Kremlin: Battles over energy may lead to wars

Yahoo News AP ^ | May 13, 2009 | VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

[VRWCTexan]

MOSCOW – A Kremlin policy paper says international relations will be shaped by battles over energy resources, which may trigger military conflicts on Russia's borders....The document... signed by President Dmitry Medvedev, listed top challenges to national security and outlined government priorities through 2020.

"The international policy in the long run will be focused on getting hold of energy sources, including in the Middle East, the Barents Sea shelf and other Arctic regions, the Caspian and Central Asia," said the strategy paper....

"Amid competitive struggle for resources, attempts to use military force to solve emerging problems can't be excluded," it added. "The existing balance of forces near the borders of the Russian Federation and its allies can be violated."

[linbiao123]

Electrolysis from water to hydrogen, and its subsequent recombination are maybe ~60% each to be generous. Ltithium batteries have made good progress over the last decade. Lithium batteries, are ~90% efficient and are looking at a ~80% recharge in 5 minutes, some faster than that, a lifetime of thousands of charge/recharge cycles and a price in the hundreds of dollars per kilowatt hour. The future is likely PHEVs with a battery powered range of ~12 miles and recharging stations in most parking lots.

[DannyTN]

Ok, if the battery technology is that good at present, and the battery life/cost is better than hydrogen, then we modify the plan as follows:

• We still build the nuclear plants
• Instead of building hydrogen storage tanks we build recharging outlets.

[linbiao123]

I believe India has an interest in thorium breeders (due to their thorium deposits), but I don’t have much confidence in their nuclear reactor designs. Is there anyone else working on thorium breeder reactors?

[Cheetahcat]

“I believe India has an interest in thorium breeders (due to their thorium deposits), but I don’t have much confidence in their nuclear reactor designs. Is there anyone else working on thorium breeder reactors?”

I do not know enough about their program But MSR’s have been around a while are very safe and have the ability to deal with deadly Plutonium as you know neutron's NOT burial is the best way to neutralize the problem..we have a 1000 years of Uranium which leads to waste problems and 3000 years of Thorium.Put them on the coast and use the heat to distill water.They can be in Module form from a factory.

[Cossak]

Oil is not single resource vital to economy. If all countries will accept consumerism as base of their societies, they will deplete other recsources in no time - fresh water, land for agriculture, timber, oxygen, some metals, etc.