[DesuMaiden]

Just read this article.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/arch ... ing-supply

Like Richard Heinberg once said, the world is rapidly running out of rare earth elements. None of my fears of industrial civilization collapsing or grinding to a halt are based on false assumptions. Richard Heinberg, Michael Ruppert and other peak oilers were right about there being a "peak everything" crisis.

Rare Earth Elements are critical to our economy because we need them to construct computers (like TVs, desktops, laptops, ipods, cellphones, video game consoles, and etc) and implement green technologies like solar panels and wind turbines. The reason rare Earth elements are rapidly depleting is because the demand for them is simply too high thanks to the fact that the world's population is now too high. In the near future, expect computer products to become much more expensive as the rare earth metals used to construct them become much more scarce and expensive. I'm concerned about this because this means we soon will not able to make anymore computers and renewable energy technologies. This is all thanks to shortages of rare earth elements.

Like Richard Heinberg once said, we need to "recycle nonrenewable resources, and use renewable resources at a rate that's no more than their rate of replenishment". Unfortunately, we are doing neither. Here's a fun statistic. Only 12.5% of e-waste is actually recycled. The other 87.5% of e-waste is simply lost forever since we just toss it out and not recycle it. That's a horrific waste of the world's natural resources. E-waste contains rare earth elements, which are not being recycled and being simply wasted forever. And we are also using renewable resources like trees, top soil, fish and water at a faster rate than they replenish, meaning those resources are depleting too. Unless we follow Richard Heinberg's advice, we are screwed as a species.

Here are some things you can encourage. Encourage the government to recycle all e-waste. That way we can never run out of rare earth elements used for creating computers and renewable energy technologies. There should be e-waste recycling centers, and also e-waste recycling bins. What I noticed is a lack of e-waste recycling bins in the area I live, which is a shame. There needs to be recycling bins for e-waste! Also, we need to use renewable resources (like fish, water, top soil and wood) at rate that's no more than their rate of replenishment. The bottom line is RECYCLE EVERYTHING especially nonrenewable resources like rare earth elements. The Earth simply cannot create anymore nonrenewable resources. We only have a finite amount of nonrenewable resources, and if you use it all up, there will be no more for future generations.

I find it disgusting that most e-waste is not recycled and simply left to rot in the ground. I think we can make a difference in how we dispose of our e-waste. Next time you need to throw away a broken computer (i.e. laptop, desktop, video game console, cellphone, ipod) please send it to a e-waste disposal center for proper recycling of the computer.

That's all I am saying. I hope you enjoyed reading this message.

[kublikhan]

DesuMaiden, that article is 5 years old. The rare earth situation has changed dramatically since then. Of course recycling is a good idea and I fully support it. But no need to go running around like the sky is falling.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')ollowing a World Trade Organization ruling, China in January announced it's abolishing its decade-old export quota system for rare earths.

But even before the lifting of quotas the country's rare earth exports started to expand rapidly. Customs data show export volumes grew 27.3% in 2014. At the same time the average export price of rare earth products plummeted 47.8% from the year before and the third year in a row of sharp declines.

China is due to lift export taxes on rare earths in May, which could add further pressure on prices.

[KaiserJeep]

Desu, I have always used an approved e-waste recycler, because my employer mandates it. That has NOT made any difference, because our approved e-waste recyclers were selling the stuff to the high bidders in Africa and Bangladesh and other 3rd world countries. There they were doing only the grossest of salvage before burning the fiberglass circuit boards to salvage the remaining copper, lead, and gold.

Mandating recycling does no good unless you also establish standards for keeping those recycled materials from becoming air, water, and soil pollutants. My company has made an effort to identify and selectively utilize those e-waste recyclers that are doing a good job of not polluting, but that is simply not possible in many countries where we do business - nor is it possible for us to export e-waste to another country without the export licenses for e-waste.

I share your concerns, but it's not possible to comply, more times than not.

[Outcast_Searcher]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KaiserJeep', '
')I share your concerns, but it's not possible to comply, more times than not.

[dolanbaker]

China's strategy was a short term success but may be an eventual long term failure as it has forced countries to restart mining operations that were undercut by Chinese mined minerals in the past.
By restricting their exports, manufacturers who had become to depend on the minerals were crippled and Chinese manufacturers had a lead in the production in the end products.
Now that has changed again and many rare Earths are widely available for global manufacturers to obtain.

[kublikhan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')ot so long ago, the U.S. went into full panic mode. China had reached the point where it controlled 97% of the world's rare earth elements—minerals that play a crucial role in manufacturing high-tech products. Were they right to fear that Beijing has a stranglehold over the global economy?

The Market Strikes Back
So, what happened? How did China suddenly lose its status as the Master of the Earth's Crust, poised to blackmail the U.S. economy? Well, for starters, there might not have been a crisis to begin with. Beijing's attempt to use its supply of REE as a political or economic weapon has proven to be ineffective.

The embargo that wasn't: What the Chinese government says and what Chinese companies do are often two different things. Chinese producers found various loopholes to evade the embargo.

Demand Destruction: Concerns over the reliability of REE supplies has prodded private sector innovations that are reducing demand: some users remembered that they did not need the high performance of specialized rare earth magnets; they were merely using them because, at least until the 2010 episode, they were relatively inexpensive and convenient.

New Suppliers: Investors in the United States, Japan and Australia were already opening rare earth mines and building new processing capabilities, and other investors were moving ahead on mines around the world in places like Canada, South Africa and Kazakhstan. Major investments made by the Lynas Corporation in Australia and Malaysia started delivering non-Chinese rare earths to markets last year. When rare earth prices surged in 2010, hundreds of companies around the world started raising money for new mining projects. Although Chinese producers will still contribute a substantial majority of rare earth elements, competition from the rest of the world will moderate Chinese pricing power.

As Gholz reminds us, the 2010 panic was just the latest in a series of exaggerated crises over natural resources. Before rare earth elements dominated the headlines, the U.S. was fretting over titanium imports from Russia. "When people briefly feared that rare earths would make the oil experience more like the 'new rule,' their fears turned out to be largely misplaced."

[DesuMaiden]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Outcast_Searcher', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KaiserJeep', '
')I share your concerns, but it's not possible to comply, more times than not.

[ralfy]

Very good points, i.e., demand destruction amidst capitalist systems which require more consumption and lead to more waste.

[americandream]

Good points desu. High idiocy and technology......not a good mix.

[Simon_R]

Before you get excited about the evils of capitalism, I would think you need to ask why people seek for profits/money/power etc.
Unless you know why people seek these things then you have no hope of changing anything.

[davep]

I'm not sure the problem is with Capitalism per se, but the corrupt monetary system that underpins it. It requires growth to create money as credit and to pay back the interest element. It's a crazy set-up that requires growth just to stand still.

And the idea that only banks and central banks can create money (as credit) was not something anyone ever got really got to vote over. Check out Iceland's new sovereign equity proposal as an alternative (similar to the IMF Chicago Plan Revisited paper).

[ralfy]

There's also capital accumulation. That is, businesses that profit use that to expand operations, which means increasing production, and in turn more consumption and more profits.

[chilyb]

"In my midsized midwestern city, for example, it's VERY difficult to recycle hazardous waste for an ordinary citizen. If you have computers, you can take those to the government recycling center most business days, and they'll take them since they can harvest the circuit boards. "

Best Buy now has a very good recycling program. You can drop off almost anything at the customer service counter any time of day. They took my old 27" CRT, no questions asked.

more info here:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/appliances-promotions/appliance-recycling/pcmcat239300050017.c?id=pcmcat239300050017

[GoghGoner]

The bust cycle starting the same time copper started dropping and China's GDP growth started declining in 2011. The author blames the oversupply of rare earths like folks blame the oversupply of unconventional oil. Producers of all commodities went all-out to increase supply and it all depended on high growth in the Chinese economy. Bankruptcies will affect the supply of all commodities in the next couple of years or so.

How a Bet on Rare Earths Flopped as Scarcity Was a Mirage

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')n Thursday, Molycorp filed for bankruptcy protection, having run out of cash after a precipitous and sustained slide in rare-earth prices. The company has become a cautionary tale for investors looking for the next hot thing, a lesson in how excessively high commodity prices can quickly reverse.

[ennui2]

One word:

Recycling.

[Outcast_Searcher]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('chilyb', '&')quot;In my midsized midwestern city, for example, it's VERY difficult to recycle hazardous waste for an ordinary citizen. If you have computers, you can take those to the government recycling center most business days, and they'll take them since they can harvest the circuit boards. "

Best Buy now has a very good recycling program. You can drop off almost anything at the customer service counter any time of day. They took my old 27" CRT, no questions asked.

more info here:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/appliances-promotions/appliance-recycling/pcmcat239300050017.c?id=pcmcat239300050017

[Subjectivist]

Finaly someone is proposing common sense to deal with the threatened shortage of rare earth metals.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'R')ep. Duncan Hunter introduced a bill Tuesday to help restart American production of rare metals that are essential for high-tech defense gear.

China currently dominates the mining and production of “rare earths,” metals like neodymium, cerium, scandium, yttrium and 13 others that are essential producing magnets, lasers, batteries and metal alloys.

“The U.S. must no longer be wholly dependent on foreign sources of strategic and critical materials,” said Hunter. “The risk of this dependence on national security is too great and it urgently demands that we re-establish our depleted domestic industrial base.”

The Republican who represents east San Diego County noted that the last major American producer of rare earth metals declared bankruptcy in 2015, shuttered its California mine and processing plant and sold a portion of the assets to the Chinese. The U.S. dominated the market as recently as the mid 1980s.

Hunter’s METALS Act would allow domestic companies to access five-year, interest-free loans to develop advanced, environmentally friendly technologies for the production of strategic and critical materials.

The act would also prohibit the foreign sourcing of ammonium perchlorate, a chemical used as a rocket propellant.