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