How about blood for copper? Or Zinc? Or Cobalt?
Just finished an absolutely fascinating series of articles about "ChinAfrica" in Fast Company. I HIGHLY recommend that you read them (and once you do, you'll get the irony of this suggestion: Print them out to read them, since they are quite long.)
Anyhow, the author details vividly how there is a mad rush going on in Africa (which China is winning) for natural resources that lie at the epicenter of modern wealth creation.
We're all complicit in it...US as end consumers, China as extractor, and corrupt African dictators as well. Combine that with a Chinese willingness to look the other way re: human rights in Africa and bribery and the US gov't (and consumer!) willingness to ignore Chinese policy...and we have the makings of a resource war.
In his book, China: The Gathering Threat
Reading these articles, you've got to wonder if he is right.
While a full on war may not be the end result, what could be are:
- less democracy and human rights in Africa
- continued kleptocracy and poverty
- Chinese crackdown on internal protests to which the world turns a blind eye
- and the total devastation of the majority of the earth's natural resources (in Africa).
The NFO asked me the other day about rising food prices. "Will it get better?"
"Not in the short term. It's going to get worse before it gets better. Oil is at the center and rising living standards around the world contribute as well. Time to find other, cheaper sources of nutrition."
You know my investment policy is weighted (and has been for 2.5 years now) towards oil going to $200/barrel. And that I have some strong views on this topic (economically and politically).
Time to add another one.