Advanced Nuclear: Let’s Keep Our Minds Open

The other day, I was lucky enough to have connected with a group of a few dozen extremely senior scientists whose main beliefs I would summarize as follows:

• The damage being wreaked upon Earth from fossil fuels, principally in the form of anthropogenic climate change and ocean acidification, are realities that will completely overwhelm this planet in the coming few decades if humankind can’t or won’t do something to mitigate it.

• There are no forms of renewable energy that can come along in time in sufficient quantity to make a meaningful correction.

• Advanced nuclear is the only way out, and, thankfully, it’s full of promise.

We all need to accept the potential validity of advanced nuclear, which, though it can mean many things, largely it is about molten salt reactors, i.e., nuclear fission reactors that are safe (low pressure), efficient (high temperature), non-threatening (very low weapons potential) solutions with very little nuclear waste ramifications. The fissile reaction of thorium (Th232/U233) seems to hold the most promise.

Let’s keep our minds open.  In my opinion, the position of the people who categorically hate nuclear is really no stronger than that of people who think a woman’s place is in the home, or some other sort of idiocy.