[tt] Independent: Greener power to the people: the real energy alternative?

[Eugen Leitl]

On Tue, Jun 03, 2008 at 08:43:43PM -0500, Jef wrote:

> As Wired magazine points out in its most recent issue, it would be 
> terribly irresponsible not to develop ALL forms of new energy. Whether 

Yes. No. Funding is finite, we have to focus on those areas which
have a quick, safe payoff. Looking at EROI alone already helps
to weed out a lot of candidates.

> the "green" alternatives will be all that people hope is still a matter 
> for conjecture. There will no doubt be many places on the planet where 
> nuclear is the only good choice. Third generation reactors hold great 

Doesn't really compute, since nuclear has failed politically and
technologically. Economically, too, if you look at peak uranium.
Thorium is different, but no commercial reactor product there,
and it has to compete with some new players.

> promise, and can be online as quickly as the "green" tech, with the 

Green is a rather obsolete term, and "green" doubly so.

> political will being equal. A vote against nuclear is a vote for 
> continuing to burn coal for much longer than is necessary. And it is 

See, now we're back to politics.

> arguable that the environmental footprint for nuclear is actually much 
> lower than some "green" sources such as hydroelectric.
> 
> I also believe that human electrical generation requirements will 
> continue to grow through the decades ahead and demand will once again 
> outstrip our supply. We need to get over the cultish fear of nuclear 

Not damn likely, at 1.3 kW/m^3 solar constant.

> energy in order to advance. China seems strongly committed to a diverse 
> energy portfolio, and so should be the West.
> 
> Finally, let's not get too caught up over the ideologically driven 
> optimism about green tech. Some of that is as much faerie dust as many 
> other sought technological advances. Let's have many choices, not just a 
> few.

I agree; but some choices are best left in their graves, rotting.

-- 
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
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