Woooooo!!!!!!!

http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=15123

Canada's soil is france's nukular's energy bitch! Funkeeeeeeeeeeee!

lol

I say bring on the reactors. Burning coal releases more radioactive material into the atmosphere than any reactor. Even if we go to all-electric cars, we're still burning coal and oil to generate the electricity. Yes, put it in my backyard. The local oil refinery is generally filthy and accidentally releases toxins every few months.

Well so much for a funny moment!

If we're to turn this into a pro/con debate, there's something we need to keep in mind: current AND projected world production of enriched uranium is not sufficient to fulfill the need of coal/oil plant replacements. So, nukes aren't the only solution. We'll probably need wave, wind and solar power stations.

Yeah, and those wave and wind plants (as well as the solar ones, to a degree) manage to change the climate - locally, and, by consequence, globally.

That is not to say that I'm against the idea or usage of alternative sources of energy (note: alternative, not renewable...), quite the contrary.

Personally, I'm looking forward to a mixture of all of the above, including nuclear fusion energy.

Whistler: In my opinion, the problem with nuclear power plants is that the waste (comfortably omitted in the movie, but it was done by a French electricity company, so it figures) is destined to be around for much longer than 2-3 generations, as you probably well know. And I don't like to leave mortgages of any kind to my successors.

Well if you want more energy look at the Middle East or the Sahara Desert. 'Large tracks of land' where you can cover every square inch with solar panels for the day and winds mills for the wind that creates those ever so pretty dunes and blows the sand across the Atlantic into my backyard.

Of course you know some people live there but they could use a change in scenery. ;)

You cannot transport energy in the form of electricity over indefinite distances. Especially oceans tend to be a barrier.

Sadly, there are no simple or ready solutions to the problem of how to cater to the energy needs of the world, because I guess the need for them is not yet acute enough.

Hydrokinetic plants could solve a lot of problems. There's a ton of energy to be harnessed there, and at the same time you'd be creating a break to prevent that energy from doing harm to the coastline.

I think, if it's even slightly feasible, that we need to work on decent energy transfer from space - I mean actually treat it as something very important.

Even if it was the most expensive venture we ever undertook, even if the efficiency sucked, if we could clear up that question-mark our energy problems could be over.

actually, a proof of concept is in the works and parts of the concept already in use today.

currently, the mining, forest and other remote area industries make use of orbit or high-altitude light deflection to illuminate areas of the globes (wich apparently yields moon light -like conditions over a couple square kilometers).

this could be used to funnel more light to solar panels and increase their energy. how economically viable and cost-effective would that be, however, i dont know.

there are plans to try an orbit sunlight capturing device who would return the energy back to earth using focused microwave energy beams to power stations on earth. said power beam is said to be non-lethal for birds flying through. airspace would be cleared of traffic to avoir interference with any flight control equipment on places.

upper case:

I was interested in the light deflection technology used now, but could find no information. Can you give more details?

The only actual attempt I know of is the (failed for technical reason) Banner orbital mirror test:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/272103.stm

ya got me there. i had detailed results on znamya 2 successful test but i didn't recall (or know about) the failed 2.5 scaled-up test, nor that the ruskies abandoned version 3, way back in 1999.

i remember reading something in popular mechanics (print) on similar mirrors being used by oil prospection companies and wood chopping firms using high-altitude weather balloon-like devices that redirected sunlight on small areas (couple square kms). i just assumed it was still in use. though as you, can't find current info on this.

meanwhile, space-harnessed power beamed back to earth info can be found here, among other places.

Hydro-kinetic power plants being plants that harness the tidal movements, I guess? I may seem like a killjoy, but you have the same problem there as with the wind-powered generators, if you use it in larger scales.

The light deflection application sounds very interesting.

Personally, I'm still putting my money on nuclear fusion, though.

tidal movements yes. portugal was the first country with a dedicated plant for that purpose, off their coast line.

spain has a tidal wave retention wall off the coast of Venice's lagoon wich will also double as a power generating thing. though i'm not sure of the state of that thing. it's mostly experimental as it uses a different means of generating power.

most typical tidal power plants use ballast tanks wich forces air in and out through turbines. the one near venice uses torsion-actuated generators: "the mose" (experimental electro mechanic module) is to be completed sometime in 2011 (with pics here).

the power harvesting of this rig, though, seems mostly gimmick whereas it's first function is to protect Venice.

Kydrokinetic plants would primarily extract energy from wave motion rather than tidal forces; tidal power generators are more of a hydrostatic function. Of course, the same array of generators could potentially do both.

The only real drawback is finding materials that will not erode and require frequent expensive maintenance to stay operational.

I'm all for nuclear reactors and what not being built in Canada, by Canadians. Areva can build them here, just hire Canadians. Ontarian's and Quebecer's could use the jobs, especially with the slow down due to Alberta's oil recently. We're losing a lot of skilled as well as unskilled workers left and right in these parts.

actually, canada sells candu reactors all over the world.

edit:
as a side note, iran wouldn't need 50,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium if it were to use a candu-style reactor where natural uranium (non-enriched) is used as fuel.

so, either iran is stubborn in wanting to use a more complex, more expensive design, or it needs the enriched uranium for external market. or else.

yeah, fusion FTW. esp by ICF. can't wait for the NIF to be built.

A laser safety guy talked with my class. he worked with NOVA. I get to turn on a 1 W 808nm diode in a week or so. I guess the feeling is kind of like holding a new and powerful firearm....which fires invisible and silent bullets that bounce off of almost anything.

JET tokamak four teh wynne.