as amory lovins has pointed out long since, we need very little of the high-intensity energy which is nuclear's strong point. based on
what i've heard about at the bioneers conferences (see www.bioneers.org) there appears to be plenty of technology available to generate
and efficienctly use the large quantities of low-intensity energy which are what we actually NEED. we will never succeed in improving
consumption efficiency as long as we act like economic demand is something whose every whim we are impelled to cater to.
to let people think there are not viable alternatives to nuclear power risks wars over uranium mines and waste repositories. i don't see
that this is doing any good. we would be much better advised to have an honest discussion about carrying capacity.
in point of fact, humanity lived comfortably and sustainably on renewable sources of energy for thousands of years. pretending that the
level of enlightenment of any civilization requires a certain kind of technology represents to my mind a mistaken view of the interaction
of mind and matter.
muriel
[log in to unmask] wrote:
> I don't agree with Muriel Strand. What California really needs is more
> nuclear power and the hydrogen economy as we are going to
> do in France: about 80% of electrical power is produced by nuclear power
> stations here.
> "Within the scope of today's technology, nuclear fission is the only
> viable, clean source of large quantities of energy" :
> Geoffrey Ballard reported by SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN december 2002.
> Let people believe that there are other alternatives won't do any good to
> the human society and
> will only get us to do war for oil.
>
>
> snip
--
The political-economic challenge facing California is real.
Every Californian needs to contact their elected representatives
to solve this problem.
Any resemblance of any of the above opinions to anybody's official position is completely coincidental.
******************************************************************
The energy challenge facing California is real. Every Californian
needs to take immediate action to reduce energy consumption. For
a list of simple ways you can reduce demand and cut your energy
cost, see our web site at http://www.arb.ca.gov
Muriel Strand, P.E.
Air Resources Engineer
CA Air Resources Board
1001 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-324-9661
916-327-0640 (fax)
www.arb.ca.gov
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