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

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (36073)	12/5/2012 3:41:52 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 86356

A better stimulus by government for thorium reactors would be to get out of the way. Cut the red tape and kleptocracy on those who would like to do it. In general, I would concur.. But we "picked winners" when we decided to build HWR, LWR, and the discredited Breeder Reactors.. So the industry knows they have the nuclear power sector locked into using their expensive fuel rods (razors and razor blade business model), so it may take some pump-priming incentives to push towards a cheaper reactor design like a LFTR Thorium Molten Salt Reactor.. The Chinese certainly seem to see the benefit of Thorium as part of their future energy portfolio including the son of Jiang Zemin, the former premier of China: smartplanet.com I certainly believe it would be taxpayer money that is well invested if gov't resources can be brought to advance the R&D cycle to bring the tech to commercial viability.. Then let the private market run free with it (within regulatory reason).. Everything Obama has spent taxpayer money on, thus far, in the alternative energy sector has been designed to create MORE EXPENSIVE, and UNRELIABLE, sources of power generation. I can't think of one project that has been designed to replace the current energy industry with something that is less costly, safer, and more environmentally friendly. Trillions of dollars of national debt added in the past 4 years, and it pretty much seems wasted with little, to no, ROI for the taxpayers. I don't think the same can be said for undertaking a Thorium MSR "Manhattan Project". In fact, the cheaper our energy supply, the more we can pay in salaries for our workers. I used to read the SciFi author, James P. Hogan, and his vision of society where electricity was so inexpensive that it freed mankind to pursue more productive, and creative, pursuits without the worry of basic food, and shelter. It still resonates in my mind.. Hawk