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Thermodynamic implications for natural resource extraction and technical change in U.S. copper mining

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  • Matthias Ruth

Abstract

Motivated by the lack of integrated approaches that do justice to both the thermodynamic and economic aspects of natural resource use and the lack of empirical studies combining the two disciplines, this paper provides an integrated framework for the valuation of technologies, substitution and technical change. The paper determines empirically the relationships between thermodynamic states of materials and the use of high-quality energy sources for the case of copper mining in the United States. The empirical analysis provides the basis for a nonlinear dynamic simulation of optimal resource extraction and endogenous technical change in the light of changing resource quality. The study assesses the potential for future improvements in U.S. copper mining. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1995

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  • Matthias Ruth, 1995. "Thermodynamic implications for natural resource extraction and technical change in U.S. copper mining," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 6(2), pages 187-206, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:6:y:1995:i:2:p:187-206
    DOI: 10.1007/BF00691683
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Faber, Malte & Proops, John & Ruth, Matthias & Michaelis, Peter, 1990. "Economy-environment interactions in the long-run: a neo-Austrian approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 27-55, April.
    2. Ruth, Matthias, 1995. "Information, order and knowledge in economic and ecological systems: implications for material and energy use," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 99-114, May.
    3. Bianciardi, C. & Tiezzi, E. & Ulgiati, S., 1993. "Complete recycling of matter in the frameworks of physics, biology and ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 1-5, August.
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    7. Kummel, Reiner, 1989. "Energy as a factor of production and entropy as a pollution indicator in macroeconomic modelling," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 161-180, May.
    8. Hannon, Bruce & Ruth, Matthias & Delucia, Evan, 1993. "A physical view of sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 253-268, December.
    9. Ayres, Robert U., 1988. "Optimal investment policies with exhaustible resources: An information-based model," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 439-461, December.
    10. Ruth, Matthias & Bullard, Clark W., 1993. "Information, production and utility," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(10), pages 1059-1067, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ruth, Matthias, 1995. "Information, order and knowledge in economic and ecological systems: implications for material and energy use," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 99-114, May.
    2. Ruth, Matthias, 1998. "Dematerialization in five US metals sectors: implications for energy use and CO2 emissions," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Ruth, Matthias, 1995. "Technology change in US iron and steel production : Implications for material and energy use, and CO2 emissions," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 199-214, September.
    4. Stern, David I., 1997. "Limits to substitution and irreversibility in production and consumption: A neoclassical interpretation of ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 197-215, June.
    5. Vela-Almeida, Diana & Brooks, Grace & Kosoy, Nicolas, 2015. "Setting the limits to extraction: A biophysical approach to mining activities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 189-196.
    6. Ayres, Robert U., 1999. "The second law, the fourth law, recycling and limits to growth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 473-483, June.
    7. Ayres, Robert U., 1998. "Eco-thermodynamics: economics and the second law," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 189-209, August.
    8. Ruth, Matthias, 1995. "Thermodynamic constraints on optimal depletion of copper and aluminum in the United States: a dynamic model of substitution and technical change," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 197-213, December.
    9. Kenneth Løvold Rødseth, 2017. "Axioms of a Polluting Technology: A Materials Balance Approach," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 67(1), pages 1-22, May.
    10. Gunter Stephan, 2022. "Circular Economy: Illusion or First Step towards a Sustainable Economy: A Physico-Economic Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-15, April.
    11. Cleveland, Cutler J. & Ruth, Matthias, 1997. "When, where, and by how much do biophysical limits constrain the economic process?: A survey of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen's contribution to ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 203-223, September.
    12. Rechberger, H. & Graedel, T. E., 2002. "The contemporary European copper cycle: statistical entropy analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 59-72, August.

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