Wendy Laursen reports that recently published study concluded that a third of oil reserves, half of gas reserves and over 80 percent of current coal reserves globally should remain in the ground and not be used before 2050. The authors of the study, funded by the UK Energy Research Centre, assert that this would enable global warming to stay below the 1 degree Celsius - about 2 degrees Fahrenheit - target agreed by policy makers as likely to avoid the worst of projected climate change impacts.
With virtually zero emissions, nuclear vessels meet all current and predicted environmental legislation. Increasing fossil fuel costs and their possible reduced availability enhance the savings and security offered by the nuclear option. Savings are further enhanced as nuclear take-up provides economies of scale. Smaller nuclear propulsion units and removal of bunker tanks provide more space for passengers or cargo, improving vessel yields. Fast operating speeds mean that fewer ships can provide equivalent services.
Thorium can generate significantly larger amounts of energy than uranium, can be used in existing reactors, does not require conversion or enrichment, cannot be used as bomb material, is inherently incapable of causing a meltdown and produces waste material that can be recycled as fuel.
Spent thorium fuel is radiotoxic for decades rather than millennia. Thorium exists as a by-product of the extraction of rare earths from monazite sands, may exist in greater abundance and higher concentrations than uranium, making it much less expensive and environmentally unobtrusive to mine. The primary locations of thorium reserves are Australia, India, Brazil and the U.S., providing much better supply security than uranium. Research is underway to commercialize thorium fuels.
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Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-
Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-