1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,360 Speaker 1: Guess what will? What's that mango? Do you know that 2 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: Johnny Carson once caused a toilet paper shortage? You know, 3 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: I know we've talked about this story before. It's been 4 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: a long time. Like I remember he joked that there 5 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,159 Speaker 1: was no toilet paper, and all of his listeners like 6 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: went out and hoarded toilet paper thinking that we might 7 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 1: run out or something like that. Right. Yeah, So that's 8 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: basically the story. I mean, there's a little more to it. 9 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: According to Snopes, this Wisconsin congressman, this guy Harold Frolick, 10 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: and actually realized there was a pulp paper shortage, so 11 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: he was kind of trying to think down the line, 12 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:32,479 Speaker 1: and he issued the statement worrying about the day when 13 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: the government might have to ration toilet paper. Carson picked 14 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,200 Speaker 1: up the item, and then for weeks it was really 15 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: hard to buy toilet paper. In fact, people were so 16 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: worried that stores not only ran out of toilet paper, 17 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: they also ran out of paper towels as well. Wow, 18 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: that's pretty crazy. And is there any sense of like 19 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,879 Speaker 1: whether Carson felt bad about this or what. Yeah, I mean, 20 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 1: I think he mostly felt bad for himself. He didn't 21 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 1: want to be remembered as the guy who caused a 22 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: toilet paper shortage, which is if you ever saying why 23 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: we're bringing it up today. But today's show is about 24 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: some very real things we're running out of, from sand 25 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:08,480 Speaker 1: to bacon to precious metals and thankfully no t P 26 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: Let's dive in. Hey their podcast, Lester is welcome to 27 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and is always I'm 28 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: joined by my good friend Man Guesho Ticketer and on 29 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: the other side of the soundproof glass I can actually 30 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,120 Speaker 1: hardly see him at this point. This guy has been 31 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: building this barricade of sandbags for days now. That's our 32 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: friend and producer Tristan McNeil. So I've got to say 33 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,960 Speaker 1: this might be my fault. Earlier this week I was 34 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: telling Tristan and how the world's supply of sand is 35 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: getting low, and ever since he's just been stockpiling this 36 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: stuff like there's no tomorrow. Well he must have enough 37 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: in there to start his own private beach, which I've 38 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: heard might be his goal as well. So anyway, good 39 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: luck to Tristan. But though to be fair, humans really 40 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: are running out of sand from what I've heard of 41 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: that that's true, right, Yeah, And that's not all either, 42 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: Like they're actually all kinds of unexpected resources that the 43 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: world's in short supply of. This includes everything from like 44 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: coffee to helium to even dirt. And a big reason 45 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: for those dwindling supplies is just how much the human 46 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: population has grown. So if you think about it, like 47 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:31,639 Speaker 1: in the two thousands, the population was at six billion worldwide, 48 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: and today that numbers way closer to seven point six billion, 49 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: and it's growing fast. And with that kind of unprecedented 50 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,360 Speaker 1: growth in such a short period of time, it's really 51 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: easy to see how we might get light on certain resources. 52 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:47,920 Speaker 1: I mean, but sand, that's what's so surprising. And I 53 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 1: say this having just been to the beach, you know, 54 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: not too long ago, so I really wouldn't have thought 55 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 1: this was something that we'd ever be running out of. 56 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 1: So what is the story on this? Exactly? So weirdly, 57 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,639 Speaker 1: the blame lies with the const ruction industry, and that's 58 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:04,920 Speaker 1: because sand is actually a crucial ingredient for producing concrete. 59 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: In fact, sand typically makes up about of a wet 60 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: concrete mixture, and it adds strength to the finished product. 61 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: But to loop this back to the population boom, you 62 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 1: just have to think about like how much new construction 63 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 1: was needed to house and service all these extra people, right, 64 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: Like you need new apartment buildings, you need skyscrapers, sidewalks, roads, 65 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: and I guess all sorts of infrastructure to support that 66 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: sort of growth. Then that means a lot of concrete 67 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 1: and by extension, a lot of sand. And that all 68 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 1: that makes sense. But you know, if you think about it, 69 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: there's sand used in several other things that we make, 70 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: like glassware, even electronics, and I would think that has 71 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:44,680 Speaker 1: to be contributing at least a little bit though, right 72 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: it is. And actually sand and gravel are so useful 73 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: in certain industries that they've become the most extracted materials 74 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: on the planet. Like it even surpasses fossil fuels and 75 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: biomass when measured by weight. But even still there there's 76 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: no question that the bulk of all that extra at 77 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 1: sand and gravel is being used for construction. You know, 78 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: a few years ago, the US Geological Survey estimated that 79 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: about thirty billion tons of sand and gravel were being 80 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: used in global construction projects. And this was every year. 81 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:16,359 Speaker 1: And by contrast, all of the world's other industry uses 82 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:19,920 Speaker 1: for sand account for about fourteen billion tons annually. Wow, 83 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: so forty four billion tons per year and you're saying, 84 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: but that like two thirds of that goes towards construction 85 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: by itself, right, exactly. But but here's the thing. Forty 86 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:33,799 Speaker 1: four billion tons is considered a conservative estimate. There's actually 87 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: a strong chance that many countries have been under reporting 88 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 1: their sand used for years to hide the true extraction rates, 89 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,040 Speaker 1: and the result of this is that some regions are 90 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 1: now running out of sand altogether. They have also been 91 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:49,039 Speaker 1: some straight up sand thefts from beaches, like in the Caribbean. 92 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 1: I read the story from two thousand and eight about 93 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 1: Jamaica where five truckloads of sand were taken from White 94 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: Beach overnight and uh, and police were just baffled where 95 00:04:57,520 --> 00:04:59,719 Speaker 1: they went, Like they went to other resorts, they halted 96 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:03,280 Speaker 1: con instruction, but they just couldn't match that sand anywhere else. 97 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: Like it's kind of stunning. But um, sand, you know, 98 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:08,839 Speaker 1: if you think about it, has always been a local 99 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: product because just about every country has some of their own. 100 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,480 Speaker 1: But now that some regions are exhausting their native supply, 101 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,280 Speaker 1: sand has actually become a globally traded commodity. And it's 102 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:23,040 Speaker 1: crazy to see that I mean, sands international trade value 103 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: has risen about six over the last twenty five years. 104 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: All right, so the sand business is booming like we've 105 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: never seen it before. But I'm curious, like, what what's 106 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:33,559 Speaker 1: the downside to all of us? Is it just higher 107 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: construction cost or what? Well, I mean, the financial expense 108 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: is definitely a drawback, but it's kind of the least 109 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,359 Speaker 1: of our concerns. The bigger problem is that sand mining 110 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,719 Speaker 1: has all these terrible effects on the environment. It causes flooding, 111 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:50,320 Speaker 1: It damages infrastructure, plutes rivers, you know, and it ruins beaches. 112 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 1: And that last part is really where a lot of 113 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: the human cost comes in because beaches and wetlands there's 114 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:59,280 Speaker 1: these natural protective barriers for coastal communities. So you know 115 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:03,159 Speaker 1: why spread sand mining. Along with all the erosion it causes, 116 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: it actually exposes people to greater danger from floods and storms. Well, 117 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 1: and if you think about other issues, we've got sea 118 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: levels that are rising all the time, so it's you know, 119 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: it's not a great position to be in. I mean, 120 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:16,720 Speaker 1: the situation is even worse than developing countries like parts 121 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: of Asia and Africa, and that's because sand exploitation in 122 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:23,720 Speaker 1: these regions has actually led to organized crime groups getting involved. So, uh, 123 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:28,200 Speaker 1: they're into like illegal sand mining and trade and it's 124 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:31,280 Speaker 1: wild to think about, but they're really these sand mafia's 125 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: out there, these bribes, threats and violence to control black 126 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: market sales. Well, I'm curious, like why are countries strip 127 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 1: mining beaches and coastlines at all? I mean, it seems 128 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:43,359 Speaker 1: like there's plenty of sand in the earth deserts, so 129 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 1: why would we not just be using that? Yeah, I 130 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 1: mean it's a great question, but ultimately, desert sand doesn't work. 131 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:52,839 Speaker 1: It's it's because it's eroded from wind rather than water, 132 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,680 Speaker 1: and desert sand ends up being like too fine to 133 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: be used in construction materials. I mean, concrete made from 134 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 1: that kind of sand doesn't hold well together, which you 135 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:04,479 Speaker 1: know makes it much weaker as a result. But traditionally 136 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 1: the majority of constructions send was mined from river banks 137 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: and quarries, but now, with demand at this global height, 138 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: taking stands from beaches and coastlines has also become common. 139 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: What's a shame. I'm curious, So, like how desperate is 140 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: the situation? Like, are we really building that much more 141 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: than we used to? Or what so, not all countries 142 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: are showing this dramatic rise and sand consumption, but the 143 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 1: ones that have are really using enough for this to 144 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: be worrisome. So, for for instance, according to the US 145 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: Geographical Survey, China, India, Brazil, the US and Turkey, these 146 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: are the biggest concrete producers in the world with you know, 147 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: China and India account for two thirds of the total production, 148 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 1: and China is actually the worst defender. Two fourteen report 149 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: from the UN Environmental Program revealed that over the past 150 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:54,280 Speaker 1: twenty years, the countrys cement uses skyrocketed by four seven percent, 151 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: and if you compare that to the fifty eight percent 152 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: increase in the rest of the world, you can see 153 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: why China's considered a sand hog. Oh yeah, definitely. I'm curious, like, 154 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:05,560 Speaker 1: what is the solution to all this, because I know 155 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: we can't exactly ban concrete, right, Yeah, obviously most countries 156 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,400 Speaker 1: aren't going to go for that. There's some promising alternatives. 157 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 1: For example, engineers in the UK are working on a 158 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:17,760 Speaker 1: new kind of concrete that uses not only like a 159 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,520 Speaker 1: smaller amount of sand, but also makes up the difference 160 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: with these plastic pellets. Um There's also the option to 161 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: cut back on concrete usage in favor of more sustainable materials. 162 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: We're talking about straw here or recycled plastics. Um. Another 163 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 1: bet is just to make use of the sand we've 164 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:37,439 Speaker 1: already extracted. So if we got better recycling used concrete 165 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: and glass bottles, we'd actually put a big dent in 166 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: the need for fresh construction sand. But probably the best 167 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: way to prevent a global sand crisis is where countries 168 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: to come up with an agreement on sand usage. I mean, 169 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: we already have these international agreements for other natural resources, 170 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:56,199 Speaker 1: so why not do the same for sand. Well, what's 171 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 1: a good point? I think we're just so used to 172 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 1: having this abundance of sand, and so it never really 173 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:02,200 Speaker 1: occurred to us that we, you know, we should be 174 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,079 Speaker 1: trying to conserve it. So, you know, but most people 175 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:09,080 Speaker 1: think about these finite resources, but sand really doesn't tend 176 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:11,200 Speaker 1: to come up as one of those, at least when 177 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:13,840 Speaker 1: we're thinking about them or talking about them. Yeah, And 178 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 1: and that makes sense on some level, because new sand 179 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 1: is continually being produced, right, Like, sand is just bits 180 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 1: of rock and shell that have been worn down to 181 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: their most basic elements, and that process is going on constantly. 182 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 1: But what gets overlooked is how incredibly long that timeline is. 183 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:31,319 Speaker 1: We've gotten to the point where we're using much more 184 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 1: sand than could ever be replaced in a lifetime, where 185 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:36,839 Speaker 1: even in a bunch of lifetimes. Well, that's something we 186 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 1: should talk about before we go much further. Is like, 187 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: what do we really mean when we say the world 188 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:43,800 Speaker 1: is running out of a resource? Because you know, it 189 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:46,200 Speaker 1: can sound a little alarmist to say we're running out 190 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:49,720 Speaker 1: of sand or coffee or whatever, and especially if that 191 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 1: resource will never really be exhausted. For example, you know, 192 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:56,400 Speaker 1: for all the fuel and energy crisis that the world 193 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: is known, we won't ever actually run out of oil 194 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 1: or gas. Are these substances, they will continue to accumulate 195 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 1: naturally over time. But what will happen eventually is that 196 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: will deplete all the easy to access fuel deposits. So 197 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 1: you know, even though oil will still be there, the 198 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 1: cost of getting it is going to skyrocket, and then 199 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: you know, most people will just be priced out of 200 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: using it as a fuel source. Yeah, and aside from 201 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,959 Speaker 1: certain species of extinct plants or animals, I'm not sure 202 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:24,959 Speaker 1: if the planets ever really truly run out of a 203 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 1: natural resource, like apparently there's this mineral called cry light, 204 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: and it's used in pesticides and also in processing aluminum foil, 205 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 1: and by most accounts, this is something that we've completely 206 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:39,560 Speaker 1: run out of, Like the last cry light mine was 207 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:41,839 Speaker 1: closed in the nineteen eighties and we've been using a 208 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 1: synthetic alternative to make bug spray and foil ever since. 209 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:48,200 Speaker 1: But that's not to say that the Earth is completely 210 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: out of cry light, Like they're these rich, deep veins 211 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: in the mineral that still exists all over the globe. 212 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 1: It's just at the going rate for cry light wouldn't 213 00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 1: justify the cost of mining it. So from a practical standpoint, 214 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:02,960 Speaker 1: we basically run out of cry late, even if there's 215 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 1: still a lot out there, right, And you know, none 216 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: of this should downplay the severity of these situations, and 217 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,360 Speaker 1: if anything, the idea that we're close to being priced 218 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,079 Speaker 1: out of all of these useful substances, I would think 219 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 1: that should be a wake up call at the very least. Yeah, 220 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 1: for sure. I mean, have you heard about China's monopoly 221 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:21,120 Speaker 1: on rare earth metals. The country is said to control 222 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: more than of the planet's rare earth deposits, and they 223 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:29,360 Speaker 1: can actually restrict airports on those supplies any time they want. Like, 224 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:31,839 Speaker 1: it's easy to imagine that kind of thing leading to 225 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 1: international disputes at some point. Well, I mean, we've already 226 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:37,560 Speaker 1: said that China is using the most sands, and now 227 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,760 Speaker 1: we're seeing that they're also hogging all of the best metals. 228 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 1: And you know, I kind of want to be outraged 229 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 1: about all of this, but I have to admit I 230 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: don't really know anything about rare earth metals. So you 231 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,680 Speaker 1: tell me, should I be outraged about this? Yeah, Well, 232 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 1: gave gave me a primer, and I'm gonna tell you 233 00:11:54,679 --> 00:11:57,040 Speaker 1: about it because I let you make up your own mind. 234 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:01,320 Speaker 1: There are currently seventeen elements classify it as rare earth minerals, 235 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 1: and this includes stuff like scandium and terbium, which are 236 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 1: used to make everything from circuit boards and smartphones to 237 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:11,959 Speaker 1: um missile guidance systems to even magnets used in wind turbines. 238 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:14,880 Speaker 1: And you know, these medals aren't quite as rare as 239 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,760 Speaker 1: their names suggests, but they are incredibly useful and they 240 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 1: aren't easy to source outside of China. And adding to 241 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: this concern is the fact that China likes to keep 242 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,080 Speaker 1: its cars close to its best. I mean, we have 243 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,240 Speaker 1: no idea exactly how much of these minerals the country 244 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:31,920 Speaker 1: still has left in reserve, or how much longer it 245 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:33,840 Speaker 1: will be willing to trade them and share them with 246 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: rival nations, like if and when that supply drives up, 247 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:39,600 Speaker 1: we might have to turn to lunar mining to get 248 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:42,079 Speaker 1: our rare earth fixts. I mean, what strikes me about 249 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 1: this is just how unsexy of our problem it is. 250 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, if rare earth elements maybe in 251 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:50,240 Speaker 1: short supply, but how many of us even really know 252 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:53,080 Speaker 1: what they are, let alone what they're used for. And 253 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:55,440 Speaker 1: so it seems like that's one of the biggest hurdles 254 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 1: to bringing awareness to issues, you know, like these dwindling 255 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 1: sand resources, or other minerals, or just anything that's like 256 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:04,960 Speaker 1: this that we don't really understand. I mean, it is, 257 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:07,640 Speaker 1: but we shouldn't little lack of sex of field stop 258 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: us from talking about something really boring but also important. Well, 259 00:13:11,559 --> 00:13:13,839 Speaker 1: you know, let's double down and talk about what has 260 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,960 Speaker 1: to be one of the least provocative resources in short supply, 261 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,199 Speaker 1: and that's the very dirt beneath our feet. But before 262 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 1: we dig in, let's take a quick break you're listening 263 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:36,719 Speaker 1: to part time genius, and we're talking about some unexpected 264 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 1: resources that the world is running out of. And speaking 265 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:42,720 Speaker 1: of which will you already alluded to our dwindling dirt supply, 266 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:45,680 Speaker 1: But just how bad is this damage? Well, the problem 267 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:47,880 Speaker 1: isn't so much a lack of dirt, but the lack 268 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: of quality dirt. So in particular, we're running out of 269 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:53,560 Speaker 1: usable top soil, which is that layer of dirt that 270 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: contains the most nutrients that allow plant life to grow. 271 00:13:57,320 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 1: And it's frightening, it is to admit by most calculation, 272 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 1: and I think we're down to about sixty years worth 273 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 1: of top soil on average. So you're saying that in 274 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: about sixty years we won't be able to grow crops anymore. 275 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 1: I mean, that's the long and short of it. Because 276 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 1: at this point, roughly of the world's agricultural soil is 277 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:18,560 Speaker 1: classified as either degraded or seriously degraded. And these are 278 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:20,680 Speaker 1: the terms that refer to how little top soil an 279 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 1: area of land contains. And when you run the numbers 280 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:26,360 Speaker 1: on this, we've actually lost about half the topsail on 281 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 1: Earth and just the past hundred and fifty years or so, 282 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 1: and so that means that most of the nutrients the 283 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: dirt once contained are gone now and as a result 284 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,040 Speaker 1: of this, we're growing a lot less food than we 285 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:39,960 Speaker 1: used to. But even beyond that, what we do manage 286 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,600 Speaker 1: to grow is far less nutritious than it used to be. 287 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:47,400 Speaker 1: For instance, modern wheat varieties contain fifty less micronutrients than 288 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,520 Speaker 1: the older strains. And it's a similar case with fruits 289 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 1: and vegetables. I mean, many of those have lost half 290 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 1: their nutritional value or more and that's just in the 291 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:59,200 Speaker 1: years since nineteen fifty. So this is actually terrifying to 292 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:01,280 Speaker 1: think about, especial since it sounds like the problem will 293 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:05,320 Speaker 1: get significantly worse. But what is the problem exactly? Like, 294 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: what's degrading the soil so much? Well, a lot of 295 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:11,280 Speaker 1: this soul degradation is due to the farming techniques that 296 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 1: strip carbon and the nutrients from the soil, and that 297 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 1: just makes it weaker and less robust than the process. 298 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,200 Speaker 1: So this is stuff like excessive tilling or the overuse 299 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:24,360 Speaker 1: of harmful pesticides or fertilizers, and these are all methods 300 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 1: that put a lot of strain on the soil and 301 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: they also up the amounts of salts and acids that 302 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 1: the soil contains, and of course, over time this makes 303 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 1: the dirt less and less hospitable to the plants that 304 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 1: we want to grow there. Okay, so that then you 305 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 1: can just reverse those practices, right, like, Uh, couldn't we 306 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:44,400 Speaker 1: just do away with synthetic fertilizers and I don't know, 307 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,400 Speaker 1: like investing good old fashioned manure. I mean, that would 308 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:49,680 Speaker 1: be a great start, no question about that. But there's 309 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 1: actually another major issue at play here, and it's, you know, 310 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 1: something I haven't thought that much about until I started 311 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 1: skimming through this book. And the book is called The 312 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:01,200 Speaker 1: Ground Beneath Us and it's by Paul Bogart. And what 313 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 1: Paul points out is the sheer speed at which we're 314 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 1: paving over some of the most fertile soil that we have. 315 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:08,200 Speaker 1: So I'm just going to read a little excerpt from 316 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:11,240 Speaker 1: the book, and so here's what it says. Human settlements 317 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:14,560 Speaker 1: have traditionally taken root in fertile areas, and as these 318 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:18,320 Speaker 1: increasingly urban areas grow in human numbers, we're developing the 319 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,400 Speaker 1: ground and thus losing the best soils for growing food. 320 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 1: In the United States, the amount of ground being lost 321 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:27,280 Speaker 1: to development is stunning more than a million acres per 322 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:30,720 Speaker 1: year as one result. Whereas in nineteen eighty the nation 323 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 1: had an average of nearly two acres of crop land 324 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: for each citizen, thirty years later, and with ninety million 325 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: people added, that number had fallen to one point two 326 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:43,520 Speaker 1: acres per American. All this might not matter so much 327 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:46,200 Speaker 1: if we could just find more soil, or just make 328 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:50,160 Speaker 1: more soil ourselves, but for all practical purposes, soil is 329 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: a non renewable resource. The recipe for soil is incredibly complex, 330 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 1: requiring an intricate mix of the right chemistry, biology, and physics, 331 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: and it simply takes a long time to form the 332 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:06,399 Speaker 1: rule of thumb, between five hundred and several thousand years 333 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:09,600 Speaker 1: for an inch of top soil, so incredible for just 334 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:11,680 Speaker 1: an inch of it. It's kind of like sand, right, 335 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:14,080 Speaker 1: Like like the world continues to make new top soil, 336 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:16,880 Speaker 1: but not nearly fast enough to keep pace with how 337 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:19,399 Speaker 1: we use it. So it might be time to rethink 338 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 1: how we're using it right, and especially the whole paving 339 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:24,879 Speaker 1: over huge tracks of it in one go part. And 340 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:27,719 Speaker 1: you know that's not a process you can just undo. 341 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:30,600 Speaker 1: There's no going back. Once the ground is paved which 342 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: is why there's this saying among environmentalists that asphalt is 343 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 1: the land's last crop and that that's that's clever, but 344 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 1: it's also really chilling. But you know, it says, since 345 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:43,120 Speaker 1: we're already on a downbarad spiral here, if you want 346 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:46,320 Speaker 1: a truly scary reason to worry about the global food supply, 347 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 1: I've got two words for you. Phosphorus shortage. All right, well, 348 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:52,879 Speaker 1: you're gonna have to explain why this is scary. Remind 349 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:56,200 Speaker 1: us again what what exactly phosphorus is and what it's 350 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:59,800 Speaker 1: used for. Well, I mean, phosphorus is a mineral that's 351 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:03,640 Speaker 1: used in all kinds of products. It's used in pharmaceuticals, detergents, 352 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:07,960 Speaker 1: building materials, food preservatives. But you know, probably most importantly, 353 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:12,159 Speaker 1: it's an active ingredient in most high quality fertilizers. We 354 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:14,760 Speaker 1: spread a lot of phosphorus on our crops every year, 355 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:17,000 Speaker 1: So if we were to run out of it before 356 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 1: sourcing a suitable alternative food, production would actually take a 357 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: huge hit. So how likely is it that will run 358 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:24,720 Speaker 1: out of phosphorus or is it more a question of 359 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:27,400 Speaker 1: win at this point? Yeah, So there's a term called 360 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:30,240 Speaker 1: peak phosphorus and it's basically the point in time when 361 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:33,919 Speaker 1: humanity will have hit the maximum production rate possible for phosphorus. 362 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,439 Speaker 1: So the idea is that from that point on the 363 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:41,679 Speaker 1: mineral become harder and harder to source. So most researchers 364 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 1: seem to think we'll hit peak phosphorus by and then 365 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:49,800 Speaker 1: completely wipe out our reserves by But there are rosier 366 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:52,200 Speaker 1: projections as well. They they think we might be able 367 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:54,520 Speaker 1: to stretch out our reserves for another couple hundred years. 368 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:56,880 Speaker 1: I mean, I actually think it's kind of weird. How 369 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:01,280 Speaker 1: two hundred years until famine is really the optimistic take here, 370 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:03,800 Speaker 1: And so I don't know, I'm curious what got us 371 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 1: in this trouble in the first place. Was there just 372 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,439 Speaker 1: never that much phosphorus to go around, or are we 373 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:11,200 Speaker 1: just blowing through it at this reckless rate or what's 374 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:13,880 Speaker 1: the issue? Yeah, it's a little of both. I Mean, 375 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 1: there's lots of phosphorus in the world, but the majority 376 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:18,480 Speaker 1: of it is locked up in the Earth's crust or 377 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,280 Speaker 1: in the bodies of living organisms. So I guess the 378 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: most cost effective way to source of stuff has always 379 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:25,480 Speaker 1: been to mind it in the form of phosphate rock. 380 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:28,920 Speaker 1: I mean, the trouble is that only a handful of 381 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,439 Speaker 1: countries possessed significant deposits of this rock, and you know 382 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 1: they aren't always as frugal with it as you might 383 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:37,679 Speaker 1: want to be. I get the feeling we're talking about 384 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:40,120 Speaker 1: China again here, though, right. I mean, don't don't tell 385 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:43,160 Speaker 1: me they're hogging all the phosphorus in addition to everything else, 386 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:45,879 Speaker 1: are they? Yeah? So, historically China has had one of 387 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:49,160 Speaker 1: the world's largest reserves of phosphate rock, but even they're 388 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 1: running load these days. Not that you'd be able to 389 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,160 Speaker 1: tell from how the farmers use it. Well, what makes 390 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 1: you say that? So? Back in two thousand nine, China 391 00:19:56,720 --> 00:20:00,440 Speaker 1: Agricultural University published a study that found that northern Chinese 392 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:05,199 Speaker 1: farmers use about five pounds of fertilizer per acre. It 393 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:07,520 Speaker 1: sounds like a lot, but then you realize it's actually 394 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 1: six times as much fertilizer as the average American farmer uses. 395 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 1: And if that's not bad enough, the overuse of phosphorus 396 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:16,480 Speaker 1: is compounded by the fact that most of it gets 397 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:20,200 Speaker 1: washed down into the ocean by rainwater. I mean, could 398 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:22,400 Speaker 1: this be a blessing in disguise? Like if that much 399 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,240 Speaker 1: phosphorus is swirling around in the ocean's currents. Because is 400 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:27,040 Speaker 1: there a way to start mining it from the ocean 401 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:30,080 Speaker 1: somehow and and use it that way? Yeah, I mean 402 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:32,440 Speaker 1: in theory, that could really work, and it's a great idea, 403 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,679 Speaker 1: but again, we'd eventually run into that core problem of 404 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,639 Speaker 1: pricing ourselves out. Like a switch from dry mining, the 405 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:42,200 Speaker 1: marine mining would likely push the prices so high that 406 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:45,359 Speaker 1: most farmers would have to give up on phosphorus fertilizers, 407 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,800 Speaker 1: and I guess use synthetic ones, which of course wouldn't 408 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,160 Speaker 1: do our food or soil any favors. Okay, well, that 409 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:53,680 Speaker 1: that makes sense. Why you were saying this phosphorus shortages 410 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 1: is pretty scary to think about. But you know, now 411 00:20:56,119 --> 00:21:00,080 Speaker 1: that we've laid out the bleakest food future imaginable, I 412 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:01,960 Speaker 1: feel like we should look at a lighter example of 413 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: diminishing resources. What do you think? I like the light 414 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: side of resource scarcity, but I'm not sure how much 415 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:09,920 Speaker 1: luck we'll have finding that. But why don't we give 416 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 1: it a shot? After the break? Al right? Well, so 417 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:26,840 Speaker 1: late on me. What what's your upbeat example of a 418 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,560 Speaker 1: resource we're running out of? I didn't say upbeat, I 419 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:33,600 Speaker 1: said a lighter example, because there's actually a worldwide helium 420 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:36,880 Speaker 1: shortage Mango, you get why I said that, I've been 421 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: been saving that one up. So anyway, we we know 422 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,639 Speaker 1: helium best. Is this noble gas that adds lift to 423 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:45,400 Speaker 1: our balloons and of course gives us the squeaky voices. 424 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,080 Speaker 1: And you know, honestly, losing that in itself would probably 425 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:51,760 Speaker 1: be enough to fake it feel like a tragedy. But 426 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:54,119 Speaker 1: but there are other things to worry about as well. Yeah, 427 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:57,640 Speaker 1: I can't imagine a world without helium balloons, But why 428 00:21:57,640 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 1: are we running out of helium if we can find 429 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:02,119 Speaker 1: in that sphere? Well, that's the thing, because helium is 430 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:04,960 Speaker 1: super abundant in general, and it's actually the second most 431 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,960 Speaker 1: abundant element in the universe, and that's after hydrogen. It 432 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,560 Speaker 1: just so happens there isn't very much of it on Earth, 433 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:14,720 Speaker 1: and the helium that is here is constantly escaping through 434 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:17,960 Speaker 1: our atmosphere. And that's what's worrying, because helium actually has 435 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:21,680 Speaker 1: all sorts of important applications. For example, Juno in its 436 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:24,760 Speaker 1: liquid state, helium has the lowest boiling point of any 437 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,080 Speaker 1: material on the planet. So not only does that make 438 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,160 Speaker 1: helium and valuable in cryogenics. It also makes it uniquely 439 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,639 Speaker 1: suited as a coolant for everything from magnets in an 440 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:35,879 Speaker 1: m R I scanner to the l c D screen 441 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,440 Speaker 1: on your TV or your smartphone. So all these ways 442 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:40,920 Speaker 1: that I actually really didn't know that much about before 443 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:43,600 Speaker 1: doing the research for the episode. So what are we 444 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:46,080 Speaker 1: doing filling party balloons with helium? I mean, it feels 445 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:49,400 Speaker 1: like such a waste. And actually, if if it's so 446 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:51,840 Speaker 1: useful and rare, how come you can buy a bundle 447 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,520 Speaker 1: of helium balloons for like ten bucks? Actually that's a 448 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:57,120 Speaker 1: really good question, and there are plenty of experts who 449 00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,760 Speaker 1: argue that we should be charging way higher prices for 450 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:02,120 Speaker 1: he lium. Like I think they said the going rate 451 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 1: for a balloon worth of helium should realistically be, you know, 452 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:08,200 Speaker 1: something like a hundred bucks, rather than the dollar two 453 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:11,440 Speaker 1: that we actually charged for this stuff. That's insane. So 454 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: it really doesn't make sense, like this price deflation. So 455 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,560 Speaker 1: how do we get away with selling it so cheap? Well, 456 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:19,840 Speaker 1: I mean, I guess it's partly just because we're used 457 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,040 Speaker 1: to helium being cheap and plentiful, So there's really this 458 00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:26,040 Speaker 1: built in resistance to the idea of charging more for it. 459 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 1: Then there's also the fact that we won't run out 460 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:31,119 Speaker 1: of helium for at least a lifetime at this point, 461 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:33,480 Speaker 1: and that makes it easier to shrug off the risk. 462 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,600 Speaker 1: But probably the biggest reason that we sell helium so 463 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 1: cheap is that the US government wants it that way. 464 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:42,439 Speaker 1: You see, in the decades after helium's discovery by this 465 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:46,320 Speaker 1: French astronomer back in eighteen sixty eight, officials that began 466 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:49,360 Speaker 1: to realize how useful a lighter than air gas could 467 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:53,000 Speaker 1: be for these military applications. So with that in mind, 468 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:56,639 Speaker 1: the federal government created this Federal Helium Reserve. And this 469 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:00,480 Speaker 1: was back in nineteen so I knew of the government 470 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:02,880 Speaker 1: had a raisin reserve, but I don't think I realized 471 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:05,399 Speaker 1: there was one for helium as well. You love dropping 472 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:08,600 Speaker 1: that raisin reserve fact. I was hoping you would throw 473 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:10,480 Speaker 1: that into which has always been weird to me. But 474 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:13,600 Speaker 1: we'll have to talk about that in another episode. But yeah, 475 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:17,119 Speaker 1: this helium reserve, it's located in this huge, abandoned salt 476 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:20,440 Speaker 1: mine somewhere out in Texas, and you know the billion 477 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,920 Speaker 1: cubic leaders of gas that stored there. It represents half 478 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,840 Speaker 1: of the world's helium supplies just unbelievable, and in fact, 479 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 1: its peak in two thousand four, the facility was used 480 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:33,760 Speaker 1: to satisfy about eighty four percent of the world's helium 481 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,880 Speaker 1: demands for that year. But nowadays I think the number 482 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:39,880 Speaker 1: is something closer to you know, like fort or so. 483 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,520 Speaker 1: I mean, that's still insane. But why was there such 484 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:46,320 Speaker 1: a drop off? Well, back, Congress passed a law called 485 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 1: the Helium Privatization Act, and this effectively marked the end 486 00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:54,360 Speaker 1: of our country's seventy year experiment in buying and storing, refining, 487 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: and then selling helium. And I guess the thinking was 488 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,120 Speaker 1: that helium hadn't turned out to be the wonder gas 489 00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:02,640 Speaker 1: that we took it for back in the early twentieth century, 490 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:06,159 Speaker 1: so we might as well start selling off our massive reserves. 491 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,200 Speaker 1: And after all, the projects had incurred about one point 492 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 1: four billion dollars in dead and the government wanted to 493 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,479 Speaker 1: recoup as much of that as it could, so so anyway, 494 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,520 Speaker 1: the law mandated that all but six hundred million cubic 495 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:21,080 Speaker 1: feet of the reserve be sold off by two thousand 496 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:23,800 Speaker 1: and fifteen. But no matter how cheap we sold the 497 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:26,720 Speaker 1: helium balloons for we still couldn't manage to unload it 498 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:30,680 Speaker 1: all by that deadline, so instead, Congress passed another act 499 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:34,240 Speaker 1: establishing an auction system for getting rid of the helium, 500 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:37,560 Speaker 1: while also pushing that deadline back to I think it's 501 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,280 Speaker 1: one if I'm not mistaken. I mean, that's crazy to me, 502 00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:43,760 Speaker 1: because it feels like the kind of decision that could 503 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:46,639 Speaker 1: come back to Biden is right, Like, I mean, we 504 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:49,879 Speaker 1: were burning through the stockpil at bargain basement prices just 505 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:51,879 Speaker 1: because we don't want to hold onto it anymore. But 506 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:55,359 Speaker 1: once all that accessible helium has been used up or 507 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 1: I don't know, dissipates into space, how are we going 508 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:01,919 Speaker 1: to cooler iPads or fill our balloons or freeze aer 509 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:05,399 Speaker 1: ted Williams is in the future right, Well, you know, 510 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:07,600 Speaker 1: when the reserve is tapped, that's when we'll have no 511 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:10,760 Speaker 1: choice but to finally charge what helium is it really worth? 512 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:14,040 Speaker 1: Because once the current store has gone, the only options 513 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:16,479 Speaker 1: will be to pull helium straight from the air, and 514 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:20,159 Speaker 1: that'll raise the cost by about ten thoour from what 515 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:22,199 Speaker 1: I've read, you know, or we could just mind it 516 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:24,600 Speaker 1: from the Moon's lunar soil, and of course that's not 517 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:26,520 Speaker 1: going to be any cheaper. I mean, I can't believe 518 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:28,960 Speaker 1: the Moon's are best option. It feels like we've hitched 519 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:32,080 Speaker 1: the future of all kinds of resources to the Moon's surface. Well, 520 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:33,879 Speaker 1: and it's like we've been saying, that's kind of the 521 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:37,360 Speaker 1: story behind all the resources that we're quote unquote running 522 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,000 Speaker 1: out of. Not that we'll mind them all from the 523 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:43,080 Speaker 1: Moon necessarily, but that we'll have to turn increasingly to 524 00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 1: these more expensive options to extract them. And you know, 525 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:48,600 Speaker 1: finally we just won't be able to pay the cost 526 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:50,879 Speaker 1: anymore and are going to have to look elsewhere for 527 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:54,040 Speaker 1: sources of fuel or food or I don't know, even 528 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:57,439 Speaker 1: the funny voices or whatever it might be. But you know, 529 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:01,720 Speaker 1: preserving natural resources is always this balancing act and it's 530 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,199 Speaker 1: one that honestly, our species hasn't quite gotten the hang 531 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:06,560 Speaker 1: off so far. So pretty much what you're saying is 532 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:08,880 Speaker 1: get used to a hundred dollar balloons. Yeah, I think 533 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:10,760 Speaker 1: that's going to be the place at some point. And 534 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:12,600 Speaker 1: you know, come to think of it, Tristan might have 535 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:15,600 Speaker 1: been better off stockpiling helium instead of all those sandbags. 536 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:17,640 Speaker 1: I hate to say it. And of course, the hope 537 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:19,919 Speaker 1: is that humans will come up with some ingenious ideas 538 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:23,040 Speaker 1: to replace sand and dirt and whatever else. But you know, 539 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 1: while we wait for that to happen, where do you 540 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:26,880 Speaker 1: say we get to the fact? Off it sounds good? 541 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:38,800 Speaker 1: In I DA nine, the New York Times did a 542 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:41,600 Speaker 1: story on cars in the Soviet Union, and one of 543 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: the things the writer realized was that part cars rarely 544 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:47,800 Speaker 1: had windshield wipers on them, like drivers would take them 545 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:51,160 Speaker 1: into the house with them because otherwise they'd actually get stolen. 546 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,800 Speaker 1: Apparently there was such a car parts shortage in those years, 547 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: and windshield wipers were harder and harder to replace. Well, 548 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 1: the BBC did a story that there's been a shortage 549 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:04,239 Speaker 1: of burial space almost everywhere and it's led to some 550 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,320 Speaker 1: pretty strange solutions if you just look around the world. 551 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:10,199 Speaker 1: So there's some places in Spain and Greece where you 552 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:14,200 Speaker 1: rent an above ground crypt and then when the body decomposes, 553 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 1: they'll just move you into this common cemetery. Over in 554 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:20,359 Speaker 1: Israel there are some multi story underground tunnels that have 555 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,800 Speaker 1: been built and they're trying to come up with a 556 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:26,399 Speaker 1: workable solution in the meantime. And then in Singapore they 557 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,840 Speaker 1: have this unique system for ashes where they store the 558 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:32,119 Speaker 1: remains in one of fifty thousand urns and you just 559 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:34,400 Speaker 1: bring a card to the front desk whenever you want 560 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:37,120 Speaker 1: to visit your relative and they bring their urn out 561 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:40,680 Speaker 1: to you. That's crazy. Um, did you realize that Norway 562 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:43,520 Speaker 1: went through a butter shortage in two thousand eleven. It 563 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:46,680 Speaker 1: was officially called butter panic, or that's how it translated, 564 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,200 Speaker 1: and it was caused by a heavy rainfall one summer 565 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:52,560 Speaker 1: which affected milk production. But apparently a single packet of 566 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:55,960 Speaker 1: butter was selling for seventy seven dollars. You know, of 567 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,800 Speaker 1: all the things we've talked about today, this sounds the 568 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:03,160 Speaker 1: scary because I can't imagine life without butter. But all right, 569 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:06,040 Speaker 1: well here's something you probably didn't realize. But there's about 570 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:08,600 Speaker 1: to be a bacon shortage. Okay, maybe this is even 571 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:12,240 Speaker 1: scarier than the butter shortage. But according to Britain's National 572 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 1: Pig Association, apport shortage is quote now unavoidable. And this 573 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:19,240 Speaker 1: isn't because we've been feeding too many bacon's trips to 574 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:22,280 Speaker 1: our dogs. It's a whole lot of other factors, from 575 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:25,320 Speaker 1: the price of grains going up to pig illnesses. And 576 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,000 Speaker 1: again it doesn't mean we'll run out of bacon. It's 577 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:30,520 Speaker 1: just that the price of pork chops and everything else 578 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 1: will likely go up. So, speaking of bacon, I know 579 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:36,840 Speaker 1: we've talked about the Lake Cow bacon, which is when 580 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:39,560 Speaker 1: Congress tried to import a bunch of hippos to America. 581 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: In this was to counter a meat shortage, and apparently 582 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 1: hippos were also supposed to take care of invasive plants 583 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:49,080 Speaker 1: that people were worried about, and the meat supposedly tastes 584 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:51,840 Speaker 1: like bacon. But uh I, I didn't realize there were 585 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:53,960 Speaker 1: a bunch of other wild meat options on the table 586 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:57,480 Speaker 1: to Congress was actually thinking about importing ostriches to start 587 00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:01,040 Speaker 1: a bunch of ostrich farms and antelope as well. All right, Well, 588 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:03,160 Speaker 1: as a beer drinker, I'm sure you read about the 589 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:05,600 Speaker 1: hot shortage back in two thousand eight, and then again 590 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:08,440 Speaker 1: there was one back in two thousand twelve. But did 591 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,440 Speaker 1: you realize that the Sam Adams Brewery actually shared over 592 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 1: twenty thousand pounds of hops with hundreds of different craft breweries. 593 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:18,120 Speaker 1: So I, I didn't know about the hops shortage. But 594 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:22,320 Speaker 1: what's the advantage to Sam Adams to like share with breweries? Well, basically, 595 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:25,000 Speaker 1: stop these other brewers from going out of business, and 596 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:27,560 Speaker 1: it wasn't just a gift, and Sam Adams had actually 597 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,800 Speaker 1: given them at cost. But as the founder of Sam 598 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,760 Speaker 1: Adams told the Chicago Tribune quote, I don't want to 599 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,040 Speaker 1: be Goliath. It's a lot more fun if you've got 600 00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:38,720 Speaker 1: more than one. David Oh, I. I really like that 601 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:41,120 Speaker 1: Sam Adams did that to kind of save all these breweries, 602 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:43,080 Speaker 1: and it makes me like the Vier a little more. 603 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:44,920 Speaker 1: I think you deserved the win with that fact, So 604 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:46,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna give you the trophy. All right. Well, thanks 605 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,000 Speaker 1: so much, and thank you guys for listening today. I 606 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:50,800 Speaker 1: know there are probably a lot of facts that we 607 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:53,480 Speaker 1: forgot to include in today's episodes, so we would love 608 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:55,760 Speaker 1: to hear those from you. You can always reach us 609 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:58,680 Speaker 1: at part Time Genius at how stuff Works dot com 610 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:02,760 Speaker 1: or act hotline that's one eight four four pt Genius, 611 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:04,880 Speaker 1: or you can hit us up on Facebook or Twitter. 612 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:20,600 Speaker 1: But thanks so much for listening. Thanks again for listening. 613 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:22,880 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius is a production of How Stuff Works 614 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:25,480 Speaker 1: and wouldn't be possible without several brilliant people who do 615 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:28,600 Speaker 1: the important things. We couldn't even begin to understand. Christa 616 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:31,200 Speaker 1: McNeil does the editing thing. Noel Brown made the theme 617 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:34,200 Speaker 1: song and does the MIXI MIXI sound thing. Jerry Rowland 618 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:36,720 Speaker 1: does the exact producer thing. Gay Blues Yer is our 619 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 1: lead researcher, with support from the Research Army including Austin Thompson, 620 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 1: Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams and Eve. Jeff Cook gets 621 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:44,880 Speaker 1: the show to your ears. Good job, Eves. If you 622 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:46,800 Speaker 1: like what you heard, we hope you'll subscribe, and if 623 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:48,720 Speaker 1: you really really like what you've heard, maybe you could 624 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:50,720 Speaker 1: leave a good review for us. Do we do? We 625 00:31:50,760 --> 00:32:02,640 Speaker 1: forget Jason? Jason who