Book Club discussion of Material World, Ed Conway
Reading alone only gives you one interpretation of the book, your own. I feel so much richer for the different perspectives of the people who joined our latest book club on Material World by Ed Conway.
A whirlwind introduction to the book
The book explores the six materials that have fundamentally shaped the way we live and will be critical to our future:
Sand: a crucial ingredient in glass, concrete and silicon.
Salt: vital for medicines, chemical manufacturing (chlorine and soda ash) and food processing.
Iron: how steel revolutionised the construction industry.
Copper: vital for electrical wiring and thus the electrification of the world. As we move from gas to electricity, copper will be in increased demand.
Oil: the fossil fuel that is interwoven in almost all our systems… whether we know it or not.
Lithium: the key to energy storage and powering batteries, making its role in the transition to green technologies vital. Are we mining enough from the ONE place it is currently found (between Chile, Argentina and Bolivia) to meet our net zero emissions targets and green energy transition plans?
The interconnectedness of all these materials and systems is staggering as one material might circumnavigate the globe twice to become part of a product we use daily, unbeknown to us. The ecological destruction from extracting these resources is only growing as the material rate of return decreases.
A whirlwind insight into our discussion
Is materialism driving growth or is growth driving material extraction? Is our global material extraction meeting people's needs?
Our make-take-waste culture doesn't truly value materials and the costs associated with extracting, distributing and using them.
If our culture is energy-blind, it is also materials-blind, and we very rarely discuss the core resources which power our world.
We should be thinking about the negative space, for all that we build up there is extraction down and some part of papatūānuku we are taking away. This visual below illustrates how the weight of plastics in the world outweighed the entire animal kingdom!
Global inequalities are profound when looked at through the lens of the material world. While we might think we, western nations, are moving to a service knowledge economy, we are still deeply dependent on extraction of resources in other countries.
For example, Britain just closed its last coal mine but still imports products from overseas made with coal. Domestic emissions might look better, but globally it might not make a difference and with one planet, it’s our global emissions that matter.
Those people working in these industries are often treated as out of sight, out of mind by mainstream media contributing to their exploitation and sigmatism by society.
What does sovereignty mean when a nation has no control over a foreign company extracting and selling their resources?
What level of energy use is sustainable for all people on the planet?
Remember, if everyone on earth consumed the amount of resources we do in Aotearoa we would need between 4 - 7 earths to maintain our resource consumption.
We could look to the work on decent living standards or the 2000 watts society.
These conversations at Book Club have been exactly what I've needed. The dedicated space, time and thoughtful people to talk through books we're reading in more detail.
History for Tomorrow, our next book!
If you want to join our next book club, get your hands on a copy of History for Tomorrow: Inspiration from the Past for the Future of Humanity by Roman Krznaric.
Don't feel you have to read the book to come along. Check out the conversation between Roman Krznaric and Nate Hagens on The Great Simplification Podcast, The Philosopher Podcast with Alexis Papazoglou, or this review from The Guardian. On the call we will summarise the key ideas so you can still participate in the discussions.
You can RSVP here - https://www.weall.org.nz/book-club
