doi:10.3850/GI138

ABSTRACT

Global warming is one of the most serious environmental issues in the world and the present situation indicates almost no effective ways in resolving the problem. In fact, efforts from all fields of specialization are essential to counter the problem effectively. In the field of civil engineering, ways to reduce the emission and concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere due to construction activities have to be developed. In this context, wood as a carbon neutral material should be reconsidered as a major construction material. To counter global warming, extending the service period and increasing the usage of wood will be a highly effective measure. For this reason, the authors propose ground improvement by piling log into the soft ground as a way to utilize wood for countering global warming. Field tests were conducted to verify the feasibility of this ground improvement method and its contribution towards reducing CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere. In this paper, the significance of using wood, outline of field tests, procedures for measuring emission of CO₂ and results of comparison between CO₂ emission and storage of carbon are discussed.

Keywords: Global warming; wood; ground improvement.

© 2010 by Geotechnical Society of Singapore (GeoSS)