85. to nonrenewable resources, only in a static society; they argue that science, "by making the resource base more homogeneous, erases the restrictions once thought to reside in the lack of homogeneity". They suggest that conservation of a resource, because it reduces research, education and investment directed toward more complete utilization, may diminish the total social value of that resource. 3. University of Texas, 1968. Limitations of the earth: a compelling focus for geology. Proceedings of a symposium held November 16-17, 1967, at the University of Texas at Austin. In Texas Quarterly, v.11, n.2, summer 1968, pp.5-154; reprinted by Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin. In this small volume are packed many important statements about resource availability. There are eleven authors, representing a considerable range of background and viewpoint. Of particular interest are papers by Alvin Weinberg, Preston Cloud, Thomas Lovering, and William Pecora. Weinberg, who titled his presentation, "Raw Materials Unlimited", argued that the abundant, cheap energy which is just around the corner of breeder-reactor development, will indeed make raw materials essentially unlimited, because we'll be able to mine seawater and common rock. Pecora exhorted his audience to have faith in science and technology to solve resource problems. Cloud and Lovering presented the opposing view, the former pointing out that mineral resources "share certain peculiarities that transcend economics and limit technology" and the latter that unit costs of copper, contrary to the cornucopian school of thought, have been rising for 35 years. Both Cloud and Lovering gave persuasive reasons for their conviction that, even with cheap energy, common rock would never be mined. 86. 4. National Petroleum Council, 1971, U.S. energy outlook, an initial appraisal, 1971-1985. Washington: National Petroleum Council. 5. 6. This book, produced by the major vested-interest group in the field of natural resources, contains a great deal of useful and accurate information. Its projections of U.S. demand for energy are questionable as are its projections of potential domestic petroleum availability; both appear to reflect a measure of interest bias. On the other hand, the projection methods used are stated clearly, facts are not difficult to separate from assumptions, and the conclusions about domestic petroleum potential are considerably more conservative than those published recently by the petroleum geologists (Future petroleum provinces of the United States - their aeology and potential, American Association Petroleum Geologists Memoir 15, 1971) and by the U.S. Department of the Interior (United States energy, a summary review, 1972). Japanese Ministry of Trade and Industry, 1971, White paper on "Prospect of An interesting account of political-economic alternatives designed to cope with a condition of permanent domestic resource scarcity. Some of the approaches being used or considered by Japan to insure a steady inflow of foreign raw materials merit study in the context of U.S. needs. National Research Council, 1972. Elements of a national materials National This report discusses U.S. materials policy in regard to mineral commodities, states that the basic problem is how to sustain a 87. continuing flow of needed raw materials into the U.S. economy without meeting unacceptable environmental, social, political, or fiscal costs, and puts strong emphasis on the need to re-examine continuing material growth as an element in national policy and strategies. 7. Hewett, D.F., 1929. Cycles in metal production. American Institute Mining, Met. Engr. Tech. Publ. 183, 31 p. and Trans. 1929, pp.65-93. A pioneer analysis of the production histories of the major metals, in which it is concluded that there exists a characteristic cycle of depletion for the mineral resources of a nation, with stages marked by successive culminations in tonnage exported, number of mines, number of smelters, tons of ore mined, and amount imported. Many graphs present the record of the production of separate metals from some 28 mining districts of Europe and support Hewett's observation that mining districts pass through stages analogous to those of infancy, adolescence, maturity and old age. 23-615 O - 73 - 10 88. References cited American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1971, Future petroleum provinces of North America. A.A.P.G. Memoir 15. Barnett, Harold J., 1971, "The myth of our vanishing resources", p.180-186 in The survival equation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Elliott, M.A., and Linden, H.R., 1968, "A new analysis of U.S. natural gas supplies". Journal Petr. Techn., v.20, p. 135-141. Hendricks, T.A., 1965, Resources of oil, gas, and natural-gas liquids in the United States and the world. U.S. Geol. Survey Circ. 522. Hubbert, M.K., 1969, "Energy resources", p. 157-242 in Resources and man. San Francisco: Freeman. Hubbert, M.K., 1971, "Energy resources for power production", p. 13-43 in Environmental aspects of nuclear power stations. Vienna: Intl. Atomic Energy Agency. Kaysen, Carl, 1972, "The computer that printed out W*0*L*F*". Foreign Affairs, v.50, p. 660-668. McKelvey, V.E., 1971, "Mineral resource estimates and public policy". McKelvey, V.E., and Duncan, D.C., 1965, "United States and world resources of energy", D. 1-17 in Symposium on fuel and energy resources. American Chemical Society. Merrill, C.W., 1959, "The significance of the mineral industries in the U.S. Department of the Interior, 1972, United States energy, a summary review. U.S. Geological Survey, 1966, Unpublished memorandum by T. A. Hendricks and S. P. Schweinfurth quoted in United States petroleum through 1980. Washington: U.S. Dept. Interior. Weeks, L.G., 1965, "World offshore petroleum resources". Bull. Amer. |