The challenges associated with the environmental impact of renewable energies are formidable and multiple. The exploitation of diffuse forms of energy will require us to reshape our lifestyles and infrastructures. Reducing their environmental impact is imperative and requires the mobilization of all available levers of action. Beyond the analysis of these challenges, this book presents an overview of the levers of action that should allow us to meet them, by crossing the fields of the human sciences, geosciences and engineering. The levers of action examined are both technical (through the substitution or use of low technology) and economic and social (through the development of recycling or decoupling). The book also addresses the question of their effectiveness and their overall impact.

Written for students and professionals, this revised textbook surveys the mineral industry from geological, environmental and economic perspectives. Thoroughly updated, the text includes a new chapter on technology industry metals as well as separate chapters on mineral economics and environmental geochemistry. Carefully designed figures simplify difficult concepts and show the location of important deposits and trade patterns, emphasising the true global nature of mineral resources. Featuring boxes highlighting special interest topics, the text equips students with the skills they need to contribute to the energy and mineral questions currently facing society, including issues regarding oil pipelines, nuclear power plants, water availability and new mining locations. Technical terms are highlighted when first used, and references are included to allow students to delve more deeply into areas of interest. Multiple choice and short answer questions are provided for instructors online at www.cambridge.org/kesler to complete the teaching package.

One of the most significant resource-development and industrial-policy issues facing the United States today is the continued decline of domestic production and processing of metallic minerals and the associated dependence on foreign supplies for our needs. Domestic mining and processing industries have suffered from various economic problems and i

As the importance and dependence of specific mineral commodities increase, so does concern about their supply. The United States is currently 100 percent reliant on foreign sources for 20 mineral commodities and imports the majority of its supply of more than 50 mineral commodities. Mineral commodities that have important uses and face potential supply disruption are critical to American economic and national security. However, a mineral commodity's importance and the nature of its supply chain can change with time; a mineral commodity that may not have been considered critical 25 years ago may be critical today, and one considered critical today may not be so in the future. The U.S. Geological Survey has produced this volume to describe a select group of mineral commodities currently critical to our economy and security. For each mineral commodity covered, the authors provide a comprehensive look at (1) the commodity's use; (2) the geology and global distribution of the mineral deposit types that account for the present and possible future supply of the commodity; (3) the current status of production, reserves, and resources in the United States and globally; and (4) environmental considerations related to the commodity's production from different types of mineral deposits. The volume describes U.S. critical mineral resources in a global context, for no country can be self-sufficient for all its mineral commodity needs, and the United States will always rely on global mineral commodity supply chains. This volume provides the scientific understanding of critical mineral resources required for informed decisionmaking by those responsible for ensuring that the United States has a secure and sustainable supply of mineral commodities.

Minerals are part of virtually every product we use. Common examples include copper used in electrical wiring and titanium used to make airplane frames and paint pigments. The Information Age has ushered in a number of new mineral uses in a number of products including cell phones (e.g., tantalum) and liquid crystal displays (e.g., indium). For some minerals, such as the platinum group metals used to make cataytic converters in cars, there is no substitute. If the supply of any given mineral were to become restricted, consumers and sectors of the U.S. economy could be significantly affected. Risks to minerals supplies can include a sudden increase in demand or the possibility that natural ores can be exhausted or become too difficult to extract. Minerals are more vulnerable to supply restrictions if they come from a limited number of mines, mining companies, or nations. Baseline information on minerals is currently collected at the federal level, but no established methodology has existed to identify potentially critical minerals. This book develops such a methodology and suggests an enhanced federal initiative to collect and analyze the additional data needed to support this type of tool.

Our consumption of raw materials and energy has reached unprecedented levels which are continuing to increase at a steady rate due to the economic emergence of many countries and the development of new technologies. Metal and cement usage has doubled since the beginning of the 21st Century and this production, between now and 2050, will be equivalent to that produced since the beginning of humanity. It is in this context that the transition to low-carbon and renewable energies is taking place, which involves profound changes to the existing global energy system. This book addresses these different aspects and attempts to estimate first-order requirements for cement, steel, copper, aluminum and energy for different power generation technologies, and for three types of energy scenarios. Some dynamic modeling approaches are proposed to assess the needs and likely evolution of primary production and recycling. The link between production and primary reserves, recycling and stocks of end-of-life products, production costs, incomes and prices using a prey–predator dynamic is discussed. - Approaches the issues of commodities and energy in terms of needs, technological innovation and economic and social issues - Emphasizes the couplings between these different aspects - Helps readers understand and integrate these couplings through global modeling

It is widely believed that natural mineral resources are desirable. However there is growing evidence that this may not always be the case. Indeed, it seems that natural assets can distort the economy to such a degree that the benefit actually becomes a curse. In Sustaining Development in Mineral Economies, Richard Auty highlights these drawbacks and the devastating effect they can have on developing economies. With reference to six ore-exporters (viz. Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Jamaica, Zambia and Papua New Guinea) he outlines how things can go badly wrong. He particularly stresses the need to avoid `Dutch Disease' whereby competitiveness is drained out of the agriculture and manufacturing sectors so that in the long term growth falters.