Fifty years ago nuclear power was considered the wave of the future. Indeed, for good reason, after all there's a lot of energy packed in a very small space, and it's better than any other source we could ever hope to refine from fossil fuels for instance. But now after the big Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami, and after watching the Chernobyl disaster unfold, many folks are reconsidering the previous generation of nuclear power. In fact, we are overdue for something new.
Today, there are new innovations and science in the realm of nuclear power generation which will revolutionize the sector, and perhaps even solve all of our energy challenges of the future. However, if we are to make this work we must invest in the research, and make it happen. Meanwhile, the other day I was talking to some folks at our think tank and I made an interesting statement just to shake everyone up. I said; "the Tsunami in Japan was really the revenge of energy, waves Versus nuclear power."
Everyone turned around and looked at me as if I'd lost my marbles, but I explained it to them like this; "ocean wave generation is a constant and reliable source of energy, the waves on Earth never stop hitting the shoreline, and therefore they are perfect for base load unlike wind and solar alternative energies for instance." Immediately, everyone knew what I was getting at and talking about.
You see, in the United States 80% of our population lives within 50 miles of the ocean. That means ocean wave generation is a brilliant form of energy, and it is right where it needs to be. Nuclear power presently has some challenges such as long terms storage of spent fuel rods. There are some new technologies which can continually use these spent fuel rods until their half-life has been used up many more generations.
Either we need to bring that technology to the forefront, and perhaps Bill Gates will, or we need to look into new forms of reliable and renewable energy such as ocean wave generation to produce our electricity needs for our civilization. Wind and solar might seem sexy, but currently that technology is not good enough to provide as the reliable power we need.
You see solar power is already 50% inefficient because the sun does not shine at night. And when the wind isn't blowing those wind generators don't produce anything. In fact they cost a lot to build and if we amortize that cost over a couple of decades, we must consider that many times those wind generators will be sitting still. Indeed, I hope you've enjoyed today's energy discussion and I thank you for joining us. If you have any more comments, or questions, please shoot me an e-mail and I thank you for listening.
Lance Winslow is the Founder of the Online Think Tank, a diverse group of achievers, experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers, futurists, academics, dreamers, leaders, and general all around brilliant minds. Lance Winslow hopes you've enjoyed today's discussion and topic. http://www.worldthinktank.net/ - Have an important subject to discuss, contact Lance Winslow.
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