Water Irony

“Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink” is a line within the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner. That stanza could also apply to the city of Waukesha, Wisconsin. The water woes of Waukesha received a big helping hand last week when, on June 21, the eight governors of the states which make up the Great Lakes Water Compact unanimously agreed to water diversion from Lake Michigan for use by the city of Waukesha. The story of Waukesha water is a story of feast to famine, and of a community once demanding control of its water resource now dependent upon a state it once spurned. The story is not only one of irony, it is one of hubris, waste, and lack of appreciation of water as a resource. In a sense it holds a lesson for the rest of us. This story of Water Irony will be divided into two parts, the first will deal with the history of Waukesha water, and why this situation is so ironic, and the second post will deal with the current water situation and its relation to land use patterns.

Post Caard of Waukesha Spring in 1910
State Historical Society photo

If there was ever a poster child for the term suburb in Wisconsin during the 1950’s and 1960’s it was Waukesha, WI. Of course, other names, have since replaced Waukesha, think Pewaukee, or Delafield. Waukesha was not always a conglomeration of cul-de-sacs, and wide streets. Its main growth, like most of the suburban experiment, was post World War II, with the city growing by about 10,000 persons a decade from 1950 to 1980. Since that time growth has been slightly more moderate, as the city added about 6,000 to 8,000 persons from 1980 to 2010. Since 2010 growth has been quite low at only about 771 persons. Part of the reason for its current slow growth may be its water woes.

Spring in Waukesha, probably known as Hobo Spring

However, before it was a poster child for suburban America, Waukesha was known for its water. Its growth in the late 1800’s was due to its popularity of being known as “Spring City”, or “Saratoga of the West.” As mineral springs were encountered by settlers, bottling plants would later commandeer the springs and set up bottling operations in the 1870’s. This led to the city obtaining the moniker “Saratoga of the West.” But, its own local history says it became a nationally recognized destination for those “seeking relaxation, and restoration of the mind and body.” Grand resorts were built to welcome visitors, and the lakes provided recreational opportunities. Perhaps it housed the Kellerman (think “Dirty Dancing”) resort of the Midwest. Thousands, yes thousands, of people were attracted to Waukesha for its clear spring water, and the healing properties it supposedly possessed. The city, according to Sarah Gardner in a February 2015 article, noted that during the summer months 25 train loads a day filled with people would arrive in Waukesha. They came to drink the pure, cold water. One report says that a Chicagoan named Matthew Lamin provided financial and other resources to market the mineral waters of the city. Lamin was the proprietor of the Fountain Hotel. However, John Schoenknecht in his work on the early days of this Saratoga of the West commented that in 1868 Richard Dunbar claimed the spring water of Waukesha cured him of diabetes after he drank 12 glassfuls in one day. The historic record, from my research, is not clear if Dunbar was a descendant of the popular “snake oil” salesmen of the era, or if his descendants are now in India destroying computer software and then offering to cure it for a price. Dunbar would begin shipping the water by the barrel full to other states. Long before plastic water bottles we had natural spring water from Waukesha being sent around the country in wooden barrels. It was a hopping place, with theaters, casinos and dance halls. Today, many would not see Waukesha as a recreation destination, but in the late 1800’s it was. Waukesha jealously guarded its dozens of springs, which some have estimated was at over 60, and the fame it brought the then small city.

Bethesda Spring in Waukesha, first major spring located and put to use
date of photo unknown

Guard the water they did with shotguns, pistols and clubs. At that time, Chicago’s water supply was worse than that of Flint today. Rumor had it that the Chicago mayor kept Waukesha water in his office. With the coming of the Columbian Exposition in 1893, James McElroy (some reports say he was from Chicago, the State Historical Society says he was from Kansas City) hatched the idea to draw water from a Waukesha spring and pipe it outside of town and have it delivered to the fair to sell. Waukesha residents, were awakened by the fire bell just before midnight. It was not to alert residents to a fire, but rather to a train loaded with workers to put McElroy’s plan into action. They were going to lay the pipe in the dark even though they had been denied permission. After a tense standoff, the train departed back to Chicago with all the workers aboard. We may think what great environmentalists the Waukesha residents were in desiring to avoid such a transfer of water.

Milwaukee Record Editorial Cartoon

An editorial cartoon in the Milwaukee Record depicted a large hog named “Chicago” wallowing in the McElroy’s spring surrounded by stern-faced residents with pitchforks and clubs. One person in the cartoon had a revolver pointing it to the pig’s head. Yet, if one report is to believed, their reasons were not altruistic. Rather, they were concerned that if the water was piped out of town, they were not concerned about the transfer and waste of water, but simply with the tourists who would stop coming. McElroy had the last laugh as spring water from in or near Big Bend, was used to in his operation for those who made their way to Daniel Burnham’s White City.

Hygeia Spring sign, in/near Big Bend, WI

The peak of Waukesha’s fresh mineral spring water ended in the early 20th century, although the last water bottling did not go out of business until about 1997. The glory days of the Waukesha springs are now far behind, presenting the irony of the situation. What we see is a lesson in waste and hubris. There is also additional irony in that they were dependent upon the positive vote of the Illinois Governor for water this past week, when 124 years ago they met a train of workers with guns and clubs to protect their water supply in the late 19th century. (They are probably fortunate the mayor of Chicago did not have a vote.)  What they did not do was to protect the water supply from themselves. We can learn from the past, so tune into the next blog post to find out more of what happened and the present day situation.

Miracle on Grass

On an early summer day, 66 years ago today, a World Cup soccer match was played in Brazil between a team, which History.com reports was titled the “King of Football”, which was the team from England and a team from the United States. If England was the King of Football, the United States team was probably lower than a pawn. The US team would have barely registered on the soccer meter. However, the U.S. would go on to defeat England that day, 1 to 0, in what, even today, is referred to as one of the biggest upsets in soccer history. It is still considered by many to be the biggest victory in the U.S. National team’s history. When receiving the wire report of the US victory, the New York Times thought the report a hoax and so failed to report this one large event in American soccer. (To justify their own incompetence, a 2009 NY Times article on the event referenced that “many newspapers” thought the wire report was a hoax.)  Soccer has not been the most beloved of American sports, it is fourth or lower.  Even golf is probably more highly thought of.  

England midfielder between to US Players, Bahr is on the right

The English team came into the match with odds of 3-1 to win the 1950 World Cup. England entered the match with a record of 23 wins, 4 losses, and 3 draws. With its 3-1 odds, one historian has noted that England was probably one of the top two favorites, the other favorite being the host country, Brazil. The United States had odds of 500-1, which a FIFA report says “was generous.” It had lost all seven of the matches they had played in international competition. Unlike the 1980 miracle on ice, when the US Olympic hockey team won a gold medal, this soccer team would win but this one match. The US was placed in group 2 with England, Spain and Chile. They lost the first game to Spain, and after the win against England would lose to Chile. Yet, that should not dull the glory of their achievement. Not unlike today, interest in soccer was well behind that of baseball, basketball and our own American brand of football. The U.S. had not qualified for a World Cup since 1934. Perhaps being the dictionary definition of futility, the U.S. national team would not again qualify for the World Cup until 1990. Of course, as it stands they have yet to win a World Cup. On the other hand, America has its Super Bowl, and to date all teams that have won have been from the United States. Who needs international competition when we have the Super Bowl?

Manchester, England News Article of 30 June

While the victory was sweet, and not as grand as the 1980 US Olympic hockey team, they do have some similarities—the players. Like the Soviet Union hockey, which was a state sponsored team and in all sense of the word a professional team, the English team was comprised of professional players, from local domestic leagues. The Olympic hockey team in 1980 was primarily comprised of college players or those just out of college. No pro players allowed. The U.S. 1950 soccer team was comprised of recent immigrants and amateurs, although one report says there were some semi-professionals on the US squad. The US team to play in the World Cup on that June day had been hastily assembled just days earlier. The team, according to history.com, included two mailmen, a teacher, a mill worker, and a dishwasher. Showing the snobby, chauvinistic nature of the English, the team had been described by a Belfast news article, as reported in history.com, as being “a band of no-hopers drawn from many lands.” Apparently, the Belfast paper had a similar view of immigrants as does Donald Trump.

Gaetjeans scores winning goal as England's goalie looks back

The Americans were on the defensive most of the game and it was the play of the goalie who had kept them in the game with the high powered, offensive English juggernaut. But, as you know, England did not score a goal. The only goal came 37 minutes into the first half on one of the few American drives when US player Joey Gaetjens redirected the 25 yard shot of Walter Bahr into the opposition goal. Of course, good games have controversy, and in this game an English midfielder was charging to the US goal only to be tackled from behind by a US player of Italian descent. The US player was not thrown out, which some attribute to the Italian referee. The penalty kick went over the US goal. Walter Bahr said he has never seen a tackle like that in (American) football. As one story reports, Bahr, notes that the win was “no fluke. The English were a very good team. We played our hearts out that day. We were better than them that day.” Before the US 1980 hockey team took to the ice against the Soviet Union, the US coach Herb Brooks said "Great moments are born from great opportunity, and that's what you have here tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game; if we played them ten times, they might win nine. But not this game, not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight we stay with them, and we shut them down because we can. Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world.” The 1950 soccer team could have played the Brits 20 times, and they might have lost 19, but this one game they won. The group most pleased were the thousands of Brazlian fans that attended, knowing that the American win made it more difficult for England, the other co-favorite.

1950 US Soccer Team at World Cup

While Brazil fans were cheering for the US, Gaetjeans was not even a naturalized citizen of the US.  However, he had declared intent to become a US citizen, under FIFA rules he was allowed to play for the US squad. He never became a US citizen, and disappeared in 1963. He had returned to Haiti and some speculate he was murdered due to family opposition to the then Haitian dictator Francois Duvalier. Bahr, who was teaching junior high school at the time, gave up a few weeks’ worth of pay to join the US squad. At the time the nation as a whole paid little attention to the victory over the strong English team. Part of the reason was the North Korean advance into South Korea about the same time. More likely it is that soccer was not just on the radar of most Americans.  The American team, after its only win in the 1050 World Cup would go home and be ignored. England failed to advance as well, and would return east to their home country more humbled than they had entered the game. Although as recently as two years ago, news articles in England say the humiliating defeat should never have been left to stand.  The 1950 US National Soccer team had just happened to best a much better team from England, on that summer day. The miracle on grass may not be as prominent as the one on ice that occurred 30 years later, but to the men who played, it may have been their highest moment in their soccer career.  

Rascally Rabbits

Two years ago in mid to late spring I noticed that our bird feeders were not emptying at their normal pace for that time of year. I later discovered why.  Three Cooper Hawks had taken up perching in a large tree adjoining our yard and had scared off, not to mention probably eaten, smaller birds that had previously been prevalent. I recall that summer watching the hawks dive bomb to try to get a chipmunk or a rabbit, with the small mammals moving fast to avoid being griped in the talons of a hawk doing its best impression of a Japanese WWII Zero dive bomber. What we also had that growing season was less damage to our flowers and vegetables. This year we have not been so fortunate. Peter Rabbit getting into Mr. MacGregor’s garden continues to this day. But, I don’t think it is only a mischievous boy bunny, it is also adult rabbits.

...Where are you, your wascially wittle wabbit
Aug 2014 Cooper Hawk seaching for its prey

As a gardener, I always expect a few parts of plants to succumb to the teeth of the furry cuddly-looking creatures. As you approach, and look into such an innocent face, even the Donald’s heart would melt. They may be cute, but they are also cunning. A few years ago, even after best efforts to secure the garden fence they were still getting in the garden. My garden fence is graduated, with smaller openings near the ground, and the openings get larger as you move up. Small bunnies were leaping above the small openings, and squeezing themselves into the mid-sized opening. I placed chicken wire around the existing fence, which solved that problem. Yet, as years go by, I have noticed the fence is getting worn, and does not fit as tight to the ground, so they find an opening in such a location as I saw earlier this week. With the chicken wire attached the outside of the main fence, one has yet to get caught between the two fences.  This past Tuesday, I was sufficiently fortunate to see one in the garden and watched as he tried to escape, making several attempts to get below a small gap between the fence and the ground.  On the fourth attempt, the bunny made it out into the raspberry bed. The rabbits also like to conjure, with the squirrels below the bird feeder and eat the large amount of seed the birds flip off the feeder.  But, this easy picking is not sufficient.

Hosta, after the bunnies got a hold on it

The rabbits have eaten, and continue to eat hostas, spiderwort, and echinacea, cut off rose buds, and an assorted variety of other flowers. of course, some have snuck into the garden where they ate the Swiss chard to the ground, cut some of the pea plants, mow down the spinach, and cut off carrot tops.  Not to mention eating broccoli and cabbage seedlings. Contrary to popular belief they really do not much bother my lettuce.   Knowing that I cannot fence off all of my flower gardens, as it would destroy appearance, I decided to once again try the natural fence alternative to keep rabbits and deer away, putrefied eggs.  I took the large container, while having to put up with the putrid odor made my way around my rose and perennial bed.  My wife thinks we need to fence the whole yard and trap and release all the rabbits outside the fence.I suspect they would still make their way to the tasty flowers and vegetables in our yard.

Oh, they are so cute
Eating grass

Early last Sunday morning, the day after having spread the putrefied egg mixture, my wife looked out to see a rabbit eating in one of our flower gardens. As I approached the bunny, I stood amazed as I realized the inspiration for the large logging machines that have replaced man power in the woods of the nation.  Modern logging equipment can grab a large diameter tree, cut it near the base, strip off the branches and than cut the long log into specified, usually 8' lengths.  This rabbit must have been the inspiration, as in one fell swoop he cut off an stem of yarrow, about 18", and promptly and, appearing effortlessly, mulched the whole length into his mouth.  

Eaten yarrow stem

 Our evergreens and perennial beds provide a nice cover for the furry creatures.  I know from having watched, that six play at one time in our yard. How many others may be lurking in the undergrowth, I do not know.   I suspect they are thumbing their nose at me.  My wife is more concerned when two are playing together, as she wonders how many more babies we will see following the short 30 day gestation period. 

WI State Journal Cartoon from 2 June 2016

Of course, things could be worse, there could be coyotes, or other larger mammals of which to contend, but given the damage accomplished by a convention of rabbits, one wonders what the large mammals would do.  I do know, that one dry summer, it was likely deer that feasted on the vegetable garden by reaching over the 4' garden fence to eat the tomato plants, usually about 3' above grade.  Those plants, a few feet in from the fence, were not damaged.  Suburban living probably upsets, to a degree, the circle of life.  Hawks and other rabbit predators may not be as present to keep the population down. The mild winter probably assisted the rabbit population as there was likely ample food supply without having to dig through snow.  They apparently will feed in close relationship to their warren, which makes me think they habitat under my backyard deck since most damage is within 50' of the deck.  Of course, they like to hide under the large spruce of my neighbor which sits near the property line.

Swiss Chard, nubbed off, photo shows some new growth
being ripe for another attack

The cute bunnies would be much more appreciated if, instead of eating my flowers and vegetables, they would eat the weeds, and in particular the volunteer trees popping up in my flower beds. This is one year I would like to see the hawks reappear.  Two years ago I was watching those dive bombing hawks I cheered for the bunnies to get away.  After what they have done to my gardens I am now less sure I would cheer for that underdog.  The circle of life.

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Traits

A year ago while my spouse and I were on a long distance drive with another couple, it occurred to me that wives have some common traits. This post will provide a few examples of this thesis, to which I am sure observers will relate. Obviously this is not a formal sociological monograph, but is based on observation, albeit of persons in similar socio-economic class. In that sense, one could consider it a cultural aspect of this subgroup. However, I suspect many of these “wife traits” will go well beyond this one demographic subgroup.

While on that car ride a year ago, we were in Honda Accord, which even has side view cameras and an alarm to let him know if he is crossing into another lane or onto the road shoulder. What the car did not have, from a technology standpoint, was an alarm to tell him if he was going faster than the posted speed limit. But, he did not need it because his wife would often make comments about his speed. Any illusion I had that my spouse was the only one to do this was quickly squashed. Heck, his wife would even beat the car alarm if his car was veering across a road marking. One’s wife can certainly take the place of technology and provide commentary much more quickly. Who needs such technology when you have your wife?  The autos in my household do not have the cameras with an alarm to let me know if I am veering, but my wife well plays that role. It is either by a comment, or the more emphatic brace against the car dashboard as if her life is in imminent danger. These instances led me to think about creating, what I call the wife app. If I knew anything about software, I could have a money maker on my hands. What a great father’s day gift.

GPS technologyo

Let me point out some of the significant benefits of the wife app. It could provide commentary on speed, lane deviation, and following too close to a vehicle ahead of you in a female voice, not unlike that of a husband’s better half. It could take existing technology to a whole new level.  The app would of course, have varied choices to apply, just like a real spouse. Passive-aggressive, sarcastic, the “don’t you know what you are doing voice”, and of course the mildly annoyed tone. Current GPS voice commands are rather boring and matter-of-fact, lacking voice inflection. We all know the tone of the voice can convey much more than the words. The beauty of the wife app is that it could add these critical (pun intended) voice inflections. When driving alone or without your spouse, she could even monitor your driving habits on her device by accessing the app. Think of the pleasant conversation you could have when you got home. “How was your trip home, Honey?” your wife would say, to which a man, who are people of few words, would say, “fine.” But then the wife brings up, “Were you falling asleep, I noticed you were about to cross the center line a few times”, or the “weren’t you travelling a little fast.” (Only to get home quicker to see you dear!)  Heck, perhaps she can even control the diction and voice the app would use adding another level of realism

There are other ways in which spouses are very much alike, and they go beyond driving. Let me provide three recent examples. Last week a co-worker said he had to get home early because they were getting a new refrigerator delivered to replace a twenty year old model that had recently died. I asked what model he was getting, and he said, “Oh, I left that up to my wife.” As a husband, I quickly knew what he meant. Men cannot make a choice of a kitchen appliance, lest they make, in their spouse’s eye, the wrong choice. Two other cases involve neighbors. In one instance, both of whom are trained in the design field, cannot come to a consensus on what vanity to place in a bathroom—a conflict of desires in design. Even in this day and age of equal rights, many women still want to follow the edict that the inside of the house is her purview, and that is what the lady of the house felt in this case. Finally, a neighbor was loading her children to take them to the Milwaukee area for a surprise birthday party for her father. She commented to me that her brothers, who are both in the Milwaukee area were making most of the arrangements, and intimated that she really did not know if it would be a surprise. As she noted, her hesitancy of surprise related to whether or not her brothers were able to keep it a surprise. They did.) Women, I believe, tend to fret about certain things more than men. There is no doubt in my mind, that she believed she could plan a surprise party and make sure it was kept a surprise. She doubted her brothers could do the same.   In these three cases I am sure most women would believe they know better than their husbands.

GPS unit

With these similarities, it makes you wonder if women take some sort of “wife class.” I went to marriage preparation courses with my spouse, and to natural child birth courses too. To my recollection nothing dealt with the instances addressed here. Maybe it is high school. In my age group boy and girl health classes were sometimes separated by gender. How else to best explain these remarkable similarities? If not through a class or training, is it engrained in their DNA? In this case, it probably goes back in time before the advent of agriculture to subsistence living of the hunter-gatherer class. In the former TV series “Everybody Loves Raymond” Ray Barone came to the conclusion that he really never had the power in their marriage, that the real power was with his wife, Debra. But, I believe, what is comes down to is that wives, and mothers, do not like uncertainty. I saw it in the perturbations of my mother. I have certainly seen it in my spouse. For example, when our sons were on a high adventure trip of some sort, she really never rested until they were home safe and sound.  In that sense she is like Marie Barone, knowing that the children need to do something that makes them happy and gives a sense of accomplishment, but does not mean she does not have to fret over it.  Uncertainty goes against that part of their DNA where they wish tranquility and harmony, which comes certainty.  Not having certainty kicks into high gear the care-giving instinct which is a natural protective feature of all mothers. Wives, or mothers of the 20th century have taken care-giving to a whole new level.  Think of what is now called helicopter moms.

Apps

The Wife App would have the ability to reduce some of that uncertainty—built in tracker, in the husband, or child’s s car. In use of the Wife App, the wife would have more authority than does the FAA over airline black boxes. Although, I am not sure the app would be able to provide better navigational skills than my navigator wife.  I also don’t know how many, if any, moving violations may have been saved by my in-car personal wife app. She is another set of eyes, if not on the road than on the odometer.  My very squared away, dependable spouse prefers cetainty over the unpredictable.  That, I believe to be a trait she shares with the majority of wives.  That is the basis of the wife app.  Now, what should the icon look like?

Ash to Dust

Years ago there was a proposal by a power company to place a fly ash dump site along Seminole Highway in the then Town of Fitchburg, Dane County, WI. A high end residential subdivision put an end to their hopes. So too, did the coming recycling of waste. Fly ash is a waste product of coal fired power plants. According to Professor Ross Taggart et al, the U.S. currently generates over one-third of its electricity from coal, which in turn produces a large amount of coal combustion products. Times have changed since that power plant proposed the fly ash dump site, most particularly about 45% of fly ash is now recycled, much into concrete or other building materials. Yet, that leaves the majority unrecycled. Fly ash is composed of toxic trace elements which pose concern for ground and surface water contamination. The Duke Energy Dan River Station saw a large toxic spill in 2014. But, this toxic waste also holds valuable rare earth elements (RREs). Researchers are now looking for ways to obtain REEs from the fly ash of power plants, for which there are good reasons, and it is more than just the ability to recycle.

Rare Earth Mineral Movement

To recycle, a product needs a demand, and while REEs are not so much rare in not much around, it is that they are rare because they are found in low quantities and often difficult to process out of other material. As Taggart explains, these elements are not found in nature as a pure metals, but they must be isolated from host material. Rare earth elements occupy, according to a Reuters report, 15 entries on the periodic table. Rare earths often are found with uranium and thorium, two elements which pose their own set of issues. The refining process requires a great deal of acids, which too need to be disposed of. China has 97% of the market on REE, and coupled with little regulation by that communist state, they need not worry about the pollution caused, or the death from cancer and other diseases due to their methods of extracting the RREs. I like to say that China in terms of enviornmental regulation is where the U.S. was during the Gilded age. Environmental regulation adds cost, and is one reason why the main mine in the United States has been in and out of business, even though demand for REEs have never been greater. An Australian Company has proposed mining the material in their home country, but processing it in Malaysia. Externalizing negative effects of mining (in this case processing) and other undesirable land uses is a common trend of first world countries. There are other reasons China poses a concern. If there is any question of China wanting to control the market of material, you just need to look at the mineral rights they are buying in Africa and South America. If there is any question of their expanding their sphere of influence look at what they are doing in the South China Sea, of which they see the whole area as part of their own manifest destiny. We oppose mines in our back yard, but still expect the products that result from the mining activity. We need copper, we need iron ore, and we need the RREs.

REEs ina Smartphone

Rare earth elements are more common in most products of today than we think. Our high technology products increase the demand for the REEs. As an article in Mother Jones pointed out several years ago, “Walk down the aisle of your local Best Buy and you would be hard-pressed to find something that doesn’t contain at least one of the rare earths, from smartphones to laptop batteries to flat-screen TV’s." They are also used in products for defense—radar, sonar, and bomb navigation systems. They clean the air of our cars, by their use in catalytic converters. Even in trying to be green REEs are present--think wind turbines. Then their is the Toyota Prius. Jack Lifton, an independent commodities consultant in strategic metals was quoted in a Reuters article saying that the Prius is “the biggest user of rare earths of any object in the world.” The article noted that each Prius motor requires 2.2 lbs of neodymium and each battery 22 to 33 lbs of lanthanum. It goes on to say that the number will probably double as Toyota attempts to improve the Prius’ fuel economy.

Uses of REEs

Chinas’ monopolization of the market is of obvious concern to the U.S. With China producing 97% of the REEs on the earth, and the U.S. having only about 15% of the total world supply, one can see that this poses a concern. The high tech aspects of the defense industry require REEs. Toyota understands the Chinese dominance and is looking at accessing rare earth mines in Vietnam and Canada. The U.S. knows it but is looking at other measures besides mining. The United States Department of Energy is spending about $20 million dollars to research extraction technologies for coal waste. A professor at Duke University says that coal ash contains “literally billions of dollars’ worth of rare earth elements.” This follows the conclusion of the May 2016 paper by Taggart et. al, which, in its last paragraph says that “More attention is needed for improved methods of extraction and recovery.” It notes that economic feasibility and environmental responsibility of coal ash as an alternative to REE will hinge on the development of these extraction technologies. Of course, coal ash begins with some benefits. First, the location of coal ash deposits is known; second, it is readily available; third, it does require extensive excavation (which, as noted in the Taggart article is costly and environmentally damaging), and in so doing avoids uranium and thorium; and finally, it is a fine powder, which is easy to process. Aluminum and a few other elements are already recovered from fly ash. Appalachia is thought to contain the coal deposits with the highest levels of REEs. But, the method of recovery is not one-size-fits all. The specific chemistry of each type of coal ash will affect the method and chemicals used to undertake the reclamation. Small test projects are not necessarily cost effective on an industrial scale.

Periodic Table of the Elements

In a sense the Prius is not as green as it may first appear. A Prius driver may think they are doing well environmentally. However, first world, and sometimes environmentally smug, Prius drivers likely do not think of the environmental damage occurring to obtain such high levels of rare minerals far away in China, Malaysia, or even here in the United States. While Toyota is looking for other sources, and perhaps studying ways to use other material in-lieu of REEs, the United States is looking to solve the problem by turning waste into something precious, and which may even benefit power companies by recovering the rare earth materials from fly ash. Ash to dust, may be the solution to the nation’s rare earth elements.

Production of Rare Earth Elements

Scientific source: Taggart, Ross K., James Hower, Gary Dwyer and Heileen Hsu-Kim. “Trends in the Rare Earth Element Content of U.S. Based Coal Combustion Fly Ashes”. Environmental Science & Technology. 13 May 2016.

Images from Google