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