Table of Contents

Preface: Why and How ix

1. What Gets Included 1

2. How We Got Here 11

2.1 Materials Used by Organisms 13

2.2 Materials in Prehistory 18

2.3 Ancient and Medieval Materials 23

2.4 Materials in the Early Modern Era 33

2.5 Creating Modern Material Civilization 39

2.6 Materials in the Twentieth Century 48

3. What Matters Most 61

3.1 Biomaterials 63

3.2 Construction Materials 71

3.3 Metals 78

3.4 Plastics 84

3.5 Industrial Gases 89

3.6 Fertilizers 94

3.7 Materials in Electronics 97

4. How the Materials Flow 103

4.1 Material Flow Accounts 106

4.2 US and European Material Flows 111

4.3 Materials in China’s Modernization 118

4.4 Energy Cost of Materials 126

4.5 Life- Cycle Assessments 138

4.6 Recycling 148

5. Are We Dematerializing? 159

5.1 Apparent Dematerializations 162

5.2 Relative Dematerializations: Specific Weight Reductions 164

5.3 Consequences of Dematerialization 173

5.4 Relative Dematerialization in Modern Economies 184

5.5 Decarbonization and Desulfurization 194

6. Material Outlook 199

6.1 Natural Resources 202

6.2 Materials for Energy Transition 207

6.3 Wasting Less 213

6.4 Circular Economy 218

6.5 Limits of Dematerialization 223

References 241

Index 283

About the Author

Vaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba, Canada. His interdisciplinary research interests span the fields of energy, environmental and population change, food production, history of technical innovation, risk assessment, and public policy. He has published more than 40 books. Prof. Smil is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (Science Academy), and a Member of the Order of Canada.