The Cemex plant on the North Coast is gone, so the question is now what to do with the 10,000 acre property right outside of Davenport.
One option is to turn the land into a public trust and recreation area. Even before the plant shut down, the nonprofit Sempervirens Fund of Los Altos offered to buy the vast woodlands surrounding the property. The Sempervirens Fund is dedicated to protecting the forests and other natural features of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Another potential purchaser is JoeBen Bevirt of Bonny Doon. He wants to use the property to house airborne wind turbines that would generate electricity. The problem is that Bevirt has not yet completed his prototype for the turbines.
Then there is Calera, another cement producer, but with a difference. It is attempting to manufacture cement by pumping carbon dioxide from smokestacks into treated seawater. This would produce solid carbonates, including calcium carbonate, out of the magnesium and calcium found inside seawater. Calcium carbonate can also be used to produce cement, and it has the added advantage of sequestering carbon dioxide, which is the leading greenhouse gas.
No word has yet been released about which offer Cemex favors, but one thing is certain. Whatever they choose, it will be better for the environment than the cement factory that used to stand there. Read more at GreenTechMedia and the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
