permaculture

[Stephen Sherman <spsherm@msn.com>]

Not to dissuade the Thorium advocates, but I have not seen a a complete 
and detailed energy flow analysis (EROEI) done on this proposed 
technology. Until that is available and vetted, this is just yet another 
"energy savior"  that will likely fall short of its promises, like the 
others before it.

Keep in mind that current U reactors have a very precarious energy 
surplus (if any) once you do a full accounting of the energy needed to 
mine, process, store the fuel/wastes and build the plants; even with 
breeder technology. Many of those same energy costs apply to Gen IV 
reactors and fuel cycle as well.

We've been around the block with these same promises for other energy 
sources. Some of the older folks here may recall when the U reactor 
folks were promising "electricity too cheap to bother metering."   Or 
how about Henry Ford's Model T which used gasoline, a refinery waste 
product that was dirt cheap because they could not get rid of the stuff. 
How did those energy sources work out for us?

But ultimately, the Thorium reactor solution misses the root cause of 
the energy problem. The problem is not that humans need more cheap 
energy, although we may think it is. Rather it is that our current 
energy infrastructure and mindset is one which is very energy greedy, 
and not in touch with the larger system of which we are a part.  Until 
we "solve" the energy problem in that context, we just continue on the 
same destructive path which brought us to where we are now.