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America still needs Canadian oil. Here's why
And why the tariffs on Canada could plausibly lead to America doing deals with considerably more shady countries. A dive into the weird and wonderful…
Feb 2
232
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America still needs Canadian oil. Here's why
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36
January 2025
The Technological Revolution that could Supercharge the World's Batteries
Silicon carbon batteries are a real game-changer. But they also have a big problem. To see why, you need to dive deep inside a battery. So let's do…
Jan 26
153
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The Technological Revolution that could Supercharge the World's Batteries
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19
Forgotten Minerals #2: Caliche
What happens when you find a perfect substitute for a scarce resource? You carry on mining the scarce resource!
Jan 14
91
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Forgotten Minerals #2: Caliche
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6
Time to talk about the Panama Canal
Apparently Donald Trump wants to bring it back under American control. Here's a crazier idea
Jan 3
91
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Time to talk about the Panama Canal
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December 2024
No, Kerosene did NOT save the Sperm Whale
How we carried on exploiting sperm whales long after the conventional wisdom said we'd stopped. Forgotten Material #1
Dec 30, 2024
125
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No, Kerosene did NOT save the Sperm Whale
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26
Hang on, are there ANY lost minerals?
I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that the answer is: probably not
Dec 23, 2024
145
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Hang on, are there ANY lost minerals?
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30
The Most Hopeful Chart in the World
And its evil twin...
Dec 19, 2024
177
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The Most Hopeful Chart in the World
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October 2024
What's Happening at Spruce Pine...?
One of the world's most important sources of a critical ingredient in silicon chip manufacture just went down. What happens next...?
Oct 1, 2024
108
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What's Happening at Spruce Pine...?
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August 2024
The Sorry Story of Nicolas Leblanc
A tragic tale, with all sorts of lessons for today
Aug 12, 2024
37
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The Sorry Story of Nicolas Leblanc
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June 2024
Does it really matter if we can't produce "virgin steel" anymore?
In short, not half as much as people might have you believe. But that doesn't mean there aren't some real problems with Britain's plans to ditch all its…
Jun 30, 2024
54
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Does it really matter if we can't produce "virgin steel" anymore?
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May 2024
Lost Materials #1: Malachite
For all our fears about running out of certain substances, the list of materials humankind has actually exhausted is surprisingly small - or at least, I…
May 31, 2024
42
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Lost Materials #1: Malachite
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13
The Unbearable Lightness of Productivity
What a visit to a magnet factory in Oxfordshire teaches you about the state of the world, the race for minerals and the obscure processes happening all…
May 14, 2024
78
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The Unbearable Lightness of Productivity
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