[ExI] Lack of interest

[Kevin H]

On Mon, May 19, 2008 at 2:57 AM, Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> "Fusion" per se is abundantly proven, e.g., exactly in solar power
> (not to mention in H bombs).


Granted, and that's why I'm optimistic about human-controlled nuclear fusion
as a power source.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITER is an interesting and
exciting project.  Unfortunately, it isn't scheduled to begin operation
until 2017.  Yeah, every star in the universe is an enormous fusion reactor,
which actually causes me to wonder if fusion is something that would be more
achievable in space.  Controlling plasma would, at least, be simpler out of
the gravity well of the earth.

Sure, we are still far away from the details of a workable,
> sustainable fusion reactor, but there again space solar power is not
> exactly any technological bread-and-butter of your average energy
> company these days; and as for the "incredible resources" devoted to
> fusion reactor research, it took decades and ten different countries
> to put together the cheap change of the ITER project (*one hundredth*
> of the cost of the Iraq campaign).


Now it sounds like you're equivocating.  I think the difference is that
solar power isn't experimental, it's a proven technology.  We still haven't
been able to extract more power from a fusion reactor than we put into it
(according to Wikipedia).  I think it is unwise to equivocate the degree of
confidence we have in these technologies to serve our near term needs.

And that's the thing: peak oil is a near term scenario; estimates put it
around 2010 to 2012, other estimates claim it has already occurred.  Even if
it will occur later on, the earlier we begin an alternative energy project,
the better off we will be.  This is really a do or die situation.

Kevin
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