Carbon, LCA & Sustainable Materials

LCA infographic comparing single-use vs. reusable cups and their microplastic footprint. Single-use path shows manufacturing, landfill fragmentation, and microplastics from a discarded paper cup. Reusable path shows manufacturing, washing with use-phase release, and microplastics from a multi-use mug. Swirling microplastic particles are around both cups, labeled, along with key lifecycle stages. The main title is "LCA" and "Life Cycle Assessment," with a footer "The Microplas

Every few years, a headline shows up warning us that we have "only 20 years of copper left" or that "gold will run out by 2035." It happened with oil in the 1970s. It happened with rare earths a decade ago. It's happening right now with lithium and cobalt. And every single time, two things happen: people panic, and then, weirdly, we don't run out. So what's going on? Are these warnings wrong? Not exactly. They're just measuring the wrong thing, or rather, they're measuring so