Modern societies require minerals, and mining
Not being able to access the land is a biggie. But there is another huge reason why many of those minerals are not produced in the US or indeed any western country anymore. The competition form countries that don’t have the slightest problem with completely wasting their own environment. And chief among then is China. No regard for their own environment and slave labor conditions make things possible that could not possibly be done this way in the US. One would fall foul on so many laws and regulations that hundreds of years of jail would be meted out. So, cant we produce those minerals? Sure we can. It’s just going to cost more as there are laws protecting the environment here. Maybe some Silicon Valley cyberbrains can tackle this problem.
When OPEC imposed its 1973 embargo, the United States was just over 40% dependent on foreign sources for its oil. But sudden price hikes and shortages severely disrupted families and businesses.
