The Problem With Clean Energy

Wind turbines seem to be the ideal solution to our energy problems, but they have a problem of their own: Shortages of small number of rare minerals could slow the future growth of this (and other) renewable energy industries, such as solar panels, electric car batteries and energy-efficient light bulbs.

Terbium, yttrium, dysprosium, europium and neodymium are widely used in the manufacture of all "green" energy devices, but because these "rare earths" are mined almost exclusively in China, their prices have risen sky high, and China is keeping most of them for their own domestic and manufacturing use, and export very few of them to the US and Europe. 78% of Western manufacturers say they are experiencing supply shortages.

In the Guardian, John Vidal quotes researcher Rob Mathlener as saying, "The energy sector could face very great problems if the world turns to (renewables) in a big way. In the short term, there will be major supply problems. The availability of these metals will define the growth of these industry sectors. There are so far not many alternatives."

Vidal quotes environmentalist Malcolm Preston as saying, "It’s a time bomb. Many businesses now recognize that we are living beyond the planet’s means. If these industries, supply chains and economies are disrupted by shortages in supply, then the ‘luxury of choice’ lifestyle many in the Western world have become accustomed to, will also be affected."

In 1998, the Master of the Key burst into Whitley Strieber’s hotel room and told him amazing things, including a warning about the upcoming climate change which has now ARRIVED. Read all the other things MOTKE told him, with a new foreword from Whitley telling which of these predictions have COME TRUE, in the new edition of The Key, in bookstores NOW! You can also get it from the Whitley Strieber Collection, and if you do, it will come with an autographed bookplate designed by Whitley.

Come meet Whitley (and all our other Dreamland hosts) at our Dreamland Festival in May. We couldn’t invite MOTKE, but we DID invite Nick Pope!