Only because the large note had to be attached to the blog. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
530 898 5321 fax 530 898 5901 http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of ken hanly Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2009 2:59 PM To: Progressive Economics Subject: Re: [Pen-l] A Different Environmental Threat: Peak Rare Minerals, China, and Green Technology If I click on your link I am asked to log in to wordpress. Seems to me I always used to be able to just go to your blog. Have things changed? Cheers, k hanly Blog: http://kenthink7.blogspot.com/index.html Blog: http://kencan7.blogspot.com/index.html --- On Sat, 9/5/09, michael perelman <[email protected]> wrote: > From: michael perelman <[email protected]> > Subject: [Pen-l] A Different Environmental Threat: Peak Rare Minerals, > China, and Green Technology > To: "Progressive Economics" <[email protected]> > Date: Saturday, September 5, 2009, 10:54 PM > One of the keys to Green Technology > may be buried in China. It has only recently begun to appear > in the media, but for very different reasons. A couple of > years ago, the New Scientist published a piece about the > risks of the scarcity of rare minerals. > > Cohen, David. 2007. "Earth's Natural Wealth: An Audit." New > Scientist Issue 2605 (23 May): pp. 35-41. > > Three facts are bringing this looming shortage to the > attention of mainstream media. First, the US is > dependent on exports of these minerals, while China is the > main exporter. Second, these minerals are crucial for > high technology, including both military and so-called Green > Technologies. > > My next encounter with the rare earth problem came in David > Cay Johnston's wonderful book. Here are my notes: > > Johnston, David Cay. 2007. Free Lunch: How The Wealthiest > Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (And Stick > You With The Bill) (New York: Portfolio). > > 37: "In 1982, competing groups of scientists around the > world found a way to combine iron and boron with a somewhat > rare earth called neodymium to make extremely powerful and > lightweight magnets. These magnets quickly found a market in > computer hard drives, high-quality microphones and speakers, > automobile starter motors, and the guidance systems of smart > bombs." > > 38: "General Motors created a division to manufacture these > magnets, calling it Magnequench .... Then in 1995 the > automaker decided to sell the division. Because the deal was > for only $70 million it attracted little attention. The > buyer was a consortium of three firms .... but the real > parties behind the purchase were a pair of Chinese companies > -- San Huan New Material High-Tech Inc. and China National > Nonferrous Metals. Both firms were partly owned by the > Chinese government. The heads of these two Chinese > companies are the husbands of the first and second daughters > of Deng Xiaoping, then the paramount leader." > > 38: At the time, GM was trying to get a toehold in > China. One of the Goddard's was at the time vice > minister of the Chinese State Science and Technology > Commission, which had the responsibility for acquiring > military technology by any means. > > 39: The Clinton administration agreed the sale under the > condition that the new owners keep the production and > technology in the United States. The new owners began > to buy factories in the United States including GA Powders, > an Idaho firm that used government money to develop a > monopoly on the production powerful methods. Then the > Chinese company shut down American production and moved > everything to China. > > The reference to Deng is interesting, as you will see in a > moment. > > More at: > > http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=1245&message=6 > > -- Michael Perelman > Economics Department > California State University > Chico, CA > 95929 > > 530 898 5321 > fax 530 898 5901 > http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
