Japanese scientists have discovered huge deposits of “rare earth” minerals on the mud floor of the Pacific Ocean around Hawaii and Tahiti. These minerals are crucial for making electronics products such as smartphones, tablet devices, flat-screen TVs and hybrid cars. Until now China, with the largest land-based deposits of these minerals, has had about 97% of global production. …
Category archives: Problems
Oceans (and people) under massive threat
A group of leading world experts has met to discuss the state of the world’s oceans. Their findings, surprising even to them, are that the oceans of the world are under more severe stress than already understood. Conditions are now being created that are the same as all five mass-extinctions in the past 600 million …
Financial benefits of green spaces and ecosystems
“If the UK’s ecosystems are properly cared for, they could add an extra £30bn a year to the UK’s economy; if they are neglected, the economic cost would be more than £20bn a year… Inland wetlands, for instance, are worth £1.5bn a year in improving water quality alone, and pollinators such as bees are worth …
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Severe floods in Queensland, Australia
Brisbane, Australia faces a ‘postwar’ scale rebuild after “raging floodwaters” “devastated” three quarters of the state of Queensland. The damage affected homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, roads, sewers and drainage systems. Insurance claims are expected to reach A$1bn. 173 people died. The mining industry was disrupted and lost at least A$2.3bn ($2.3bn) in sales. Meanwhile in …
Japan’s first iron ore swap agreed
Mitsui, the Tokyo-based trading house, announced it has signed the country’s first ore swap, with Credit Suisse. The swap allows Mitsui, which acts as a middleman between iron ore miners such as Vale of Brazil, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton and the Japanese steelmakers, “to hedge the price of the commodity, avoiding the volatility of …
Oil and gas prices no longer connected
The Financial Times recently ran a piece by one of its Alphaville reporters, showing a chart produced by Reuters, and used by Reuters, energy market consultant Nick Campbell at Inenco: The interesting point about the chart was that UK gas prices were no longer linked to oil prices. Historically, UK gas prices have apparently been linked …
Footnote to the iron ore story
As a ‘footnote’ to our earlier post (though we are sure it will not be the final word), on April 2 the FT paper carried a story saying that prices of oil (and other commodities) “surged on Thursday, with oil hitting a fresh 18-month high of $85 a barrel, and copper and iron ore posting multi-month …
Iron ore derivatives set to “take off”
An interesting example of how our financial system works is playing out before our eyes. And it reveals a likely future for peak oil. Yesterday buyers and sellers of a basic physical commodity, iron ore, announced that they had agreed a new approach for setting prices. The changes had two main parts. First, prices will …
How many species do we need?
The way that we are managing this planet has led to many species of life now being at risk of extinction. Of the “highest” form of life, mammals, fully one fifth (21%) of species are now at risk of extinction. If we carry on as we are then that figure will continue to rise, year …