An environmentalist changes his mind on nuclear power!

"Read the article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/21/pro-nuclear-japan-fukushima

You will not be surprised to hear that the events in Japan have changed my view of nuclear power. You will be surprised to hear how they have changed it. As a result of the disaster at Fukushima, I am no longer nuclear-neutral. I now support the technology.

A crappy old plant with inadequate safety features was hit by a monster earthquake and a vast tsunami. The electricity supply failed, knocking out the cooling system. The reactors began to explode and melt down. The disaster exposed a familiar legacy of poor design and corner-cutting. Yet, as far as we know, no one has yet received a lethal dose of radiation.

Some greens have wildly exaggerated the dangers of radioactive pollution..."

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Ann Coulter A Glowing Report on Radiation

Ann Coulter has a great column (here) about the radiation scare in Japan. I've read research for years that a little radiation is good for you. She quotes much of the research I've read and also some I haven't seen.

With the terrible earthquake and resulting tsunami that have devastated Japan, the only good news is that anyone exposed to excess radiation from the nuclear power plants is now probably much less likely to get cancer.

This only seems counterintuitive because of media hysteria for the past 20 years trying to convince Americans that radiation at any dose is bad. There is, however, burgeoning evidence that excess radiation operates as a sort of cancer vaccine.

As The New York Times science section reported in 2001, an increasing number of scientists believe that at some level -- much higher than the minimums set by the U.S. government -- radiation is good for you. "They theorize," the Times said, that "these doses protect against cancer by activating cells' natural defense mechanisms."

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BP Oil Spill

Dr. Roy Spencer has a chart to put the BP oil spill into perspective.































Click on the chart for a better picture.

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Handheld fusion reactor on the way?

This is interesting! Since this is short I put the whole article up. The original is here: http://dvice.com/archives/2009/07/handheld-fusion.php

Handheld fusion reactor on the way?

If Pentagon whiz kid researchers at DARPA have anything to do with it, handheld fusion reactors could be more than just the stuff of science fiction. Controlling a fusion reaction, the same energy source that powers the sun, is a longtime dream of ambitious scientists. Fusion holds the key to nearly limitless energy.

Someone at DARPA must think a handheld fusion device is possible, because DARPA indicates that its Chip-Scale High Energy Atomic Beams could lead to "handheld power sources." Only problem is, the project doesn't appear in the 2010 budget, but that doesn't necessarily mean the researchers have given up on the idea.

There's little info about this mind-blowing project, but it certainly changes our assumptions about nuclear fusion. We were thinking you'd need a gigantic facility, lots of high-powered lasers, and zillions of dollars to control a fusion reaction. To hold this sort of thing in your hand? The fact that scientists are even talking about this possibility, and pursuing it with multimillion-dollar budgets, is astonishing.

More evidence that if you let science go it can create miracles!

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Clean, Safe, Affordable Power

Who would have thunk it? I've long been a promoter of research into nuclear batteries. It looks like we're going to have them within five years. They will generate enough power for about 20,000 homes all in a package that can be delivered on a truck!
The following is from the Hyperion website:

Clean, Safe, Affordable Power
Where you need it, When you need it.

Who would have thought that the benefits of generating electricity from huge nuclear power plants...
	Clean no greenhouse gases to contribute to climate change Safe the most controlled and regulated type of power on the planet Affordable the cheapest in terms of dollars & environmental impact Reliable available 24 /7 rain or shine, windy or calm
…could ever be provided in a small, compact, energy module that can be transported by truck, rail or ship to remote locations wherever reliable electricity and heat for communities and industry is needed?

http://www.hyperionpowergeneration.com/

The following:...

Hyperion Fast Facts

Small -1.5 meters across, approx size of a residential “hot tub”

Produces 70 MWt or 25 MWe, enough to power 20,000 average American homes or the equivalent

Buried underground out of sight and harm’s way

Transportable by train, ship, truck

Sealed module, never opened on site

Enough power for 5+ years

After 5 years, removed & refueled at original factory

Uniquely safe, self-moderating using a natural chemical reaction discovered 50 years ago

No mechanical parts in the core to malfunction

Water not used as coolant; cannot go “supercritical” or get too hot

No greenhouse gases or global warming emissions

Think: Large Battery!

...can be found here: http://www.hyperionpowergeneration.com/about.html

I would think our local power district, which currently buys power from Nevada Power (or whatever they call themselves now) and Hoover Dam, could buy one of these units and be completely self sufficient!

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All right! Ben Bova is on the right side of this one! The Washington Post printed this article:

DEAR MR. (FUTURE) PRESIDENT

AN ENERGY FIX WRITTEN IN THE STARS

Gadflies address the next occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

By Ben Bova

Sunday, October 12, 2008; Page B02

You're heading into some rough times as you move into the White House, Mr. Future President, what with the economy in recession, financial markets in turmoil, global warming, terrorism, war and soaring energy prices. But I can offer you a tip for dealing with that last issue, at least: Look to the stars.

That's right. You can use the powerful technology we've forged over a half-century of space exploration to solve one major down-to-Earth problem -- and become the most popular president since John F. Kennedy in the process.

Right now, the United States is shelling out about $700 billion a year for foreign oil. With world demand for energy increasing, gas prices will head toward $10 per gallon during your administration -- unless you make some meaningful changes. That's where space technology can help -- and create new jobs, even whole new industries, at the same time.

You'll have to make some hard choices on energy. Nuclear power doesn't emit greenhouse gases, but it has radioactive wastes. Hydrogen fuels burn cleanly, but hydrogen is expensive to produce and hard to distribute by pipeline. Wind power works in special locations, but most people don't want huge, noisy wind turbines in their backyards.

Solar energy is a favorite of environmentalists, but it works only when the sun is shining. But that's the trick. There is a place where the sun never sets, and a way to use solar energy for power generation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year: Put the solar cells in space, in high orbits where they'd be in sunshine all the time.

You do it with the solar power satellite (SPS), a concept invented by Peter Glaser in 1968. The idea is simple: You build large assemblages of solar cells in space, where they convert sunlight into electricity and beam it to receiving stations on the ground.

Click here to see the rest at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/10/AR2008101002450.html

Solar power is a nice idea, but to put a system big enough to actually do you some good would cost $40,000-50,000! And just about the time you pay for it, it's time to replace it! It's more cost effective to buy your power from the grid. But the sun shines 24 hours a day in space. If you collect the power there and beam it down to the power grid it becomes cost effective.

If you fear the microwave beams there is no need. The power is spread out over a wide area and you can make the beam self collimating (which simply means it shuts down automatically if it drifts off target since it uses feedback from the target itself to aim). With space based solar, nuclear, and coal, plus "drill here drill now!" we can reach energy independence in not ten years, but perhaps 20!

We can do it. "Let's Roll!"

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