Is Nuclear Power the Answer?
The world is dependent on fossil fuels and we all know that one day, oil will run out. Additionally, many experts believe we are slowly heading towards mass extinction if we continue to pump carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere. We desperately need a power source that is clean and renewable. The human race needs to overcome this major hurdle so we can live on and advance our civilization.
The question is, do we want to continue polluting our planet so our children and our children’s children will have to deal with the problem, or do we want to solve it now? We need a “Manhattan Project” type initiative to break our addiction to oil and gas. In the past century, our society has made tremendous advances due to cheap energy from fossil fuels, but the time has come to move on.
So what is the answer? We need a cheap energy source that produces energy without producing greenhouse gas emissions. While wind and solar power are two alternatives, wind is unreliable because wind does not blow all the time, and solar power is still in the infancy stage of development. Wind and solar should be part of the big solution, but we need massive amounts of energy to power our cars and maintain our lifestyle.
The best answer is nuclear power. We have the technology right now to power our planet for millions and millions of years. Nuclear power can produce enough electricity to power all of Earth’s homes and cars.
Another benefit of nuclear energy is that it can be used to turn our oceans’ salt water into fresh water. Humans could have an unlimited amount of clean drinking water. And, the fresh water from the desalination process can be used to farm the desserts and boost our food production.
Okay, I know there are many people out there that hate nuclear energy with a passion. People are scared of all the nuclear waste that is produced and fear a nuclear reactor meltdown. What if I told you about a rapidly developing technology called a “Breeder Reactor” that can actually recycle the nuclear waste into more fuel? Not only would we not have nuclear waste to worry about, but we would have sufficient fuel to power our reactors forever. Nuclear reactor technology has come a long way since the incidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Today’s new reactors are extremely safe, and the chance of an accident occurring is almost impossible.
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INTERNAL ENDORSEMENT
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Breeder reactors use a mixed plutonium fuel that has “fast” neutrons that prolong the reaction and hold more energy. A coolant like sodium is used to control the internal neutron flux in the breeder reactor. breeder reactors open the door to an infinite amount of fuel for the production of electricity.
Many countries like France, Britain and Japan have already constructed breeder reactors and the technology is quickly improving and reaching its full potential. It is currently more expensive to recycle the fuel than just mining it, but the cost will come down to competitive levels as more breeder reactors come online.
Now that we know nuclear power is safe and produces clean energy, we need to focus on getting away from fossil fuels and start developing this clean energy source. I propose a Herculean effort to start building new nuclear power plants around the globe. We need to get our best scientists onboard to take nuclear power to its full potential. Now is the perfect time to launch this project as switching from fossil fuels to clean energy is a massive project that will create many jobs during this period of global recession.
Imagine a planet with no pollution problems and no energy or water shortages. Picture what mankind can achieve with an inexhaustible and safe supply of cheap electricity derived from nuclear power.
Interested in investing in nuclear power? My esteemed colleague Dr. Rusty McDougal has some great nuclear plays in his Resource Windfall Speculator.
Best Wishes,
Ted Peroulakis