Posted on 01/20/2006 12:12:40 PM PST by libertarianPA
If all nations were to use the same services enjoyed in developed nations, even the full extraction of metals from the Earth's crust and extensive recycling may not be enough to meet metal demands in the future, according to a new study.
To investigate the environmental and social consequences of metal depletion, researchers looked at metal stocks thought to exist in the Earth, metal in use by people today, and how much is lost in landfills.
Using copper stocks in North America as a starting point, the researchers tracked the evolution of copper mining, use and loss during the 20th century. They then combined this information with other data to estimate what the global demand for copper and other metals would be if all nations were fully developed and using modern technologies.
According to the study, all of the copper in ore, plus all of the copper currently in use, would be required to bring the world to the level of the developed nations for power transmission, construction and other services and products that depend on the metal.
The study, led by Thomas Graedel of Yale University, was detailed in the Jan. 17 issue of the journal for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
For the entire globe, the researchers estimate that 26 percent of extractable copper in the Earth's crust is now lost in non-recycled wastes. For zinc, that number is 19 percent.
These metals are not at risk of immediate depletion, however, because supplies are still large enough to meet demands and mines have become more efficient at extracting these ores.
But scarce metals, such as platinum, face depletion risks this century because of the lack of suitable substitutes in such devices as catalytic converters and hydrogen fuel cells.
The researchers also found that for many metals, the average rate of usage per person continues to rise. As a result, the report says, even the more plentiful metals may face similar depletion risks in the future.
We can mine from the ground but can't mine landfills?
I guess people forget that we can get places.
Even if this were true it would be irrelevant. Why? Nanotechnology.
I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Are you listening?
Carbon
"We can mine from the ground but can't mine landfills?"
We could, but do you want to be the guy who sorts the good stuff from the disposable diapers? The yuck factor is enormous.
Thanks for posting that. I could remember there was a bet between enviros and an economist but I couldn't remember the specifics.
Gotta read between the lines here. The eco-frauds are worried their hydrogen economy is going to go bust because they're going to drive the price of platinum through the roof.
One metal we will never run out of is aluminum. It comprises 8% of the earth's crust.
Aluminum is also one of the best conductors of electricity there is after silver, copper, and gold. And yes, diameter does matter. The larger diameter the wire, the less resistance to current (just like a pipe) and the more current it can safely carry.
We give that job to the illegal immigrants.
And yes, diameter does matter. The larger diameter the wire, the less resistance to current (just like a pipe) and the more current it can safely carry.
I hope someone invents fiber optics, that will save us
Liberals/socialists/Communists wouldn't want some kind of world control over the world's minerals, administered maybe by the UN, would they?
"We can't let speculators stand in the way of progress" could be their way to sell it to the public.
Now that euthanasia has been blessed by the SCOTUS, we won't have to wait as long before we start prying the tooth fillings out of the mouths of the old, infirm and disabled.
Oh goody, another "We're doomed!" scam.
One word... Plastics.
According to the study, all of the copper in ore, plus all of the copper currently in use, would be required to bring the world to the level of the developed nations for power transmission, construction and other services and products that depend on the metal.
Julian Simon vs. Paul Ehrlich redux?
Do the people that write this pap have no knowledge of history?
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