On rare earth supply, Trump for once seeks allies


By AFP
February 4, 2026


Employees work on an assembly line for electric flying cars, which will require critical minerals, at a factory of Xpeng's subsidiary Aridge in Guangzhou, China - 

Copyright AFP/File Jade GAO

Shaun TANDON

In his year since returning to office, President Donald Trump has shown disdain for longstanding alliances, vowing “America First” even if US friends lose out.

But on Wednesday, his administration will attempt the closest it has come to traditional alliance diplomacy, leading a meeting of more than 50 countries on ensuring a stable supply of critical minerals.

The trigger is simple — China. The Asian power, seen by the United States as its long-term rival, has secured a dominant role over critical minerals, including rare earths vital to modern technologies from smartphones to electric cars to fighter jets.

China, flexing muscle in a trade war launched by Trump, last year tightened its supply chain for rare earths, sending shivers through the global economy.

China — which mines some 60 percent of the world’s rare earths and processes around 90 percent — offered the United States a one-year reprieve in a deal with Trump in October.

The United States has aggressively reached agreements on critical minerals with allies including Japan — which this week said it found potential in the first deep-sea search for rare earths — as well as Australia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Thailand.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said that another 11 countries will join Wednesday and that another 20 are interested in participating in what he called a “global coalition,” a phrase rarely uttered by the Trump administration.

“The concept there is that we would have tariff-free trade and exchanges amongst those countries around these critical and rare-earth minerals,” Burgum said Tuesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Burgum said that the emerging bloc could go against free-market principles that the United States has historically espoused by regulating a minimum price for certain key minerals.

“If you have someone who’s dominant who can flood a market with a particular material, they have the ability to essentially destroy the economic value of a company or a country’s production,” he said, in a veiled reference to China.

– Go it alone, usually –

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the one-day ministerial meeting at the State Department.

Among senior officials in attendance will be the top diplomat of India — which is especially concerned about Chinese industrial dominance, and moved recently to patch up with Trump after a rift — as well as the foreign ministers of Italy, a go-to European partner for Trump, and Israel, which is eager for any US-led initiatives that would integrate it further in its region.

Trump since returning to office has vowed to use US might to secure wealth only for itself, even flirting with invading Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.

Trump will still seek US dominance on minerals.

On Monday he unveiled “Project Vault,” which aims to stockpile critical minerals and effectively anything else needed by US industry.

“We’re not just doing certain minerals and rare earths. We’re doing everything,” Trump said of the project, mentioning also magnets vital to car manufacturing.

The project will be driven by a $10 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States and $1.7 billion in private capital, a White House official said.

The European Union, which has seen persistent friction with Trump, hopes to seek a formal agreement on rare earths with the United States.

“We have to make sure that we’re not bidding each other up for the same supplies,” an EU official said.

US-led cooperation on critical minerals is not new.

Former president Joe Biden’s administration in 2022 launched the Minerals Security Partnership, which expanded to two dozen countries including key US allies.

The initiative looked at collaborative funding, with the Export-Import Bank under Biden proposing a $500 million loan for a rare-earths mine and processing plant in Australia.

What are ‘rare earths’ for?


By AFP
February 4, 2026


Europe's rare earths are mostly imported from China -

 Copyright AFP Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

Corentin DAUTREPPE

President Donald Trump’s administration is set Wednesday to host ministers from the European Union and other countries in a major meeting on “critical minerals”.

This broad category includes dozens of materials such as cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite, and lithium — as well as “rare earths,” a set of 17 metallic elements that are essential to many high-tech devices and whose production is dominated by China.

– Neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium –

Global raw production of rare earths increased from 220,000 tonnes in 2019 to 390,000 tonnes in 2024 — an increase of 77 percent over five years, according to a benchmark commodities report by French research group Cercle CyclOpe.

Four elements account for most of the sector’s economic value: neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium.

– Magnets for wind turbines –

These four “magnetic” rare earths are mainly used to make permanent magnets, notably neodymium-iron-boron magnets — about 10 times more powerful than conventional ones.

Use of the rare elements maximises magnets’ performance while reducing size and weight, said Damien Ambroise, energy manager at French consultancy Bartle.

A single offshore wind turbine contains up to one tonne of such magnetic rare earths.

– Fighter jets, golf clubs –

Aviation is a major consumer of rare earths, especially for military plane manufacturing.

According to the US specialist newsletter Rare Earth Exchanges, US aerospace firm Lockheed Martin is the biggest American user of samarium, employed to make magnets that can withstand extremely high temperatures.

Each F-35 fighter jet requires more than 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of rare earths, according to a report by the US Congressional Research Service.

Scandium is used to make light, strong aluminium-based alloys prized in aerospace — and also in high-end sports gear such as golf clubs, bicycles and baseball bats.

– Smartphones –

Rare earths are likewise found in every smartphone, enhancing screen performance and enabling the phone to vibrate.

Each handset contains about three grams of them — more than 3,700 tonnes overall for the 1.24 billion devices sold worldwide in 2024.

– Electric and fuel vehicles –

Each hybrid or electric vehicle motor contains between 1.2 and 3.5 kilograms of rare earths, according to an estimate by France’s Bureau of Geological and Mining Research.

They are also used in the manufacture of miniature motors, such as those that fold away a car’s wing mirrors automatically when it is parked.

Combustion-engine vehicles use rare earths too, notably in catalytic converters. Lanthanum and cerium help cut fine particle emissions.

– Oil, glass, lasers –

In the chemical industry, cerium is widely used in oil refining and glass polishing — as well as in flints for cigarette lighters.

Erbium is used in various medical fields, including dentistry, dermatology and ophthalmology.

Erbium and neodymium are also important in making lasers for industrial engraving and cutting.

Adding different rare earths alters the wavelength of the laser, and thus its use and colour, Ambroise said. “It makes for pretty colours in sound-and-light shows.”

 

You Don’t Miss What Doesn’t Exist

by Don Fitz / February 2nd, 2026

“Anthropause” is an amazing word and the latest book about it is an eye-opener. Stan Cox’s Anthropause: The Beauty of Degrowth (2026, Seven Stories Press), does what far too few degrowth books do – it first focuses readers’ attention to the positive experiences we could enjoy in a society less dedicated to producing unnecessary stuff. It then details the destructiveness of overproduction.

As the inside jacket describes,

In the spring of 2020, people worldwide found themselves confined to their homes due to pandemic lockdown orders. Global carbon emissions suddenly plunged 8.8%, bodies of water became noticeably clearer, and animal life returned to the spaces that humans deserted. Scientists deemed this phenomenon as “anthropause,” as nature flourished in response to the decrease in human activity. For a moment, the world witnessed the beauty of degrowth.

Of course, this was not without immense human suffering, exacerbated by vaccination denial and insufficient treatment. It was nothing like John Bellamy Foster’s “planned degrowth,” which is based on designing how to minimize harmful effects of reducing unnecessary and harmful production.

Origins and Futures

Cox familiarizes readers with classic concepts of degrowth, including Herman Daly’s steady state economy, André Gorz’ décroissance (reducing material production), and George Kallis’ analysis of “throughput.” His ideas go far as he stands on the shoulders of recent works such as Jason Hickel’s Less Is More (2020) and Kōhei Seitō’s Slow Down (English edition, 2024).

Anthropause demystifies the term “degrowth” by explaining it in ways the average reader can understand. Cox makes it clear that the difficulty is not really understanding what degrowth would be, but rather the controversy it would arouse and the enormous political barriers that such an unprecedented alteration in human behavior would face.

The book covers two changes that could well become classic examples of positive outcomes of degrowth that people would experience in their daily lives. The first is auditory. Imagine a world without noisy electrical gadgets like leaf blowers and lawn movers. It would be a world where people could actually hear sounds that were prevalent only a few decades ago: insects, bird songs and children playing. Another Covid19 event happened when people in San Francisco could hear more vocalizations of the white-crowned sparrow as traffic noise dropped.

The other everyday (or everynight) experience that could be reborn is actually seeing the stars that ancient cultures found essential to civilization throughout their existence. Eliminating the blinding light of businesses and drastically reducing street and car lights will re-grow the human skill of navigating in darkness.

The need to do both of these is more than aesthetic pleasure. Deafening noise and noxious lights unnecessarily use energy, the major source of environmental crises, whether fossil fuels or “alternative.” Excess noise damages health in a variety of ways. Over-lighting contributes to the perilous insect die-off and disrupts many animal behaviors. It is most serious for bats who have an unpaid job of improving human health by devouring mosquitoes.

Land and Farms

One of the strongest parts of Anthropause grows out of the author’s 25 years at the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas. He explains that by changing farming and reducing land usage we could have food that tastes better, is more nutritious, and contains fewer toxic chemicals. We would be healthier, have fewer diseases and enjoy more natural spaces in which to spend time.

Native Americans would have large amounts of land returned, allowing them to nurture and care for it as their ancestors did for millennia. As consumption of meat decreases there will be fewer meatpacking workers averaging two work-related amputations per week.

Cox traces the current terrible state of US food production to annual crop mono-cultures, soil tillage and factory “farming” (CAFOs, concentrated animal-feeding operations). Strongly connected is the fact that 90% of US farmland is devoted to four crops: corn, soybean, cotton and wheat. Of these, only wheat is used mainly for human food.

Changes called for would include an end to CAFOs, encouraging small farms with multiple crops, and a huge decrease in land used to grow animal feed. Degradation of farmland has been a long time coming and degrowing it to a more rational status will not occur overnight and will not happen without massive opposition from Big Ag.

But there would be a drawback from degrown farming – most would not have fresh strawberries and tomatoes in winter. Degrowth would require overcoming the belief that those in the rich world should have instant gratification of every whim, regardless of consequences.

Yes, the Military Must Be Degrown

Another area where Anthropause shines is the way it takes on militarism. It is disappointing that only a few degrowth articles devote a full analysis to the plague of militarism, if they address it at all. [For a noteworthy exception see Burton and Lin (2023).] Perhaps the most significant benefit from degrowing the nuclear behemoth is that people would have less reason to worry about the extinction of humanity and millions of other species. The threat includes greenhouse gas release by military production and employment.

An immediate quality of life improvement would be reduction of deaths by bombs, starvation and disease. Even more lives are shortened by toxins that war production spreads across the globe.

Degrowth of militarism would benefit those living near US bases and the 800 US bases across the globe. They would worry less about being “kicked off their land,” being poisoned by ubiquitous toxins, and enduring high crime rates, especially for rape.

As with land usage and most other aspects of degrowing, there would be bumps on the road. The first would be finding jobs for the 3 million people who work directly in military employment, plus those working in support industries. Also, “zombie pollution” will long remain in areas where military bases are shut down.

Concerns

Despite its great contributions, I do have a few concerns with the book. First, I was surprised when reading a couple of approving references to “renewable energy.” No energy is renewable. By now it is almost trite to repeat “Even though the sun may shine, the rivers may flow, and the wind may blow, the minerals to transform what they collect into usable energy is finite and exhaustible.” Wars for alternative energy can be as deadly as those for fossil fuels.

A book only mentioned in the index is Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia (1975). It is a 1960-70s era fantasy of what an ecological society might look like, including new social norms, interpersonal relationships, politics, military and spies inside of it. Ecotopia weaves complex themes together in ways that authors since have not accomplished.

Third, the book’s brief review of air conditioning should inspire readers to see Cox’s more extensive analysis in Losing Our Cool (2010) Missing in Anthropause were suggestions for reducing air conditioning. Since a major complaint about it is over-air conditioned buildings, legal routes for degrowth jump out at us: Pass laws limiting temperature lows in schools, public buildings and businesses.

Last, Anthropause has a very good discussion of the very bad realities of private cars. Yet, it seemed that the goal to “reduce” aimed too short. Why not aim to make them as extinct as CAFOs? The book makes a good case that we could live better without cars. There would not have been 7,388 pedestrians killed by cars in 2021. The ongoing switch to SUVs only increases dangers. In addition to CO2 emissions, particulate matter which spews to roadsides is even worse with heavier E-cars. The need for multiple parking spaces per car results in more and more impervious surfaces, which increases flooding.

However, abolishing private cars does not mean getting rid of all cars. I fondly remember reserving a car when I worked at St. Louis State Hospital for 25 years. I just called the car pool guy and found a time one would be available. I did not have to worry about maintenance or license plates because the hospital department took care of it. A degrown world would be able to manage individual transportation needs with walkable communities that relied on some combination of walking, cycling, horseback riding, carriages, motorcycles, and golf carts (for those with disabilities).

New Thoughts

The contributions of Anthropause are mind-bending. It should be on the bookshelf of all of the growing number of degrowth enthusiasts. To repeat, its most significant feature is its focus on how people could enjoy degrowth. Like other recent authors, Cox points out that capitalism requires growth, making it incompatible with human and environmental needs. Similarly, he notes that degrowth inspires people to struggle against racism and colonialism. Capitalist growth is based on creating a poor world for the rich world to exploit and that poor world is populated mainly by people of color, especially those in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Cox explains that some define “degrowth as decline.” Environmentalists with this approach emphasize the need to remove negative things, processes and attitudes that permeate US life. Though he covers this thoroughly, he actually prefers the definition of “growth at emancipation.” This perspective aims to liberate humanity from social ills that result in sickness, detachment from nature, and loss of habitat by “living within ecological limits.” People can actually be happier hearing natural sounds, seeing stars at night, eating food that tastes like food, enjoying natural spaces and being freed from military agony.

This points in a direction that could make degrowth at least somewhat attractive to the general public. Since dislike of advertisement seems to be close to universal, that might be a good plank for degrowth platforms. Cox’s book on Losing our Cool observes that people dislike over-air-conditioned buildings. There could be wide support for regulations putting limits on how much temperatures can be lowered in schools, public buildings and businesses. This could well accustom people to reducing air conditioning at home and perhaps inspire them to enjoy the outdoors in summer.

Let’s take this a step further. People will give up what they have not experienced much faster than they will abandon what they have become attached to. There was widespread dislike of automobiles until people were forced to buy them by destruction of street cars. In early 2026, there is large-scale rejection of data centers, a big source of CO2 emissions and land destruction.

This manifests Kōhei Saitō’s phrase “Slow down.” A next step for degrowth could be halting the constant introduction of new gadgets that rarely improve anyone’s life. After all, Ya don’t crave what ain’t nowhere.

• A version of the article appeared in Green Social Thought

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Don Fitz (fitzdon@aol.com) writes for and is on the Editorial Board of Green Social Thought where this article first appeared. He has been the St. Louis Green Party candidate for County Assessor and candidate of the Missouri Green Party for State Auditor and Governor. He is author of Cuban Health Care: The Ongoing Revolution (2020). Read other articles by Don.

 

Global Virus Network statement on Nipah virus outbreak

Global Virus Network

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Tampa, FL, USA, January 30, 2026:  The Global Virus Network (GVN), representing eminent human and animal virologists from more than 90 Centers of Excellence and Affiliates in over 40 countries dedicated to advancing research, collaboration, and pandemic preparedness, is monitoring reports of a  Nipah virus outbreak in India and emphasizes that such cases, while very concerning and serious, are not unexpected or unprecedented. Sporadic Nipah virus infections have occurred almost annually in parts of South Asia, particularly in India and Bangladesh, and do not indicate a new or escalating global threat.

Nipah virus is a zoonotic pathogen carried by fruit bats, with human infections typically linked to localized exposure, such as contact with infected animals or contaminated food. Human-to-human transmission can occur but remains rare and usually requires very close contact during acute illness.

“Overall, the risk of regional or global spread of Nipah virus is very low,” said Professor Linfa Wang, PhD, Director of the GVN Center of Excellence at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. “Similar outbreaks have occurred repeatedly in India and Bangladesh, driven largely by specific cultural and environmental factors rather than sustained human transmission.”

Countries with strong public-health systems and surveillance capacity are well positioned to mitigate the risk posed by Nipah virus through early detection, clinical awareness, and rapid diagnostics.

GVN is monitoring the situation closely through its network of Affiliates and Centers of Excellence, including the Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV) in Kerala, a GVN Affiliate through the Centers of Excellence at University College Dublin and Hokkaido University. Researchers at IAV are engaged in Nipah virus research, surveillance, and development of new diagnostic testing.

While there are currently no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments for Nipah virus, promising candidates have shown effectiveness in animal studies. Professor Wang said, “Progress depends on sustained public-good investment and international cooperation.”

The Global Virus Network underscores that the current outbreak does not represent a global emergency, but it does highlight the ongoing importance of surveillance, diagnostics, and globally connected scientific networks to detect and defend against emerging infectious threats.

###

About the Global Virus Network

The Global Virus Network (GVN) is a worldwide coalition comprising 90+ Virology Centers of Excellence and Affiliates across 40+ countries, whose mission is to facilitate pandemic preparedness against viral pathogens and diseases that threaten public health globally. GVN advances knowledge of viruses through (i) data-driven research and solutions, (ii) fostering the next generation of virology leaders, and (iii) enhancing global resources for readiness and response to emerging viral threats. GVN provides the essential expertise required to discover and diagnose viruses that threaten public health, understand how such viruses spread illnesses, and facilitate the development of diagnostics, therapies, and treatments to combat them. GVN coordinates and collaborates with local, national, and international scientific institutions and government agencies to provide real-time virus informatics, surveillance, and response resources and strategies.  GVN's pandemic preparedness mission is achieved by focusing on Education & Training, Qualitative & Quantitative Research, and Global Health Strategies & Solutions. The GVN is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, please visit www.gvn.org.

 

Nipah virus disease cases reported in West Bengal, India: very low risk for Europeans

Two confirmed cases of Nipah virus disease have been reported in West Bengal, India. Based on current information, the risk of infection for people from Europe travelling to or residing in the area is assessed as very low

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

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According to information reported on 26 January 2026 by Indian authorities, both cases are healthcare workers at the same hospital and had contact with each other while undertaking duties in late December 2025. The limited number of cases and their apparent link to a single healthcare setting suggest there is no community transmission at this stage.

The most likely route for Nipah virus to be introduced into Europe would be through infected travellers. While virus importation cannot be ruled out, it is considered unlikely. As the fruit bats carrying Nipah virus are not present in Europe, the risk of onward transmission following a potential importation is also assessed as very low in the current context.

Ongoing investigations and response measures

Indian authorities have implemented prevention and control measures, and investigations are ongoing to identify the possible source of infection. A total of 196 contacts of the confirmed cases were identified and tested. All traced contacts remain asymptomatic and have tested negative for Nipah virus infection. Several countries in the region, including Thailand, Nepal and Cambodia, have initiated precautionary measures. These include public information campaigns and the screening of passengers arriving from India at airports.

Advice for travellers 

As a general precaution, people living in the EU/EEA who are travelling to, or residing in, West Bengal are advised to avoid potential sources of infection. This includes avoiding contact with domestic or wild animals and their fluids or waste, not consuming food that may be contaminated by bats, and not drinking raw date palm sap (juice). Washing, peeling and cooking fruit and vegetables before consumption is generally recommended to reduce the risk of exposure.

About Nipah virus disease

Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus, meaning it can spread from animals to humans. The virus is carried by fruit bats, also known as flying foxes, of the genus Pteropus. These bats are found in parts of South and South East Asia, the Indian Ocean region, and Oceania. The virus can infect humans directly from animals, from contaminated food, and through human-to-human contact. Although outbreaks have only been reported in Asia to date, the virus has epidemic and pandemic potential because it can spread between people and through domesticated animals.

Nipah virus disease is a severe illness, with reported case fatality rates typically ranging between 40% and 75%, depending on factors such as the virus strain and access to high-quality healthcare. The virus can cause brain inflammation (encephalitis). Among those who survive encephalitis, around one in five experience long-term neurological complications, including recurrent seizures, extreme fatigue or behavioural changes. In rare cases, relapse or delayed onset of encephalitis can occur weeks, months or even years after recovery and may be fatal. Neither a vaccine for prevention nor a specific antiviral treatment is available for Nipah virus infection in humans.

Artificial nighttime lighting is suppressing moth activity

University of Exeter

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image: 

Black Arches moth

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Credit: Dr Emmanuelle Briolat

Moths move significantly less when exposed to artificial nighttime light, new research shows.

Moths’ attraction to artificial light, such as streetlights, is common knowledge and has been much studied. But, as many people will have observed, moths may also remain still if they land near a light, apparently “trapped”.

To understand this behaviour, University of Exeter researchers caught more than 800 moths from 23 species and exposed them to LED lights (of various colours and brightness) or to natural night conditions.

Moths were collected with light traps and butterfly nets on the Penryn Campus grounds, then placed outside in individual pots exposed to one of the light conditions, and filmed to record their movements overnight.

Under 10 lux – a level you might experience near residential streetlighting – moths moved 85% less on average than moths in natural nighttime conditions. This is a big impact on how moths behave, with implications for the time they have for essential activities like finding food or mates.

This could be because the artificial light confuses the moths’ sense of time, causing them to remain still as they do in the daytime, or because the light interferes with their vision.

The study also found that, at that same 10 lux intensity, amber lighting – commonly thought to be less harmful to insects – reduced moth movement just as much as typical white LEDs.

“Our results suggest that light pollution has widespread effects on nocturnal moth activity, irrespective of lighting type,” said Dr Emmanuelle Briolat, from the Centre for Ecology & Conservation at Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall.

“This could have important knock-on effects for moth populations and the ‘ecosystem services’ they provide; moths are important pollinators, and a key food source for many other species, from birds to bats.

“Across Europe, moths are in decline, part of a worrying picture of global insect losses, linked to threats like pollution and land-use change – and light pollution could be a significant contributing factor.

“We already know that artificial lighting has many negative impacts on nocturnal insects, and our findings further stress the importance of preserving dark skies.”

Some moth species were even affected by white LED lighting at low levels of 0.1 lux. This is equivalent to indirect ‘skyglow’, where light from towns and cities illuminates the entire sky across many kilometres, meaning the effects could be more far reaching.

The study also looked at how the activity of moths changed through the course of the night.

Dr Jolyon Troscianko said: “While we might think that most moths are simply ‘nocturnal’ and active through the whole night, we found huge variability among species. Some were most active at the start of the night, others at the end, and most were only ever active for short periods.

“Having such short windows of activity has implications for how artificial light could interfere with the moths’ ability to find food or mates before their short adult lives end. While sitting still under artificial lights won’t kill the moths immediately, these sub-lethal effects could easily add up and prevent them from breeding successfully.”

The study was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.

The paper, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, is entitled: “Severe and widespread reductions in nighttime activity of nocturnal moths under modern artificial lighting spectra.”

 

Common Emerald moth

 

The experimental setup

Credit

Dr Emmanuelle Briolat

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Journal

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

DOI

10.1098/rspb.2025.2704 

Article Title

Severe and widespread reductions in nighttime activity of nocturnal moths under modern artificial lighting spectra

Article Publication Date

27-Jan-2026