Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
Despite this, in the current scientific paradigm, these linkages remain often un-
noticed and vary depending on the exact model adopted. As a result, experts of
a particular resource habitually alarm others as to its scarcity, putting it in the
context of the affected ecosystem or urban environment but without considering
the side effects caused to other resources. The energy specialists, for example, will
speak of the growing di
culty in accessing fossil fuels, their impact, once burnt,
on air quality and their contribution to global warming. Equally, hydrologists will
discuss water related issues and the effect that abstraction has on water quantity
and quality on the few remaining non-altered freshwater systems. The effect of
mankind's activities in terms of food miles or ecological footprint hectares has also
been stated. And, most recently science has entered into the discussion of mineral
scarcity.
Yet and worth reiterating, it is not only a question of the exponential intensi-
fication of a particular commodity per se because its access is increasingly costly
in terms of other resources. Experts should thus not treat induced consumption
of other resources as externalities but as part of the problem. This would lead to
a more holistic view of the side-effects. To take the energy sector as an example,
shale gas demands huge quantities of water, whilst biofuels (and in general food)
require large areas for their production along with copious water supplies. The
combined demand for water will result in its eventual abstraction from salty and
brackish sources, for which an input of energy, typically fossil fuels, is needed and
hence the cyclic connection. An empirical case indicative of such kinds of resource
linkages (and the need to research them further) is that developed by Kooroshy
et al. (2009), who as explained above, analysed the correlation between the price
of crude oil and that of the average mineral prices. Their 0.77 correlation places
beyond doubt the existence of a link between both. Yet unfortunately, despite this
qualitative recognition, there remains few quantifications explaining their degree of
intricacy (van der Voet et al., 2009).
Speaking of fossil fuels, the debate of fossil fuels vs renewable energies provides a
clear example of the fact that interlinkages are seen on a one dimensional plane and
only superficially taken into account i.e. if the use of fossil fuels seriously affects
climate change, a transition to renewable energy solutions is needed. For many
this is a case of full stop. Period. Yet, as explained in Chap. 1, any development
of a renewable sector demands special metals (scarce, dispersed and/or precious)
on a massive scale. Such metals are key components in the ICTs which provide
intelligence in controlling intermittent energy sources. They are also responsible
for the optimisation of solar energy, given that they are capable of collecting direct
and indirect dispersed light. Furthermore, any transition to renewable energies will
necessitate an intensive use of electricity and electrochemistry, which in turn are
processes that generally require very high temperatures. Such temperatures are
di
cult to achieve by using biomass, geothermal or solar concentration processes
alone. Energy storage, distribution, conversion and metal extraction and recovery,
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