Reply To: Iconography

[Brian H]

Aeronaut wrote: I agree that the proven technology will settle all doubts about can it be done. That will leave us in the regulatory regime, where a fission track record has most, if not all of the cards. The NRC’s homepage has an ominous phrase referring to decades of Congressional Guidance, for instance. Therefore, we are voices in the wilderness without very powerful allies in government. At least here in North America.

Hah. How long would “North America” (though I doubt Canada’s response would be the same. That’s a whole different kettle of fish, of course, since it has a huge vested oil interest) hold back if, say, the EU or BRIC nations began implementing it? The competitive disadvantage of refusing to use an ultra-cheap ultra-clean energy source would be so glaring and massive that it would be economic suicide. And California is starving for power and desperate to cut costs.

Despite your and Rematog’s conviction that regulators will have a decisive say, my conviction remains that economics will brush aside any serious foot-draggers.

Speaking of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) nations, they might suddenly break into the BIC and R nations, as Russia’s oil income stream makes it odd-man-out in this case.