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hunter

(38,264 posts)
21. Cheap fusion? Oh, God no, I hope not...
Thu Nov 7, 2013, 02:12 PM
Nov 2013

I think the difficulty of fusion is as is said, "God protecting fools and children."

Given that kind of power our current civilization would simply eat the earth.

It is better we humans learn to live in harmony with the natural environment now, rather than later.

I think this is the most valid reason for opposing nuclear power too. Safety-wise, even with accidents at obsolete plants like Chernobyl or Fukushima, nuclear power is still less deadly than fossil fuels.

I've no doubt that nuclear power could be cheap and fairly safe; that we could all be driving our lovely electric cars with minimal pollution, that we could supply great urban areas in dry climates with desalinated water too, and run great aqueducts everywhere.

But an entire planet covered with suburbs, strip mines, and "factory farms," with a few parks and huge cities in between, with every able adult working a "productive" forty plus hour work week, the oceans swarming with bulk ore carriers and container ships, and the skies full of airliners and freight planes, no, bloody hell no, that is NOT my vision of utopia. (I don't want the desert wilderness covered with solar power plants either.)

My utopia is a low-energy post-consumerist society with a population of maybe a billion or less living very gently upon the land with plenty of room for all the diverse species that survive this current global man-made environmental catastrophe.


"Within five years" for the last 50 years. Warren Stupidity Nov 2013 #1
The technology has advanced a lot recently johnd83 Nov 2013 #5
"the technology has advanced" Warren Stupidity Nov 2013 #6
There really isn't a practical alternative except Thorium reactors johnd83 Nov 2013 #7
alrighty then, your agenda is way out in the open. Warren Stupidity Nov 2013 #8
Lol johnd83 Nov 2013 #11
Yup crystal clear. Wow. FogerRox Nov 2013 #14
Isnt this just a mirror machine. FogerRox Nov 2013 #2
It used to be four years GreydeeThos Nov 2013 #3
Everyones budget got cut johnd83 Nov 2013 #4
That was almost a year ago. 1 + 4 = 5. You do the math. Warren Stupidity Nov 2013 #9
Lacking information why it can be smaller. FogerRox Nov 2013 #10
Did you actually watch the video? johnd83 Nov 2013 #12
In an ignition machine you either raise the temp or the pressure FogerRox Nov 2013 #13
The field gradient is inverted johnd83 Nov 2013 #15
Sketchy? More like they dont exist. FogerRox Nov 2013 #16
Crawl, before you walk, before you run. PamW Nov 2013 #18
pressure & temp vs acceleration FogerRox Nov 2013 #22
Don't believe it. PamW Nov 2013 #17
The truck is just to transport the core to the plant site johnd83 Nov 2013 #19
That 14.1 MeV FogerRox Nov 2013 #23
Has anyone confined a plasma with a magnetic field whose gradients FogerRox Nov 2013 #26
"In my opinion..." kristopher Nov 2013 #20
It is an opinion shared by many engineers johnd83 Nov 2013 #25
So your opinion is backed by the opinion of other nonspecialists? kristopher Nov 2013 #27
James Hansen, Ken Caldeira, Kerry Emanuel and Tom Wigley? johnd83 Nov 2013 #28
You think climate science and global energy use are the same field? kristopher Nov 2013 #29
IEEE spectrum article johnd83 Nov 2013 #32
Sorry, that isn't peer reviewed. It is an opinion piece. kristopher Nov 2013 #34
"Ability" and "Feasibilty" are two different concepts johnd83 Nov 2013 #36
Then you should be able to show peer reviewed analysis that support your claim. kristopher Nov 2013 #37
Yes, but not from journals you would be happy with johnd83 Nov 2013 #38
I don't agree with your characterization of peer review. kristopher Nov 2013 #40
I have done many peer reviews johnd83 Nov 2013 #43
Clean energy is every bit as settled as climate change. kristopher Nov 2013 #45
It still doesn't change the number... johnd83 Nov 2013 #46
Did you even read what I wrote about the study? kristopher Nov 2013 #47
Huh? johnd83 Nov 2013 #48
What I mean is... kristopher Nov 2013 #49
I skimmed through "Electricity from Renewable Resources: Status, Prospects, and Impediments" johnd83 Nov 2013 #50
Another "I'd rather not have to admit I'm wrong" tangent, eh? kristopher Nov 2013 #51
Cheap fusion? Oh, God no, I hope not... hunter Nov 2013 #21
I think that is the main reason that I don't agree with a lot of people here about energy johnd83 Nov 2013 #24
Pushing the core problem of our civilization deeper into the future is not my idea of a "solution." hunter Nov 2013 #30
We still consider "freedom" to include reproduction johnd83 Nov 2013 #31
"Current nuclear energy" is a catastrophe waiting to happen. GliderGuider Nov 2013 #35
Alrighty-then johnd83 Nov 2013 #39
Firstly, the tech has not advanced particularly intaglio Nov 2013 #33
Thats exactly why there has been more interest in the proton Boron 11 fuel recently FogerRox Nov 2013 #52
Back it up with facts, now it is worse than thin. ... CRH Nov 2013 #41
Magnetic Fusion, please repeat after me, ... CRH Nov 2013 #42
... Did you watch the video? johnd83 Nov 2013 #44
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