Great review, Walter. It’s featured on the home page.

Walter, congratulations for your keen interest and open-mindedness on the subject. I assume you still believe nuclear power is a viable(and cost-effective)fossil fuel alternative and would be interested in your take on the link provided by David Agnew regarding thorium as an alternative nuclear fuel to uranium/plutonium. I have seen nothing on the subject since,but the pros seemed to outweigh the cons i.e. cheaper, much longer, safer release of radioactivity etc..

Hi Bob. I was unable to locate David Agnew’s link. With your reference to thorium, I assume you are referring to gas-cooled pebble bed reactors. In such reactors, each “pebble” houses thorium (or other fuels) in a graphite base. My understanding of this ingenious technology is limited, however experience indicates that unforeseen factors ALWAYS arise that overcome both active and passive safety strategies. With non-nuclear technologies, the potential damage caused by such strategic failures can be managed; with nuclear technologies, management becomes impossible, and the damaging consequences extreme. When we add to these consequences the universal tendency of private and public entities to obfuscate, and especially when we factor in the need to safeguard nuclear waste for thousands of years, I believe we arrive at a point where we must admit our inability safely to handle nuclear technology on the scale required for power generation. Here is a link discussing a German accident involving a thorium-based pebble bed reactor; it amply demonstrates all of the above points: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_bed_reactor#Thorium_High_Temperature_Reactor

Great insight Mr. Cox. I think your comments are right on.

Mr. Cox, re: “entities to obfuscate, and especially when we factor in the need to safeguard nuclear waste for thousands of years”, critical points. Having a 21 year career in R&D for pressurized water reactors, I would add to your comment that under the pressure of profit deadlines and bottom lines, the nuclear industry, as nearly all other industries, has not been shy about data manipulation, cutting corners on quality (my second careeer an ISO/QS/AS 9000 registration consultant), and propriety control of “incident” reporting. Just another factor in the Faustian bargain.

Thank you for adding such a valuable perspective, Francis. Given your hands-on experience, I wonder if you could suggest further reading that might help lay people like myself become better-educated on the nuclear issue. I particularly appreciated Dr. Kaku’s call for a national/global citizen debate as to what level of risk we are willing to assume. I don’t think we can afford to leave such critical decisions to the corporate giants who control the nuclear power industry, nor should we trust the politicians who depend on corporate support for the continuance of their careers.

Thanks Walter…I’m now convinced there is no nuclear alternative that could be a cost-effective or safer design. I also appreciated your astute input on the subject, Francis.