Mr. Gates continues: “Part of the beauty of the nuclear path, compared to all the energy farming approaches, is you don’t have a problem with location and storage. Wind and Solar, anything where you’re just collecting natural flux is problematic. The trouble with energy farming is that the energy isn’t always where you want to use it and it isn’t always when you want to use it. So, you have a tough transmission problem-tough as in not being able to invent the solution.”
Mr. Goodell, the author of this article asks, “Does the work of climate deniers play a part in preventing action?” B.G.’s answer is, ” People are at so many places on this problem, it’s hard to get a dialogue going. There are people who don’t even know there’s something important here at all- people who think, geez, is this real? That’s unfortunate. The fact that we’re still arguing over Is It Real? has clouded the debate. The real issue is, wait a minute, how soon and how big are these effects, and what does mitigation look like?”
“In regards to China beating us in the alternative energy race, the US has to do the right things for the long term. It appears to be helpful for us to have the prospect of humility. Sputnik helped us fund good science -the semiconductor came out of it. And in the 80’s, we were driven by state-sanctioned racism- the idea that Japan was going to take over everything. Just look at consumer electronics today- it’s Xbox, iPhone. Sometimes you overestimate your rival and that can actually help.”
May I comment here: I am not a fan of nuclear anything because of the huge waste issues and astronomical cost to build and operate a nuclear plant. Having said that, I am open to a brilliant mind giving an explanation of his own solution to a cataclysmic problem we all face. Personally, if Bill Gates sheds some awareness that we are facing an enormous task and we all must wake up and get the coffee cookin’, I’m OK with that….DL
Clean, cost efficient nuclear energy continues to expand throughout the world but fears here in the U.S. has brought the industry to a stand still. The topic is so complex, how can we as common people fully understand the current and long range issues? Is it appropriate for public opinion to shape government and worldwide energy policy when we are really so uninformed and ignorant on the subject? Most of us only understand that up is on and down is off.
How many of us still base our fears of nuclear energy on the sci-fi movies of the 50’s. Great movies like Alligator People, Amazing Colossal Man, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Attack of the Giant Leeches, The Beast of Yucca Flats, The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, The Creature With The Atom Brain, Hideous Sun Demon, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Monster From Green Hell, Tarantula, Them, and even Horror of Party Beach.
Many civilizations have come and gone over the short recorded history we know about. Can we really stabilize and keep what we are, forever? Not likely. So let’s enjoy the music and songs, do what we can, and be happy with our friends and those around us…and turn out the lights when you leave the room.
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf02.html
Sorry, this info didn’t come through on my previous post.
Mike