Future Life: The Environment
The production of steel causes significant emissions to the planet each day.
For every one tonne of steel we make, a staggering 1.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide is belched into the atmosphere - massively increasing global-warming.
The same process also releases clouds of other materials - naphthalene, ammonium compounds, crude light oil, sulphur and coke dust - many of which cause damaging acid rain.
Just as bad, the making of iron and steel leaves behind huge amounts of waste material in the form of slag heaps.
Yet without steel the modern world simply would not function.