• Where in the product / production life cycle can the most effective interventions be made to reduce the ecological and social impacts of REEs?
• Should governments take a more active role in regulating REE mining and mandating REE mining and mandating REE take back?

K E Y M E 55 AC1 E Students will understand better how rare earth elementsas an example of the many materials now used to make prod- uctsraiSe a suite of interconnected environmental, health, and geopolitical issues through their extraction and end-of.- liFe fate. Students will begin to think through the considera- tions that designers, companies, and governments face when trying to enhance the sustainability and social justice of Products. INTRODUCTION The design of prodch can have a huge effect on their sustainability. Selecting specific materials often results in damage from mining raw ingredients, harm to workers, and end-oflife waste. Are manufacturers obliged to think about the environmental and social impacts stemming from their choices ofwhich materials to use in their prod- ucts? Should companies think about where their materials are coming from, and what the effects are on local com- munities? Should economic cost be all-decisive in making decisions about materials? One way to begin answering these questions is to map the product's impacts across its life cycle, as well as the industry structures, corporate decisions, and designer val- ues that cause these consequences to be in the rst place. This approach diii'ers from life cycle asSeSSment that is generally a highly technical calculus aimed at quantifying certain impacts. In contrast, life cycle mapping tries to trace the ways in which production and 0:85:37: choices lead to environmental effects, both destructive and favorable. Rare earth elements (REES) provide a window in the complex array of business, design, trade, and sunainability considerations that firms may hold. These materials are widely used in supposedly \"clean technology\" products like electronics and renewable energy systems. They may appear innoeuous in helping make computer screens brightly colored, phones vibrate loudly, battery charges last longer, and wind turbines generate electricity, but their production, use, and end of life can create sizable ecological, health, and labor welfare costs in places from mines in California to electronic waste recycling villages in China. \"ether corporations and designers decide to use REEs in their products, and where they source such materials from, can end up affecting endangered desert tortoises, Chines'e miners, and national Security. In turn, the effhcts ofextracting or recycling REES also depend on whether governments have stringent environmental regu- Cant Studies in tritenuirommt, Lol 7. pps. 1-9. electronic ISSN 2.41.!3-9510. Q 10 I7 by the Regents of'dte University of California. All rights reserved Please direct all requests For permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University oFCaliliornia Pratt's Reprints and Permissionsweb page, mnepressedufjournalsphp ?p=reprints. DQI: httpsm'doiorgfron sasfemaotynon 1.65 is causing rare earth use to decline markedly. Nonethe- less, it can be hard to find substitutes for rare earths that have extraordinary chemical properties. China will continue to wield tremendous power for decades to come. Another option, then, may be to mine exist- ing products at the end of their lives for REES and thereby better close the loop. End-of-[ife Management This brings us to the other major life cycle stage where manufacturer and designer decisions can make an enor- mous difference as to the environmental outcome: the stage when products are taken out of use and either dis- posed of or recycled in some way. No product lasts Forever. However, the electronics industry, in particular, empha- sizes planned obsuleScence as part of its business strategy [2.1]. Firms repeatedly introduce new models, features, software, and technologies to maintain their rapid rate of growth. This is why Apple, For instance, brings in a new iPhone generation every two years to entice consumers to keep buying. BecaUSe the new designs often increaSe the use of rare earths even as they shrink electronics Fur- ther, it is important to recognize that accelerating model and feature turnover intensies the need to think through and nd ways to mitigate the harms that can be generated when such goods are thrown. away, rather than being safely and effectively recycled. recycling because of cheap shipping and plentiil manual labor. Certain regions in India, China, and Nigeria, among others, have become centers for recycling over the pas: 2.0 years. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, based in San JoSe, Caliarnia, has documented the conditions prevailing in these areas. In Guiyu, China, For example, workers typically smashed electronics with their hands, used highly toxic acids to extract metals From chips, and cooked circuit boards on res [2.2.]. Unrecyclable com- ponents formed piles of decaying waste around the vil- lages. Much scientic evidence now suggests that recycling workers and villagers are suli'ering higher rates of respira- tory illneSSes, decreased lung function, and spontaneous abortions and premature births [2.5]. They manifest higher DNA damage than those living in non-recycling villages. Children and pregnant women are at particular risk: biomonitoring Studies show that children contain elevated levels of chromium, lead, and other substances. Given the global \"scarcity" of rare earths (in terms of high economic feasibility and lack of industrial invest- ment in mining facilities), recycling electronics could become an important new source ofthese materials. Cur- rently, 3.5% of hard drives are shredded in the United States: if their magnets were extracted, r,ooo metric tons of neodymium could perhaps be recovered per year [16]. Nonetheless, the ways in which manufacturers have produced electronics malte it dizicult for Ecyclers to As it stands now, the churn of products results in immense electronic waste, or D'e-r.vaste,'' that is not reused [2.2.]. The US. Environmental Protection Agency says that e-waste is growingtwo to three times Faster than any other waste stream. Ruediger Kuhn, a leading expert, says that 49 million tons of e-wastes are produced each year, and only 10% is recycled [to]. In the United States, 2.5% of electronics are recycled, with only 8% of mobile devices being recycled [2.3]. Current estimates show that only I 96 ofREEs are recycled [2.4]. Many valuable materials in this waste, including REEs, are lost. Worse, much ofthis waste is returned to the earth in ways that may expose human and non-human life to carcinogenic, mutagenic, or endocrine disrulting toxins. A single computer may con- tain hundreds of toxic chemicals, including mercury, lead, and polyvinyl chloride [12.]. 6 CASE STUDIES IN THE ENVIRONMENT 2'31?Ir cially thoSe involved in the design and production ofgreen technologies. It is pDSSible for manufacturers to design products that can he disassembled at low cost, or that per- mit REES to be quickly and inexpensively removed [2.0]. recover REEs. For example, Phones have become even smaller and more complex: a phone used only 2.4 elements in zooo, whereas contemporary phones use over (So ele- ments [14]. Rare earths are increasingly integrated into devices and cannot be readily picked out. They may he dis- persed across a Screen, While batteries used to he remov- able but are no longer [2.4]. Because RBEs are often used as additives in magnets or glass, their removal requires chemical reactions, not just physical dismantling. Simply shredding hard drives leads to a 9o% loss of neodymium [2.4.]. While LED lights are even more energy efficient than CFLs, their REES cannot be removed. Ironically, it is much easier to remove REES from their ores than From electronics. Similar to the environmental and public health harms previously discussed, these problems should also be addressed by product chigl'lCI'S and manufacturers, ESP-:- electronics, wind turbines, electric cars, and other prod- ucts containing REEs. The European Union does have a law that requires the talte back and recycling of cars and electronics but extensive leakage occurs: wastes are Manufacturers have begun developing new technologies for extracting rare earths more efciently and sustainably 'orn diScarded products. Typically, extracting REES uses pyrometallurgical methods (heating e-waste, yielding air pollution, and GHGs) or chemical methods [using acids and solvents, creating toxic wastewater) [a].1n response to China limiting its exports, Japanese Firms have invested $1.2. billion in researching such techniques. Hitachi, for instance, has invented a process to Scale up retrieval of magnets from its waste hard dislr drives and air condition- ers. The US. Department of Energy has funded numer- ous Projects. In to] 6, the Gal: Ridge National Laboratory announced a proceSs for putting hard drives on an assem- bly line, demagnetizing them, and Separating magnets [2.6]. While magnets are the most easily removable REE source, other components could be treated similarly. It is also possible that rare earths could also be concentrated into modules that could be easily retrieved from end-of- life Products and reused. The problem is that developing these Processes requires costly research and development as well as investment in construction and operation of the retrieval technologies. These added costs raise the cost that a would-be green manufacturer needs to pay to use recycled REEs in the Production of new Products, leading to prices higher than for the conventional version of the product. How can green manufacturers successzllly surmount this hurdle? Can they do this without tax incentives and other gov- ernment policies in place to offset the additional costs? Should governments step in to provide subsidies for devel- oping and using new recycling technologies, thereby malt- ing recycling more economically feasible? still exported to developing countries and dumped there [17]. Still, talte baclt is very unevenly mandated world- wide, with many gaps (e.g. wind turbines that are now obsolete). In turn, many consumers do not recycle their products because they are not motivated to. Could manu- facturers change their marketing approach to malre prod- uct utalte back\" more \"hip"? And how? Another possible solution to the end-oF-product life disposal and recycling problem would be for manufactur- ers to stop pushing consumers to purchase products with REE content as often as they currently do [or for govem- ments to provide incentives to manufacturers to improve product longevity). This would involve designing iPhones and other consumer electronics for durability to enable them to last longer, as well as moving away From the strat- egy of rolling out new models and features every year or two. Such a change would protect communities located near REE mines and electronics recycling centers [partic- ularly in the developing world) by reducing the overall demand for the mining and smelting of REES. Many envi- ronmentalists have argued long before that this is what is really needed to reduce the harmful impacts of our mod- em industrial system. However, this solution also suffers From a major drawback from the manufacturers' perspec- tive, namely that it might shrink the size ofthe market For its products over the long term. Consumers may also have a hard time getting used to the idea that D'new'l is not nec- essarily "better.\" Nevertheless, if any of these alternatives to the current system of using REEs in products can be successfully implemented, the resulting reduction in the demand For new REE supplies could weaken the move to build ecolog- Altematively, manufacturers could search For ways to reduce their REE use. As noted above, however, this may reduce Functionality and will likely raise costs. 0r man- ufacturers could build recycling systems to enable con- sumers to return their old Products, thus greatly increasing take back rates. It has not been until the past decade that the electronics industry has had voluntary take-back pro- grams or incentives. However, these continue to be unim- Pressive in their success rates. Government Policies could help increase recycling by both investing in collection sys- tems as a public resource, and mandating the take back of ically damaging mines in the first place. CASE STU DY QUESTIONS Using REES in Sustainable technologies raises challenging issues. Whether it is wind turbines, electric cars, or iPhones, we are challenged to think about the complex web oFlife cycle costs and benefits of Producing, using, and disposing of all the materials of which they are com- posed. Some questions you may want to consider are: latory standards in place or offer subsidies for the adop- polluting [2] (see pages 2-1 to 2-3 in Ref. [2] for more tion of new recycling technologies. information about REE abundance and ores). In this case, we look at two life cycle phases-extraction and end of life-as examples of the effects that rare earths Where Are REEs Found? can have. Where do the materials in your phone come Rare earths, despite their name, are quite common from? What happens to your phone once you dispose of throughout the earth's crust but are usually found in small it ? concentrations in mineral ores such as oxides [2]. REEs in their most concentrated natural form are found primarily CASE EXAMINATION in three mineral ores (of over 200 known REE-containing What Are REEs and What Are They Used For? minerals). These mineral ores-bastnaesite, xenotine, and REEs are a group of 15 lanthanide metals on the periodic monzanite-are often but not always economically and table plus scandium and yttrium [1]. Their unique chem- technologically feasible for extraction. The most wide- ical and physical properties make them particularly attrac- spread ore is bastnaesite, a carbonate containing light tive to industries. For example, because some REEs are e REEs including cerium, lanthanum, and yttrium. Bastnae- powerful magnets, electronics manufacturers can design site ore in the United States and China make up the increasingly smaller, lighter technologies such as mobile majority of potentially extractable rare earths globally. phones, ultra-portable laptop computers, and electric car Australia, Brazil, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and China motors [2]. Rare earths are also used in numerous clean also have deposits of the second most common ore, mon- energy technologies, notably wind turbine generating zanite [7]. units [3]. Rare earths help power rechargeable batteries. Until the 19505, South Africa was the leading producer Some rare earths offer colorful phosphors for use in tele- of rare earths. Between the 1960s and 1980s, a mine in vision and computer screens and energy efficient LED Mountain Pass, California, was the dominant global lights. As a result, rare earths have gained the aura of being source before it closed down. Recently, Molycorps highly sustainable materials. restarted this mine, which accounts for all U.S. production The quantities of rare earths now consumed are not [8]. In the interim period, China rapidly became the trivial. For example, some electric vehicles have small largest extractor of rare earths, at times accounting for amounts, depending on their battery type: the Prius 95-97% of REEs worldwide, thus having a disproportion- hybrid NiMH battery alone contains 10 pounds of lan- ate influence on the availability of the materials [2]. Cur- thanum [4]. All cars have some REEs; the 87 million cars rently, partly in response to the geopolitical issues arising manufactured in 2013 accounted for roughly 30,000 from China's control, many countries around the world tonnes of REEs [s]. Some (not all) wind turbines also con- are exploring REE mining possibilities to protect their tain REEs, ranging from 70 kg/MW for hybrid systems to national security or to profit from a burgeoning market. 250 kg/MW for direct drive systems . In iPhone, REEs With new mines coming online in the United States,are used in small amounts in screens, hard drives, speakers, Canada, Vietnam, and Australia, China's control of the and vibration units [6]. This may seem miniscule but over global markets has declined modestly to around 83% as of a billion iPhones alone have been sold as of 2016. Many 2016 [9]. more mobile phones and computers have been produced. REEs are classified as "light" (Sc, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Mining and Refining REEs Sm, Eu, and Gd; also known as the cerium group) and Extracting REEs creates environmental and geopolitical "heavy" (Y, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu; also known issues that manufacturers and designers must consider in as the yttrium group) based on their properties [7]. Light deciding whether to use these materials. Mining and refin- REEs are more common and easier to extract than heavy ing can significantly damage land, ecosystems, and local REEs. Rare earths are not found in their isolated elemental communities that depend on these resources for their form in nature, and thus their separation and purification livelihoods and well-being. makes mining and processing challenging, expensive, and Miners typically choose above ground or open pit mines-instead of underground tunnels-to extract rare earth ore from the ground because these are by far thecheapest method. Mining REEs is particularly destructive to the environment because they are found at low levels of concentration in minerals, thus forcing miners to remove vast quanties of ore simply to yield economically viable product. For example, at the Mountain Pass mine, rare earth oxides comprise only 7% by content, with the reminder being waste rod: [2.]. This means that larger land areas must be mined, often destroying habitats and diverting water streams that wildlife rely on. Miners must also remove a large amount of overburden, or roelr and soil covering the more economically valuable ore. Storing these waste rocks next to the pit can result in ore debris, metals, and toxins being released into the soil, air, and water [3]. The next step is refining of the rare earth mineral to separate it from the materials it is bound to. Generally, rening happens elos: to the mining process to leasen transportation costs. The ore is pulverized into gravel and brolren down rrther in a grinding mill so that the mineral grains get separated. This sand is then put through a oatation process in which, in the case ofbastnaesite, toxic chemicals are added and bastnaesite oating on the top is then collected [7]. Once crushed, the ore requires further processing to recover the REE in its elemental Form. This can happen in several ways, depending on the ore type. Because rare earths are incredibly stable, acids ancifor high heat must be used to break up chemical bonds in order to separate the REE From the ore. The most common refiningprocess is smelting where the metal is extracted by reacting ore in the Furnace with highly poisonous oxidants and acids. Rare earth ores at Mountain Pass were discovered in 1949, including a large vein of bastnaesite, which is an important source of cerium, used to malt: fluorescent lights, self cleaning ovens, and many other products [to]. By 1953, the Molybdenum Corporation oFAmerica (later renamed Molycorp) had built a miningcomplex sprawling over 2.2.2. acres. initially, the mine supplied rare earths to the US. military to be stockpiled for future use. By 1965, the advent of color TV provided a new market for europium oxide, which is used as red phosphor. Soon the mine was producing a variety of REES For the rapidly growing U5. electronics industry. Between the r96os and [9305, Mountain Pass produced enough to satisfy US. demand, as well as a third of world demand [2.]. Some heavy rare earths [e.g. dyspnosium) still needed to be imported because they could not be mined in the United States; in Fact, they generally came From ChineSe mines. in 1977, Union Oil Corporation of California (Uno- cal) acquired Molycorp. It halted production in zoos. due to increasingly intense competition From lower cost mines in China, as well as higher production costs, more strin- gent regulatory requirements, and dil'l'iailties in disposing of mine railings [10]. In zoos, Chevron Corporation tool: over Unocal before selling the mine to a new company, Molycorp Minerals LLC. In 2.01 I , the federal government granted a permit to Molycorp to reopen the mine, as the US. market revived in response to lChina's recent record in imposing quotas on its rare earths exports. The mine became operational again in 2.014 and now suppliesin powder formsome of the REES used in wind turbines and the iPhone and other electronics. This process often involves many steps, each generating its The mine has had a long history of pollution problems. own waste stream: at the Mountain Pass Mine, refining Molycorp dumped tailings and other wastes from mining involves 33 stages [2]. Finally, the REE is purified to a and refining these materials into a slurry behind a dam concentration high enough to sell. REEs are either sold before the mine was closed in 2002 [1 1]. The acids, heavy as oxides, a powder form which can be packaged and metals, and radioactive elements from these wastes have shipped, or are further refined on-site to alloys for prod- leaked into local groundwater supplies [2]. Because some ucts. REEs are found in ores containing uranium, wastes can contain radioactive thorium and uranium; this was the Mining Impacts in the United States and China case at Mountain Pass. In 1996, 300,000 gallons of waste- Mining and refining rare earths cause many environment water spilled from a pipe breakage, contaminating the area tally destructive effects that, by choosing to use REEs around Ivanpah Dry Lake with radioactive materials and without demanding more sustainable practices, manufac lead [12]. This threatened the delicate ecosystem in the turers tacitly endorse. The mines at Mountain Pass in the nearby Mojave National Preserve, and potentially harmed California Mojave Desert near Nevada and in China's endangered desert tortoises. This accident led to the dis- Inner Mongolia province are vivid examples. covery of 60-plus previous leakages and to federal investi- gations that eventually cost Molycorp millions of dollarsin nes and cleanup costs. At its peak, the mine Produced B 50 gallons of salty wastewater per minute, while smelting the ore releaSed smolre containing greenhouse gases, heavy metals, sulfur, and other ore traces into the air [I 1]. Nonetheless, the new Molycorp mine claims to be pro- ducing REES much more sustainably than before. Using new, sophisticated chemistry, it is striving to recover the same amount of [113135 From half as much ore [I I ]. The company has asserted that it has at least eliminated the renery's waste problem by nding a way to encapsulate toxic chemicals and radioactive materials. A new process \"presses the water out of the railings in order to reuse it. W'hat's left is a paste, to which Molycorp adds cement and then lays out in a line-d disposal site\" [6]. In essence, this simply seals the wasre, rather than preventing its gener- ation. It is not yet clear whether this approach works in the longer term, since leaching from supposedly enclosed dumps can occur. Molycorp also planned to use heat and steam from natural gas for its energy, while setting up closed-loop systems to conserve water, and innalling ue gas treatment technologies to reduce air emissions [1 I]. But, to date, these new technologies have not yet been Fully implemented because of the diicult chemistry involved; moreover, Molycorp filed for bankruptcy in July eo1 5 as a result of lower global prices for rare earths [13]. Following a loss of interest by the US. government in maintaining its rare earth indusn'y, China hecarne the world's largest producer of REEs in the mid-19903. The worst of the industry's environmental and health impacts are concentrated here. Rare earth mining began in China with the discovery of hastnaesite and monazite in Bayan NonetheleSs, China still does not have the environmen- tal regulations and monitoring now in Place in the United States. This means that its mines produce rare earths at a much lower cost than competitors located in nations with stronger regulation and therefore can out-compete mines like Mountain Passwith devastating consequences [6] Mined ore from Bayan Obo is transported to Baotou, a town tao km south of Bayan Obo, for processing. Decades of poor management mean that villages in and around Bayan Obo are now suffering greatly from water pollution [I 5,]. The original tailings ponds, the largest in the world, were built in the 19505. They do not protect groundwater From the sulfuric acid and thoritun waste produced by the refining process [16]. According to vil- lagers, by the 1 9805, crops no longer grew and the polluted groundwater began. to kill their livestock. Farmers were displaced and lost their livelihoods. 1vl'illagers also began to experience high rates of cancer and birth defects [15]. While rare earths are not partic- ularly toxic, thorium, if inhaled or ingested, can increase the risk of lung cancer and blood cancers. \"Mole villages between the city of Baotou and the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia have been evacuated and resettled to apartment towers elsewhere after reports of high cancer rates and other health problems aSsociated with the numerous rare earth reneries there" [IS]. [fcontaminated groundwater reaches the Yellow River, as many as I 50 million people may be expmed to its risks [1 6]. In the past few years, the Chinese government has belatedly moved to begin cleaning up the Baotao region and to strengthen environmental regulations. Nonethe- .___ ___ _,____ . _'J __ .,______,.___ ___, ___________ lC'ho in the Inner Mongolia province during the 1930s [7]. Production began modestly 1n the 1950s before sharply accelerating in the 1930s in tandem with the rise of the global electronics industry. Between 1973 and 1939, pro- duction increased by 4.0% each year [7]. China came to see rare earths as a key commodity mineral in lChina's export economy, and accordingly began investing in an array of research institutes, a rare earths society, and supply chain mechanisms across several decades [14]. In 1992., Deng Xiaoping, chairman of the Communist Party, declared, \"The Middle East has oil, China has rare earths" [7]. By zoro, lChina controlled an estimated 97% of the global market. Worldwide Production more than doubled by 2.0 I I, while the United States and other countries' shares shrank to almost nothing [2.]. 4 CASE STUDIES IN THE ENVIRONMENT 201? __ __ _ ___\" ____ __D __ __ less, who is in control of REE mining remains in question. Much mining is illegal and is also associated with extensive smuggling. Due to China's complex government structure (with local, province, and central authorities that often compete against each other for control), central authori- ties often struggle to oversee environmental law enforce- ment and industrial policieS. Around 4.0% ofChineSe pro- duction comes from illegal mines that do not pay royalties to the Chinese state [17]. Experts suggesr that perhaps as zo,ooo3o,ooo tons of rare earth oxides, roughly 1 53096 of ofcial production, were Smuggled out of China each year in the late aooos [I7]. These tragic impacts raise many questions for product designers and manufacturers Whose products include REES. Mat responsibility do they have to require their suppliers to mitigate the harmful environmental impacts ofmining and rening these materials? \"at if their sup- pliers lack the poweror rerseto meet their demands? 1iii-hat happens if certain (heavy) rare earths cannot be sourced From anywhere else except environmentally destructive mines in lChina? Do manufacturers have a responsibility to lobby for stricter regulation of REE min- ing and smelling in nan'ons with weal: environmental reg- ulations? Do they have a responsibility to try to develop new designs that do not require the use of REEs? What should they do if the design alternatives raise consumer Prices or Provide lCSS Functionality for users? The Geopoliticoi Dimension: China's Trade Controls and Finding Substitutes Another issue that manufacturers must now think about when decidingwhether to use rare earths in their products is the geopolitical situation arising from global trade in these materials. thile geopolitical considerations have long inuenced supply chain development and sourcing decisions, REES illustrate the potential For so-called uenergy critical\" materials to become abruptly unavailable or very costly. China's near-monopoly over rare earths tradedespite only having 57% of global reserves (as of zoIS)has meant that its trade policies can boomerang worldwide [13]. Companies increasingly fear that they will lose acceSs to REES, endangering their production and profits. Moreover, industrial countries such as the United States see China's power as a possible threat to national security, since REES are essential to modern military hard- ware . Staning in zoos, China began imposing REE export [ 19]. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described China's behavior as a wake-up call. While national security argu- ments were made, environmental activists expreSSed strong concern that Congress could pass laws to relax regulatory protections in the name of national security. Indeed, in 2.013, the Home of Representatives passed a bill to ease the application and permit process for mining of \"strategic minerals" [13]. Federal agencies would be required to decide on mining permits witl'rin 30 months of receiving applications, which would limit their capacity to inves tigate possible risks and undermine the ability of com- munities to respond to new mine proposals. The Ohama government later decided to join Japan and the EU in a challenge at the World Trade Organization [WTO}. In 2.0 I4, the WTO ruled that China's attempts to regulate itS REE exports infringed on international trade law, Forcing China to eliminate its export quotas [I 9]. in contrast to other more traditional environmental life cycle issues, these issues raise queStions for manufacturers that use rare earth materials in their products that relate to the geopolitics of sourcing: Should companies comply with China's restrictions? Should they seek to develop new mines elsewhere? If they do, what steps should they take to mitigate the harmful environmental and hmlth impacts of their mines and reneries? Or should they nd alterna- tives to using rare earths in their products? Not surprisingly, mining companies and governments worldwide have sought to open new mines in more polit- ically stable places lilre Australia, the United States, and Canada [I 4, so]. This can he challengingsince many REES are currently only needed in small amounts (e.g. just zoo quotas and duties, ostensibly to limit the ecological eiii'ects of its domestic extraction activities. In truth, China aimed to drive production of advanced technologies using REEs into its domestic economy [I]. In July zoto, for example, China reduced its exports by 72% For the rest of the year, leading to dramatic riSes in prices. The price of neodymium increased from US$42. to US$2.83 per kilo- gram [19]. Later, in 1010, China was widely Perceived to have temporarily stopped shipments going to Japan in response to a maritime incident [I].Jpi1l'l was largely dependent on China For its rare earth imports; in turn, many countries relied on the products that Japan exported. As a result, multiple Congress hearings and Defense Department reviews occurred over whether the United States should revive its own rare earth extraction industry graphene for indium tin oxide in touchscreens. In the energy-efficient lighting sector, the ongoing transition to LEDs instead of compact uoreScent lamp (CFLS) is causing rare earth use to decline markedly. Nonethe- tons for tellurium) and it is not economical to build mines just to produce this amount [2.0]. To date, a number of mines have come online, including the re-opened Moun- tain Pass mine. China has even begun investigating mining REEs around the world, including Greenland where melt- ing ice is exposing land for exploration [18]. It remains unclear whether these mines are effectively managing their environmental eHects. But industries are also looking at how to reduce their use of rare earths, in terms of quantities or find- ing Functional technological substitutes [r 9]. Wind turbine makers have developed a new magnet that does not need neodymium, While Honda recently engineered the world's first hybrid car motor without using heavy rare earth metals [to]. Manufacturers can 3150 Find alternatives based {ll'l carbon nanotubes DI' Impacts of Using Rare Earth Elements in Products 5 Even where \"old" phones and laptops are recycled, the conditions For recycling workers may be exploitative and ghastly. E-Waste is often sent to developing countries for recycling because of cheap shipping and plentiFul manual