Material Flows in the United States

The report examines material flow trends in the United States across the metal and minerals, nonrenewable organic materials (including fossil fuels), agriculture, and forestry sectors. It argues that while the U.S. possesses high-quality economic data on productivity and employment, conventional economic accounts fail to provide sufficient information regarding the long-term societal costs of environmental degradation. Consequently, the document proposes policy alternatives for the U.S. government to better integrate material flow accounts into decision-making.

• The report focuses on material flow trends within four specific economic sectors: metal and minerals, nonrenewable organic materials (which include fossil fuels), agriculture, and forestry.
• Conventional economic accounts in the United States are insufficient for providing adequate information on the long-term societal costs associated with environmental degradation, despite the availability of high-quality data on labor and capital productivity.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Material Flows in the United States. https://www.wri.org/research/material-flows-united-states

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Material Flows in the United States. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/material-flows-united-states.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Material Flows in the United States |url=https://www.wri.org/research/material-flows-united-states |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendmaterial, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Material Flows in the United States}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/material-flows-united-states}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }