when will we run out of IRON, & what will we do then?

Question

iron, copper, zinc & such forth are natural resources that we take advantage of, & someday we may use up all the earth has too offer (then again, we may not, i personally do not know). so then what?
i am not a "tree hugging" environmentalist, just a curious youth.

Answer 1

We are fine when it comes to iron because there is so much of it on this planet; its a very common element. I know that there is already a shortage in copper and gold but believe me almost none of it gets wasted because people pay big $$$ for it; the same goes for aluminum and many other rare metals. Wood on the other hand is something that humans are using up faster than they can make up for it and there is not much money to be made from recycling paper. If somehow we could make it so that people profit when they recycle paper we would see a lot less of it go to waste; look at aluminum cans for example.

Answer 2

It's a interesting question.
Did it happen ,most of useless metal objects could be recyclable again and again.
And other natural resources,such as gas,petroleum, will be replaced by electric power or hydrogen...etc.

Answer 3

By we, i assume you mean the human race. I predict that we will run out of humans long before we run out of iron as iron makes up 5% of the earth's volume.

Answer 4

In 50 years, we'll be at 10 billion souls at our current rate of growth. There'll be zero fossil fuesl, zero coal and other natural resources. The burgeoning populations will mostly be in third world countries. Wars will be fought over water.

Will technology save the day?......maybe. Will we change our ways and live more 'green'?.....doubtful. Will there be some cataclysmic event that will bring us down to more sustainable levels, say 3 billion?.....probably.

Answer 5

We will probobly be mining on the moon or mars for metals. The moon will be first because it was once part of the earth so there should be elements here on earth on the moon.