If you own a cell phone, laptop computer, hybrid car, or virtually any other digitally controlled device, you own some rare earth metals as well. Strange elements like scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, neodymium, and dysprosium are ingredients in all these products. The name dysprosium-- from the Greek "dysprositos" meaning "hard to get" --says it all. I use a cell phone, work a good deal on a computer, and could probably find a use for a hybrid car so I'm a culprit in the mining of these rare ...