Materials science in the Anthropocene: MRS gets serious about sustainable development
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MATERIAL MATTERS
Materials science in the Anthropocene: MRS gets serious about sustainable development Martin L. Green
C
ivilization on our planet took a sharp turn about 250 years ago, at the beginning of the industrial revolution, and has accelerated on that highway ever since. Arguably, its impact on humankind is equivalent to that of the invention of fire. The enormous consequences of industrial activity, positive and negative, could not have been anticipated then, but the bottom line today is that per capita global consumption of energy (Figure 1a) is higher than ever, and demand for materials (relative to the year
1900), as measured by mine production data, has increased by factors of three to 6000, depending on the metal (Figure 1b). Total population (Figure 1c), as well as those segments of the population doing the consuming, is also increasing. Now we speak (informally, thus far) of the Anthropocene,4 the first geological epoch in which human activity is deemed to have had an effect on the Earth’s ecosystem. Questions arise: For how much longer can economic growth and demand for goods be sustained, and can the same
human ingenuity that started the industrial revolution mitigate its effects? So there’s a mess, and it involves many materials-related issues–what better time for the Materials Research Society (MRS) to engage, in a big way? Recently, much effort has gone into introducing a new and rich research field, “materials for sustainable development,” to MRS (see the sidebar). What is it all about? “Materials for sustainable development” lies at the intersection of materials science, engineering, and sustainability. It is characterized by: □ enormous materials and energy scales (gigatons and terajoules), □ complexity, requiring a systemwide approach involving the input of scientists, industrial ecologists, engineers, economists, sociologists, and public policy experts, and □ the use of life-cycle assessment
Gigajoules per Capita per Year
a ENERGY Figure 1. (a) World per capita energy consumption1 (Credit: Gail Tverberg; http://ourfiniteworld.com); (b) relative rates of global use of materials in the 20th century;2 and (c) real and projected population growth;3 solid line: medium variant, shaded region: low to high variant, dashed line: constant-fertility variant. Source: United Nations.
c POPULATION
Population (millions)
Mine Production Relative to 1900
b MATERIALS
Martin L. Green, National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA
MRS BULLETIN
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VOLUME 39 • JULY 2014
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www.mrs.org/bulletin
567
OPINION MATERIAL MATTERS
Materials Research Society addresses sustainable development www.mrs.org/sustainability
Publications MRS Bulletin, “Materials for Sustainable Development,” 37 (4), 2012 Free online MRS/Cambridge University Press, Fundamentals of Materials for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (2012) MRS Energy & Sustainability: A Review Journal Soon to be launched Symposia 2014 MRS Fall Meeting • Sustainable Solar-Energy Conversion Using Earth-Abundant Materials • Scientific Ba
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