Will the free market solve our problems with regard to global resource depletion or will technology alone save us? Are total absolute quantities of resources more important than the accessible part of them that can be converted into production at meaningful rates and at affordable cost?
On a global scale we are facing energy scarcity due to the fact that the growth in net energy production, which is largely based on fossil fuels, can no longer keep up with the growth in global population. Energy scarcity means metals scarcity, or more in general materials scarcity. Materials scarcity in turn aggravates energy scarcity. This book gives a comprehensive overview of our predicament, why and how we got here and how we might adapt with the least damage. Adaptation involves ’Managed Austerity‘ (amongst others using less), the ’Elements of Hope’ (amongst others using nature’s most abundant building blocks) and acknowledgement of the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

André Diederen graduated in 1987 from Eindhoven University of Technology as a mechanical engineer. He got his PhD in mechanical engineering in 1997 at Delft University of Technology after designing and testing a new type of separation equipment. He has worked in different technology fields related to applications of various materials.