Adam Curry interviewed Curt Stager, the author of Deep Future: The Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth for his Big Book Show. During the interview, Curry and Stager spent several minutes discussing the potential for “green nukes” to be an important climate change mitigation tool.
Aside: Adam Curry interviewed me four years ago about Adams Engines; he has been interested in new nuclear power plants for a long time. End Aside.
There are many terrific reasons to favor the rapid development of nuclear fission technology.
- It is a reliable and affordable alternative to hydrocarbon combustion
- It is a technology that can use less material per unit energy output than any other power source
- It is a technology where much of the cost comes in the form of paying decent salaries to a large number of human beings
- It is a technology where wealth distribution is not dependent on the accident of geology or the force of arms in controlling key production areas
- It is an energy production technology where the waste materials are so small in volume that they can be isolated from the environment
- It is a technology that is so emission free that it can operate without limitation in a sealed environment – like a submarine
- It is an important climate change mitigation tool
For some odd reason, possibly having to do with certain brands of political ideology, many nuclear professionals are reluctant to emphasize that last feature. They count themselves as climate change skeptics who occasionally indicate a belief that the whole topic is a plot designed to make their hobbies (for example: racing, RV’ing or boating) more expensive by enriching liberal elite carbon market traders. (Note: I am not expressing any agreement with that statement.)
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