With current technology, there is only one non-fossil fuel energy source that is reliable, high-output, and can power the entire world.
Nuclear.
Unfairly vilified for decades, and misunderstood by the public, the once-promised nuclear age didn’t fully materialize. Now, many countries are revisiting nuclear as green energy sources have failed to live up to the hype.
“But nuclear is unsafe!”
Is it?
As Robert Zubrin details in his book, The Case For Nukes, fears have been unfounded. In the greatest of ironies, as governments treat nuclear weapons like toys and plan for worldwide genocide, nuclear powered warships sail around the world without incident. They steam by American cities, and into our ports. The submarines and aircraft carriers stationed at Norfolk and other bases aren’t encased in concrete bunkers. Their reactors are of the same type used in power plants. The Navy handles and stores nuclear fuel with frequent regularity.
It’s not that we cannot use nuclear safely; we do it every day.
Nor is nuclear physics a new, esoteric science. Commercial reactors have produced long past their design life. Next-generation reactors now in the works have far more promise. Where would we be had we not slowed nuclear power plant construction to near zero?
Someday, we will mine Helium-3 on the Moon for fusion reactors. In the meantime, we should go back to the future and revisit an old tech, shine it up, and power the entire world.
Darrick Dean 