Cement production hits a concrete wall: U.S. businesses and households are feeling the brunt of short-sighted environmental activism as America's supply of cement dries up.(American Industry)(Cover Story) From: The New American | Date: November 29, 2004| Author: Jasper, William F. | COPYRIGHT 2004 American Opinion Publishing, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

If you couldn't get cement to pour the new patio you had planned in August, or if the increase in the price of concrete added several thousand dollars to the final cost of your new home, you can blame China or the Sierra Club or the federal government or your state government. Or all of the above. As with steel (see story on page 10), concrete is basic to modern society. And like steel, its prices and availability have been see-sawing madly over the past year, causing consumers and...