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The Rarity of Rare Earth Metals

I’ve often (well, not that often - those who know me know I think about these things, though) pondered how limited our supply of metal is. We have a finite source of oil, yet we never hear any discussion about the limited supply of tantalum or copper. According to The New Scientist, the problem is a real one.

Armin Reller, a materials chemist at the University of Augsburg in
Germany, and his colleagues are among the few groups who have been
investigating the problem. He estimates that we have, at best, 10 years
before we run out of indium. Its impending scarcity could already be
reflected in its price: in January 2003 the metal sold for around $60
per kilogram; by August 2006 the price had shot up to over $1000 per
kilogram.

Uncertainties like this pose far-reaching questions. In particular,
they call into doubt dreams that the planet might one day provide all
its citizens with the sort of lifestyle now enjoyed in the west. A
handful of geologists around the world have calculated the costs of new
technologies in terms of the materials they use and the implications of
their spreading to the developing world. All agree that the planet’s
booming population and rising standards of living are set to put
unprecedented demands on the materials that only Earth itself can
provide. Limitations on how much of these materials is available could
even mean that some technologies are not worth pursuing long term.

Narnia: Prince Caspian Trailer Released

I meant to post this during finals week… which of course didn’t happen. Though the story of Wardrobe is perhaps the best in the series, Caspian may surpass it in effects and action. Should be fun.

Chicago’s Alleys Go Green

Chicago Mayor Richard Daly, who has already sent a successful  wave of green roofs over the Windy City, has turned his sights towards his next environmental challenge: greening the city’s alleys. Some 1,900 miles of alleyways that cover over 3,500 acres of city land with paved, impermeable surfaces will become the focus of the Green Alley Project with designs and improvements to help manage stormwater, reduce urban heat island effect, promote recycling and conserve energy.

The initiative is a refinement of Chicago DOT’s existing alley program which focused on creating more permeable surfaces. Chicago alleyways, which outnumber those of any other city in the world, are lacking in proper sewer connections causing serious flooding issues. Rather than simply opting for expensive sewer hookups, the city started retrofitting alleys with permeable pavements and pavers.

The Green Alley Program raises the bar with a more comprehensive strategy to implement environmentally friendly solutions to the city’s infrastructure problems. The pilot program has three main focus points which include using permeable pavements to reduce stormwater runoff, high albedo pavements to reduce urban heat island effect and using recycled material such as concrete aggregate, slag and recycled tire rubber.

The Hidden Mountains of Beijing

In the modern capital, you can go days or weeks without seeing them. Beijing’s chronic haze and smog, held in place by those mountains, defeat long-distance gazing. From the windows of my Chinese language school, five floors up in a hotel-complex sky bridge, I’ve worked out an alternative set of landmarks. If the air is only moderately dirty, for instance, I can make out the shape of the world’s second-largest Ikea on the Fourth Ring Road; when it’s less dirty still, I can tell that the Ikea building is blue, and I can see the towers of the Wangjing neighborhood beyond it. (On the bad days? The buildings across the street fade out, and pollution hangs in the school’s hallway, like cigarette smoke.)

It’s Finals Week

I’ve two papers due in the next 48 hours. Expect a flood of links this weekend.