The cost of a green economy

Obama may have overlooked those "green jobs" that have been flying into China where the silicon, PV cells and complete assemblies are manufactured for export back to the US.

Spain, Germany, and other nations signed onto the UN Kyoto protocols intending to cut carbon dioxide emissions and initiate green jobs programs, only to admit that not only do such jobs cost too much to create, but the imported components effectively eliminate the hoped for green jobs.

Quoting economists, a Washington Times editorial of November 2009 said it all:

“Green energy” is proving to be no miracle solution to the nation’s monumental unemployment problems, and it is doing little to help the economy emerge from its deepest recession in decades.

And the cost?

There is no free lunch and that includes climate change reduction. Everything comes at a cost, and in this case, that costs will sorely test social acceptance and political will.

China knows that its wind farms need additional massive investment in multi gigawatt coal fired back up power stations. To slake these giants’ cooling demands, further investment is required to draw down on water resources in arid areas that are seriously short of water.

The vast solar arrays located in the same arid windy water scarce areas, also need major investment in coal fired back up power, smart grid technology. Also required are large volumes of water for cooling the thermal plants and cleaning the vast areas of reflectors.

The benefits of rare earth elements to climate change

Rare earth elements play a key role in green technologies that include catalytic converters, hybrid car batteries, energy efficient light bulbs and the magnets in very large wind turbines. They are also crucial to the manufacture of iPhones, fibre optic cables, LCDs, superconductors, nuclear power rods, and ceramic colourings.

The 17 rare earth elements are not that rare, and are found around the world in varying concentrations. China is the current source and supplier of "cheap" key rare earth minerals used in wind generation and electric cars.

Responsible, safe mining and processing practices, however, are critical in protecting both the environment and health and safety of the workers and those living near mining and processing sites.

This comes at a cost.

The rare earths currently used in manufacturing green energy products come from China, mainly because of the low cost of mining and processing when compared to that of developed countries. These elements however are mined and processed under horrific, primitive and hazardous conditions posing clear and unacceptable risks to the health and safety of miners, process workers and nearby residents.