Lukasivorytusk@kolektiva.social
Jul 18, 2026, 7:20 PM@hyc @jensorensen some rare earths are needed for solar panels, and china has kinda cornered that market. That may just be due to inaction of others though.
Replies
Jul 18, 2026, 7:31 PM@ivorytusk @jensorensen probably only a temporary issue. The primary ingredient in PV cells is still just sand. Everything else is less than 1% of the solar cell.
Passwordsarehard4passwordsarehard4@mastodon.socialJul 18, 2026, 8:00 PM@hyc @ivorytusk @jensorensen only 1.5% of the human body is calcium. Pretty useless without a skeleton aren’t we?
- Jul 18, 2026, 8:01 PM
@passwordsarehard4 @ivorytusk @jensorensen nobody said that 1% wasn't essential. But getting adequate quantities isn't really a big deal.
Marsh Raymarshray@infosec.exchangeJul 18, 2026, 11:53 PM@ivorytusk @hyc @jensorensen Really? How much of which ones?
James 🌈💜shaknais@mastodon.socialJul 19, 2026, 4:27 AMMost of the processed rare earths for solar come from China, sure. But the ore they use is usually Australian. You're right - inaction, created a solvable problem.