"America needs to learn from the example for future growth and long-term sustainability being set byChina, and build the infrastructure and invest in the education and development of talent in growth industries, such as renewable energy and electronics, to achieve long-term growth and the continuation of the whole American experience," according to Dr.Stephen Leeb, a recognized authority on finance,investing and economic trends. Leeb spoke withPeter Clayton, producer/host of TotalPicture Radio, a popular career and leadership development podcast.

Realizing the tremendouscareer and growth opportunitiesin "green" industries and technology, Clayton regularly features experts in the field on his program.

However, the picture Dr. Leeb paints in his interview is troubling.Chinais gaining ground as a superpower and attaining competitive advantage over other developed countries, especiallythe United States, by using its profits to globally invest in and control mineral commodities such as coal, oil, zinc, silver, and gold. In his latest bookRed Alert: How China's Growing Prosperity Threatens the American Way of Life, Leeb argues that access to rare earth resources will determine the standard of living for future generations.

Leeb discusses how "U.S. officials and politicians engage in short-term myopic planning, endless legal maneuvering, scandals, and wartime investing that are crippling America's economic viability." Contrast this withChina's government, led by politicians with backgrounds in hard sciences. "Chinais spending enormous amounts of money planning for, and analyzing, the long-term consequences of global warming," Leeb asserts. "The Chinese, I don't think, hate Americans, by no means, but the Chinese are all forChina. They would like to come off as the heroes in the environmental revolution."

"There's a war going on out there in the world between the two most important economic powers:the United StatesandChina. We don't know we're fighting a war. We are," said Leeb. "Our country needs to start looking forward to our future and how we can win this war and continue to prosper. However, it's going to be virtually impossible to build out a new renewable energy society or create new energies, whether they call them renewable or not, without having access to rare earth. Right now, we don't."

As an example of the "war" withChina, Leeb pointed to the Solyndra scandal. "Yes, there were bad people that were running Solyndra. The real issue here is that the most honest, best businessmen in the world would have run into trouble, too - almost insurmountable trouble - because, in the end, there's really no U.S. solar company that can compete effectively with Chinese solar companies."

Leeb viewsChina's accumulation of rare earth assets as proof of the country's growing strength. "Chinaalmost has a hammerlock on two premier renewable energy markets - wind and solar," said Leeb. "Their control and refining of the heavy rare earth elements, which are essential for building magnets that go into wind turbines, hybrid automobiles and military equipment, clearly demonstratesChina's ever-increasing lead in the global environmental revolution."

"You know, the benefit of this is just as inChina: if we do wake up to this, we will create a number of very big growth industries in this country - huge growth industries with great jobs," Leeb concluded.