China supplies 95% of the worlds rare earth minerals. These minerals are needed to build windmills, energy efficient cars and a wide variety of electronic gadgetry. To separate out the elements a shit load of pollution is released  and entire former agriculture regions are devastated.

There was a mine in the USA that was shut down due to environmental concerns, but now it looks like they might have to open it back up, because China has decided to restrict exportation. Not only that, but if a company wants the minerals from China, they will have to set up shop in China where all their new green energy research is to take place.

So here we are with a shit load of Green Energy plans written into law across North America and now in order to complete those contracts, we will either be beholden to China and all the disastrous pollution they cause or North America will have to open up it's own mines which would be worse environmentally, because our rare earths contain higher levels of radio active materials. 



So we pollute to not pollute. 



And there the rivers flow, there energy immense, clean, renewing, but man rips open the Earth so that he can make whirligigs in the sky.  Bona fide BULLSHIT!


 EDIT  Looks like this may be a little dated. The market has now opened up so we can have more of these mines. Australia opened up a mine but they transport the material to Malaysia for processing there. I wonder why?