Monday, November 22, 2010

Why environmentalism is dangerous to the environment

Today's quiz is to identify the law that contains the following:

TRANSPARENCY FOR EXTRACTION INDUSTRY

Public Disclosure: Requires public disclosure to the SEC of payments made to the U.S. and foreign governments relating to the commercial development of oil, natural gas, and minerals.

SEC Filing Disclosure: The SEC must require those engaged in the commercial development of oil, natural gas, or minerals to include information about payments they or their subsidiaries, partners or affiliates have made to the U.S. or a foreign government for such development in an annual report and post this information online.
Congo Conflict Minerals:

Manufacturers Disclosure: Requires those who file with the SEC and use minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo in manufacturing to disclose measures taken to exercise due diligence on the source and chain of custody of the materials and the products manufactured.

Illicit Minerals Trade Strategy: Requires the State Department to submit a strategy to address the illicit minerals trade in the region and a map to address links between conflict minerals and armed groups and establish a baseline against which to judge effectiveness.

If you guessed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act you win the prize. Yes the act that reforms the financial industry that has nothing to do with the current financial crisis contains a provision on reporting of mineral purchased from the Congo! The reason that the provision appears is because minerals essential to the production of the batteries used in hybrid and electric cars come from Zambia and the Congo. Also cobalt is vital in lithium batteries used in ipods, iphones and laptops. Moreover the same is true with the materials used in making circuit boards. Over 80 percent of cobalt is from these countries where racial tensions have seen over 5 million deaths in the Rwandan genocide. Some concerned people (see Aaron Robinson's editorial in the November issue of Car and Driver) say that the demand for these vital minerals are fueling the murders. Moreover, the mining of the minerals are wreaking environmental devastation in the region. So isn't it ironic that the environmental do-gooders are helping to murder Rwandans and destroying their country? Not to mention that the whole notion of saving the planet by producing electric cars is simply stupid. How do you recharge the batteries? Electricity. And how do you produce electricity? Coal. And what fuel is absolutely abhored by the greenie weenies? Coal. Or of course you could use nuclear. Lastly, what about the replacement cost of the batteries? Try $5000 per battery for a Prius and $15,000 for the battery bank of a Chevy Volt. I for one am tired of this kabuki theatre.

1 comment:

Colonnese '09 said...

How often do you have to replace those electric car batteries? Also, how about a break-down of how these cars "save" the consumer money...

Thanks Doc!

Michael Colonnese 09'