http://www.danielbbotkin.com/2009/02/21/the-limits-of-nuclear-power/ Reflections of a renegade naturalist Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:12:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://www.danielbbotkin.com/2009/02/21/the-limits-of-nuclear-power/comment-page-1/#comment-10952 Robert Steinhaus Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:23:25 +0000 http://www.danielbbotkin.com/?p=101#comment-10952 There are two nuclear fuels available that would permit lifting the condition of billions of the inhabitants of the planet one third of which currently have no regular access to electricity. In the mid 1950s, building on technology pioneered by the United States Navy, America chose one of the two nuclear fuels that had proven useful for both weapons and commercial energy production. America chose to use Uranium-235/Plutonium-239 to both power its reactors and to build its cold war arsenal. Nuclear pioneers of the time, including the designers of America's first commercial reactor, Dr. Eugene Wigner and Dr. Alvin Weinberg, were well aware that there was a second, more abundant, nuclear fuel, Thorium-232/Uranium-233 available that was practical to use for power production but which was difficult to use for weapons purposes. At the height of the cold war America chose to use and develop infrastructure to support only Uranium-235/Plutonium-239. More abundant Thorium nuclear fuel could power the world at a ~30 Terawatt level for over 300 years. The United States, India, Brazil, and Scandinavia have particularly large reserves of easily exploitable Thorium. More information can be found at the following location: Improving the Nation’s Energy Efficiency should also apply to Nuclear Energy http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/robertsteinhaus/gGGGZ9 There are two nuclear fuels available that would permit lifting the condition of billions of the inhabitants of the planet one third of which currently have no regular access to electricity. In the mid 1950s, building on technology pioneered by the United States Navy, America chose one of the two nuclear fuels that had proven useful for both weapons and commercial energy production. America chose to use Uranium-235/Plutonium-239 to both power its reactors and to build its cold war arsenal. Nuclear pioneers of the time, including the designers of America’s first commercial reactor, Dr. Eugene Wigner and Dr. Alvin Weinberg, were well aware that there was a second, more abundant, nuclear fuel, Thorium-232/Uranium-233 available that was practical to use for power production but which was difficult to use for weapons purposes. At the height of the cold war America chose to use and develop infrastructure to support only Uranium-235/Plutonium-239.
More abundant Thorium nuclear fuel could power the world at a ~30 Terawatt level for over 300 years. The United States, India, Brazil, and Scandinavia have particularly large reserves of easily exploitable Thorium.
More information can be found at the following location:
Improving the Nation’s Energy Efficiency should also apply to Nuclear Energy
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/robertsteinhaus/gGGGZ9

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