Building mining stations on other planets might become a necessity, not an option, if we are to believe the results of a study carried out by two Yale researchers and a representative from the Organization of European Aluminum.
According to their findings, even the full extraction of metals from the Earth's crust and extensive recycling programs may not meet future demand if all nations begin to use the same services enjoyed in developed nations.
The researchers, Robert Gordon, Thomas
Graedel and Marlen Bertram, suggest that the environmental and social consequences of metals depletion became clear from studies of metal stocks, in the Earth, in use by people and lost in landfills, instead of tracking the flow of metal through the economy in a given time and region.
"There is a direct relation between requisite stock, standard of living and technology in use at a given time. We offer a different approach to studying use of finite resources, one that is more directly related to environmental concerns than are the discussions found in the economics literature," said Gordon, professor of geology and geophysics.
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. Then the researchers applied their findings and additional data to an estimate of global demand for copper and other metals if all nations were fully developed and used modern technologies.
The study suggests that the risk of depleting the copper and zinc stocks in the nearby future is small, but that these raw materials won't be available forever.
In addition, they warn that in this century, scarce metals, such as platinum, could become collector's items.
Find us on Google+
