Nanotechnology and Rare Earth Elements

Nanotechnology and Rare Earth Elements”

Watch the video titled “Nanotechnology Today – Fuel Cells, Buckyballs and Carbon Nanotubes – Bytesize Science” (7 min 24 sec) under the Nanotechnology terms section of the Science Corner. You can also view the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndJlgTkm0oQ. Next, use the Internet, Strayer Library, or go to this open source e-journal Website at http://link.springer.com/journal/13204 to research articles on nanotechnology. Then, select one (1) product of your interest that uses nanotechnology, and describe the overall benefits and drawbacks as well as the positive and negative impact that the product you have chosen has on human lives. Identify one (1) challenge (e.g., safety issue, ethical issue, etc.) that is related to the product in question and describe one (1) change that you think law makers should make to the current regulations over nanotechnology.
Watch the video titled “Why We Need Rare Earth Elements” (3 min 18 sec) under the Rare Earth Elements terms section of the Science Corner. You can also view the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqoQfN9DgNs. Next, identify at least one (1) challenge (e.g., economic impact, environmental concerns, human rights, etc.) that is associated with mining rare earth elements. Suggest one (1) way for the government to mitigate the challenge in question.
Fresh water is vital resource. Is it possible to use icebergs as a source of freshwater? What obstacles – technological, social, environmental & political – do you foresee for such an endeavor?