Is Nuclear Fusion Possible, a
Reaction
Your article keeps your readers in denial of the dire
effects of the imminent and inescapable downward trend in
world oil production. Read any of the dozens of books on
peak oil. Start with Matthew Simmons, because he's a
businessman. These effects -- famine, depression, resource
wars, disasters -- will be made worse by global warming.
I have been reading widely in the area of energy since
9/11. I have concluded that I owe it to my children and
grandchildren to promote energy efficiency, energy
conservation, and renewable energy.
Fusion and fission both are extremely expensive when
you consider all the taxes paid, directly and indirectly,
to cover all life cycle costs and externalized costs. We
know the dangers of fission. We don't yet know the dangers
of fusion. Only wealthy countries will be able to afford
them. Commitments to these technologies have already led
to new markets in these technologies, which has already
created new opportunities for desperate or power-hungry
people to create nuclear weapons. Let's turn away from
this treacherous course.
Imagine where we would be if $20B had been spent on
energy efficiency and renewable energy research in the
last 20 years? Or if that amount had been spent simply on
deploying available solar PV and wind systems?
Have you ever thought about the connections between
centralized energy systems and centralized government and
concentration of wealth and power? Three oil executives in
the White House, an expanded federal government, a war in
Iraq, erosion of our rights as citizens, and record
profits for Exxon/Mobil provide a good starting point for
this study. Democracy, freedom and economic justice are
much better served by distributed generation and
distributed ownership of the means of energy production.
How much do you spend on energy each month and where does
that money go? You could instead be buying an energy
producing asset and much of what you spend could be
recirculating in your community.
Renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies,
like nuclear technologies, will quickly spread around the
world. But, unlike nuclear technologies, they will
contribute to the average person's net worth and health.
They will enrich everyone, every node on the human
network, and that will enrich us all.
Lance McKee
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