Meanwhile, solar panels have become more efficient, or less expensive, depending on what you’re looking for. MIT has made a number of advances in this field. I always favored a small number of small, inexpensive and interdependent generators in the grid rather than the much larger ones that have to transmit power over miles before reaching it’s destination.

As for this radiactive waste in a brick idea? There aren’t a lot of places that you can store the stuff and no one I’ve heard of is developing a use for this stuff now. Since it’s pretty nasty stuff, I doubt anyone would bother, unless they had to.

See, Heinlein wrote a lot of fun stuff, but speculation doesn’t always transfer to utility. DU is not nearly as dangerous as the stuff in Yucca (Though it’s not exactly our friend, either) so people can find a use for that, but toxic compounds sunk into a brick deep below the surface doesn’t have any research students leaping for it, ya know?

Dunno off hand. I believe much of the info is available for the different methods proposed, suggested, debated over the years. Obviously no widely acceptable solution has been put forth, due to NIMBY if nothing else.

Personally I’d like to see fusion made practical.

But say it’s technically feasible. How expensive is it going to be? The whole point of nuclear over solar or wind is that its supposed cheapness. Factor in waste disposal, and not so much.

And, apparently, …

OK, fine. It was sarcastic.

… deservedly so.

OK, fine. It was sarcastic. It was in response to all the petty bullshit “racist” charges that get tossed around whenever someone opposes Obama’s plans or policies.

But in respect for the precedent set around here, I think it only fair to presume Oliver is racist for not opposing offshore drilling off Brazil until he either states he opposes it, or presents a compelling reason besides racism for supporting it.

J.

Is that sarcasm or a “projection of you inner ugliness,” Mr. Tea?

No, I can read sarcasm very well. See, I can read it in your comment quoted above, just as I could read it in the “I’m certain, merely a wild coincidence…” of your original post.

You’re suggesting it isn’t a coincidence at all but, typical wingnut-style, have absolutely nothing to back it up and switch to “That’s not what I said” when called on it.

JT is going to help someone distinguish between the two. That’s rich.

Fixed.

Can’t be answered? Nobody’s asking for the exact value of pi.

Of course it can be answered. And the link Suicida| provided points ossome m of the way. Buried deep with other rocks.

Perhaps we can find a new use for all those deep-drilling oil rigs….

J.

Do you ever have anything more substantive than your typical paranoid speculation, or is all you are ever able to come up with is “Facts? Evidence? Why would I need those. All I need is to claim this looks kinda fishy to me and that makes it a fact, right?”?

I realize that is the standard you wingnuts go by, but you should try to rise above it every once in a while.

Heinlein’s idea came from his collection of essays and whatnot called “Universe,” later re-packaged with more material as “Expanded Universe.” Give it a look.

The early giants of science fiction were scientists first. Arthur C. Clarke, Heinlein, Doc Smith, Asimov… they knew their shit.

J.

He also suggested there existed a race of wise, artistic beings on Mars.

For example, depleted uranium is a form of nuclear waste. (It’s a byproduct of fission.) It’s used as a counterweight on aircraft, the military uses it for both armor and armor-piercing ammunition, it’s used as a form of radiation shielding — all benefits of its depleted-radiation state and remarkable density.

I come from a long, long line of Yankee packrats. I am loath to throw anything away when it might be useful in the future. And what we consider a nuisance today could be “gold” tomorrow.

J.

Oh, and 40 years ago a write suggested something along the lines of ‘wait and see’, and we’re still waiting and seeing, and you call THAT a solution? Huh?

40-odd years ago, Robert Heinlein suggested mixing it into cement, shaping it into bricks, and stacking it out in the desert. He pointed out that today’s “waste” is tomorrow’s resource. Who knows what use future generations might find for what we see as nothing more than dangerous refuse.

Yucca Mountain is another solution.

Oliver, that “balance” is a scam. There is NO form of energy that will pass muster with the environmental extremists, and they hold veto power with the Democrats. Please cite an example of alternate energy that has not been stalled — or killed outright — by left-leaning activists.

Kerry on Cape Wind? Right here:

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976945957

But dang it, it appears I didn’t keep current on Kerry’s flip-flopping:

http://www.capewind.org/news915.htm

J.

Wind power doesn’t need to come entirely from giant wind farms. There are rooftop wind turbines. You can space them out on a farm and grow crops between them. No need to pave over rhode island.

By the way, I love Kennedy but I’ve ripped into him over his anti-cape wind stance plenty of times.