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Old 07-12-2011, 02:19 AM   #197 (permalink)
some_other_dave
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Depends on your definitions of "pretty soon", and "renewable". After all, wood is a renewable resource, but there are definite problems with burning a whole lot of it. Pollution from wood smoke is very real (there are many days we cannot use our fireplace due to the thermal inversion layer over the Bay Area!), and deforestation is a real concern when lots of people are burning wood.

On the other hand, there is an awful lot of fissionable material in the earth.


None of these solutions are perfect. Everything has drawbacks. I'm guessing it will take a mix of different solutions and technologies to approach a real solution, if we ever do solve our power problems. Or maybe someone will actually invent a fusion reactor that produces more power than it consumes, and do an end-run around all of these issues. Who knows?

All we can do is keep trying.

-soD
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