Quite honestly Indy there are more than enough rivers that could supply local needs instead of transporting electricity hundreds of miles across countryside, here in the Dales at Aysgarth there was more than enough water power to drive a whole factory now they have a double turbine that would struggle to drive one machine thus they have gone backwards.
It is my idea that this water should be free to anyone wanting to put the time in making life easier for themselves as long as the water goes back into the river unpoluted, not having to pay for what drops out of the sky freely.
If I ever got the chance of land again I would move in and never leave it, like Yates said a cabin built there of clay and wattles made with 9 bean rows I would have there and a hive for the honey bee and live alone in a bee loud glade.
A few sheep, chucks and not forgetting the misses of course lol.
We could all make do and some of us mend, what else would one need in the deep hearts core, if the truth be known just nature who always provides for those who help those who want to help themselves.
Mrindigo wrote:
Interesting topic. Nuclear power does have potential, but not the fission based technology. It's open to too many potential hazards. The process of storing spent fuel rods is costly as well. It takes quite a bit of electricity to keep the rods cool. Then there is storing it once it's cooled, and making sure it doesn't leak. I've read some amazing things about Brown's gas, and it's interesting capabilities of nullifying radioactivity, but how effective it would be in a large scale disposal unit has yet to be seen.
My greatest concern happens to be with potential loss of power, like with Fukushima. As the author has pointed out, there haven't been many immediate deaths as a result. How-ever, the lasting radioactivity will have long-term health effects which may not be immediately apparent.
I'm personally more interested in the development of Nuclear fusion than fission. The work with helium-3 shows some truly interesting possibilities when used with deuterium in a aneutronic reactor. This would be far more efficient, as the reaction would create helium. Basically it would run like like a miniature star without the radiation, and toxic nuclear wastes. This would be ideal, as containment in the event of a disaster would be far more manageable.
I don't see this as the solution to our species' energy needs though. I see it as more of a transitional phase, so long as the current power constructs are still in place. Ultimately I think the goal would be to go toward forms of energy similarly to what Nikola Tesla and others were developing.