Rare earths

The side of the new green deal that no one talks about is the mining and disposal of rare earth metals the elements used to manufacture solar panels, wind mills, electric car batteries and many other modern conveniences like cell phones. There are two methods of mining and both produce mountains of toxic waste, with high risk of environmental and health hazards. For every ton of rare earth there are 2,000 tons of waste. China established dominance in the market because of laxed rules much like the West during the early years of the industrial revolution. The mines there allow seepage into the groundwater and it is heading toward the Yellow River a major source of water for millions of people. Currently the sludge is moving at 25 meters per year, a dangerously rapid rate. At one mine there is a holding pond that contains 70,000 tons of radioactive thorium. By comparison the total of all the nuclear waste stored in the US since nuclear power plants started some 60 years ago is 90,000 tons. The same people who regale against nuclear power because of the waste storage have no concept of what rare earth mining does. All of this is just the first half of the story and the disposal is the other half. Currently the most popular method is to bury it in Africa.