Includes bibliographical references (p. 263-268) and index.

The four essentials : food, water, energy, metals -- Geographical flashpoints : the trouble with lines on a map -- The key players : diggers, drillers, and dealers -- Food and water : where the rivers run -- "Going out" for energy : China and India stake their claims -- Old coal still burning brightly -- Going nuclear in a post-Fukushima world -- New energy--clean, green, and expensive -- Coppery red, the colour of earth's true love -- Finding steel's essential ingredients -- U.S. energy : hail to the shale -- Japan after the deluge -- BRACQK (Brazil, Russia, Australia, Canada, Qatar, Kazakhstan) is the new BRIC -- The up and comers : Turkey, Iran, Indonesia, Mexico -- What happens next : a host of global opportunities -- Conclusion : a world so changed.