[Gatac]

I think global warming is very real, and while the world won't fall apart tomorrow, we definately need to do something about it now. As for nuclear power, I'm fully in favor. Recent developments in reactor technology can reduce waste dramatically, and I know some German scientists are working on artificially shortening the half-life of radioactive material so it "bleeds" off faster and doesn't need to be stored so long.

I really wish public opinion wasn't so dead-set against nuclear power. Most of the alternatives are actually far more dangerous to the environment. Everybody keeps talking Chernobyl, but the reactor design sucked, many safeguards were intentionally disabled, and on top of that we have good old humans mucking everything up. A modern reactor design is fail-safe and among the best-researched and understood machines we can possibly build.

But we also have to remember that we can't do everything with nuclear power - it's great for base load, but can't quickly be switched on, off or regulated for the peaks. Improved water and solar power should be able to cover a lot of this, though, especially since ultracapacitators are slowly becoming more practical - maybe we'll be able to eventually run the whole world of what's effectively a giant UPS...

Gatac