Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
that the infrastructure relies on, not just energy production, will become more
electricity intensive into the future - potentially forcing the extraction of minor
metals from every corner of the globe. If this happens, the international treaties
protecting the Arctic and Antarctic regions, virgin tropical and boreal forests, the
oceans and progressive crustal depths will sooner or later be torn up. Any low
grade mine is also likely to be opened or re-opened. Declining ore grades will in
turn demand, amongst other resources, more water and more effort. For every
tonne of useful material sent to market there will be an escalating quantity of waste
rock. Larger quantities of energy per tonne of mineral extracted will also need to
be provided. Such activities imply a greater environmental impact and a heavier
burden on local, often vulnerable, populations.
Therefore, the attainment of a low carbon society and green economy (Sec. 1.4)
fuelled by renewables means more than the “nice idea” of erecting a few turbines in
the rural landscape or putting more hybrid cars on roads. It takes planning, policy
and a paradigm shift in the way people think about and use energy, metallurgy and
chemistry.
Any connections, whether between land, water, energy or mineral resources, are
likely to get progressively stronger into the future. For this reason, an indicator
used to measure energy source profitability such as the energy return on investment
(EROI)
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an never be su
cient - for one cannot look at issues solely in terms of
money. Instead modern society must begin to consider a myriad of parameters
including energy return on water investment, or energy return on material or land
investment, etc.
Another important consideration in a comprehensive analysis of linkages is the
global rebound effect. This can be explained using a shift in EU politics as an
example, whereby a resource saving directive would result in a lower consumption
of materials across the continent but a reduction in global market price. This
reduction in price would in turn permit greater accessibility to resources, especially
for the poorer regions of the globe and would effectively mean that whilst European
demand decreases, the overall global demand does not with more people than ever
(potentially) buying and using more resources. Another clear cut example is the
proliferation of mobile and smartphone technology, which having saved investments
in telephone lines, not to mention large quantities of copper, has triggered a high
impact consumption of critical metals including gold, indium and tantalum
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.
E
ciency measures alone are thus not the solution if they do not come accom-
panied by a progressive increase in price, with which to compensate (weaken) the
rebound effect. Any price increase associated with raw materials must be directed
to the right cause - it must not be allowed to enter into the balance sheets of those
companies or governments that exploit minerals. On the contrary, extra funds
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EROI is the ratio of the amount of usable energy acquired from a particular energy resource to
the amount of energy expended to obtain that energy resource.
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The darkest side of such extraction can be evidenced in the socio-political tension experienced
by some of the world's most remote and vulnerable communities.
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