Abstract
50 years ago, as the USA endured energy and environmental crises, Professor H.H. Kellogg of Columbia University created a graduate-level course he titled "Metal Production and the Environment." The course was a “sellout” enrolling process engineers, materials scientists and geologists. Kellogg was a pioneer in the field, particularly in quantifying energy requirements for metallurgical extraction and advocating for fundamental changes to both metallurgical processes and consumption patterns. This paper reviews the environmental principles taught and compares the predicted and proposed outcomes with the actual “state of the world” a half century later. Topics include the concepts outlined in two environmental “bibles” of the time, The Closing Circle by Barry Commoner and the Club of Rome’s study Limits to Growth, and case studies of resource depletion, environmental impact and the energy required for production of steel, copper, lead, zinc and aluminum.