Nukes answer to post-oil world?

From: Steve Dufour (stevejdufour_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 11/22/04 

Date: 21 Nov 2004 21:32:37 -0800

FORUM: Post-petroleum energy vision

A perfect storm of global events — attacks on gas refineries and
pipelines by insurgents in the Middle East, hurricanes in the Gulf of
Mexico region damaging oil rigs, and political turmoil in
oil-producing Venezuela, Nigeria and Russia — sent the price of oil
soaring to unprecedented heights.
    American consumers felt the pinch as gas prices at the pump jumped
to $2 and higher per gallon. Home heating bills could increase as much
as 30 percent this winter.
    By 2030, according to the International Energy Association, world
oil demand, led by emerging economic giants such as China and India,
will grow 50 percent. Experts fear that, at current rates of oil
consumption and production, we could face devastating petroleum
shortages in the next 20 to 30 years.
    The message is clear: Find substitutes for oil now, or face sure
economic slowdowns if not major contractions in the future.
    Americans have responded to high fuel prices by buying out
existing inventories of gas-electric "hybrid" engine vehicles such as
the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius that get upwards of 40-60 miles
per gallon. The waiting lists for such cars are now longer than those
for organ transplants, according to the Sierra Club.
    Eventually cars running exclusively on hydrogen, like the
experimental DaimlerChrysler F-cell, will be available. And
Nevada-based Clean Energy Inc. promises to introduce in two years a
novel device that will enable current combustion engines to run on
clean-burning hydrogen. Such cars will need a national infrastructure
of "hydrogen filling stations" to service such cars. (California
promises a statewide "hydrogen highway" by 2010.)
    While widespread adoption of such vehicles will slash our
dependence on oil, we will still be challenged to develop alternative
fuels to produce the electricity to heat our homes and power our
factories in the post-petroleum era.
    In the short run, according to a recent report by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, nuclear power stands as the
best "clean" energy source to meet U.S. and world energy needs. It is
cheap, runs on abundant materials such as uranium and thorium, and
emits no greenhouse gases.
    China, India, South Africa and other countries already are
embracing nuclear fission with unabated enthusiasm. At least 27
nuclear power plants are being built worldwide, with more on order.
And soon, new, safer, more efficient and more proliferation-resistant
nuclear reactors will be available.
    The Bush energy bill, languishing in committee for months, calls
for building such new-generation nuclear plants in the United States
over the next decade. Having solidified its hold on the executive and
legislative branches in the 2004 elections, the Bush administration
has a golden opportunity to get this energy bill enacted into law.
Westinghouse, GE and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., or AECL, are
prepared to construct this new generation of nukes at various already
selected sites throughout the U.S. once they are officially
authorized.
    It is imperative we quickly pass an energy bill that enables
America to utilize sources such as nuclear power so we can reduce our
dependence on oil. At the same time, we must plan for our long-term
energy future by developing ever more powerful sources of fuel.
    Most experts believe this long-term solution is nuclear fusion,
the "power of the sun," in which atoms are fused together to create
energy.
    According to Stan Milora, director of Oak Ridge National Lab's
fusion energy program, nuclear fusion is a virtually limitless energy
source, mainly because the primary fuel is water.
    Unlike current fission-based nuclear reactors in which atoms are
split to release energy, fusion reactors produce no radioactive waste.
So we won't have to store that radioactive material.
    The United States joined Canada, the European Union, Japan and the
Russian Federation in the International Fusion Project (ITER) in 2003,
to test the feasibility of nuclear fusion as a source of electricity.
Princeton University's Plasma Physics Laboratory will lead U.S.
participation in the project.
    By 2050, nuclear fusion is scheduled to become part of the global
energy grid. For centuries to come, fusion will serve as the world's
major energy source.
    As the world energy needs continue expanding dramatically, it is
imperative that we invent and quickly put into effect the next
generation of energy technologies that will fuel global prosperity
throughout the 21st century and beyond. We cannot hope to solve future
energy crises by reducing our driving, limiting factory production,
and "turning down the thermostat" in our homes and offices. Such
"solutions" will only stunt economic growth.
    The clock is ticking on our energy future. The time to act is now.
    
    MICHAEL G. ZEY
    Professor, Montclair (N.J.) State University School of Business.
    (futurist3000@aol.com
    www.zey.com)

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