“As hybrid cars gobble rare metals, shortage looms”. And: “California mine digs in for ” green ” gold rush” (GS). We got us a meme! Most of our prior posts on rare earth elements can be found linked in last week’s “Wind: “World faces hi-tech crunch as China eyes … The Prius hybrid automobile is popular for its fuel efficiency, but its electric motor and battery guzzle rare earth metals, a little-known class of elements found in a wide range of gadgets and consumer goods. …