| My father drove up to our house back in 1968 in a | | | | for the last three years. I believe this is just a drop in |
| brand new Volkswagen "Bug". I was only 11 years old | | | | the bucket and it needs to be increased ten fold if it is |
| at the time and I actually liked it mainly because we | | | | spent wisely. If this project is a success, it will result in a |
| were the only one in the neighborhood who owned | | | | clean source of unlimited power that will revolutionize |
| such a strange looking car. My parents liked it because | | | | how we produce power on this planet. The only by |
| it got about 30 miles a gallon which really didn't mean | | | | product of this reactor is helium which is harmless. |
| much to me at the time, but it managed to get us | | | | 2. Fission Power Modernization... The United States has |
| around many miles on very little fuel. | | | | been producing power from Fission (Nuclear) Powered |
| Fast forward to the year 2006, now I own a German | | | | Reactors for the last sixty years. Until we get Fusion |
| motorcycle that gets almost 50 mpg on the highway. | | | | power online, we need to begin building new Fission |
| But, at the same time, I own a Japanese SUV that | | | | reactors using modern "Passive-Safe Reactor" |
| only gets about 17 mpg, Most of my recreational | | | | technology. The newly developed passive-safe |
| driving is inside the SUV, so I admit that I play my part | | | | reactors are designed from the ground up to prevent |
| when it comes to using fossil fuel. | | | | accidental meltdown due to lack of coolant or coolant |
| The USA government and my current home state of | | | | flow. The old power plants relied on multiple valves, |
| California have come up with some innovative ideas | | | | electronic sensors and human operators who monitor |
| and economic incentives on saving energy cost. These | | | | the reactor. The process is highly automated, but the |
| include tax credits and rebates for purchasing Hybrid | | | | operators can manually override it if needed. This has |
| automobiles, Solar Panels, energy efficient appliances, | | | | resulted in a couple widely publicized disasters in the |
| etc. etc. These are all outstanding ideas and really help | | | | USA and Russia. The new "Passive-Safe Reactors" |
| give the consumer a little incentive to reduce energy | | | | are inherently safe since they use gravity and |
| consumption. But, I personally don't think they go far | | | | convection to prevent the reactors from going critical |
| enough. | | | | in an emergency. They are designed to shut down |
| I think it's time we invest in a project similar in scale to | | | | without relying on a wide array of pumps, valves and |
| the "Manhattan Project" that took place from 1942 | | | | or human input. For this reason, we should aggressively |
| through 1946. This project was one of the most costly | | | | begin to modernize our older generation of Fission |
| federal projects and it produced the first atomic | | | | Reactors. In addition, we need to begin expanding our |
| weapons. The cost of the project was about 20 billion | | | | Fission Power plants. |
| in today's dollars. It gathered the brightest and most | | | | 3. Incentives... I believe that incentives are the key to |
| creative scientists with a common goal of building an | | | | success. No one wants a Fission Reactor built in their |
| atomic weapon. The scientific community worked day | | | | state. For this reason, the government should step in to |
| and night to develop something that must be | | | | make it very attractive to those who live in the state in |
| developed before the Germans or Japanese during | | | | which it is built. The tax payers should receive a tax |
| the war. They succeeded because they had almost | | | | break or incentive for allowing the plant to be built. I |
| unlimited funding to experiment and discover what | | | | also think the current federal tax incentives that |
| worked and what did not. They stayed focused on | | | | promote the use of energy efficient cars and personal |
| their goals and never lost sight of the importance of | | | | renewable sources of power should be doubled and |
| the project. | | | | made permanent. |
| I believe that we need to fund a "Manhattan Project, | | | | In conclusion, I know that Fission Power is safe in the |
| Part II" and it should have the following goals: | | | | hands of well trained people. I spent 4 years and three |
| | | | months living on top eight nuclear reactors inside the |
| 1. Fusion Power Partnership... Fusion Power has | | | | USS Enterprise during my tour of duty. The United |
| captured the imagination of the world scientific | | | | States Navy powers all of their aircraft carriers and |
| community with the possibility of developing an almost | | | | submarines with Fission power and they do it safely. |
| unlimited amount of clean energy. Fusion power is only | | | | The new "Passive-Safe Reactors" take safety to a |
| in the developmental stage today. The research for | | | | new level. I believe that by expanding our Fission |
| using Fusion Power has many hurdles before it | | | | power generation along with aggressive funding of the |
| becomes reality. The International Community has a | | | | ITER (International Thermonuclear Reactor) using safe |
| joint project to develop the first fusion reactor. The | | | | fusion power, we will have a bright future for our |
| ITER (International Thermonuclear Reactor) is a joint | | | | planet and expanding economy. I hope you have |
| effort and the United States joined the group in 2003. | | | | enjoyed the article and pass it along to your friends. |
| The funding level from the USA is less than 500 million | | | | |