In This Issue

摘要

A map of the primary metals used by humans has revealed how and where humans have extracted metals from the Earth and then moved and concentrated them into a human-built environment. Jason Rauch found that ≈25% of the world's aluminum,rncopper, iron, and zinc are concentrated in three bands in the developed world: the eastern seaboard of the United States, from Boston to Washington, DC; from England, through Benelux, Germany, and into Italy; and in South Korea and Japan. The patternrnof intense metal usage held for all four metals in developed countries. Rauch also mapped where these metals are naturally found on Earth, which revealed a different distribution. The comparison between the two maps reveals how much metal humans have extracted and put to use in buildings, cars, and other projects in the developed and developing countries. The data may also be useful in planning for future extraction and recycling of metals, according to the author.