Here Comes The Resource Wars

Get Ready for the Worst Resource Shock the World Has Ever Known -- Michael Klare, Real Clear World/Tom Dispatch

Brace yourself. You may not be able to tell yet, but according to global experts and the U.S. intelligence community, the earth is already shifting under you. Whether you know it or not, you're on a new planet, a resource-shock world of a sort humanity has never before experienced.

Two nightmare scenarios -- a global scarcity of vital resources and the onset of extreme climate change -- are already beginning to converge and in the coming decades are likely to produce a tidal wave of unrest, rebellion, competition, and conflict. Just what this tsunami of disaster will look like may, as yet, be hard to discern, but experts warn of "water wars" over contested river systems, global food riots sparked by soaring prices for life's basics, mass migrations of climate refugees (with resulting anti-migrant violence), and the breakdown of social order or the collapse of states. At first, such mayhem is likely to arise largely in Africa, Central Asia, and other areas of the underdeveloped South, but in time all regions of the planet will be affected.

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My Comment: The battle for resources is as old as warfare itself. In this post .... Michael Klare does a good analysis on what to expect.

Are The Resource Wars Beginning?

The Resource Wars Are Only Beginning -- Daniel McGroarty, Real Clear World

A Rare Earths white paper released last week by a Chinese government agency is proving a Rorschach ink blot for non-Chinese commentators. Twitter traffic captures the cacophony: China defends Rare Earths curbs … China concedes errors … China shifts course … China counter-attacks …

It doesn't take an English Lit deconstructionist to discern that when so many different readers unpack the same text in such different ways, it tells us more about the assumptions we're carrying into the analysis than the interpretations we're pulling out.

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My Comment: Oil, rare earths, fresh water .... these are the resources that are declining while demand is increasing .... but will this lead to resource wars? A country like Japan expanded in the early to mid 20th century to secure resources .... resulting in war and conflict that lead to the Second World War. Will we have an equivalent situation in the 21rst century .... I guess we are witnessing some of it now.

The EU Prepares For The Resource Wars

Didymium oxide, a combination of neodymium and praseodymium, two rare earth elements is shown here. Japanese and U.S. officials are meeting to discuss American supplies that could be exploited and whether substitutes could be found. REUTERS/David Becker

Scrambling For Raw Materials: EU Plans Measures To Tackle Resource Crunch -- Spiegel Online

European companies are facing serious shortages of vital raw materials. China is holding back the export of rare earths, which are needed for high-tech products. A new EU strategy paper, which has been obtained by SPIEGEL ONLINE, seeks to address the resource crunch. But critics say it does not go far enough.

Metal, wood or fuels are the source of our prosperity -- but the supply of some of these is faltering. Geologists have long warned that certain natural resources are becoming scarce and that they are not being extracted in sufficient quantities. As a result, businesses face the threat of serious shortfalls in production. Some German companies are already facing problems relating to the supply of rare earths, which are used in high-tech appliances. "A supply crisis has begun," says geologist Harald Elsner of Germany's Federal Institution for Geological Sciences and Raw Materials (BGR).

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Update #1: China's rare earth grip -- Financial Post/Canada.com
Update #2: Did China Overplay Rare Earth Hand? -- Saurav Jha, the Diplomat

My Comment: The U.S. and Japan are now cooperating to insure stable rare earth supplies. A rather interesting analysis on what India is doing to prepare for future resource shortages. But India, the U.S., and Japan are not the only countries that are now looking at how to ensure stable resource supplies. Canada .... a major world resource supplier .... is examining (even if they deny it) on what resources it has that should be deemed strategic .... i.e. meaning that foreign ownership will be limited. As prices for resources escalate, I expect other countries to follow this policy direction very quickly.