I would like to voice my support for nuclear power despite having not checked the Japan thread since I evacuated for the (possibility of a) tsunami.
The general populace lacks an understanding of nuclear power and assumes it's bad because of the bombs.
Well, there's little uranium, much of it in unstable countries. It needs to be shipped and refined without escaping into the underworld for use in dirty bombs. It then needs to be used safely for a period, then stored forever, or until reclamation is perfected. It may be very safe, but the consequences of failure at any point are extremely dire.
I personally don't think they are all that dangerous. It's just that the worst case scenario is far more severe than other power sources.
Someone mentioned solar power using molten salt; it's safe, can function 24 hours a day, and doesn't require exotic materials. I like it.
I'm most excited about geothermal. It's cheaper than coal in most places and pretty much can't go wrong. Note that you don't need a volcano; anyplace will work if you go deep enough. So yeah, magma.
Then there's orbital solar. It's expensive for many reasons (to-orbit costs, repair, exotic materials), and it requires large rectennas on the ground. However, in a good orbit, it provides power for all but 8 hours a year and is probably pretty much permanent.
The US, Canada and Australia have some of the biggest Uranium reserves IIRC?
Reclamation of nuclear waste can be nearly perfect. Run through the right feeder-breeder and the final 2 waste products are easily handled. One is nearly inert and no more dangerous than most rocks, and the other has such a short half life that it will burn itself out after 50 or so years. Some of these next generation designs may be able to do it without removing the fuel from the reactor.
But yes, solar thermal salt facilities are great, with only a few problems. 1: they are fragile, sandstorms, snowfall, hail strong wind, tornadoes, etc can damage them. 2: they only work well in deserts, so they will need a major upgrade to power distribution. 3: salt quickens rust for most metals, so we are not sure of what the maintenance costs are going to be in the long term yet.
Orbital solar power will most likely only an option if we build them from materials harvest outside the earth.
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Topic: Alternative energy sources (Read 19964 times)