficiency by reducing its energy intensity per ton of steel shipped by approximately 33 percent since 1990. This represents a further improvement since AISI announced a 29 percent reduction in 2006.
AISI also claims that the American steel industry's emissions per ton of steel shipped have also been substantially reduced, surpassing the 7 percent reduction target called for in the Kyoto Protocol.
"This improvement in energy efficiency is evidence of the steel industry's longstanding commitment to sustainability," Thomas J. Gibson, AISI president and CEO, said. "In the long-term, we are working on developing breakthrough steelmaking processes that emit little or no CO2."
AISI calculates that on average, 1.14 tons of carbon dioxide was emitted in 2007 for every ton of steel produced in the United States.
"The low CO2 intensity of American-manufactured steel coupled with its infinite recyclability is why products made of steel have such low environmental impacts during their life cycle," AISI said in a press release. "It is why steel is the material of choice in so many applications."
US steel town passes its own resolution to aid ailing auto industry
The city of Hobart, Indiana, a community largely reliant on the domestic steel industry, passed a resolution last week requiring that the city will be restricted to buying only North American-made vehicles this year.
Councilman David Vinzant added the resolution to the agenda saying it was important for the city to show support for the ailing American auto industry. "The local economy is dependent on steel and steel is dependent on the the auto industry," he said.
The resolution passed 6-1. The lone dissenter, at-large Councilwoman Monica Wiley argued, "The steel mills aren't owned by Americans so I don't know why we have to have a resolution."
US Steel Gary Works is the only American-owned integrated steel mill in Northwest Indiana. Critics of the resolution also argue that the foreign automakers employ many US workers and produce cars in the US, thus adding to the local economy.
Nevertheless, the language of the new rule is clear: "The city of Hobart shall only purchase motor vehicles during 2009 that are manufactured in North American manufacturing facilities by Ford Motor Company, Chrysler LLC or General Motors Corporation," it reads.
Gigantic steel beam arrives in Norfolk
A huge piece of steel has arrived in Norfolk, Virginia to help revitalize the city's public transportation system.
One of eighteen 57,500-pound steel girders, each half the size of a football field, arrived to Norfolk last week. The giant girders will serve as the superstructure for the elevated light rail station at Norfolk State University.
The first girder left High Steel Structures of Lancaster, Pennsylvania Wednesday of last week on a truck trailer designed to handle super-sized loads. Due to the massive size, the truck could only hold one girder and had to travel during daylight under escort by the Pennsylvania State Police. At the Maryland border, State Police guided the load to Virginia.
Beginning Tuesday of this week, part of Interstate 264 was shut down for ten days to allow for construction of the station. In the long run, the new light rail system, called "The Tide," is expected to ease traffic congestion.
Visit The Tide's website to find out more about the project and to see a video of the steel girder being transfered.
Sustainable community planned for former US Steel site
Chicago city planners said this week that they will soon submit a proposal to create a green community at the former US Steel site in South Chicago. The plan will call for the redevelopment over 1,100 acres of land into a new sustainable neighborhood of green buildings, parks, street cars and bicycle paths.
"It's going to attract different developers, technologies and a new population that is attracted to the green lifestyle," said city planner Marilyn Engwall.
The project, which has been in the making for nearly a decade, has not been without its challenges. Before 2005, over 500 acres of the site were covered in slab, a byproduct of the steelmaking process. The substance is non-toxic, but it inhibits plant life. This posed a major challenge, as a waterfront park had been planned for part of the area. However, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources was able to solve the problem by bringing in sediment from the Illinois River to act as topsoil, which is now supporting plant life at the site.
However, the plans are still in the very early stages. Completion of the sustainable community is expected to take between 20 to 30 years. Even so, the plan is already winning awards. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) last week selected the project as one of the 2009 recipients of the AIA Institute Honor Awards, which recognize works that exemplify excellence in architecture and urban design.
The AIA said of the South Chicago project in a press release about the award winners, "The site offers a milestone opportunity to create an innovative and sustainable new community that will be compact, pedestrian-oriented, and closely tied to transit, which will connect people to the lakefront for the first time in over a century."