India, Feb. 19 -- The United Nations' flagshipGlobal Resources Outlookreport, out on February 26,is the portrait of a juggernaut

The United Nations' flagship Global Resources Outlook report is the portrait of a juggernaut. Due to be published later this month by the UN's International Resource Panel, it highlights how global consumption of raw materials, having increased four-fold since 1970, is set to rise by a further 60 per cent by 2060.

Already, the technosphere - the totality of human-made products, from airports to Zimmer frames - is heavier than the biosphere . From the 2020s onward, the weight of humanity's extended body - the concrete shells that keep us sheltered, the metal wings that fly us around - have exceeded that of all ...