Michelle Malkin
10/5/2010
President Obama is pushing solar panels and other green technology pet projects as a way to create jobs and promote energy independence.
What his eco-radical bureaucrats won’t mention is that they are simply trading one type of foreign dependence for another: From Saudi oil…to Chinese rare earth metals.
As some of you may have read, the Chi-coms are flexing their regime muscle as the world’s dominant producers of the precious minerals used to manufacture solar panels, electric cars, wind turbines, and other environmentally correct products. China accounts for 95 percent of the rare earth metals market…
…After years of obstructing the industry, Democrats are now rushing to re-open rare earth metal mines in the face of this national security threat. The last one shut down in 2002. It could take up to 15 years to get it back up and running again.
Four words: Too little, too late.
Energy analyst Paul Driessen warned of the danger posed by restrictive, short-sighted green handcuffs:
So here we are, long beholden to foreign powers for petroleum – and newly dependent on foreign powers for “green” energy. National security issues (direct defense needs and indirect dependency issues) once again rise to the fore, and the Defense Department, Government Accountability Office, House Science and Technology Committee and others are busily issuing reports, holding hearings and expressing consternation. Congressman Bart Gordon (D-TN) worries that the United States is being “held hostage.”…
Read the entire article at MichelleMalkin.com
