There is some merit in the Author's argument. But the only regulation causing economic harm! Is the absurd, asinine official regulation that OFFICIALLY PROHIBITS nuclear energy!

The only reason we don't have tried and tested MSR thorium/the huge economic/positive medical spinoffs that would ensure, from it/its child, miracle cancer cure, alpha particle bismuth 213!

Safely reduce the world's stockpile of toxic nuclear waste, in the process, producing far less toxic material with a halflife of just 300 years. Earn annual billions as we very safely do so!

Brain cancer/ovarian cancer both unnecessarily exceed the annual road toll individually. Clinical trials have reportedly confirmed that bismuth 213 has successfully produced remission without significant harm to surrounding tissues in both!?

The reason why both exceed the annual road toll is this absurd, asinine OFFICAL PROHIBITION on nuclear power generally/walk away safe, MSR thorium, specifically!

What makes current nuclear power, less safe, is the enormous pressure they operate at (150 atmospheres) and the danger of melt-downs!

The first risk factor is removed by running the reactors at average environmental pressure! And the risk of melt-downs is removed by designing for and operating the reactors with molten fuel, in complete, walk away, passive safety, i.e., MSR thorium!

Feild tested as the safest, cheapest, cleanest energy on the planet in the '50-'70s, forced to close by the withdrawal of funding, by that paragon of honest virtue, President Nixon of watergate fame, just as it was about to generate, the world's lowest costing electricity.

And OFFICIALLY PROHIBITED since by the US Congress and our own spit-lickle puppets!?

Albeit, we welcomed and allowed some of our territory to be used to test nuclear weapons/operate a (medical purpose) conventional nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights

None of the official prohibition makes any sense unless you are big pharma, big nuclear, or the fossil fuel industry, who together, make up the most powerful and financially irresistible, cohort n the planet!

And with that OFFICIAL PROHIBITION, our patent inability to effectively address climate change, which puts the entire planet at risk/extreme jeopardy!
Alan B.

Let's suppose somebody with the authority of an elected leader had the courage to ignore the usual naysayers and doomsday merchants and allow nuclear energy to replace coal as our principle power source?

And with that done, allow competing energy co-ops, to compete for the power consumer's dollar? Would that sound the death knell of coal mining?

No, it would not! Because if that energy was generated in MSR thorium and those reactors also tasked with burning up the world's stockpile of nuclear waste as a service, we'd be paid annual billons to provide. We'd have energy cost so low, we'd all but have to give it away!

The big arc furnaces would be able to fire up day and night making single-step high carbon steel and as a one-step process, using locally invented technology able to produce steel with the lowest carbon footprint and at the lowest cost!

And have to open up several new metallurgical coal mines to keep up with demand. Moreover make much more money by selling steel to the world instead of iron ore, which we'd still have to mine at current tonnages to keep up with demand.

The difference if our steel and aluminium mills were also reset as co-ops would be, the income and tax liability generated from and by those exports, would stay here until exhausted doing seven or more times economic work thanks to the usual economic flow on factors.

Kickstarted as government facilitated and funded several competing co-ops! As off-budget investments! And the only way it could ever actually happen.

Our coal and gas energy sales abroad could be replaced by the sale of reticulated MSE thorium generated energy, sent via cables with superconductor graphene cores and without adding a single gram of CO2 to the atmosphere.

Our economy is tanking because we stopped making stuff! And we stopped making stuff because the energy component became way too high!

Want an industrial and economic renaissance? Then follow the above, because nothing else will turn our economic ship of state around before it slides over it's Niagra!
Alan B.

Correction. MSE should be read as MSR.
Alan B.

Yes, the cables etc-etc., would require huge investment! But like all income-earning investment, could be funded off-budget and the pay for itself several times over before needing to be replaced. We do have a 2.5 trillion super fund and it needs safe long term investments to ensure it continues to grow and perform, as well as leverage as much again from international/offshore funds.

Ideally, the investment vehicle could and should be government-guaranteed, self-terminating, tax-free, thirty-year bonds!

Right about now, such bonds would result in folks being trampled in the rush to acquire same!

This small window of cooperative capitalism) opportunity to reset and grow the economy is limited! It's, grasp the nettle and demonstrate Leadership, time! Or just time's up!

Time to choose! No time left to dither and debate! If you don't know now what's required and what to do? You'll never ever know! It's that self-evident!
Alan B.