The Atlantic just published a story I did on neodymium--the rare earth mineral that makes Prius motors run, and some wind turbines generate electricity. The US used to be the world's largest producer of the stuff, but in the 90's the Chinese won the entire market with lower cost minerals--at least partly as a result of lower environmental standards.

The strategic and competitive challenges posed by electric cars are something that policy makers need to deal with soon, before we mandate millions of electric vehicles. Just because a car doesn't use oil doesn't mean its sustainable.

What I want to watch is the growth of green nationalism--as environmentalists and nationalists start rowing the same boat. It's going to make for some strange--and necessary--partnerships, and it might break through some of the logjams around regulation as, say, US mining interests and anti-global warming activists, and auto companies hook up. And then, it's bound to have a lot of unanticipated consequences, including inspiring backlashes of resource nationalism from supplier countries.