United States. Researcher Paul Elrich pays Julian Simon $576 for losing his bet. and John Holdren. Ten years earlier, in 1980, Simon had asked Elrich to choose a basket of any resource. If after ten years the real price of the basket increased, Simon would lose the bet. Elrich chooses copper, chromium, nickel, tin, and tungsten on September 29, 1980. After ten years, all resources are cheaper. The entire portfolio costs about half as much. And starting in the year 2000, the dematerialization of goods and value begins, also leading to a sharp and steady decline in demand for quantities of raw materials by the most developed economies.
