Engineering Solutions for Sustainability: Materials and Resources: Workshop Report and Recommendations (Paperback)

About This Report vii

About the Workshop Sponsors ix

Acknowledgments x

I Executive Summary 1

II Introduction and Process 6

III Human Needs (Water, Food, and Health) 12

Figure 1: Earth's Water Balance 15

Table 1: Water Consumption by Energy Type in the United States 16

IV Infrastructure (Transportation, Housing, and Urban Design) 23

Figure 1: The Brooklyn Bridge: An Example of a Pioneering and Sustained Urban Infrastructure 25

Figure 2: The Los Angeles Airport "Theme Building": Melding Art, Architecture, and Air Transport 28

V The Resource Cycle 30

V(A). Energy 30

Figure 1: Carbon Abatement Wedges 33

Figure 2: Populations Without Electricity Access 34

V(B). Mineral Resources 37

Figure 3: Expansion of the Scope of Concern about Mineral Supply 39

Figure 4: Assessing How a Mine Project Can Contribute to Sustainable Development 40

Table 1: Five Dimensions of Mineral Availability 41

Figure 5: The Scope of Material Stewardship Encompasses Process and Product Stewardship 42

Table 2: Opportunities for Research and Development in the Minerals Sector 43

V(C). Materials and Recycling 46

VI Human Resources 52

VII Linking Technologies to Resources 61

Figure 1: Technology and Resources Matrix 62

VIII The Path Forward 66

Appendix A: List of Delegates 68

Appendix B: References and Recommended Readings 70

Appendix C: Summary of Sector-Specific Advances 77