I am not a fan of the Prius car, so let me get that bias out of the way. I am in the minority, because many people love these cars. Any time I drive on the expressway I see these hybrid vehicles all over the place. Their owners are clueless that each Prius depletes valuable rare earth metals -- metals that may soon be gone forever.
I imagine that these Prius owners feel like they are doing great things for the environment, because they are using less petroleum and lowering their carbon footprint. Some of these same people don't like the fact that I ride around in a smog exempt 1975 van, because they feel like I am polluting more than my "fair" share. Mother Earth is the new religion in the 21st century!
The debate over man-made carbon dioxide increasing the earth's global temperature is still open for discussion. Volcanoes spew more carbon dioxide in one big blast than man could ever dream of spewing. The sun also has a much greater effect on our climate than some big Corvette driving Texan eating a 72oz ribeye steak at a rest stop. Instead of worrying about these minor things, why do the environmentalists fail to focus on the issues that do imperil the planet?
Widespread, untested genetic modification of seeds and animals. Heavy metal dumping in the oceans. Fluoridation of municipal water supplies. Experimental toxic vaccines. Or how about one that I rarely hear people talking about and that is the depletion of Mother Earth's rare earth metals.
Depletion of rare earth metals? Maybe you have not heard of this one, but I hadn't heard about this one until a few days ago when China pulled the plug on its rare earth metal export business of terbium, dysprosium, yttrium, thulium, and lutetium. I wonder why!
If you drive a Prius, then you are partially responsible for the depletion of rare earth metals. Repeat, you are responsible for the consumption of rare earth metals. Your Prius brings these rare metals closer and closer to extinction.
Think about that the next time you see a Prius on the road! I don't recall Hummers using pounds and pounds of an extremely valuable metal, because petroleum is quite plentiful when compared with neodymium and lanthanum! Instead of Saudi Arabia attempting to hold our economy hostage over petroleum, in the near future, it will be China holding our technological economy hostage over rare earth metals.
Source: Yahoo
I imagine that these Prius owners feel like they are doing great things for the environment, because they are using less petroleum and lowering their carbon footprint. Some of these same people don't like the fact that I ride around in a smog exempt 1975 van, because they feel like I am polluting more than my "fair" share. Mother Earth is the new religion in the 21st century!
The debate over man-made carbon dioxide increasing the earth's global temperature is still open for discussion. Volcanoes spew more carbon dioxide in one big blast than man could ever dream of spewing. The sun also has a much greater effect on our climate than some big Corvette driving Texan eating a 72oz ribeye steak at a rest stop. Instead of worrying about these minor things, why do the environmentalists fail to focus on the issues that do imperil the planet?
Widespread, untested genetic modification of seeds and animals. Heavy metal dumping in the oceans. Fluoridation of municipal water supplies. Experimental toxic vaccines. Or how about one that I rarely hear people talking about and that is the depletion of Mother Earth's rare earth metals.
Depletion of rare earth metals? Maybe you have not heard of this one, but I hadn't heard about this one until a few days ago when China pulled the plug on its rare earth metal export business of terbium, dysprosium, yttrium, thulium, and lutetium. I wonder why!
If you drive a Prius, then you are partially responsible for the depletion of rare earth metals. Repeat, you are responsible for the consumption of rare earth metals. Your Prius brings these rare metals closer and closer to extinction.
The Prius hybrid automobile is popular for its fuel efficiency, but its electric motor and battery guzzle rare earth metals, a little-known class of elements found in a wide range of gadgets and consumer goods.
That makes Toyota's market-leading gasoline-electric hybrid car and other similar vehicles vulnerable to a supply crunch predicted by experts as China, the world's dominant rare earths producer, limits exports while global demand swells...
Jack Lifton, an independent commodities consultant and strategic metals expert, calls the Prius "the biggest user of rare earths of any object in the world."
Each electric Prius motor requires 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of neodymium, and each battery uses 10 to 15 kg (22-33 lb) of lanthanum. That number will nearly double under Toyota's plans to boost the car's fuel economy, he said.
Think about that the next time you see a Prius on the road! I don't recall Hummers using pounds and pounds of an extremely valuable metal, because petroleum is quite plentiful when compared with neodymium and lanthanum! Instead of Saudi Arabia attempting to hold our economy hostage over petroleum, in the near future, it will be China holding our technological economy hostage over rare earth metals.
Source: Yahoo
1 comment:
Thanks for identifying quantities better than other sites.
http://www.rareearthmetals.ca/article/significance-of-ree-113.asp
gives some prices of these metals (pre Oct-10)
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