Nuclear power the answer

President Obama has declared war on coal. I don’t know if mankind contributes significantly to global warming. “Climate science” is the most highly politicized “research” in history. Claims and rebuttals on both sides are suspect. You must presume global warming to qualify for research grants. On the other side, there are major investments in the hydrocarbon economy.

However, the bulk of solar and wind alternatives are a scam. More kilowatt-hours of oil-produced electric power are required to fabricate silicon solar panels than the panels will produce in their 20-year lifetime. Government subsidies for wind turbines are what keeps them turning. Practical? Try computing how many square miles of wind farms are needed to run a steel mill.

Eliminate coal, oil and natural gas? Then the only answer is nuclear. I don’t mean today’s inefficient plants. Sandia National Laboratory developed the miniature, intrinsically fail-safe uranium hydride reactor. It is ideal for local regional power. Also, the thorium molten salt reactor has a benign failure mode. These reactors consume 95 percent of their fuel. The remaining 5 percent fission products have a half-life of 300 years, not the 250,000 years of today’s power plants.

David Barker

Greenacres