China's recent suspension of rare earth shipments has signaled the need for America to take action long before there is a shortage of rare earths, and look to alternative sources and providers.

Despite China's emergence as an economic power and all the talk about how America has become a service economy, U.S. manufacturing is alive and well.

Despite China's emergence as an economic power and all the talk about how America has become a service economy, U.S. manufacturing is alive and well. But there is a fly in the ointment -- the U.S. has become dangerously dependent on imports of raw materials needed to keep the economy moving.

Join us for a discussion of the rare earth elements and the policy ramifications of their scarcity, geographic distribution, environmental impacts, and near-monopolistic market.

Of all the verses in the "China-is-Awesome" hallelujah chorus, none is chanted louder than the fact that China is leaving everyone in the dust in "green" energy, especially wind and solar power. However, the real action is revealed when the absolute numbers are posted up.

The idea that government can create jobs in the economy is a myth, and painting the myth green makes it no less of a myth. The experience of Europe, which has preceded us in the quest for a new green economy, is both negative, and unsustainable, with subsidies being cut back, and feed-in tariffs reduced.

Nuclear power must play a larger role in maintaining our nation's energy security.

Despite widespread political support and large direct and indirect subsidies from both the federal and stategovernments, renewable electricity—wind and solar power, in particular—produces only 3.6 percent of USpower generation. This small market share suggests inherent limitations that can be overcome only at veryhigh cost.