Chapter Five

Energy Does It All

The Most Urgent Problems

The claim that nuclear power can solve our biggest

problems may sound far fetched but let me share my
thoughts. Before the predictions of harnessing the atom for
power, as far back as 90 years ago, any such claims of
energy providing solutions may have seemed dubious.
What’s changed since the advent of nuclear reactor design
circa 1950 is a shift toward what’s called Gen IV designs
where reactors now have potential to be specifically used
for applications that, up until now, required fossil fuels to
provide economical production. Figuring out ways to use
the byproduct heat, stimulates the imagination. It has the
potential to provide numerous solutions where either heat
or electricity can be applied in areas that previously were
too carbon intensive and costly to satisfy new emerging
clean industrial standards.

1. Ocean pH and Ocean Warming

Part of growing up over the last 60 years included, for
most people, watching nature specials on TV. We caught
some spectacular scenes of underwater life that
demonstrated how wondrous and alien-like life in the
oceans can be. More recently the internet has added vast
numbers of video clips and images. One of my more
memorable recent visual moments was that of the adorable
tiny creature known as the Sea Butterfly also called a
Pteropod. One of the endangered species caused by the
oceans absorbing CO2 and changing the pH balance.
 The world of home video and advances in photography
have brought us high resolution and brilliant images
bringing the incredible world of underwater sea life to large
monitor screens. The sad part about it is that we are seeing
much of this life for the first time and yet their very
existence is seriously under threat of extinction in the near
future.
We never imagined that during our growing up days
that we had been contributing to the decline of the oceans.
Over the last sixty years there has been a serious decline of
ocean diversity at continuously accelerated rates.
Extinctions have taken place at an alarming rate. Coral
graveyards exist where life once thrived. Pteropods, Krill
and Plankton are quickly disappearing. We really do have a
tendency to ignore things we can’t see unless we are told
they pose a direct threat. The reality is that we have it
backwards. Not only are we causing climate change but we
are a direct threat to the oceans. We are the invasive
species. Seeking more and more energy as cheap as
possible unfortunately comes at a cost to the environment
because it leads to coal usage. This unfortunate choice
rather than nuclear power has become a destructive
invasive habit. The nearly zero risk of radiation is a very
small problem by comparison. And we add to the problem
with our overindulgent lifestyles. We have become pests of
the Earth.

Triple Threat
As a result of increased carbon dioxide caused by
human consumption there are three things affecting near-
surface life. 1) Warming, 2) acidification and 3) reduced
oxygen called deoxygenation. The creatures affected most,
initially, are tiny but vital to the food chain. But just as

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important their life cycle provides natural carbon
sequestration.

Warming of the Oceans

The most obvious effects of ocean warming will be the
loss of ice and therefore the creatures who thrive in these
icy regions. Polar bears and penguins will go extinct.
Warmer seas also lead to melting from below of polar
ice shelves, compromising their structural integrity and
leading to spectacular shelf collapses. Scientists also worry
that warmer water could interrupt the so-called ocean
conveyor belt, the system of global currents that is largely
responsible for regulating Earth’s temperature. Its collapse
could trigger catastrophically rapid climate changes.
Warm seas increase the spread of invasive species and
marine diseases. Temperature changes affect stability.
Ecosystems that become warmer enables species or
bacteria to thrive where they were once excluded leading to
migrations and species extinctions.

Acidification is the Twin Tragedy of Global

Warming
Ocean acidification is caused by the abundance of
carbon dioxide in the air that flows from both land to
coastal waters and through the air via various complex
behaviours eventually absorbed into the ocean. Coal
emissions and other carbon dioxide sources have already
begun a mass extinction of sea life that, if left unmitigated,
will potentially cause human starvation and societal
collapse to countries that have become dependent on
seafood.
 These ocean extinctions will happen due to the
increased ocean acidity and higher ocean temperatures
with both being caused by carbon emissions. The harm we
have been causing has barely registered in human
consciousness. We can’t recognize our own neglect. We fail
to see that we can make a difference by the policies we
support and the habits we develop. Our perspective about
energy in the west is out of touch. We have an abundance of
energy, food, commodities, gadgets, etc. and going without
them is rarely a concern.
In the U.S. and Canada getting employment or finding
a place to live is within reach for most people, especially the
educated. People raised in the west are largely unaware of
how different our abundance of energy compares to the
hardship in places like China, Brazil, India and Africa. They
are unprepared for the kind of hardship that will eventually
happen in the west too.
The outcome we all gamble with is human extinction
itself. This prediction, however dark, is necessary to
discuss, even if the prediction turns out to be an
exaggeration. Science leads us to conclude that serious
consequences will bring severe hardship for much of the
planet. The hardest hit will be the poorest most populated
countries. Environmentalists are saying these countries
must cut back on fossil fuel usage yet our economy still
depends on fossil fuel while we largely ignore nuclear
power. It’s not acceptable to allow future generations to pay
for our neglect nor expect emerging developing countries to
sacrifice their standard of living just to avoid fossil fuels.

Ocean pH is Now 8.1 – What is pH?

4
 To get an idea of how bad current pH levels are you
need to understand what pH means. pH has a scale that
ranges from 0 to 14.
14 is the most basic (alkaline) and 0 is the most acidic.
An example soap is basic (pH of 9 or 10). Lemon juice has
an acidity pH of 2.2. The pH scale is logarithmic so a small
change is quite significant. Pure distilled water has a pH of
7. But the oceans need to be above 7 on the alkaline side to
sustain life. The closer it gets to neutral or acidic in the
lower numbers, the worse it gets for sea life.
The oceans have been absorbing carbon dioxide at an
accelerated rate. Estimates are between 25% and 40% of all
airborne CO2 since the beginning of the industrial age. The
current ocean pH level is still considered basic(alkaline).
When you hear that ocean acidity has gotten worse it
simply means that the pH has moved lower on the scale
closer to the acid levels below 7.
The current ocean pH is 8.14.
Wikipedia says back in 1751 it was 8.25. That change is
0.11 which might seem small but actually in logarithmic
terms it is quite large. That represents a 29% increase in
hydrogen ions. It is estimated that at current rates by 2100
it will reach .3 to .5 which would be as low as 7.64 pH.
Hydrogen, which happens to be the smallest atom is the
ingredient that makes water acidic by forming a compound.
When carbon dioxide (CO2) combines with hydrogen it
becomes carbonic acid. Once the ocean reaches a pH of 8.1
it kills shelled creatures that are vital to the food chain.
The tiny sea snails called Pteropods (sea snails or sea
butterflies) are threatened with extinction in as few as 20
years at the current rate of acidification, deoxygenation and
warming. They are an important food source for all larger
species such as pacific salmon, whales and different kinds
of ocean birds.

Liming of the Oceans

The average pH is now half way down toward the
extinction point. Ocean acidity hasn’t been this high (lower
pH) in 200 million years. Hydrogen, which happens to be
the smallest atom is the ingredient that makes any liquid
acidic by forming a compound. When carbon dioxide (CO 2)
combines with hydrogen it becomes carbonic acid.
Carbonic acid once it reaches a pH of 8.1 kills shelled
creatures that are vital to the food chain.
One proposed solution to ocean acidity is to extract a
lot of lime by heating up limestone. Adding lime to the
oceans is a proposed solution to use a natural cycle to
sequester carbon from the oceans. The idea of lime is that it
is rich in calcium and magnesium and the Energy
abundance from dedicated nuclear reactors could provide
heat needed to fix acidity by producing enough lime, when
added, it would allow creatures who need the calcium to
absorb it into their skeleton. The formation of their bones
and shells naturally extracts the carbon from the water.
When they die they take the carbon with them to the ocean
floor. The ideal reactors would be the proposed modular
factory made kind similar to what we see occurring in the
assembly of the jumbo jet or shipbuilding industry. The
molten salt reactors will provide an ideal versatile
application-specific power source that can also double as
an electricity provider where needed. This would be the
first commercial application-specific reactor design to
come into the market. Canada’s Terrestrial Energy and the
American Thorcon are both ideal candidates.

6
 We emit more than 30 billion tons of CO 2 per year, and
have an inventory of more than 1.5 trillion tons already in
the air. About 1/3 has yet to be dissolved, acidifying waters.
Limestone is about 1/2 CO2 and 1/2 lime. Heating it
separates them and we get a ton of lime + a ton of CO 2
using ~300kWHrs of heat energy.
The following quote is from Alex Cannara who has
researched the subject of reversing the effects of CO 2. The
least invasive and ecologically friendly way to mitigate
ocean acidification is described in a document he shares
among his peers.
“Fuels and chemicals from oil are about equal to coal as
carbon sources, but the amount of actual chemical
feedstock carbon is very small compared to all the
emissions from combustion. And, being carbon neutral
means something… But it doesn’t help ocean chemistry —
it’s fine only after we address deteriorating ocean
chemistry.”
“Limestone consists of about 1/2 CO2 and 1/2 lime.
Heating 2 tons of limestone separates them and we get a
ton of lime + a ton of CO 2 using ~300kWHrs of heat
energy. So, if we’re thinking we’re going to use a lot of CO 2
from lime making, we’re dead wrong — not enough for
chemicals and vehicles is too small.”
“We thus must sequester the CO2 from limestone,
permanently, as some groups in Iceland & WA are
researching. That gives us a ton to sequester for every 300
kWHrs we make available to heat the limestone we mine. If
we just compensate for our present amounts, >30 gigatons
of CO2 emissions, we need to generate, with no emissions,
300 x 30 billion = 9000 GWH/year with 0 emissions.
That’s 9 teraWatt Hours, or half of the entire world’s
present power use.”
 “If we want to start biting into the 1500 gigatons
already emitted, with ~500Gt already in seas, then we
obviously need to generate a bit more to process a bit more
limestone, etc.”
“Carbon-neutral fuels for aircraft are probably
unavoidable, but all other vehicles must be moved without
emissions.”
“Therefore, we must sequester nearly all the CO 2 that
comes out of limestone at the rate of 1 ton per 300 kWHrs
and 2 tons limestone input. Trying to capture CO 2 from air,
in which it’s not ~50% (as in limestone), but 0.04% is
ridiculous, to quote Harry Potter.”
Dr. Cannara is essentially saying that the drastic
situation calls for drastic action. It’s not enough to simply
stop emitting carbon. The current ocean chemistry is not
hospitable to life.
It is also important to consider that warmer oceans
means less carbon absorption. Warming of the planet
includes increased warming in both the air and sea.
Another tipping point will occur when the ocean
temperature is too high to accept more CO 2. Since water
temperature and reduced oxygen are also factors that are
negatively affecting ocean life this is not a positive
outcome. But we humans will start seeing more greenhouse
effect as a result.
Trying to remove it from coal-stack exhaust, which is
mostly nitrogen, may be good if the energy is available, but
still a far less effective method than getting CO 2 from
limestone, where it was naturally sequestered long ago, and
putting it back into CO2 absorbing rock permanently, while
using the lime to counteract more recent emissions that are
dissolving in oceans. We’re simply using the natural

8
process of the lime cycle that’s been implemented by life
forms for millions of years.
To supply the heat needed for the liming process will
require a lot of energy. Nuclear energy happens to be the
cleanest and most economical way and currently the only
way to meet the required energy needs to create enough
electricity for the kilns typically used for such operations.
Unfortunately, we’re now in a war on carbon that could
have been avoided, had nuclear power been allowed to
grow, as JFK instructed in 1962.
Unfortunately many of the tiny aquatic animals such as
plankton and coral are hypersensitive to small temperature
changes.
Coral bleaching is one of the consequences.
Temperature change slows coral growth, making them
susceptible to disease which can devastate ecosystems that
are sustained by coral reefs.
Krill reproduce in smaller numbers at higher
temperatures. This can also seriously disrupt the food
chain.
Deoxygenation
The reduced oxygen is referred to as “aNO xic.” This
condition has not happened in the oceans for millions of
years when mass extinctions ocurred. Regions called “dead
zones” currently exist in over 400 locations around the
world from the east coast of the United States to the Black
Sea to New Zealand.
“the world’s oceans have lost about two percent of their
oxygen in just 50 years, while the amount of water that’s
completely free of oxygen has increased fourfold, according
to the new study. Scientists now can identify 500 sites
along the coasts where oxygen is exceedingly low. Fewer
than 10 percent of those were known before the mid-20th
century.”5-1-1
When Phytoplankton disappears so does a major
oxygen source. They produce more oxygen than the land.
What we don’t realize is that the ocean makes up a huge
part of the life support system of the Earth. 99% of Earth’s
livable space is the oceans. It should not come as a surprise
that 80% of breathable oxygen comes from plankton.
“Scientists say the pH level of the world’s seas have
already dropped—on average from 8.2 to 8.1 on the pH
scale (lower numbers are more acidic). That’s a 26 percent
drop in the past century (because the pH scale is
logarithmic). But as the ocean absorbs more industrial
emissions of carbon dioxide, its pH is expected to double to
7.7 pH units by the end of the century, according to Aleck
Wang, professor of marine chemistry at the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution.”5-1-2
Fish like the Blue Marlin are known for deep diving. In
warmer areas like Guatamala and Costa Rica they have
been observed to be staying closer to the surface to avoid
suffocation due to the lower oxygen content of the deeper
water.5-1-3
“In fact, the world’s oceans have lost about two percent
of their oxygen in just 50 years, while the amount of water
that’s completely free of oxygen has increased fourfold,
according to the new study. Scientists now can identify 500
sites along the coasts where oxygen is exceedingly low.
Fewer than 10 percent of those were known before the mid-
20th century.”
Sea Levels
Sea levels are affected by melting ice from icebergs, ice
caps, land ice and glaciers. Rising sea levels affect coastal

10
habitats, disappearing shoreline, coastal erosion and
disrepair from storms. “Sea level has risen 4.5 cm from
1993 to 2008 at a rate of approximately 3 mm/yr.” 5-1-4
“Rising seas is one of those climate change effects.
Average sea levels have swelled over 8 inches (about 23 cm)
since 1880, with about three of those inches gained in the
last 25 years. Every year, the sea rises another .13 inches
(3.2 mm).”
Expanded water molecules from temperature increase
also plays a role in sea rise.
Stronger Storms
Higher ocean temperatures create stronger and more
frequent tropical storms, hurricanes and cyclones. These
stronger storms not only affect human habitats but wildlife
habitats and the more frequent storms mean less time to
recover.
Other Consequences
Generating electricity contributes 31% of carbon
dioxide and transportation is a close second at 27%. That
means that human activity has a lot to do with CO 2’s
creation. The chart on the right indicates part of the reason
why CO2 is the main focus of controlling climate change.
But we can’t ignore that, although methane is 14% of the
total content, it is 25 times more powerful in trapping heat
in our atmosphere.
2013 sources of CO2 by sector in USA
World Greenhouse Gases by percentage
In 2014 it was estimated that 40 billion tons of CO 2
were released (~36 billion metric tons).
Will It Continue?
 As the oceans increase in temperature they lose their
ability to absorb carbon dioxide. This is another tipping
point we must expect and try to prevent. The only way to
reduce ocean temperatures is to dramatically reign in our
emission of greenhouse gases. However, even if we
immediately dropped carbon dioxide emissions to zero, the
gases we’ve already released would take centuries or longer
to level off temperature increases.

2. Weather Extremes
How energy policy is getting it wrong. - It’s
about reliability
The “all of the above” policy chosen by President
Obama is far too simplistic. With more extreme weather
events happening all the time now keeping within the
required indoor temperature depends on whether
electricity is available. Thinking about the naive
environmrntalist who is seduced into believing that
renewable energy can do it all worries me. What happens to
a community that depends totally on wind or solar when
the weather does not provide enough wind or sun. Here’s
where energy abundance can save lives from freezing cold
or over heating.
What is Baseload Power?
Baseload power is something we take for granted.
Power that is available twenty-four-seven. If you follow the
news you will notice some regions (that frequently
experience weather extremes) have been fighting to
eliminate nuclear energy (their main sources of baseload
power) and replace them with renewable energy. Nuclear
energy, coal, natural gas, oil, wood and biofuel are all
source of baseload power. They all contribute energy

12
around the clock where-ever they are used. Yet if we are to
eliminate CO2 we need more nuclear power, not less. Places
like California, Germany, Wisconsin and Quebec have all
shut down perfectly good nuclear reactors.
Nuclear energy comes from a fuel that is not fossil-
based, is of relatively low cost, and is abundant. U.S.
nuclear energy plants use a low-enriched form of uranium
(235U) for fuel. Canada can function on low enriched fuel
with their enhancement of using heavy water. Uranium is a
relatively abundant element that occurs naturally and that
is about as common on Earth as is tin. In 2002, 16
countries produced more than 99 percent of the world’s
uranium, with Canada and Australia counting for about
half of the world’s production.
Recently it has been reported that we can effectively
extract uranium from ocean water. In fact there is so much
of it that all of Earth’s needs could be met until the Earth
ends it’s remaining 7.5 billion years.5-2-1
Compared to natural gas, uranium is relatively low in
price and is less sensitive to fuel price increases—only 0.2
cents of the overall production cost is due to the cost of
uranium, while 83 percent of the cost of electricity from gas
is due to the cost of natural gas. It does not take much
uranium to power a plant from a volume standpoint: one
pellet of uranium—the size of the tip of an adult’s little
finger—is the equivalent of 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas,
1,780 pounds of coal or 149 gallons of oil. Nuclear energy is
not dependent on unstable foreign suppliers; North
America has abundant sources of uranium.
Nuclear plants are not vulnerable to weather
fluctuations or climate conditions. These large units, which
run for extended periods, supply electricity—called
“baseload generation”—day and night, often only shutting
down for refueling every 18-24 months. (note: CANDUs
can refuel without shutting down) While nuclear plants are
as environmentally clean as plants driven with wind and
solar power, nuclear plants do not rely on wind conditions
or on the sun shining to do their jobs, and they occupy
much less land based on comparable generation output.
Continued plant modernization means there is no such
thing as an “old” plant.
Although the oldest existing U.S. commercial plant
went online in 1969 (In Canada 1971), there is no “old”
nuclear plant. Systems are constantly upgraded or replaced
to ensure all plants operate with the highest reliability.
Additionally, nuclear power plants are valuable assets to
their owners because their initial license period can be
extended. The initial license period of 40 years can be
renewed for an additional 20 or more. This means that
operators have incentives to keep their plants in top
operating shape and maintain safety margins.
Hurricanes, tornadoes, freezing rain, sudden rain-
induced floods, dry spells, heat waves, cold spells,
blizzards, you name it we have seen an increase in extreme
weather.
Hurricane Sandy, Katrina, Hazel
My earliest memory of a hurricane was Hurricane
Hazel in 1957?. If you were one of the unlucky ones your
home was flooded and in a few cases whole households
swept away.
Hurricanes and tornadoes have been striking in the
usual places but also in places you don’t normally hear
about. In 2009 three unlucky Americans from Oklahoma
were fishing at a cottage in Georgian Bay, Ontario. Not
unheard of, but strangely ironic, a tornado caused the
deaths of three friends, away from their tornado ridden
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home turf, when the entire cottage was dragged into the
water by the severe freak weather.
The Growing Need for Cooling and Heating
As two opposing movements grow, we are seeing on
one hand the West’s preoccupation with renewable energy
which is poised to bring us blackouts, and on the other
hand the East’s and the developing world’s quest to
modernize and gain economic freedom. As a result we are
seeing, ironically, more usage of fossil fuel for energy. Both
situations are bringing about the growth of coal and natural
gas.
Another contradiction is that places like Toronto and
New York are seeing the Polar Vortex that shifts erratically
where cold weather occurs. We are witnessing places like
Toronto getting zero Celsius weather and Yellowknife
having 22 Celsius. This puts a demand on electricity at
times when they are not accustomed.5-2-3
The West has a preoccupation with wind turbines and
solar panels which are proving to provide far less power
than was once predicted. The shortfall of power from their
unreliability has forced some countries such as Germany to
build more coal plants and mine for more coal, especially
since the shutdown of several nuclear reactors. The US has
a president promoting coal as well as the Natural Gas
crusade in the name of energy independence.
India and China have been proliferating numerous
comparatively cheap coal plants for decades in an
unprecedented effort to bring the poor out of poverty.
“For billions of people life is already too hot, so the
artificial cooling of humanity will proceed regardless of
climate change or decarbonization goals. A key part of that
will be supplying electricity to run (and build) air
conditioners; India’s soaring AC demand will necessitate
some 300 new power plants over the next two decades.
[28] Here too there’s a tension between necessary
development and green sustainability doctrine, with its
emphasis on reducing energy use and relying on
intermittent wind and solar generators. Cooling requires a
lot of electricity that is reliably available when demand is
greatest; given the limitations of wind and solar, much of
that electricity will have to come from new nuclear and, for
now, fossil-fueled plants. High-quality power will take
precedence over intermittent energy austerity as a strategy
for beating the heat.”5-2-4
Summer 2006 Issue (Energy Reality)
We get some spectacularly cold January and February
weather in Canada and northern parts of the U.S. We need
to heat our homes to survive. We have been getting freak
winter storms in recent years. My story was before the
worst cold but still pretty bad.
Diary of an Ice Storm Blackout (from Energy
Reality Blog Dec 23/14) Toronto needs reliable power.
Apply pressure at all gov. levels to upgrade. Recent
power outages are outrageous.
I’m not sure what is worse. Sitting alone at a table for
two in a very noisy bar waiting for my phone to charge or
going home to a dark apartment with a flashlight and
candles.
I am sitting at one of the noisiest bars in Toronto. I am
here on a Sunday night two days before Christmas because
the power is out for the 4th time in 3 years. Yet this lively
bar, across the street from where I live has had all its power
all day. Why do the stores along Bloor on both sides all
have power? The power infrastructure in Ontario is
seriously out of date.
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 The temperature is hovering around freezing but will
get colder tomorrow. Many of the locals have so much ice
on their cars that they gave up on de-icing. I spoke to Steve
Foster, my new friend from Barrie, who has power yet 300
thousand others need to wait a few days while Christmas is
around the corner. Steve said Barrie has no visible power
lines (meaning they have been wisely buried underground).
Why we continue to suffer 19th century style
inconveniences has to do with mismanaged government at
all levels.
Extreme weather is no longer a freak event. We should
expect these events to happen. I see no reason why we
should suffer or worse, have our lives threatened. The cold,
if not prepared for properly, can be lethal.
We also need to update our power facilities so that they
don’t flood in extreme weather like what happened July
2013. What is really ironic is that I’m sitting right across
from a wall of 100 year old enlarged black and white photos
of my neighbourhood. If it was 1913 I might have electricity
right now.
1913 - King and Yonge – Toronto
18
 Jacques Boissinot/CP PHOTO
How much business is lost on account of power
failures?
How much business is lost on account of power
failures?
Each year the US loses over $100 Billion due to power
failures5-2-5. Ontario’s losses must be in the $billions.
Besides robbing us of our rights to normal comforts we also
lose business.
Our power infrastructure is also expensive and less
reliable because we are forced by law to include wind and
solar energy into our grid. We need to subsidize the
unreliable, “natural gas” dependent so-called “renewables”
because of a perceived need for an “all of the above” energy
mix. Our energy bills are higher because of this idealist yet
proven-to-fail method of powering the grid has become the
norm.
Germany now has the highest electricity rates in
Europe because they have decided to go “green” and
discontinue nuclear energy. Germany has been forced to
increase the building of coal plants to make up for the lost
nuclear energy. Italy will face the same consequences. Just
like California who shut down San Onofre Nuclear Plant
over irrational fears over a possible accident their energy
bills have gone sky high. An interesting fact is that the
worst ice-storm in Ontario’s history did not affect the
nuclear plants at all.
It is always a good time to put pressure on all three
levels of government to upgrade our power system. i.e. put
power lines underground and make the power stations
flood proof and allow new build of nuclear to replace the
plants that will be decommissioned because of age.
However refurbishing nuclear plants have been very
successful in Ontario. (end of blog post)

3. Nuclear Energy and Energy Efficiency

The usual argument in favour of reduced energy
consumption is the reduction of fossil fuels that create the
energy. There are several things that appear
environmentally friendly but when you follow the energy
source they provide little benefit in carbon reduction. The
electric vehicles are to some an environmental dream but
in reality they are only beneficial if they are charged with
electricity produced from nuclear energy or hydro.
Required indoor temperature control can be better
controlled with improved upgrades to air leaks and
insulation. Home fortification also makes sense in view of
an increase in powerful storms. While we consider reducing
our energy usage you might want to look into the
government (provincial or state) that assists in paying for
environmentally beneficial home improvements.
Energy abundance will not only save lives from freezing
cold or overheating but eventually end energy poverty.5-3-1
Highest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 59 C.
54 C occurred in August 2015 at a city in the Middle East
called Bahsra.
The toll on health is complicated by disease and clean
water shortages. The costs of damages from hurricanes and
other events.
What is arguably the most controversial fact when
discussing renewable energy is that Nuclear Plants use
Uranium. Uranium is viewed by many as the demon
ingredient by those who don’t investigate the facts. It has
been a concern in the recent past that we will run into
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Uranium shortages. But now we have a technique for
extracting Uranium from seawater. This makes it
renewable for as long as the Earth shall live.5-3-2

4. Water Scarcity
Water, like air, is a limited resource on the planet. It is
logical that we keep it free of pollution as much as possible.
But we are witnessing severe droughts with record high
temperatures springing up all over the world. Droughts
mean there are shortages of water for basic household
living, industry, public spaces, sewage etc. Typically
droughts follow extreme temperatures.
Over 30 U.S. states are now very close to drought
conditions. California needs to ration water and there are
legal restrictions on how often they flush their toilets. Texas
is now the driest region.
The Green Blue Book by Thomas M. Kostigen is a guide
to saving fresh water. In the book you will see dozens of
estimates of how much water is used in the process of
getting various products to market to wisely handle how to
conserve fresh water.
“The average person needs about 13 gallons of water a
day to drink, wash, and eat. We in America use almost 10
times that. In fact, the global population may have tripled
in the 20th century but water consumption went up
sevenfold.5-4-1”
Water Supply and Water Quality
Exploration of underground wells began and the water
table became widely used. Groundwater is normally
replenished by rain. Many American states depend heavily
on groundwater. Water usage has been strained and is not
being replenished fast enough both from overuse and dry
spells. Fracking has started to affect the water quality 5-4-2
nationwide in the United States.
Drought in California
California has a number of farms that require large
amounts of water. Being on the ocean makes desalination
seem like an obvious solution. But it is a power intensive
process and for both economic and environmental reasons
we want the production of fresh water to be clean and
affordable. However, desalination has been a part of Diablo
Canyon Nuclear Power Plant’s desire for their own fresh
water until drought became a serious need. Additional
supply was in the plans to supply xxx homes. Oddly the
NIMBYs (groups who say “not in my backyard”) and other
special interest groups interfere with solutions from taking
place. Israel successfully turned their economy and well
being by building water desalination plants. When
Americans settled in the interior there were vast areas that
had no access to water. They learned to access the water
table which is now in danger of drying up. Diablo Canyon
Nuclear Plant, the last Nuclear plant in the State of
California has been producing fresh water through a
reverse osmosis process. General Electric runs the plant.
You can supply 2.5 million people with fresh water
using a 200MWe reactor to desalinate ocean water.
Droughts / Flooding
The World Health Organization says that floods are the
natural disasters having the greatest impact on human
health. The activities of the climate summits puts on a
humanitarian face. They explore ways to mitigate the
effects of climate change. Things like preventing the spread
of disease, better evacuation procedures etc. Probably more
than finding solutions. One of modern civilizations signs of
broken down too little too late solutions.
22
 How can energy stop that? Many people don’t get the
seriousness of global warming. The carbon dioxide has
already accumulated and is in a constant process of doing
its damage. We see it in the form of weather extremes. If we
want less drought and less flooding we need to not only
stop the rise of CO2 but reverse it. That will require
geoengineering.5-4-3
We discussed desalination and we discussed lime
creation these are both types of geoengineering but what
about our behavior towards responsible sustainable
behavior.
Freedom to farm, mine, manufacture, distribute and
profit from commerce are factors that have played a role.
But we are seeing resources becoming more significant.
Climate change has made matters worse. The middle east is
becoming a drought zone. Water is scarce.

5. Poverty, Literacy and Population

Smaller gap between rich and poor.
India compared to US.
Robert Hargraves makes a convincing argument that
MSRs will lower the worlds population by first bringing
prosperity and therefore education.
Aim High: Using Thorium Energy to Address
Environmental Prob (video)5-5-1
energy=>industry=>jobs=>education=>birth
control=>population control
“Safe, inexpensive energy from the liquid fluoride
thorium reactor can stop much global warming and raise
prosperity of humanity to adopt US and OECD lifestyles,
which include lower, sustainable birth rates.”
 “Oak Ridge first developed molten salt reactor
technology in 1958-1976. Thorium fuel is transformed to
uranium-233 which fissions, producing heat and electric
power at a cost less than that from coal power plants — the
only way to dissuade developing nations from burning coal.
Thorium produces less than 1% of the long-lived
radioactive waste of today’s nuclear power plants. Existing
nuclear power plant waste can be consumed. One ton of
plentiful thorium costing $300,000 provides 1 GW-year of
electric energy, enough for a city. A 5-year NASA-style
shoot-the-moon project can complete technology
development of this inexpensive, safe, clean power.”
Robert Hargraves’ Aim High. Book on Amazon – less
than $10.00
Additional Links5-5-2
Economic Drivers
As we’ve been saying, the benefits of building nuclear
plants has many parallel benefits. The number of jobs they
provide is enormous. Apart from being clean energy the
surplus of heat can be diverted for industrial purposes.
Besides providing jobs by creating spinoff industry there is
cheap electricity and process heat to be used for the
community and industry benefit.

6. Food Supply
Oceans provide 20% of the world’s protein. As
discussed, huge quantities of energy are needed to make
lime that can reduce ocean acidity.
Mentioned earlier fish that are a significant supply of
the world’s food supply may go extinct without mitigation
into the ocean’s pH levels. Lowering the carbonic acid
content can be done with adding lime and nutrients such as
24
iron that helps algae thrive. Vertical farms with controlled
environments can produce high yields of food. But these
farms require a lot of energy. Nuclear is well suited.
MSRs are easily scalable and distributable.
Vertical farms exist around the world and demonstrate
that there will be local produce in controlled conditions.
With predictions of mass movement into cities because of
the uninhabitable rural life brought about by climate
change it will become harder to live and even survive. The
idea was proposed by architects and some of the ideas were
developed by futurists like Despommier. Ecomodernists
and visionaries like James Lovelock and Buckminster
Fuller have contributed to the concepts being adapted for
modern living.
GMOs are another trendy thing to hate.
Middle East
California
Africa
India
Indonesia

7. Deforestation
Half the forests can be saved because burning wood is
not needed if abundant cheap energy is available.
Deforestation is affecting CO2. Deforestation is typically
done to make more land available for housing and
urbanization, timber, large scale cash crops such as soy and
palm oil, and cattle ranching. The World Wildlife Fund
reports that much of the logging industry that contributes
to deforestation is done illegally (about half of it used for
firewood). The use of firewood for heat is essential to
regions with no power lines to deliver electricity.
<<Deforestation has decreased global vapor flows from
land by 4% (3,000 km3/yr), a decrease that is
quantitatively as large as the increased vapor flow caused
by irrigation (2,600 km3/yr). >>
Recent sensationalistic news headlines have bold
headlines about how the Amazon rainforest are lungs of the
world. Bolsonaro has lenient regulations which have led to
farmers burning the forests in order to clear land for soy
bean crops and cattle grazing. There is also a reduction in
policing of the indigenous habitats that have resulted in
abuses of the habitats and it’s people.
There is the photosynthesis and the activity that have
opposite analogous to breathing. Carbon dioxide capture by
day and carbon dioxide release by night.
How nature provides the natural rhythmic cycles is yet
another built-in protector of life. It’s not just the deliberate
burning of forests that takes a toll but alo the way the land
is used.
About half of the trees illegally removed from forests
are used as fuel. It is not clear what the numbers are in the
Amazon however the struggle for survival has everything to
do with it. The farmers clear the land more now because
Bolsonaro has lifted the ban on clearing forests.
What about the legally removed ones?
-An estimated 18 million acres (7.3 million hectares) of
forest worldwide, which is roughly the size of the country of
Panama, are lost each year (permanently).
-Countries with significant deforestation -Indonesia,
Brazil, Thailand, Congo and other parts of Africa, parts of
Eastern Europe.
26
 – Indonesia has lost at least 15.79 million hectares of
forest land
– 90 percent of continental United States’ indigenous
forest has been removed since 1600.
-the world’s remaining indigenous forest is located in
Canada, Alaska, Russia and the Northwestern Amazon
basin.
-Forest loss contributes between 6 percent and 12
percent of annual global carbon dioxide emissions
-About 36 football fields worth of trees lost every
minute
– Deforestation is the second largest anthropogenic
(human-caused) source of carbon dioxide to the
atmosphere, ranging between 6 percent and 17 percent.
(Van Der Werf, G. R. et al., 2009)
– added water vapor (greengouse gas) is also significant
http://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html

8. Polar Ice Caps Melting

What about the ice caps and glaciers melting? Can we
bring back freezing of the polar ice caps by stopping the
CO2? Reverse warming?
The logic here is simple. Fix CO2 problem reduce
warming.
Cold water holds more CO2 than warm water.
Significance?
Are the polar bears dying or moving south? Polar Bears
live in 19 different areas within five countries Canada, the
USA, Greenland, Norway and Russia which all share parts
of the Arctic Circle. Eight of the those groups are in decline,
three are stable and several others have not been observed
close enough to say.
Some radical ideas have been suggested such as putting
white dye in the ocean to reflect sunlight.

9. Cleaner Air, Cleaner Water

Air pollution kills. What are the worst offenders? Coal
burning releases numerous toxins. Mercury, sulphur
dioxide, carbon moNOxide, nitrous oxide (ozone)
One of the worst offenders of air pollution happens
where the poor have limited access to electricity and heat.
The common indoor air pollution deaths are from burning
dung that is processed in square packages at prices much
lower than any other burnable fuel.
“Arguably most importantly, our planetary atmosphere
is currently showing the effects of about two centuries of
use as a vast dump for dangerous fossil fuel waste,
agrochemical waste, halogenated organic compounds and
other chemical wastes. The capacity of the atmosphere to
absorb this waste, or lack thereof, has impacted, is
impacting and will impact not only every human being on
the earth, but almost every living thing on the planet as
well.” by David Jones – Sustaining the Wind Part 1 – Is So
Called “Renewable Energy” the Same as “Sustainable
Energy?”
“The crisis has, however, spurred intense research in
water de-contamination techniques. How to ensure tens of
millions of people arsenic-free drinking water when their
water supply comes from wells, many of them rich in
arsenic.”
How many Bangladeshi are exposed to a high level of
arsenic? Estimates vary from a low of 28-35 million to a
28
high of 77 million, more than half the population of the
country. The Bangladeshi are being poisoned by drinking
well water, usually without knowing it. Only three decades
ago health and development experts, and small local
contractors, dug between 7-11 million deep tube wells
throughout Bangladesh. The experts encouraged the whole
nation to drink well water because it was safe. It was free of
the bacteria that caused water-borne diseases such as
diarrhoea and other intestinal maladies that have long
plagued tropical Bangladesh.
Ironically, the people of Bangladesh exchanged water-
borne diseases for arsenicosis. In the 1970s public health
specialists and government policy-makers did not think of
arsenic. It was only in 1993 that the “clean” well water was
discovered to contain dangerous quantities of the poison.
Arsenicosis can cause skin cancer as well as cancers of
the bladder, kidney and lung, and diseases of the blood
vessels of the legs and feet, and possibly diabetes, high
blood pressure and reproductive disorders.
WHO’s most recent guideline for a maximum amount
of arsenic in drinking water recommends 10 parts per
billion (ppb). That was in 1993 when it was lowered to that
level from 50 ppb. A new guideline is anticipated in 2003.
But most water that is drunk in arsenic affected areas in
Bangladesh has substantially higher levels, frequently far
above 50 ppb.
Arsenic-contaminated water is not restricted to
developing countries. In the western states of the United
States of America about 13 million people drink arsenic-
tainted water, albeit less contaminated than the well water
in Bangladesh. Australia, too, has arsenic-contaminated
water. So do Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Hungary, Mexico,
Taiwan (Province of China), Thailand, Viet Nam, and the
eastern areas of India in Bengal.
“Unfortunately,” says WHO sanitary engineer, Hiroki
Hashizume, a Japanese expert on arsenic, “it is virtually
impossible, with present measurement techniques,
especially in the developing world, to measure quantities
below 10 ppb. When drinking water guidelines or national
standards are established, careful attention has to be paid
to analytical capability, arsenic removal technology, etc., to
ensure that the levels are really achieved. Since the
principal health gain comes from targeting those most
exposed to arsenic poisoning, using an intermediate target
of 50 ppb, until a lower target can be achieved, would
already improve people’s health given Bangladesh’s
limitations.
“Another unfortunate and complicating fact about
arsenic poisoning,” Hiroki Hashizume adds, “is that it
generally takes from seven to 10 years, sometimes longer,
for the disease to be recognized. When it finally is, it may
be too late to treat.”
From
http://www.who.int/features/archives/feature206/en/
water treatment in wells and rivers etc.
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/177994/1/SEA-
EH-584.pdf
Preparing, planning and training staff will be a priority
for health and welfare. Their priorities need to be ready
since the diasters are increasing and really happening.
Prevention and mitigation of the actual weather extremes
and can only happen by reversing the damage humans have
done. Taking a shot at reducing CO2 will be a major
challenge and geoengineering will be needed.

30
 10. Preventing Resource Wars and Mass
Migration
Poverty explains why such civil discontent is tied to
freedoms and rights abuses. The Arab Spring was triggered
mostly by human rights abuses but a lesser known cause is
the record high temperatures. The uprisings, protests and
battles spread rapidly. Yet you would think that the wealth
of some of the middle eastern countries would be able to
provide for their countries what is needed. Clearly class,
privilege and religion matters. Priorities by governments
serve the privileged like many places.
How Abundant Energy Can Lessen Wars,
Militarization and Terrorism
In The Middle East Israel has set the standard for a
state of the art desalination facility. They unfortunately
have chosen fossil fuels to power the facility.
But most of the middle east needs desalination plants.
Nuclear power provides the way. The Arab Spring had a lot
to do with the lack of effort going into safeguarding the
people from the extreme heat and drought to so much of
the area.
If we’re not able to reform our ways how do we justify
telling other countries they can’t follow our path to
prosperity? It was fine for us but not for them? In global
politics I hear often “who are we to interfere?” Its true that
we would be hypocrites to try and stop their progress. But
since we have a karmic debt to pay and the US and Canada
have both contributed more per capita to climate change
than most countries it makes sense that we help with the
transition to an atomic power era.
Defense, Budget, Weapons
 Weapons will be less needed if the earth has
less overall problems.
The logic here is simple. Abundant, low cost nuclear
energy from nuclear reactors such as MSRs will provide
more independence for nations making them more self
sustaining. Weapons will be less needed if the earth has
less overall problems
Chapter 5 covers the history of nuclear weapons and
nuclear energy in parallel.
When you read about wars a lot of speculation about
the purpose behind the wars is given but often missing the
real cause of wars. There is no doubt that war provides
profits and cash flow for USA and Russia. When places like
Syria, Iraq and Turkey enter into regime wars we know that
the guns, ammunitions and other weapons have two main
suppliers.
Terrorism is rarely justified but its roots lie in the
discontent of citizens feeling abused, restricted, dominated
or enslaved.
We have been having fewer battles with the military in
recent years but this lull is probably temporary. The real
shortages are just starting. Water, oil, food, electricity, jobs,
farm land, commodities and lifestyle is mounting as
frustration increases.
We have seen the “weapons of mass destruction” as a
fabrication to invade Iraq. The Gulf wars happened for
several reasons.
Interesting bit of history on how nuclear plants can be
dual purpose.
There was the now closed Stade Nuclear Power Plant in
Germany that provided heat to extract salt from sea
water.5-10
32
 More recently and still active, but to be shut down in
2025, is the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant
Desalination Plant.
Note that Stade excess heat was used to extract the salt
however in the case of Diablo it is electricity that powers
the pumps for reverse osmosis using membranes to filter
the sea water.
This article explains how it works:
https://www.sanluisobispo.com/ne…/local/article3953628
0.html

11. Industrial Applications

 The possibilities for expansion of various industries
to will both provide employment and boost the economy
when they come into play.
Pulp and Paper is Energy Intensive
Pulp and paper need huge amounts of energy. The U.S.
DOE reports, “In 2002, the paper manufacturing industry
consumed over 2.4 quads (quadrillion or 1015 Btu) of
energy … and represented over 15% of U.S. manufacturing
energy use.”
(http://www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/forest/pdfs/pulpp
aper_profile.pdf) Purchased electricity and on-site use of
coal, gas, and fuel oil are major costs often needed. With
the likely charges for carbon emissions, world demand for
energy might surpass available power. Nuclear could
clearly come to the rescue.
Steel and Concrete
When the 2030s prove to be booming years of
economic growth it will be partly due to Small Modular
Reactors being employed as hybrid or dedicated energy or
process heat providers for essential industries like steel and
coal. One of the false arguments anti-nuclear
environmentalists often claim is the idea that supposedly
we need to look at the full life cycle of Nuclear Power Plants
to get a fair estimate of their carbon footprint. They
typically cite the need for carbon intensive construction
using steel and concrete. The argument is very weak
considering that the energy that would otherwise be needed
are also equally carbon intensive, or much worse in the case
of wind and solar, on a Kwh to Kwh basis. But at least they
understand that concrete and steel require coal for
processing. In the case of using scrap metal Electric Arc
Furnaces have become popular.
“To produce a ton of steel in an electric arc furnace
requires approximately 400 kilowatt-hours per short ton or
about 440 kWh per metric tonne; the theoretical minimum
amount of energy required to melt a tonne of scrap steel is
300 kWh (melting point 1520 °C/2768 °F). Therefore, a
300-tonne, 300 MVA EAF will require approximately 132
MWh of energy to melt the steel, and a”power-on time"
(the time that steel is being melted with an arc) of
approximately 37 minutes. Electric arc steelmaking is only
economical where there is plentiful electricity, with a well-
developed electrical grid. In many locations, mills operate
during off-peak hours when utilities have surplus power
generating capacity and the price of electricity is less."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_arc_furnace
As you may conclude, any high demand electricity
process benefits from abundant, clean, carbon-free energy
source such as nuclear energy. Glass, cement, iron,
hydrogen, ethylene, styrene,petroleum refineries, low
octane fuel for jets, cargo and cruise ships, desalination,
Emission absorbing concrete

34
 Italian company Italcementi designed a kind of cement
that is supposedly alleviating air pollution by breaking
down pollutants that come in contact with the concrete,
through the use of titanium dioxide absorbing ultraviolet
light. Some environmental experts nevertheless remain
skeptical and wonder if the special material can ‘eat’
enough pollutants to make it financially viable. Jubilee
Church in Rome is built from this kind of concrete.[15]
Another proposed method of absorbing emissions is to
absorb CO2 in the curing process. Recent research has
proposed the use of an admixture (a dicalcium silicate y
phase) that absorbs CO2 as the concrete cures. With the use
of coal ash or another suitable substitute, this concrete
could theoretically have a CO2 emissions below 0 kg/m3,
compared to normal concrete at 400 kg/m3. The most
effective method of production of this concrete would be
using the exhaust gas of a power plant, where an isolated
chamber could control temperature and humidity.[16]
Even besides the use of advanced additives, carbonation
naturally occurs within concrete, thus causing it to absorb
CO2 in a process that is effectively the reverse of cement
production. While concerns about corrosion of
reinforcement and alkalinity loss remain, this process
cannot be discounted.[17]
In August 2019, a reduced CO2 cement was announced
which “reduces the overall carbon footprint in precast
concrete by 70%.”[18]_____"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_
of_concrete
Solutions and Conclusions “The free market has a
glaring blindspot it ignores the cost of commerce’s
destruction or consumption of nature itself, the planet’s
common.” – Daniel Goleman – Ecological Intelligence
 The common obstacles to fixing all of these problems
are a lack of cooperation and a lack of awareness. Turn it
around you can say education and unification are missing.
We are victims of the intrusion of corporate and elite
interests and we have come to learn that our opinion
matters if any change for good is at all possible.
The voting system needs reform too because people
vote like they bet on the horse races. It should not be the
candidate that has the best chance of winning but the
candidate that you believe is best for the job. But politicians
still care about getting support so if more people express
their wishes to make nuclear energy a priority they will
start to listen.
One of the least explored topics about climate change is
the existing backlog of CO2. That is sort of like credit card
debt. Hard to reverse when you’re poor. It sits there like a
threat that will possibly force you into bankruptcy. You
could view it as the climate change equivalent of
bankruptcy. Perhaps it would be more productive to
compare it to the national debt. Cutbacks on spending and
fixing inflation are the only ways to reverse it. When
enough of the CO2 finally converts to carbonic acid passing
8.1 pH you could call that going past your credit limit. The
debt ceiling and the cliff come to mind.
The twin tragedies of climate change and ocean
acidification are epic problems and they need to be tackled
in all ways possible. However we should not exclude
solutions at the expense of others but we do need to
recognize what solutions are the most effective and focus
on them if we can.
Unfortunately we have learned that getting cooperation
to work on solutions is very difficult however necessary.
With government spending the way it is being strained by

36
weather disasters and the effects of climate change there is
more need for cooperation than ever. We are discovering
that the fabric of society is being challenged by capitalism
and the corporate model because the absence of profit
prevents action. Couple that with a widespread western
trend of austerity limiting government spending and you
have a potent mix of destabilizing influences. The need for
cooperation and leadership is becoming paramount.
Affordable emission free energy that is also abundant
and reliable comes in only one kind of package right now
and that is nuclear power. It can contribute a lot to making
these problems smaller. It is affordable and plentiful,
reliable energy that can double as industry apps for things
like desalinization, lime creation, sewage treatment, low
emitting liquid fuels. Nuclear energy is the most scalable
and easy to adapt to industrial process as well as electricity.
Generation IV reactors have been held back for far too long.
They could start within 5-7 years.
77 million have-nots in India use kerosene for lighting
their homes. The problem is in rural areas where 44
percent of the households don’t even have electricity.
Energy is so important that in my view failure to engage
all people about the future of energy is failure to save the
planet.