BERLIN, Feb. 22 (UPI) — The next resource conflict could be about minerals and rare earth elements needed to fuel the green economy, as China, which supplies most of the minerals, is considering limiting exports.
There is great hope for a green boom to transform the CO2-heavy world economy into one that is less dependent on fossil fuels and more sustainable. Experts envision solar panels and wind turbines to produce clean power and heat and electric cars to cruise tomorrow’s roads.
The problem with these technologies is that they rely on minerals and rare earth elements, or REEs, which are produced by politically unpredictable countries, including China.
The market for REEs — needed for hybrid cars, wind turbines, solar panels and defense industry products such as missiles and radar systems — has tripled in size over the past decade.
Raising the share of renewable energy from 8.5% to 20% in the overall energy consumption is a necessary contribution to the global fight against climate change and towards better control over our energy dependence. The various uses of renewable energy are examined: electricity through wind and hydraulic energies; electricity or heat through geothermal and solar energies; electricity, heat, and biofuel coming from biomass.
In a passionate, personal analysis of the energy crisis in the UK, Cambridge University physicist, David Mackay, comes to some surprising conclusions about the way forward.
The film is based on his new book Sustainable Energy without the hot air, in which Prof Mackay has calculated the numbers involved for the alternatives to fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil.
He debunks some myths about energy saving - unplugging our phone chargers, does not make any appreciable difference. After showing us what won’t work - he goes on to show what will make a difference at home, like turning your thermostat down.
But, his big point is that this will not be enough - individual efforts are not enough. Instead we need to make sweeping national changes to our energy production, and we can’t reject everything available to us.
If we are going to follow the advice of climate scientists, and get off fossil fuels by 2050, which currently provide 90% of UK energy, Britain’s main options are wind power and nuclear power. But to make this huge change in UK power supply, Mackay says that UK has to get building now!
Bottomline: To get off fossil fuels by 2050, we need to get building NOW.
Forget about the hybrid auto — Shai Agassi says it’s electric cars or bust if we want to impact emissions. His company, Better Place, has a radical plan to take entire countries oil-free by 2020.
Shai Agassi wants to put you behind the wheel of an electric car — but he doesn’t want you to sacrifice convenience (or cash) to do it.
Green-minded architect and designer William McDonough asks what our buildings and products would look like if designers took into account “all children, all species, for all time.”
Architect William McDonough believes that green design can prevent environmental disaster — while also driving economic growth. He champions “cradle to cradle” design that considers the full life cycle of a product, from its creation with sustainable materials to a recycled afterlife.
He has created buildings that produce more energy and clean water than they use. Oh, and he’s designing seven entirely new and entirely green cities in China.
Jul 10, 2010 
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