Canada could become a key supplier of rare earth metals for high-tech devices

Flatscreen TVs, laptops and Apple's iPhones all use rare earth metals. It's a market that a many Canadian companies are trying to compete in. Rare earth metals are also used in wind turbines, iPod earbuds, hybrid electric cars and in the military. China controls 97% of the production of rare earth metals and they just cut-off exports to Japan. Though they're called rare earth metals but they're not actually in short supply. There are a group of 17 similar metallic elements whose names are cerium, terbium, dysprosium and neodymium. The "heavy" rare earth metals are critical to the production of magnets found in wind turbines, computer hard drives and electric motors. They can tolerate very high temperatures. The Chinese have cut back on exports because they have to meet their own domestic demand. Luckily,Canadian companies could be the closest to producing an alternate supply of "heavy" rare earth metals. South Africa and Australia are right behind.

In my opinion, Rare Earth Metals are very important for the future and now. In the future, more and more of our energy is going to be Eco friendly. To do this we will need and rely on a safe secure source of Rare Earth Metals. I also think that we should not allow China to own 97% of the market. It is rumoured that China completely destroyed their environment around the mines when extracting the metals. They wanted the metals at any cost. The U.S. in contrast, have tough environmental regulations that have, so far, prevented them from mining the rare earth's in Utah, Wyoming and in Colorado. Hopefully that will change. When you extract the metals there are very toxic chemical byproducts. There were also rumours that China was using slave labor to mine the metals. Thankfully, Canada has large potential to mine rare earth metals including the "heavy metals. Mines in Saskatchewan and Labrador are moving ahead.

Moonshot last year splashed up lots of water

NASA blasted a hole in the moon last year in search of water. Results from the moonshot reveal lots of water in a crater where the sun never shines. There was 155 litres of ice and vapour and is twice as much as researchers had expected. The Mission chief scientist Anthony Colaprete thinks there could be four billion litres of water in the crater. He called it an "oasis in a lunar desert." There could be more craters at the moon's poles. The Moon could be a possible future outpost where water on site could be used for drinking or making rocket fuel. The $79-million moon mission known as "LCROSS" was launched October 9th 2009. The crash carved a hole about one-quarter the size of a football field and a trailing spacecraft then flew through the cloud of debris and used its instruments to analyze what was inside before it also struck the moon. Besides water, it also contained carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ammonia, sodium, mercury and silver.

We have always thought that the moon was a desert but it turns out it isn't. Scientists have found tons of water and other valuable elements that could be used if we were to build a base on the moon. I think the Americans the Japanese and the Chinese plan to build bases on the moon in the future, to deploy solar panels to meet surging power demand in 2030-2050.

Microsoft unveils new Windows phones

Microsoft has finally launched a new smartphone called Windows Phone 7. The compation is tough against iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. Microsoft has been supplying its' Mobile operating system to Motorola and LG for years. Apple, RIM and Android have prospered at the expense of Microsoft. In the United States, the key smartphone battleground, RIM is the market share leader, with 39.3 per cent, followed by Apple’s iPhone at 23.8 per cent. Android is third with 17 per cent, followed by Microsoft with 11.8 per cent. The newly redesigned Windows operating system features a “tile” interface. Microsoft is hoping that its Xbox Live online video-game platform will win business. In the U.S., the first Windows Phone 7 will be available through the AT&T network on Nov. 8 with a list price of $200 US. Canadian pricing has not been announced.

I don't like the looks of the phone and the layout is not appealing. The competition is also very tough. The ability to play COD and NHL 11 on your phone would be awesome. I would buy the phone just for that. But it has to work well with no annoying glitches. Microsoft has a reputation for being virus prone so what would make the phone any different? Virus are bad enough on my computer never mind my cellphone. But Microsoft is big and rich so you can't count them out. I'm curious to see how they do.

Hungary sludge flood kills 4

Hungary declared a state of emergency in three counties. A flood of toxic red sludge from an alumina plant engulfed several towns and burned people through their clothes. Plaster is being poured into the Marcal River to bind the toxic sludge and prevent it from flowing. One million cubic metres of sludge has leaked, affecting 40 square kilometers. 390 residents had to be relocated and 110 were rescued, from the three flooded towns. Firefighters and soldiers are cleaning the mess up. The sludge is a waste product from aluminum production and is toxic. The chemical burns caused by the sludge could take days to emerge and what may seem like superficial injuries could later cause damage to deeper tissue. The red sludge is, by volume, the largest amount of toxic waste in Hungary. The company responsible denied that it should have taken more precautions to shore up the reservoir.

I cant believe that a environmental disaster of this size could happen today. Government and the aluminum smelter should have taken proper precautions to prevent this from happening. Death and destruction will now cause the government to act. IT will take a very long time for the country to clean this mess up. There will a permanent affect on the land and it would also cost millions to clean it up. Both the government (taxpayers) and the company will bear the cost. There will also be a lot of law suites. I hope the company has insurance. What do you do with the sludge? Is it just kept in a reservoir.