In the past I’ve argued that even if we become “energy independent”, we’ll still import made things from foreign energy, meaning that we won’t truly be energy independent, that the only way to become “energy independent” is to remove all real meaning from the phrase. The other side of this is that alternatives may require that we become strongly dependent on other things found in other countries that may not like us. In other words, we’d be gaining independence by gaining dependence. Seems a bit silly, don’t you think?
It is silly. And it is real.
Some of the greenest technologies of the age, from electric cars to efficient light bulbs to very large wind turbines, are made possible by an unusual group of elements called rare earths. The world’s dependence on these substances is rising fast.
Just one problem: These elements come almost entirely from China, from some of the most environmentally damaging mines in the country, in an industry dominated by criminal gangs…
There are 17 rare-earth elements — some of which, despite the name, are not particularly rare — but two heavy rare earths, dysprosium and terbium, are in especially short supply, mainly because they have emerged as the miracle ingredients of green energy products. Tiny quantities of dysprosium can make magnets in electric motors lighter by 90 percent, while terbium can help cut the electricity usage of lights by 80 percent. Dysprosium prices have climbed nearly sevenfold since 2003, to $53 a pound. Terbium prices quadrupled from 2003 to 2008, peaking at $407 a pound, before slumping in the global economic crisis to $205 a pound.
China mines more than 99 percent of the world’s dysprosium and terbium.
