Did you know?

Less visible is our reliance on the large number of minerals that are fundamental ingredients in the manufactured products used in the United States—from cell phones and flat-screen monitors to paint and toothpaste. A large number of the products manufactured or used domestically contain natural mineral resources that either are mined in the United States or are imported from abroad as raw materials or as fully manufactured or semifinished products. Estimates suggest that current lifestyles in the United States require per capita annual consumption of more than 25,000 pounds (11.3 metric tons) of new nonfuel minerals to make the things that we use every day (MII, 2007a)