National Security Threatened By EPA Regulations: China Provides Critical Elements for US Military
| June 8, 2012 | Posted by Beth Shaw under Mining |
The President of the United States performs under a constitutional mandate to ‘provide for the common Defense.’ One certainly hopes that would be the primary concern of anyone who holds the office of the Presidency or works in any American Presidential Administration. It is one of the areas in which government excels and must be involved. However, it seems that at times politics, political donors with deep pockets and special interest groups, such as the environmental extremists, have taken precedent over many of the interests of the people. Not to mention ‘the common defense’.
A new study conducted by American Resources Policy Network (pdf file) was released yesterday and the results are a bit disturbing to say the least.
The study defines critical and strategic metals and minerals as ‘materials required for defense and national security needs’ and ‘those materials for which the U.S. is largely import dependent, for which no viable economic substitute exists, or for which there is concern over the source (for geopolitical reasons) or the supply (for market reasons).’
That’s all well and good but there’s a little bit of a problem. That problem is that we are not harvesting the supply that is available to us in the United States. For instance, the refusal of the EPA to allow the Pebble Mine Project in Alaska to even complete the permit process to extract copper from the Earth in that area. One has to wonder why that would be. Surely it wouldn’t be for purely political reasons? Or would it?
Instead of taking advantage of our own natural resources, the Pentagon is having to buy critical materials from China and elsewhere. It defies common sense. But then we all know that ‘common sense’ is a misnomer as it is anything but common.
The Washington Examiner has picked up on the American Resources Policy Network study:
China supplies 43 percent of the minerals like lithium and bismuth the U.S. national security industry is 90 to 100 percent dependent on foreign suppliers for. Worse: The U.S. is at least 50 percent dependent on foreign suppliers for 43 key minerals, more than America’s dependence on foreign oil.
The question we have to ask ourselves is are we really willing to undermine our own national security, not to mention jobs, economic and energy independence, so that the wealthy can have their playgrounds and not worry about actually having to SEE where their energy comes from? I mean, you don’t really think they give up their private jets, computers and cell phones, do you? All of those things take copper and that copper is mined somewhere – specifically China.
Twenty-two percent of the United State’s mineral imports come from China. That is a disproportionately high number. Especially when one considers the amount of those resources available here that are being regulated out of business by Obama’s EPA.
I guess it makes environmentalists feel good about themselves to think they are actually doing something for the environment, when in fact their actions are causing MORE damage to the environment. Its just on the other side of the world and not in their own backyards.
More from the study:
The group recommends that the administration reverse course and open up public lands to mining for strategic materials and build reserves. “U.S. important dependence is largely self-inflicted,” said the group.
“The U.S. government desperately needs a coherent national mineral access strategy,” said Daniel McGroarty, President of the American Resources Policy Network. “We are acutely dependent on foreign supplies of non-fuel minerals and metals that are vital to commercial manufacturing and advanced weapons systems. Our exposure to potential supply disruptions is a profound national security threat.”
In other words, ‘Mine baby, mine!’
