Last Updated on April 10, 2025
Infographic by Armin Reller of the University of Augsburg and Tom Graedel of Yale University.
What happens when the world’s supply of zinc runs out, followed by gold, copper, chromium, platinum, nickle and lead?
This 2009 infographic shows the consumption rate of these and other minerals and how much time before those supplies run out. It also shows how long those same minerals would last if the world’s per capita consumption rate was just half that of the United States.
This environmental infographic shows consumption levels of various materials and relative timelines until we run out of them. It also shows the impact of American consumption, in particular, and makes the point by showing the even worse spot we’d be in if the world’s per capita consumption rate was just half that of the United States.
Across the world right now, Indigenous peoples are facing a renewed assault on their lands, rights, and ways of life.
From extractive industries pushing deeper into ancestral territories, to governments rolling back hard-won protections,
the threat is global—and it is growing.
What makes this moment especially dangerous is how little attention it receives.
Stories like this are disappearing in real time. Mainstream media
barely covers it and the coverage is fragmented. The public is left without the context
needed to understand what is truly at stake.
That is exactly why IC Magazine exists..
For more than 20 years, IC has reported on Indigenous struggles worldwide — consistently, independently, and without compromise.
We don’t follow news cycles; we trace patterns. We don’t sensationalize; we provide context.
And when the world looks away, we stay focused.
But this work is increasingly difficult to sustain.
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Thank you,
John Ahni Schertow
Founder and Editor in Chief
