Even if it works, it's still going to be radioactive. It creates neutrons which create radioisotopes and it will generate radioactive wastes just like fission reactors. That's not a problem. The problem is people who have been indoctrinated to fear radiation. It doesn't do any good to tell them that the problem is minimal.
Hydro hasn't been tapped out. We could double the amount we get from hydro if it weren't for environmental restrictions.
What everyone ignores is that the supply of a resource increases with the price. When the price increases, it becomes more viable to mine marginal sources. If the price of oil increases enough, it becomes economical to produce gasoline from coal or from oil shale. And as the price rises people conserve and demand falls. They spend more on insulation, fluorescent lights, and more efficient transportation. They cut back on luxury consumption, ski trips, vacation travel, etc. The real danger will be price controls that stops that feedback process.
The tricky thing about estimated oil supplies is that oil companies don't develop resource more than about ten years in advance. Why look for oil with today's technology when we will have better exploration techniques in ten years? Why pay taxes on proven reserves for any longer than you have to? So no one really knows how much we have. Some say that depleted wells are replenishing themselves from deep earth sources.
I read an article written about 1860 in Scientific American that said we would be out of coal in 100 years. These predictions always turn out wrong because the free market and technology always will provide. Our problem is people who hate technology and free markets. It is a political problem.
Think about it. The only energy sources that are not under attack from environmentalists are the ones that don't work -- wind and solar. If they were to become viable, they will also be attacked.