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June 8, 2017

Research Report Exposes Costs Of Rare Earth

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An op-ed from America Rising Squared’s (AR2) Executive Director Brian Rogers published in RealClearEnergy marked the release of a new AR2 white paper that exposes the very serious human and environmental costs of materials that are critical to so-called “clean energy.”

From mining cobalt with child labor in Congo, to toxic lakes in China, meeting the growing demand for rare earths that are necessary for “clean energy” is anything but clean.

As noted in AR2’s research report:

Rare earths are overwhelmingly imported from countries that do not share America’s commitment to protecting human rights and the environment. More than 85 percent of them come China (by contrast, 85 percent of petroleum consumption in America comes from the U.S. and Canada).

Companies like Tesla rely on rare earth for “green technologies.” As both the domestic and global desire for these technologies skyrockets, serious concerns are left unanswered about how rare earths will be obtained and at what cost.