Government review to examine threat of world resources short

[Lord Beria3]

Ministers have ordered a review of looming global shortages of resources, from fish and timber to water and precious metals, amid mounting concern that the problem could hit every sector of the economy.

The study has been commissioned following sharp rises in many commodity prices on the world markets and recent riots in some countries over food shortages.

There is also evidence that some nations are stockpiling important materials, buying up key producers and land and restricting exports in an attempt to protect their own businesses from increasingly fierce global competition.

Several research projects have also warned of a pending crisis in natural resources, such as water and wildlife, which have suffered dramatic losses due to over-use, pollution, habitat loss, and, increasingly, changes caused by global warming.

Professor Bob Watson, the chief scientist for the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs, the leading department in the initiative, said every sector of the British economy was directly or indirectly vulnerable to future shortages.

These could be caused either by resources running out or becoming harder to access because of geopolitical factors from war to tighter environmental regulation on resources such as timber and palm oil – the latter being found in an estimated one in 10 products, from chocolate to cosmetics, sold in Britain.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010 ... eat-review

One area of particular concern is "rare earth elements", important for defence and many green technologies from low-energy lightbulbs to wind turbines, as well as industries as varied as electronics and lasers, film and lighting, aircraft engines, nuclear reactors, and pain-relieving drugs, Phil Dolley, AEA's resource efficiency director, said.

For years, experts have warned of the threat of peak oil to both the world economy and international political stability if countries go to war to secure access to fossil fuels.
However, there is now also increasing concern about a range of other resources, including a report by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in December that the European commission has commissioned a review of 49 strategically important resources it believes are at risk.

Among the countries known to be stockpiling resources, Japan has said it is storing supplies of seven rare metals it believes are "essential to modern life and industry".
Writing in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, James Bacchus, the chairman of the WTO's appelate body, said China was also "hoarding rare elements and other raw materials", but so were many other countries and there had also been a "sharp increase" in actions to protect national resources worldwide.

[Aurora]

Good to know that HMG is, at long last, considering the problem of resource shortages. It's another small step in the right direction.

[biffvernon]

Yeah, but watch out that it's not just a water-muddying exercise to obscure the real problem of peak oil. Energy is the key to all other resources. All minerals can be exploited from lower grade sources of substituted for by other minerals if the energy is available.

When folk say that a particular metal is in short supply they are really saying that we've not much left that can be economically extracted at the current energy price.

[Quintus]

Ministers have ordered a review of looming global shortages of resources, from fish and timber to water and precious metals, amid mounting concern that the problem could hit every sector of the economy.

The study has been commissioned following sharp rises in many commodity prices on the world markets and recent riots in some countries over food shortages.

Yep, good news - it'll make a very interesting read. I only hope it results in some action!

[Totally_Baffled]

Yeah, but watch out that it's not just a water-muddying exercise to obscure the real problem of peak oil. Energy is the key to all other resources. All minerals can be exploited from lower grade sources of substituted for by other minerals if the energy is available.

When folk say that a particular metal is in short supply they are really saying that we've not much left that can be economically extracted at the current energy price.

+1

[biffvernon]

sharp rises in many commodity prices on the world markets and recent riots in some countries over food shortages.

Hardly recent. At the rate our government works we'll have run out of everything before the report gets published.

[adam2]

Yeah, but watch out that it's not just a water-muddying exercise to obscure the real problem of peak oil. Energy is the key to all other resources. All minerals can be exploited from lower grade sources of substituted for by other minerals if the energy is available.

When folk say that a particular metal is in short supply they are really saying that we've not much left that can be economically extracted at the current energy price.

Absolutely, Known reserves of common and less common metals far exceed any likely consumption, at least for centuries.
High grade ores are in short supply, but that has allways been the case, as higher grade ores are consumed, lower grade rescources must be exploited, at greater cost in both money and energy.

For example a shortage of copper is regularly predicted, yet in Northern Ghana huge reserves of rather low grade copper ore exist, this was not even actively searched for ! but was discovered during mining for aggregate to make concrete.
Not worth exploiting at the current copper price, but soon will be. Certain persons in the area are watching the copper price with great interest.

Mining and refining lower grade ores are well understood proceses, but wont be done until higher grade rescources are used up.

One report even suggested that aluminium would soon be in short supply, it is one of the most abundant metals known, though energy intensive to produce.
Aluminium smelting requires vast amounts of electric power, and could be a good use of wind power in the future, though at present coal, hydro, or nuclear power is more widely used.

Given sufficient energy, every common element, and most rare ones can be extracted from sea water.

Most minerals and metals can be recycled, unlike FFs which are gone forever once burnt.

[DominicJ]

There is also evidence that some nations are stockpiling important materials, buying up key producers and land and restricting exports in an attempt to protect their own businesses from increasingly fierce global competition.

I'm quite curious about what will happen when all these long term contracts China has signed are reneged on by the other party.

http://www.china.org.cn/business/2010-0 ... 866278.htm

I cant be the only person who think the mad chav will spend the money and then declare the deal was unfair