To: Evan who wrote (1615 ) 5/31/1998 4:38:00 PM From: jmhollen Respond to of 7209
Good post, Evan....... Here's some of the poop regarding the suggested link..... Nuclear fusion With China's economy continuing its break-neck pace of growth, demand for power is expected to double within the next 15 to 20 years. That demand cannot be met by coal and oil deposits alone. Not only are they far from the urban areas, but the pollution and global warming effects of over-reliance on them would be horrendous. With the World Bank estimating that more than 289,000 mainlanders die from unnecessary air pollution every year, an increase in coal-burning would only result in further fatalities. Nor can hydroelectric power meet all of China's needs, even taking into account the Three Gorges project. This means China is going to need huge numbers of new nuclear power plants, perhaps as many as 150 over the next 40 years, costing close to US$60 billion. It is a prospect which has United States manufacturers licking their lips. Their domestic market is dead, with no new reactors having been commissioned for 24 years, and the Chinese market may offer them one hope of avoiding bankruptcy. That is the driving force behind the intense efforts to conclude an accord which will allow Washington to resume the sale of nuclear technology to China. Despite US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's insistence that some concerns remain to be resolved, the odds are that these will be ironed out in time for presidents Jiang and Clinton to sign the agreement in the White House tomorrow. Beijing has come a long way to address concerns over nuclear proliferation. Past help for Iran's reactor programme has been jettisoned to ease US sensitivities. The State Department is satisfied China has also honoured its pledge to stop support for any Pakistani nuclear facilities not subject to international inspection. Beijing has even agreed to join the proliferation-monitoring Zanger Committee and is about to establish its own regulatory regime. Concerns inevitably remain about how strictly China will enforce the new rules, since recent years have seen unauthorised diversion of nuclear-related materials. But the best way to address such fears is through dialogue rather than confrontation. With some US officials impressed at the sincerity of the young mainland bureaucrats who are tackling the task of building a nuclear regulatory regime, tomorrow's expected agreement will benefit not only US industry but also China's efforts to show it can play a responsible role in the international arena. Remember - it takes 7+ years to build a Nuke powerhouse....... LGOV has LPG for sale, in the country, TODAY! When you're chilly, dirty and hungry - when do you want to get warm, clean and fed....?? Not seven years from now, I'll bet! the Inchworm Guy