Unfortunately, this has not stopped humans 'over using' these elements to the point where many of the items and technologies we take for granted may n...

Let's take better care of our Periodic tableHuman Ingenuity has provided us with a way to organize the elements into a clear pattern of their properties and therefore their potential uses. Unfortunately, this has not stopped humans 'over using' these elements to the point where many of the items and technologies we take for granted may now be at risk.Using the article below as a guide, write a report about a specific issue to do with the depletion of an element or group of elements in the periodic table and how scientific knowledge can help to solve the problem.Despite their name, rare earth elements are not especially rare. So how come we are so worried about them running out? Specifications for your report:I.You must identify a specific issue relating to the depletion of one of the rare earth elements. A: Describe the properties of your selected rare earth metal and how we have benefitted from the scientific understanding of it. (What do we use it for? How does it make our lives easier or better? What problem does it solve?) 1-2 paragraphsB: Describe in detail a specific issue related to the depletion of your selected element. You should not present a list of many issues. Choose one and go in depth with that issue. What specific technology or item is affected by the loss of your rare earth metal? Why?Who will this loss affect the most? How? 2-3 paragraphsC: Describe any ways science is being applied to address this issue. What is being done? Who is involved in doing it? What scientific groups are addressing it? 2-3 paragraphs II. Discuss and analyze the implications of using science and its application to solve this issue from one viewpoint. Your choices are below.moral, ethical, social, economic, political, cultural or environmentalWhat factor is directly involved in the depletion of your rare-earth metal? How has this impacted our ability to address the problem. What are the ways science is limited in its ability to address this issue, OR what are the pros and cons involved with applying science to answer this problem.2-3 paragraphs.III. You must consistently apply scientific information and use scientific vocabulary effectively to communicate understanding clearly and precisely.IV. You must document sources completely.*You must have a bibliography in MLA format.*You must have a minimum of 5 entries in the bibliography*The entries must be from 3 different type of sources.*You must attempt to use in-text citation. THE periodic table is a thing of beauty, yet we seem to be quite happy to exhaust parts of it before we've fully realized its potential. Helium will probably run out within the next 100 years. Gallium and indium are running low. Phosphorus, too, may soon become an "endangered element".The latest part of the table to arouse such fears is a block of 17 metals known as the "rare earth elements". China, which produces most of the world's supply, is increasingly protective of its deposits, sparking concern over their future availability.Both the US and European Union have set up initiatives to look at these strategically important metals. It is good to make a fuss - but the issue isn't one of absolute scarcity, it's about how we manage resources.The rare earth elements - or as chemists call them, the lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium - might not be household names, but they are common in every household. They are used in a wider range of consumer goods than any other group of elements due to their unusual electronic, optical and magnetic properties. Rare earth elements are an ever-present part of our lifestyles and in many cases difficult to replace in terms of functionality.Without lightweight magnets made from alloys of rare earth elements, computer hard-drives and iPod headphones and speakers would be impossible. They color our liquid crystal displays, darken our sunglasses and provide phosphors for low-energy light bulbs and LEDs. They are a vital ingredient in lightweight alloys for aircraft and in catalysts to process crude oil and clean exhaust emissions. Industry uses them in lasers for high-precision manufacturing; hospitals use them for medical imaging. The list goes on.Rare earth elements are also expected to play a big part in the future. It turns out they are indispensable for a range of urgently needed green energy technologies such as wind turbine generators, low-energy lighting, fuel cells, rechargeable batteries, magnetic refrigeration and hydrogen storage. If any of these technologies is implemented on the scale required to significantly reduce carbon emissions, demand for certain rare earth elements will almost inevitably exceed current supply - and quite probably known reserves.Which brings us back to the topic of scarcity. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not especially rare - they are thus called because there were few known concentrated deposits of their ores, or "earths", when they were first discovered. Cerium, the most common, is similar in abundance to copper and more abundant than lead, tin, cadmium, boron, tantalum, germanium and numerous other commonly used elements. Even so, rare earth elements are in short supply.Of course, elements can't be made or destroyed except in nuclear processes, so we can't "run out" of them. Scarcity is largely a political question due to the fact that at least 95 per cent of the global supply originates in China. Accurate data on how much it has and produces is difficult to obtain, but the country is becoming increasingly protective of its resources. Economists will argue that the market will correct itself: as the price goes up then lower grade ores become viable. This already appears to be happening. The world is scrambling to open up new sources and reopen old ones, such as Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine in California which used to supply the majority of the world's demand but has been mothballed since 2002. But it takes several years to start or restart a mine and demand for several rare earth elements - notably neodymium, europium, terbium and dysprosium.The economic argument also ignores the environmental cost of accessing lower grade ores, which may outweigh the benefits delivered by the end uses. In any case, price isn't always a good indicator of scarcity.The real problem is the way we obtain, use and discard rare earth elements. In our linear economy, getting hold of them depends on finding sufficiently concentrated sources. We then smash the ores out of the ground, expend huge amounts of energy purifying them, use them and then discard them. The concentration of rare earth elements and other precious metals in our waste streams is often higher than in the ore.We need a different approach to managing the elements: better mining and extraction, more efficient production, sustainable use and planned recovery. The principles of reduce, replace and recycle must be applied at every stage to ensure we utilise rare earth elements efficiently, substitute more common materials where possible and design products to be dismantled and recycled. It may eventually be necessary to reserve key materials for vital applications rather than for short-lived lifestyle goods.Many industries already carefully recycle their valuable "waste" materials - photographic silver and catalysts from the fine chemicals industry are good examples. We need to adopt those approaches everywhere.Ultimately, the scarcity of rare earth elements comes down to our own short-sightedness and the apparent low cost of business as usual - dig it up, use it, discard it. If we value modern society and want to build a better future, business as usual is no longer an option. We must treasure our rare resources.Taken from New Scientist magazine (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20927995.700-lets-take-better-care-of-our-rare-earth-elements.html)