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I worry about this sometimes with all sorts of raw materials and waste products. We seem to take for granted that we can make as many cars, computers, building
by haberman 9y ago
I worry about this sometimes with all sorts of raw materials and waste products. We seem to take for granted that we can make as many cars, computers, buildings, etc. as the market demands. But there must be some kind of eventual limit to how much steel, rubber, plastic, glass, etc. we can manufacture before we've used it all up. It fills me with vague anxiety that I don't have any sense for how many of these raw materials are left. And I also wonder whose job it is to think about such things, and if they are thinking ahead or just building for the now.
- mixmastamyk 9y agoAs materials become scarce their prices are raised, acting as a natural brake on their use. Environmental concerns may still be an issue however.
- PeachPlum 9y agoWith the caveat of Jevan's Paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox
- imtringued 9y agoAt some point the price is high enough that we can no longer afford to just throw away the material. It becomes profitable to recycle. Copper is a good example.
- davemp 9y agoThat doesn’t really agree with the conservation of mass: > The law implies that mass can neither be created nor destroyed, although it may be rearranged in space, or the entities associated with it may be changed in form . . . -Wikipedia