Logo

American Security Council Foundation

Back to main site

Alan W. Dowd is a Senior Fellow with the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes on the full range of topics relating to national defense, foreign policy and international security. Dowd’s commentaries and essays have appeared in Policy Review, Parameters, Military Officer, The American Legion Magazine, The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, The Claremont Review of Books, World Politics Review, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Jerusalem Post, The Financial Times Deutschland, The Washington Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Examiner, The Detroit News, The Sacramento Bee, The Vancouver Sun, The National Post, The Landing Zone, Current, The World & I, The American Enterprise, Fraser Forum, American Outlook, The American and the online editions of Weekly Standard, National Review and American Interest. Beyond his work in opinion journalism, Dowd has served as an adjunct professor and university lecturer; congressional aide; and administrator, researcher and writer at leading think tanks, including the Hudson Institute, Sagamore Institute and Fraser Institute. An award-winning writer, Dowd has been interviewed by Fox News Channel, Cox News Service, The Washington Times, The National Post, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and numerous radio programs across North America. In addition, his work has been quoted by and/or reprinted in The Guardian, CBS News, BBC News and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dowd holds degrees from Butler University and Indiana University. Follow him at twitter.com/alanwdowd.

ASCF News

Scott Tilley is a Senior Fellow at the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes the “Technical Power” column, focusing on the societal and national security implications of advanced technology in cybersecurity, space, and foreign relations.

He is an emeritus professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. Previously, he was with the University of California, Riverside, Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, and IBM. His research and teaching were in the areas of computer science, software & systems engineering, educational technology, the design of communication, and business information systems.

He is president and founder of the Center for Technology & Society, president and co-founder of Big Data Florida, past president of INCOSE Space Coast, and a Space Coast Writers’ Guild Fellow.

He has authored over 150 academic papers and has published 28 books (technical and non-technical), most recently Systems Analysis & Design (Cengage, 2020), SPACE (Anthology Alliance, 2019), and Technical Justice (CTS Press, 2019). He wrote the “Technology Today” column for FLORIDA TODAY from 2010 to 2018.

He is a popular public speaker, having delivered numerous keynote presentations and “Tech Talks” for a general audience. Recent examples include the role of big data in the space program, a four-part series on machine learning, and a four-part series on fake news.

He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Victoria (1995).

Contact him at stilley@cts.today.

China - Mineral Muscle.

Monday, July 17, 2023

Written by Laurence F Sanford, Senior Analyst ASCF

Categories: ASCF News ASCF Articles

Comments: 0

Mining Pollution in China

China, ruled by the fascist Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is exerting its mineral muscle and domination of critical minerals used by the United States for defense, clean energy, and crucial technologies. The CCP recently restricted the export of gallium and germanium, key components in semiconductors, missile systems, and solar panels, in retaliation to U.S. restrictions on CCP access to equipment used to make advanced computer chips. China produces 60 percent of the world’s supply of germanium and 80 percent of the world’s supply of gallium.

Other critical minerals dominated by China are lithium, nickel, cobalt, and aluminum, key components in electric vehicles (EV) batteries.
● Lithium - China dominates processed lithium with over 70% of the world market. Raw lithium ore, mined in Australia, Africa, and South America, is processed in China and is an environmentally damaging refining process. The Lithium Triangle of Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia hold an estimated sixty percent of the global lithium reserves, with China owning major ownership or contractual stakes.
● Nickel - Sourced from Indonesia through a new Chinese extraction process called HPAL (High-Pressure Acid Leach), the major mines are under contract or are owned by China. The HPAL process consumes huge quantities of water and pollutes the environment. The name “acid leach” tells it all.
● Cobalt - More than 70% of the world’s cobalt is produced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Russia is the second largest producer. The U.S. has one recently opened mine in Idaho, but the ore will be processed in Brazil. Most of the DRC cobalt is shipped under contract to China. Artisanal mining of cobalt utilizes child labor and exploits workers. The environment is polluted, and the work occurs in brutal open pit conditions. This mining accounts for over 15% of the total production.
● Aluminum - China accounts for 60% of the world’s production. Electric power is essential in the manufacture of aluminum. China is building coal-powered electric plants at the rate of one per week to support the industry. Climate change caused by carbon dioxide emissions does not appear to be a factor with CCP policies.

The U.S. elite's societal suicide stampede toward clean energy endangers national security. The progressive elites promulgate the narrative that carbon dioxide causes climate change; therefore, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels must be eliminated. Earth’s climate has been changing for four billion years. One can argue that more atmospheric carbon dioxide is good for human habitation. A warmer earth means plants grow better, and fewer humans die of cold. More humans die from cold than from heat.

America’s economy, national defense, and civilization depend upon energy produced with fossil and nuclear fuels. So-called clean energy from the wind (that sometimes doesn’t blow and kills birds and whales), from solar (that doesn’t produce when the sun goes down), and battery backups (that don’t functionally exist) will not provide the energy for modern American civilization. Future growth in clean energy will come from nuclear - safe, economical, and dependable.

China is building hundreds of coal-powered carbon dioxide-emitting plants to strengthen its economy and military. Meanwhile, the U.S. is shutting down coal plants and weakening its economy, its military, and civilization. Why is America playing to China’s strengths and not America’s strengths? Not one nation on earth has been successful with clean energy.

Meanwhile, nickel mine development in Minnesota faces governmental, environmental, and tribal opposition. Other critical mineral and fossil fuel developments in the U.S. face similar opposition.

The misnamed Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress could exceed $1 TRILLION in subsidies as green energy corporations jump on the government gravy train. Meanwhile, existing fossil fuel industries upon which America’s military, industry, and society depend will weaken from competition with taxpayer-funded inefficient green energy corporations.

Ford Motor Company, in April 2023, announced plans to invest $3.5 billion in an EV battery plant in Michigan to be built in partnership with and dependent upon Chinese-owned CATL technology. This is in addition to Ford previously committing $11.4 billion in partnership with SK Innovations of South Korea for a giant facility in Kentucky. Meanwhile, Ford is laying off thousands of employees to help fund the transition from fossil fuel cars to EVs.

Summary
For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost.
For want of a horse, the rider was lost.
For want of a rider, the message was lost.
For want of a message, the battle was lost.
For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail

Supply chains are essential for modern society to exist. One missing nail in the chain can lead to a kingdom lost. To be dependent upon the CCP for essential materials and technologies, the United States is committing societal suicide. World domination is the goal of the CCP through unrestricted warfare. This includes espionage, intellectual property theft, and the poisoning of America through biological warfare, fentanyl drugs, and media outlets such as TikTok.

The CCP's recent export restrictions of gallium and germanium are warning shots across America’s bow. More shots are coming. America needs to de-couple from China.

Peace Through Strength!

Laurence F. Sanford
Senior Analyst
American Security Council Foundation
www.ascf.us

Comments RSS feed for comments on this page

There are no comments yet. Be the first to add a comment by using the form below.