China cornering the market on rare earth elements

Warning: adult language!



Put this in the "unintended consequences of the anthropogenic global warming hoax" bin. There is no doubt we should diversify away from petro-fueled middle eastern countries for our energy sources--for national security and economic reasons. But the transition should be orderly and measured. Because if the carbon-reducing extremist crowd has their way, the US will be plundered into the abyss.

Green technologies actually require natural resource elements that must be mined--tons of it, in fact. They are unfamiliar to most, except for those who can recite from the Periodic Table of the Elements. Rare earth elements (REE) like Neodymium, Lanthanum, Terbium, and Dysprosium are used in diverse applications as solar, wind, and eletric car batteries. The problem is China controls 97% of the world's supply of these REE.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/concern-as-china-clamps-down-on-rare-earth-exports-1855387.html

So while China may outwardly reject carbon credit proposals, which aim to punish violators of carbon-emission thresholds (the "polluters"), they have hedged themselves by ensuring they control the components necessary for enabling green technologies.

"This is chess, it ain't checkers!"