Materials flow (commodities) refers to the systematic analysis and quantification of the movement of physical commodity materials—such as metals, fossil fuels, biomass, or construction minerals—through extraction, processing, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life stages within an economic or geographic system. In research, materials flow studies employ mass-balance principles and standardized accounting frameworks (e.g., economy-wide material flow analysis) to track inputs, stocks, outputs, and losses, enabling assessment of resource efficiency, environmental pressures, and circularity potentials. This topic underpins indicators like material intensity, domestic material consumption, and provides a basis for evaluating decoupling of economic growth from resource use.
Corn is a colossal grain in the global food and feed chain, with the U.S. producing roughly 30% of the world's supply, or nearly 278 million metric tons in the 2024–25 growing season alone. But its journey from wild grass ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 22, 2026
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The ubiquitous plastic beverage bottle makes up about half of plastic waste collected for recycling in the U.S. Most recycled plastic is processed domestically, but a portion is traded overseas. A new study from the University ...
Environment
Dec 9, 2025
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On the eve of COP 30, Brazil seeks to assert itself as an environmental and food power, but it carries contradictions that weaken this narrative. In a speech at the opening of the 80th UN General Assembly, President Lula ...
Environment
Nov 18, 2025
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Many measures have been initiated to reduce plastic pollution in Norway. Only a few of them will lead to extensive change and cleanup, a new study shows.
Environment
Oct 14, 2025
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Imagine you have just finished a delicious to-go meal or morning coffee, or used the last drop of moisturizer. Without thinking too hard, you may be ready to toss another container into the trash, adding to the 82 million ...
Environment
Oct 1, 2025
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The circular economy—the idea of "reduce, reuse and recycle"—has long been promoted as one solution to the environmental crisis. Instead of the old "take, make, use, throw away" model, it aims to keep materials in play for ...
Environment
Sep 11, 2025
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34
We extract more than 100 billion tonnes of raw materials from Earth each year, then throw most of them away. The "circular economy" offers a different approach: instead of the linear "take-make-waste" model, we could reuse, ...
Environment
Sep 8, 2025
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24
27 August 2025: International agricultural trade plays a central role in balancing global food supply and demand. Yet, with every shipment of crops crossing borders, the water used to produce them is virtually transferred ...
Environment
Aug 27, 2025
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All the critical minerals the U.S. needs annually for energy, defense and technology applications are already being mined at existing U.S. facilities, according to a new analysis published in the journal Science.
Earth Sciences
Aug 22, 2025
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594
Global supply chains account for 70% of world trade. They are the arteries of global capitalism, moving goods and services across borders multiple times before reaching consumers.
Environment
Jul 28, 2025
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