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Politics : Politics of Energy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Maurice Winn who wrote (36064)12/5/2012 1:53:32 AM
From: Hawkmoon  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 86356
 
If energy dependence didn't involve so many unstable sources of the stuff, or it's eventual depletion, I would agree with you.

But oil is currently located on the territory of highly unstable societies/governments, many of which use the proceeds of it's sale to oppress their own people, prevent economic/industrial diversity, or to blackmail out foreign policy decisions.

I just feel more comfortable knowing we're energy independent, utilizing the most economically inexpensive source.

That post was merely me presenting a different vision.. Cheap electricity through Thorium power generation, the electricity of which could be converted into other forms of fuel, to include hydrocarbons.

The guy who patented the Thorium design was the same guy who patented the existing light water reactors.. He really pushed for Thorium, but our government opted for Breeder reactors, LWR's and HWR because of their production of plutonium for nuclear weapons.

en.wikipedia.org

Just amazing how one decision like this denied our country the opportunity to have nearly inexhaustible, cheap, and more importantly, inherently SAFE, nuclear energy..

Guess there just wasn't enough profit in it for Westinghouse and GE..

So this is where, if I were in power today, I would direct gov't stimulus money.. I would treat this project like we treated the Internet.. The ROI from making cheap energy available would have ripple effects throughout the entire economy.

As for any decline in CO2, I'm sure we could come up with something to mitigate that..

Hawk