Soil to Foil: Aluminum and the Quest for Industrial Sustainability

by Saleem H. Ali

Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust. It is also ubiquitous in the modern world, from aircraft to soda cans. A dizzying number of consumer and industrial products employ aluminum, typically alloyed, because of its availability, versatility, and malleability. Today, how efficiently we use―and reuse―aluminum is vital to addressing key environmental challenges and understanding humanity’s fraught relationship with the earth.

Soil to Foil tells the extraordinary story of aluminum. Saleem H. Ali reveals its pivotal role in the histories of scientific inquiry and technological innovation as well as its importance to sustainability. He offers compelling portraits of the scientists and innovators who discovered new uses for this remarkable element, ranging from chemistry and geoscience to engineering and industrial design. Ali argues that aluminum exemplifies broader lessons about stewardship of nonrenewable its seeming abundance has given rise to wasteful and destructive practices. Soil to Foil follows aluminum’s path along the supply chain, from extraction to production, consumption to recycling. Ali explores the ecological damage at mine sites and visits affected communities seeking to restore the land. He foregrounds the possibilities for more sustainable industrial practices, emphasizing how product design can incorporate eventual reuse and recycling. Ultimately, Soil to Foil shows that the story of aluminum’s use and misuse helps us rethink how to sustainably manage the resources of our planet.

320 pages, Hardcover

Published May 23, 2023

About the author

Dr. Prof. Saleem H. Ali (born, 1973) is a Pakistani American scholar who is the Director of the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining at the University of Queensland Australia. He is also Adjunct Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont's Rubenstein School of Natural Resources, and the founding director of the Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security. He is known for his work on environmental conflict resolution, particularly in the extractive industries and was profiled in Forbes magazine in September, 2009 as "The Alchemist." His book "Treasures of the Earth: Need Greed and a Sustainable Future" (Yale University Press, October, 2009) received a cover endorsement by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus for providing a " welcome linkage between environmental behavior and poverty alleviation." In May 2010, he was also chosen by National Geographic as an "emerging explorer" with a profile appearing in the June 2010 issue of National Geographic Magazine. In March 2011, he was also selected by the World Economic Forum as a "Young Global Leader."

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated Dr. Ali’s objectivity and realism. He neither sloughed off the issues nor did go the other way and declare doomsday. The explanations of the science are clear and mostly easily understood, however a better background in chemistry would have helped me appreciate the book more. On the downside, the writing was too literary and not conversational enough. The flowcharts were very complex and I ended up skipping over them. I feel that this book was not well-suited to a casual reader like me, but would be a goldmine (bauxite mine?) for people who work in related areas, especially those in environmentalism. Thank you to Netgalley and Columbia University Press for the digital review copy.