| The United States with less than 5% of the | | | | of our energy needs. Historically, at least, the |
| world's population consumes roughly 25% of the | | | | problem with nuclear energy has been primarily |
| world's energy. Some might argue that this is | | | | two fold. First, the "China Syndrome" problem of |
| egregious, while others would say that it is simply | | | | a meltdown of a reactor which could release a |
| a yardstick by which the world's largest economy | | | | large amount of radioactivity and second, what do |
| is measured. But for whatever the reason for our | | | | we do with nuclear waste material that has a |
| vast consumption of energy, the fact remains | | | | half-life of over 25,000 years! The perception of |
| that in order to consume you first have to | | | | these two significant obstacles might doom a new |
| produce. And as most of our energy comes from | | | | nuclear drive and stand in the way of an |
| burning fossil fuels- which wouldn't be too bad | | | | energy-independent United States.However, there |
| except that: | | | | are new technologies in this field that, like the |
| burning vast amounts of fossil fuels in this county | | | | cavalry, have come to our rescue- and none too |
| alone dumps millions of pounds of earth warming | | | | soon. First, there is a new class of nuclear |
| greenhouse gasses into, what appears, is a fragile | | | | reactors that have their nuclear fuel so structured |
| atmosphere, every day. Just warming up the | | | | that they cannot do a melt down. Turn off the |
| atmosphere a couple of degrees on average has | | | | cooling to this new nuclear reactor and it only |
| significant impact. Look no further than last year's | | | | gets a bit hotter. No big deal. Turn the cooling |
| hurricane season. The worst on record. And...let's | | | | back on and it runs more efficiently. Okay, one |
| not forget its close cousin; smog pollution, which | | | | down. But what about all that radioactive spent |
| adds to respiratory problems and other health | | | | reactor fuel? Let's see if we can put some |
| conditions, not to mention the visual blight hanging | | | | perspective on it. If you gathered all the spent |
| over our cities as well. In addition...have you filled | | | | nuclear fuel in this country under one roof it would |
| your tank recently? Paid the heating bill? The cost | | | | fill a typical high school gym. Not too |
| of all fossil fuels, even coal has increased | | | | unmanageable. Moreover, the spent fuel is |
| significantly. As other emerging economies such as | | | | encapsulated in super strong glass beads, which in |
| China and India vie for ever more limited | | | | turn are embedded into hardened concrete inside |
| resources, all bets are that the costs will continue | | | | steel drums. This makes the waste product |
| to climb over the long haul. Moreover...as we | | | | "transportable" and is designed to withstand the |
| import most of our oil nowadays- we are | | | | elements for 10,000 years. Nevertheless, even in |
| increasingly held hostage to an unstable supply | | | | it's tomb it is still relativity radioactive. Most of |
| from a number of countries that we, for | | | | these drums are stored in water as radiation |
| whatever reasons, are increasingly unpopular with. | | | | cannot penetrate more than about 3 feet of |
| The end game? If our supply of oil is not first | | | | water. However, no one seems anxious to have |
| arbitrarily cut off, as it becomes increasingly | | | | it in their back yards. A political hot potato to be |
| scarce the price will rise until our growth is | | | | sure.But while our politicians don't have the |
| strangled. In either case we will feel impelled to | | | | answer, the earth does. The answer lies in the |
| engage in war with other rising powers to secure | | | | bottom of the Marianas Trench in the Pacific. It is |
| our supplies. | | | | the deepest place in the ocean (over seven miles) |
| | | | and one of the fastest moving subduction plates |
| The bottom line: Fossil fuels are not only | | | | on earth. If the drums of waste were placed in |
| hazardous to our health (and the planet's) but | | | | the bottom of the trench, they would, within a |
| may in fact be hazardous to the American way | | | | few hundred years, be swallowed up into the |
| of life.But if energy is the lifeblood of our | | | | bowels of the earth and blend into the earth's |
| economy what are we to do? Wind? Solar? While | | | | core where heat and pressure (caused in part by |
| anything we can do other than consume fossil | | | | radioactive substances contained within the earth) |
| fuels will help, these sources of energy are | | | | rendered insignificant.Given the current geopolitical |
| relatively diffuse and inconsistent. In other words, | | | | situation, which only seems to be working to our |
| their "cost to calorie" ratios are not efficient and | | | | disadvantage, limited resources for cheap fossil |
| they are not always dependable. As James | | | | fuels, not to mention the environmental impacts |
| Kunstler points out in his intriguing book The Long | | | | we are starting to experience, it is time we take |
| Emergency, one of our best options out of these | | | | drastic measures to get us off our fossil fuel |
| dilemmas is to do an "Apollo Project" type effort | | | | addition. Let's hope we are not too late.John Woolf |
| to develop additional, new nuclear energy | | | | is the founder of several successful Internet |
| capability. As it turns out, it just may be the | | | | technology companies including the Book Price |
| greenest, viable alternate we have.The U.S. | | | | Comparison website As a pragmatist of the world |
| currently produces about 20% of its electrical | | | | around him, he is both a critic and crusader on |
| power from nuclear power. The advantages are; | | | | international politics and energy policy as it relates |
| that there are no greenhouse emissions into the | | | | to our security and our impact on the global |
| atmosphere, no visual pollution, it is cost relatively | | | | environment.Visit to read reviews, find similar |
| cost effective, quiet and we have sufficient | | | | titles, and search for the lowest possible price for |
| supply of uranium here at home for the | | | | The Long Emergency and other great books. |
| foreseeable future to provide for a major portion | | | | |