Bio-bricks to save 800,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually caused by bricks

Abu Dhabi: About 1.23 trillion clay bricks manufactured annually worldwide for construction generate about 800 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Bio-Brick, an eco-friendly brick manufactured with the help of microorganisms, can significantly reduce that greenhouse gas emission.

Ginger Krieg Dosier, assistant professor of architecture at the American University of Sharjah who is the inventor of Bio-Brick, said she was inspired by what she learned from nature.

She was addressing the audience at a TEDx-WWF community event in the capital yesterday, hosted by EWS-WWF (Emirates Wild Life Society and World Wide Fund for Nature) and WWF International. World-leading innovative minds spoke about their thoughts on new solutions-oriented sustainable ideas under the event’s theme ‘One Planet Living’.

Dosier said 80 per cent of the construction industry worldwide uses clay bricks which cause huge environmental pollution.

She uses an energy-saving method to make bricks using bacteria.

Her natural process of manufacturing biological cement-based masonry building materials is expected to revolutionise the building and construction industry. China alone will need to construct 200 million homes in the near future {that will cause huge environmental pollution if eco-friendly materials are not used), she said.

Elham Al Qasimi, the first Emirati woman to embark on a successful expedition to the North Pole, said the expedition helped her adopt a sustainable lifestyle.

She explained the struggle of skiing eight to twelve hours a day in the North Pole in minus 30 degrees Celsius where no life exists. She had to melt the ice to get water for daily use. It was a struggle for survival there, Elham said.

Andy Ridley, CEO and co-founder of one of the world’s largest grass roots movements Earth Hour, explained how the initiative, which started in just one city in Australia, has grown to inspire millions across the globe.

Sara Al Sayed, a certified biomimicry professional and outdoor environmental educator, said people can even find a natural way of life in cities.

Rodents and birds also survive in cities, she said. “We have a lot of things to learn from them,” she told Gulf News on the sidelines of the event.

She is keen on creating opportunities for an impactful shift towards a more sustainable future for her home country Egypt.

In 2011 she co-founded Dayma, a social venture in education tourism to inspire students through the country’s native ecosystems, and in the same year she launched Nawaya, an NGO promoting sustainable agriculture in Egypt.