Mineral Resource Economy 2

Book excerpt: The challenges associated with the environmental impact of renewable energies are formidable and multiple. The exploitation of diffuse forms of energy will require us to reshape our lifestyles and infrastructures. Reducing their environmental impact is imperative and requires the mobilization of all available levers of action. Beyond the analysis of these challenges, this book presents an overview of the levers of action that should allow us to meet them, by crossing the fields of the human sciences, geosciences and engineering. The levers of action examined are both technical (through the substitution or use of low technology) and economic and social (through the development of recycling or decoupling). The book also addresses the question of their effectiveness and their overall impact.