[ We had it, nuclear power, and we pi$$ed it away. I guess if you are an “alchemist,” who thinks some how a way can be found to turn $hit into Gold, there may be a “breakthrough” on the horizon for you. But the reality is that there is nothing on the horizon except nuclear power, so get prepared for a cold, dark world in succeeding generations. ]
China will have power, they are working on Molten Salt Nuclear Reactors and will probably sell us energy fromthem once they perfect it from powerstations built in Mexico...
We could have had this tech as early as the early 70’s but cronyism from G.E. and other “Government Industial Complex” companies involved in the nuclear industy wanted to milk the government for fuel and weapons contracts....
Eisenhower was SPOT ON....
Our descendants will be shivering inthe dark or paying through the nose to china for heat and power....because we were to stuipid to see the long game....
“We could have had this tech as early as the early 70’s but cronyism from G.E. and other “Government Industial Complex” companies involved in the nuclear industy wanted to milk the government for fuel and weapons contracts....”
Exactly! And that is the Achilles Heel of Free Enterprise as it has morphed here in the US. It’s why the Japanese took over the TV market because our vacuum tube mfrs. didn’t want to give up their buggy whip businesses. It was said at the time, if the transistor came with an octal base, our TV makers would have adapted to it, but they wouldn’t change their decades-old manufacturing processes to utilize the new technology.
And it’s likely the same situation in the “big Pharma” business. Innovative medicines and protocols are buried because the new stuff would take away particularly lucrative old medicines. It’s why you never hear of many of the “cancer break throughs” ever making it to market. The difference here, is that we may well be being kept from life-saving/extending stuff for the sake of profits. Today’s business “leaders” would be happy to see you die if they could get bigger bonuses by reason of more profits on old stuff.
Insofar as nuclear energy is concerned, as you point out the industry had the government as a “partner” in the withholding of progress. My best man worked for the old Atomic Energy Commission in their Berkeley Office. He left in disgust for the way the thing ran and that was in the early 1970’s. Now the NRC is staffed with people who are opposed to Nuclear Power.