Seltene Erden

Rare earth metals were indispensable to the beginning of the technological revolution. They constitute our future as well. We had known of their existence for more than a 100 years and thought them to be useless waste products. Of course, we now know that no mobile phone or tablet would exist without them. Rare earth elements are extracted in huge mines, from cornfields or from the seabeds. The authors of this documentary together with international experts from around the globe point out that even such useful materials have their dark side. Scientists are looking for a way to cheaply and sustainably extract these materials. As it turns out, mining them with conventional methods is harmful to the environment and also very costly. Rare earth metals are a crucial part of eco-friendly technologies such as hybrid cars or wind turbines; their sources, however, are very limited and current methods of extracting them are not eco-friendly. Thanks to chemists and geologists, new ways of preserving of these elements are being discovered. While they might not glitter or sparkle, they are nevertheless more valuable than gold or oil. (Academia Film Olomouc)