Embed Notice

In 1875, the global hegemon was the UK. Global extraction of iron ore was 25 million tonnes.

In 1945, the global hegemon was becoming the USA. Global extraction of iron ore had increased more than 6x to 159 million tonnes.

In 2015, the global hegemon was becoming China (militarily it’s still the US, for now). Global extraction of iron ore had increased 92x on 1875 to 2.3 billion tonnes.

The source of these charts from which these numbers are *extracted* is Richard Heinberg’s book, Power.