In a complex world of finite resources and inertia of technological progress, sometimes we need to stop and take a breath and appreciate the simple things that work.

Take the garden hoe — it is hard to imagine technology improving upon its simple function.

Geothermal is one of those things that work.

Here’s an article about finite resources, and some of the implications:

Western governments may not realise it yet, but consumerism as we know it is doomed and resource war with China inevitable, the world’s biggest fund managers were told yesterday.

The unsettling message, which focuses on the potentially destabilising shortfall of the rare “technology metals” used in everything from mobile phones to guided missiles, was issued in Tokyo yesterday at the close of one of Asia’s largest annual investment forums.

Jack Lifton, an expert in rare earth metals, said that many of the green ambitions of governments around the world — particularly ones involving wind farms and other high-tech responses to climate change — would be thwarted by upstream supply issues.

Particularly troubling, he said, is an impending inflection point that may arrive within the next couple of years when China becomes a net importer of rare earth ores.”