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lonewolf
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Post by lonewolf »

banditos wrote:In response to nuclear energy,if you think oil is getting scarce around the world check the availability of uranium and the third world countries that possess these mines,what do you think these dictator types would charge once the demand became even greater?
At the present rate of usage and without any new mines or exploration, there is about a century's worth of uranium available. While there are a few lesser developed countries in Africa that produce it, most uranium comes from North America, Europe and countries that made up the former U.S.S.R. It is not a hostage situation.

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf23.html

Based on that, fission reactors will continue to be a viable source of energy and alternative to oil for many decades. It also has its problems and I wouldn't want us to rely heavily on it for more time than is necessary. Maybe long enough for the development of usable fusion reactors.

Unfortunately, the no-nukes and the green crowd do not have the 1st effing clue about fusion reactor technology and the kind of impact it would have for the world. It would literally usher in a new era for mankind with virtually limitless clean energy with a very, very minimal short term impact on the actual reactor sites. No radioactive hazardous waste. No heavy metals to cause meltdown. Only a need for a little bit of hydrogen to fuse into helium. Got hydrogen?

The thing that people must understand is that wind, solar, geothermal and similar alternative energies are not and probably will never be viable sources of mass power for the electric grid--especially if we start using electric cars. Those sources are best used on a home by home basis and guess who will have them? Only those who can afford them.
...Oh, the freedom of the day that yielded to no rule or time...
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songsmith
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Post by songsmith »

I have to agree with lonewolf on this one. I see nuke as the best short-term solution... it's dangerous, but so is the product it creates (high-voltage electricity) and we've found ways to be safe around it. I too, am very interested in fusion, if it's useable.
Possibly the best thing about nuke is that Big Oil has absolutely no control. I saw a commercial that said Exxon/Mobil is working on batteries... uhhhhh, yeahhhhh... they have hundreds of billions in petro infrastructure they can't wait to make obsolete. I met a guy 26 years ago whose patent they bought for a fuel-charge vaporizer that, according to him, greatly increased fuel mileage without sacrificing power. They sat on it, it never saw the light of day. One could call that anecdotal, I understand, but the guy made it sound so simple and common-sense, I believed him. Obviously, oil will never be obsolete, we make everything out of it, but fuel usage is far and away the biggest use of it.
I still see solar, wind and hydro as very viable, if only on a home-by-home basis. They constitute small steps, which I prefer to giant leaps into the abyss. The economy of scale insists that if everybody had a solar panel, they'd come down in price.. like DVD players and computers. Again, I like the green aspect, but I'm more about sticking it to the man, and making my own way.
"...A country boy can survive, mother****er!" - Earlie Cuyler, Squidbillies :lol:
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