Is Nuclear Fusion Possible, a Reaction

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