Geologic Resources

1
Geologic Resources

• Historical and Political Implications

2
What are geologic resources?

• Metal-bearing minerals
• Non-metallic minerals
• Fossil Fuels
• Coal
• Oil
• Natural Gas
• Water

3
Uses of Geologic Resources

• Minerals composition source of particular
  elements
• Minerals physical properties specific uses
• Fossil Fuels heat, vehicles and industry
• Water obvious!

4
Global Distribution of Geologic Resources

• Distribution is uneven
• Occurrences are a result of geologic history,
  especially past and present plate tectonic
  processes
• Some nations have a rich supply of geologic
  resources
• Others have few or none
• Nations trade, import, export, make treaties or
  go to war over geologic resources

5
What do these have in common?

• The Industrial Revolution
• Pearl Harbor
• The blinding of the cyclops, Polyphemus
• California and the Civil War
• South Africa and U.S. foreign policy
• Classical Greek Civilization
• Hitlers invasion of Poland

6
Answer

• They are all examples of the relationship between
  geologic resources, history and politics!

7
Classical Greek Civilization

• The Bronze Age
• Bronze an alloy of copper and tin
• Made possible weapons and tools
• Trade for metals and other commodities helped
  build Greek city states
• Copper from Kupros, now known as Cyprus

8
The blinding of Polyphemus

• Homer describes Odysseus using an iron-shod
  wooden pole to blind the cyclops, so that he and
  his men can escape.
• Iron was not commonly used at this time the
  period was known as the Bronze Age.

9
Industrial Revolution

• Why did the Industrial Revolution begin in Great
  Britain?
• Why did Germany and France follow rather quickly
  with industrialization, while nations like Italy
  and Spain followed more slowly?
• The answer, in part, pertains to the large
  resources of iron ores and coal in England,
  France and Germany.

10
California and the Civil War

• Gold was discovered at Sutters Mill in
  California in 1848.
• The great California Gold Rush began in 1849.
• This prompted a massive migration westward in the
  U.S.
• What does this have to do with the Civil War in
  the 1860s?

11
California and the Civil War

• The South felt that they could probably match the
  North militarily for awhile, but not in direct
  conflict.
• Part of the Souths war plan was to prolong the
  war long enough until
• Political support for the war in the North
  weakened or
• The Norths economy would falter under the
  sustained cost of the war

12
California and the Civil War

• The South failed to account for the steady supply
  of wealth that California gold pumped into the
  Norths economy.
• Gold from California financed the Norths war
  effort.

13
California and the Civil War

• California gold, along with the Norths superior
  industrial base (especially iron) assured the
  Norths final victory.

14
Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?

• Why a sneak attack?
• Why Hawaii?
• Why the United States?
• The answers are complex, but involve the
  interplay of the U.S. Pacific fleet, U.S. foreign
  policy and Japans lack of geologic resources.

15
Japan and the approachto Pearl Harbor

• In the 1930s, Japan embarked on imperial
  expansion, with military conquests in China,
  Southeast Asia and many Pacific Archipelagoes.
• Japan lacked many critical geologic resources
  chiefly iron and oil.
• Iron and oil are critical to military operations
  and industry.

16
Japan and the approachto Pearl Harbor

• The U.S. government opposed Japanese colonial
  expansion and placed an embargo on export of iron
  and oil to Japan in 1940.
• In July of 1941, the U.S. placed a total embargo
  on Japan.
• Less than six months later, Japan attempted to
  destroy U.S. Pacific fleet in Hawaii the only
  military presence in the Pacific that could
  hinder Japans continued conquest for resources.

17
Hitlers Invasion of Poland

• Why Poland?
• Why not a stronger military power like France
  that could have interfered with the overall plan
  of conquest?

18
Hitlers Invasion of Poland

• Poland has vast resources of iron and coal
• Both were necessary to sustain a prolonged period
  of empire-building.

19
South Africa andU.S. foreign policy

• The U.S. condemned apartheid in South Africa, but
  continued to trade with South Africa despite an
  official boycott.
• Why?

20
South Africa andU.S. foreign policy

• South Africa supplies
• 55 of the Wests Gold
• 47 of the Wests Chromium
• 40 of the Wests Manganese
• 80 of the Wests Platinum Group metals
• South Africa trans-ships more than half of the
  worlds Cobalt
• Most of the Worlds Diamonds

21
South Africa andU.S. foreign policy

• U.S. moral objections to apartheid were set
  aside. We continued to do business with the
  white minority government for reasons having to
  do with economics and national security (need for
  strategic minerals).

22
Conclusions

• There is a close link between history, politics
  and geologic resources
• In many cases, it can be shown that geologic
  resources are primary factors in determining
  historical events.
• These linkages exist because geologic resources
  are not evenly distributed around the world