Modern economies will always be tied to massive material flows, whether those of ammonia-based fertilizers to feed the still-growing global population; plastics, steel, and cement needed for new tools, machines, structures, and infrastructures; or new inputs required to produce solar cells, wind turbines, electric cars, and storage batteries. And u

globalization is, and will remain, simply the movement of mass—of raw materials, foodstuffs, finished products, and people—and the transmission of information (warnings, guidance, news, data, ideas) and investment within and among the continents,

the accelerated post-1990 pace of globalization did not depend on just having superior technical means; it would have been impossible without concurrent major political and social transformations, most notably the post-1980 return of China to international commerce, followed (between 1989 and 1991) by the dismantling of the Soviet Empire. This mean

Moreover (as will be explained in chapter 3), we have no readily deployable commercial-scale alternatives for energizing the production of the four material pillars of modern civilization solely by electricity. This means that even with an abundant and reliable renewable electricity supply, we would have to develop new large-scale processes to prod

This combination of low weight and high strength has made thermoplastics the preferred choice for such applications as heavy-duty pipes and flanges, anti-skid surfaces, and chemical tanks.

the quantity of modern forecasting has become inversely proportional to its quality.

Practical telegraph was developed during the late 1830s and the early 1840s; the first (short-lived) transatlantic link cable was laid in 1858; and by the century’s end undersea cables had connected all continents.

According to the FAO, the world loses almost half of all root crops, fruits, and vegetables, about a third of all fish, 30 percent of cereals, and a fifth of all oilseeds, meat, and dairy products—or at least one-third of the overall food supply.

Most of the admired and undoubtedly remarkable technical advances that have transformed industries, transportation, communication, and everyday living would have been impossible if more than 80 percent of all people had to remain in the countryside in order to produce their daily bread (the share of the US population who were farmers in 1800 was 83