Can Thorium Save Us?
4 January 2010 - 10:00am
Thorium is much cleaner, more efficient and safe than uranium, and doesn't leave any waste that can be weaponized. Could a thorium-based nuclear power industry save the U.S.?
Richard Martin has a lengthy feature in Wired that clearly presents the case for thorium.
"It's abundant — the US has at least 175,000 tons of the stuff — and doesn’t require costly processing. It is also extraordinarily efficient as a nuclear fuel. As it decays in a reactor core, its byproducts produce more neutrons per collision than conventional fuel. The more neutrons per collision, the more energy generated, the less total fuel consumed, and the less radioactive nastiness left behind."
Source:
Wired, January 4, 2010
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No One Energy Source Can Save Us
What we need to be saved from is the notion than one particular energy source can "save" us. The reduction of consumption via conservation is the most important measure we can make- in public policy and in our personal lives.
Human created energy via using your legs as transport, your hands instead of power tools, building design incorporating passive solar etc are the measures we need to take.
Revisiting the less consumptive lifestyle of older generations who knew to turn off lights when they left a room, grew their own veggies and bought modest sized homes would serve us well.