Sunday 7 November 2010

Why Material Scarcity is an Issue for Energy scarcity

Dr André Diederen (TNO) has researched the issue of minerals scarcity and it's relevance to energy security and geopolitical stability.

Below you will find a three part presentation my Dr Diederen on the issue titled

Materials Scarcity, Managed Austerity and the Elements of Hope

Unfortunately the audio is of quite bad quality, so here's a taster of the main points in the presentation.

Most inside the earth is not producedable. Flow matters. Not stocks

Resources are not Economic reserves. Only economic reserved matter.

Metals scarcity => Wind Energy scarcity.

Scarcity for Other Alternative Energy Production Systems.

Solution: Simplify (less exotic materials) and compromise performance

Summary: Performance Maximization is Dead. Frugal Optimization is Back.

In short, there is a systemically positive feedback loop with very negative consequences between the energy and materials scarcities.

If you are a materials-wisened inventor with understanding of basic and rare earth metals, you better get started if you haven't already. Time to optimize & save.