Friday, February 19, 2010

Bill Gates on Energy for Everyone ... Forever




Bill Gates talks about the need to transition to the Next Energy Economy, and he explains why we need it to lower Co2 to prevent global warming, to maintain our own way of life, and to improve the lives of less fortunate people in the developing world.

Here's the good news: It's doable.

As Gates notes, "a molecule of uranium has a million times more energy than a molecule of coal" and we know (in theory) how to power reactors using uranium-235 found in natural uranium.

By building "Terrapower" nuclear reactors, and fueling them with the nuclear waste (depleted uranium) that is in storage right now, we could take care of our energy needs for the next millennium or more.

Depleted waste uranium now housed in steel cylinders at the Paducah Kentucky Gaseous Diffusion Plant could supply America's current energy needs for 200 years -- and that's just one nuclear waste dump!

In other news, the Obama Administration has announced $8 billion in new federal loan guarantees to build two nuclear reactors in Georgia -- the first new nuclear reactors built in this country in more than 30 years. Right now, about 20 percent of all U.S. electrical needs are supplied by nuclear power. The Obama Administration's budget would triple – to $54.5 billion – loan guarantees available for new nuclear construction.
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