War for solar and wind energy, that's a war I want to wage!

[Playinghardball]

[badtoworse]

1. Bring it in at a competitive price and you won't have to wage war

But if you can't beat $4 gas, you're in for a fight.

[FrodosPet]

2. Said no country ever YET.

For those of us who are cursed by the need to see the whole picture, and not just the awesome cool parts:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/business/energy-environment/22rare.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

~ snip ~

Worldwide sales of freshly mined rare earth oxides, although growing more than 10 percent a year, were still only worth about $1.4 billion last year, limiting the potential sales of new mines. Molycorp and the other companies face a challenge to match China’s low costs, a result of low wages and China’s willingness to tolerate heavy environmental damage from rare earth element mines, which have turned some areas into moonscapes.

~ snip ~

“The pricing of the rare earths doesn’t make sense — they’ve been way too low for way too long,” grumbled John Benfield, the square-jawed senior chemical engineer at the Mountain Pass mine. As he spoke, he watched pumps removing from the bottom of the open-pit mine a deep pond of accumulated rainwater and seepage, dyed green by mineral contamination.

~ snip ~

Representative Ike Skelton, the Missouri Democrat who is the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, announced the same day the report was released that the committee would hold a hearing soon on the American military’s dependence on imported rare earth elements.

And a bill introduced in March in the House by Representative Mike Coffman, Republican of Colorado, calls for the creation of a national security stockpile and for government loan guarantees for companies that want to mine and process rare earth elements in the United States. Similar legislation is being drafted in the Senate.

~ snip ~

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. I gave on that a while ago on this site

suffice it to say, we were damned lucky today, and that is all I care to say on this site about that. I get to sleep in my bed and that is not a bad thing either.

[FrodosPet]

7. I am a huge supporter of alternative energies

And if I hit the Mega Millions that I am not supposed to play, then I hope to open a school of applied technology focused on teaching people how to design and build practical green energy HVAC and electricity generation systems.

Unfortunately, my natural skepticism prevents me from jumping into a LA-LA-LA all we gotta do is want it and raise taxes and it will magically appear mode. Transitioning is going to be challenging. And gathering the raw materials necessary to build effective systems on a large scale is going to be ugly, with more open mine pits and the environmental damage they cause. After all, you can't just raise a crop of copper or neodymium out in the back 40.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. If we hit the mega millions there are a couple lenses I want

And a particular camera body.

[Packerowner740]

5. That's just a crying shame

We have one of the largest open pit mining sites in the world nearby outside of silver city, nm. It just kills me to see those open sores.

[Packerowner740]

3. Amen, and I don't pray

[Scuba]

6. It is horrifying ....