Guest Thinkers — December 28, 2010

The Battle for Africa’s Mines

An Australian-based firm's $3.9 billion bid for a coal mine in Mozambique says much about its ambitions and the battle that giant mining firms will face in securing Africa's resources.

bigthinkeditor

Coal prices are surging. China’s hunger for energy turned it into a net importer in 2009 of the thermal coal that fuels power stations, a trend that is set to continue. And steelmakers, fearful of the rising prices of raw materials, are hunting for captive sources of metallurgical (coking) coal as well as iron ore. Booming commodity prices are a burden as well as an immense boon for big miners. Rio, BHP Billiton, Vale and others are planning on vast increases in capital spending in the coming years, and have the bumper profits to finance it, yet there is only so much fruitful investment to be made in their current mines.

Starts With A Bang

The idea that matter is mostly empty space is mostly wrong

Practically all of the matter we see and interact with is made of atoms, which are mostly empty space. Then why is reality so... solid?

Strange Maps

America’s news deserts are growing

Most counties in the U.S. have only one local newspaper, often one that publishes weekly instead of daily.

Two people walking past a dark brick wall with numerous security cameras pointing in various directions.

The Present

Are smart cities a wise idea?

When Google runs a smart city, who owns the data?

Illustration of a young woman with closed eyes, smiling, next to a large, detailed eye and surrounded by vibrant, abstract elements and smiley faces.

Neuropsych

Eyes wide shut: Why closing your eyes intensifies psychedelic trips

A recent study suggests that exposure to visual stimuli can diminish the effects of psychedelic drugs.

Starts With A Bang

The big idea of Grand Unified Theories of physics

If the electromagnetic and weak forces unify to make the electroweak force, maybe, at higher energies, something even grander happens?

Up Next

Technology & Innovation

America’s Crumbing Infrastructure

In the next five years, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that the United States will have to spend more than one trillion dollars simply to sustain what we already have.