The NYTimes piece linked to in this article is a shorter read, although it focuses on the environmental impact of mining the rare-earth metals :<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/26/business/global/26rare.html?_r=1&#38;pagewanted=print" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/26/business/global/26rare.htm...</a>