Energy Diversification

Investing in Commodities: Is the Fear Factor Justified?

You're one of the few writers to even mention Lynas Corp. I would be interested in hearing why you own LYC.AX and your views on REEs in general. Lynas seems to be the only near term producer of REEs outside of China, and the few other public securities touted as REE plays are only at the exploration stage. Its unclear what the future of the Mountain Pass, CA mine holds, and if it will become a consistent, meaningful competitor.

Despite the apparent promise of Mt. Weld, I find it curious that BHP Billiton would have optioned this property to anyone, rather than develop the site itself.

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The range of ideas and views about energy sources on this board reflects the diversified and/or scattershot approach to energy in this country. That may be good or bad. However, as long as there is such a divergence of views, we need to hold off on the calls to just "do something!"

The reality - as reflected above - is that a lot of alternatives are being pursued. Very smart people cannot all agree on the answer, so rather than having the government just "do something" and push one solution, perhaps we ought to accept that this is a long process.

The reality is that nuclear power works, and works on a large scale. If we had to just "do something" right now, nuclear power would be the safest bet. There are risks and problems with it, which justify a more diversified approach. But with that in mind, I think you have to step back and respect that this is not an immediate process.

If anyone thinks we're just going to stick a new President in there, slap some solar panels on our roofs, and stop using oil -- good luck.

The problem is not lack of imagination. Its too much imagination without real consideration of what can actually work. I've heard solar fairy tales for 30 years. "We'll be all solar by 1990." I'm not anti-solar now, but you sure have to keep things in perspective. There are always Pollyannas with big promises -- who stand to make a lot of money by selling out.

Why is it that all of these great, cheap, large scale solutions always demand government subsidies? There are so many cellulosic ethanol players out there now promising that $1 production costs are *already* achievable with their technology. Then why do we need subsidies? Actions speak louder than words.

We are still in the R&D phase -- let's accept that and acknowledge that these are venture-stage investments in most cases.