AppTech said:
>> I believe that energy costs will actually fall over time
>>     
>
> I do too. But I also believe that we may have to wait until 
> Lunar Helium 3 fusion power comes on line in a widespread 
> manner for this to happen.
>
> "Power so cheap it won't need to be metered".
>
> "It is not too much to expect that our children will enjoy 
> in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter, will 
> know of great periodic regional famines in the world only as 
> matters of history, will travel effortlessly over the seas 
> and under them and through the air with a minimum of danger 
> and at great speeds, and will experience a lifespan far 
> longer than ours as disease yields and man comes to 
> understand what causes him to age."
> Lewis L. Strauss
> Speech to the National Association of Science Writers, New 
> York City September 16th, 1954.
>
>
>   
Yes. This quote was made in a 3-page advertisement in Scientific American in
1955. I carried it with me for years. Alas I finally lost it. and I have 
been very
suspicious of Scientific American ever since...

The truth is that nuclear power is the MOST costly of all power 
generation methods.
The US government has never admitted the true costs, because it would 
probably
cause a taxpayer revolt. The original purpose of nuclear power was to 
provide a
reliable  source of plutonium from spent fuel rods. Where do you think 
the USA _GOT_
its warheads?

After 9/11, the price went up dramatically. Now, no airplane is allowed 
to overfly a
nuke plant. Seriously armed guards are EVERYWHERE. Visitors must have prior
permission to even pickup a worker's paycheck. Unused radioactive 
material is
stored ONSITE, an open invitation to evil-doers of all flavors. It goes 
on and on.

But solar concentration plants have problems too. The sun doesn't shine 
at night, so
energy must be shared between different generation methods, by moving it 
over the
power grid. But here in the USA, our "power grid" is a joke; it is 
overloaded now, so
no new power can move over it. Third-world countries have better power 
grids than
we have. One workable idea is to drop the power grid entirely, and 
pipeline hydrogen
gas (cracked by excess electricity) between cites, and burn it at night 
(as well as sell it
to hydrogen-powered cars). But such planning takes competent political 
oversight, and
here in the colonies, our politicians are much too stupid for  the task.

Here's the vision of a few Arizona engineers:

1. Establish a huge solar concentrator, with a 10-mile  area of sunlight 
concentrators.
Several turbine plants would generate electricity but only to crack 
water into hydrogen
and oxygen immediately. The hydrogen will be pipelined to various 
generating plants in
the USA, who will store the H2 then generate electricity locally on a 
24/hr basis; in
essence, the hydrogen would replace natural gas in the burners, 
generating no carbon
dioxide.

2.  The hydrogen will also be delivered to hydrogen "filling stations" 
across the USA
for use in clean-burning cars and trucks. Hydrogen burns with 0 (ZERO) 
smog emissions
and creates just WATER as a waste product. No more adding CO2 to the 
atmosphere.

3. Oxygen can be sold to vendors  who will further clean it to be used 
in commercial
or medical processes.

A plant of this size can supply the needs of the entire USA from one 
site. No new nukes,
no use of petroleum to generate electricity anymore. The headaches of 
the past are ended.

If we don't do this, Mexico will.

--Bob A



>             Russell
>
>
>
>   

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