Nuclear Reactors Go Abroad

Thursday, July 23, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

In the last meeting, we learned that molten salt, not thorium was the key to nuclear safety, fuel efficiency, and waste management. We discussed two molten salt reactor designs in the United States that had potential to solve the energy crisis, but were blocked by federal regulation. The future of advanced reactors appears to be outside the US. In our next meeting, we will examine two foreign molten salt reactors, the FHR in China and the IMSR in Canada. These reactors, while still in early development, are considered to have a realistic chance of getting into production.

The Chinese government nuclear program is awesome and the FHR is just one of many advanced reactors in development in China. What makes the FHR unique is that it is being jointly development by China and the United States, even though China is putting up most of the money. Some see this as a giveaway of US expertise and expressed outrage as in THIS talk.

The Canadian reactor is a private enterprise and needs to find investors, even though regulation is not expected to be an obstacle. HERE is an investor meeting where the IMSR is being pitched as a uniquely Canadian product. Ironically, the expected primary investor is the tar sands industry. 

Please note that both video are rather long, so only a portion of each video will be shown to allow more time for discussion.

----------------------------- Updated 7/24/15 ---------------------------------

Here are the links to the other videos from which clips were shown at the meeting;

1. Kirk Sorensen again.
2. Paul McIntosh talks about Terrestrial Energy at TEAC6.
3. David LeBlanc talks about Canadian tar sands at TEAC4.
4. One of the 4th generation reactors.

Can Thorium Save the World from Climate Change?

Thursday, July 16, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Before I get to Thorium, I want to thank Sherman for leading the discussion on race and to Vince for giving us a historical perspective. Historically, the day of our meeting, July 16, is the 70th anniversary of the Trinity atomic bomb test, which ushered in the nuclear age. Had Nazi Germany been more tolerant to Jewish scientists, they may have gotten the bomb first. Groups which discriminate do so at their own peril. 

In a TED Talk we already saw, Bill Gates said that to solve the climate change, developing nations need zero carbon energy as reliable and available as coal but cheaper and safer. Gates proposed to develop an advance nuclear reactor based on the traditional uranium fuel cycle, but recently a nuclear reactor based on thorium has gotten the attention of the Internet community, as shown HERE. Similar reactors have also gotten attention as THIS one which burns nuclear waste.

For our next meeting we will look at the potential of these new reactors and why developers are leaving this county to pursue their designs.

--------------------- Updated 7/17/15 -------------------------------

Here are the link to the videos from which the supplemental clips were taken, what out some of these are really long:

1. Kirk Sorensen's long explanation of thorium to the hackers.
2. Leslie Dewan's pitch to investors.
3. US Congress hearings on nuclear energy.
4. Russ Wilcox, investor in Dewan's company

Continuation

Thursday, July 9, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

People surely had much to say on the subject of race in the last meeting and we ran out of time. Sherman has agreed to continue the discussion in first hour the upcoming meeting. Vince, who was originally scheduled, will still get his time at the last 30 minutes of the meeting. I am looking forward to both talks; see you there.

A Much Needed Discussion

Thursday, July 2, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

We will conclude our discussion on the race issue in our country. Sherman will lead the discussion. Unfortunately, I will be away on travel so there will be no video at the meeting. But this is a good thing, because there will be more opportunity to voice your opinions.

As always, you are invited to leave comments on this blog to share your opinions with everyone.

The Racial Issue

Thursday, June 25, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Every week there is another reminder that the racial issue in America is far from settled. For the next two Zoom-in meetings we will discuss the progress, or the lack thereof, of racism in America. First we will take a broad view, by viewing several TED Talks, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

The following week, Zoom-in member Sherman will lead us in a more in depth discussion of racial issues closer to home.

Nuclear vs Renewables Debate

Thursday, June 18, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

We will view the TED Debate: Does the world need nuclear energy? This is a debate between two environmentalists who want to eliminate the use of fossil fuels to save us from climate change. Stewart Brand favors nuclear, while Mark Jacobson thinks we can do it only with renewables, such as wind, solar, hydro and geothermal. We have seen both Brand and Jacobson in previous meetings, and now they will debate each other in perhaps the most important issue that is ignored by main stream media and both political parties.

Zoom-in member, Calvin will lead the discussion. I hope that other members will lead in future meetings. I can help in finding appropriate videos. Please help to make this format work by previewing the video and coming prepared with related issues we can discuss in the meeting.

The GMO Heresy Revisted

Thursday, June 11, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

For the next two weeks we will revisit two of four heresies presented by Stewart Brand in our 5/8/15 meeting. Next week we will zoom-in on the GMO issue. We will view a recent TED Talk about how the genetic engineering of crops provides unique solutions and may be necessary in a changing world. We will then look at an opposing view, particularly about the need for GMO labeling.

Two weeks from now we will revisit the nuclear energy issue by watching a TED debate about nuclear energy vs renewable energy, between Stewart Brand and Mark Jacobson. Since we already saw Brand's pro nuclear talk, it is only fair to see a pro renewable talk by Jacobson ahead of the actual debate.