Building the blueprint to protect North America’s Critical Rare Earth Future with Emma Ernst, Government Affairs Director at GreenMet The Green Hour

What if I told you that components from your cellphone, computer, television, and electric vehicle all came from mining? As with components for X-ray and MRI machines, military weaponry, and advanced military aircraft. These components are rare earth minerals, and they are extracted from the earth through rare earth mining. Most people would not be too happy to know that most rare earth minerals in our objects come from China, which has a stronghold on the market.
Our guest on The Green Hour today is Emma Ernst, Government Affairs Director at GreenMet. GreenMet accelerates the development of safe, reliable rare earth mineral supply chains. Former Green Berets founded GreenMet after they realized the overwhelming need for sustainable and secure supply chains for rare earth metals, magnets, and green steel in North America.
Emma has been involved in several different forms of policy over her career. She started with educational policy with the US Department of Education, Meeting Street Schools, and Stanford’s Hoover Institution. From there, she interned in the prestigious White House Internship Program in the Office of Vice President Mike Pence. In her internship, she worked with the administration during the COVID-19 response, the 2020 election, and the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. She later served as a Special Assistant for Communication and Strategy in the Council of Economic Advisers in the White House. From there, she worked with Congressman Morgan Griffith, the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Today, Emma works for GreenMet, a company trying to build back domestic supply chains for rare earth minerals.