Why Thorium? 1. Only Thorium can supply the worlds electric energy needs until the next millennium, or at least until fusion power finally is solved.

We live in challenging times with enormous environmental challenges. It takes a lot of energy to clean up the pollution we have generated over the ages. It would be a shame to use up our remaining coal, oil and gas to produce the electricity needed to clean up. Oil coal and gas will eventually be depleted and we need to save as much as possible for future generations, so they can enjoy flying, to which we have become accustomed. It would be a shame to convert the remaining fossil fuel to CO2 for electricity production, it is far too valuable a resource in limited supply. Like the famous conservationist Sarah Palin once said: “for when it’s gone, it’s gone.”

The need to develop a Thorium based molten salt fast breeder nuclear reactor to develop our energy needs for the future can not be overstated. Lest anyone should be threatened by the words fast breeder, it simply means it uses fast neutrons instead of thermal neutrons, and breeder means it produces more fissile material than it consumes, in the case of Thorium the ratio is about 1.05. In 2007 the world’s energy consumption was around 500 quads (Quadrillion BTUs). It is scheduled to be 700 Quads by 2935

Thee are 18,800 quads of Coal left, enough for 90 years consumption at 2035 levels

Thee are 35,000 quads of natural gas left, enough for 200 years consumption at 2035 levels

Thee are 8,400 quads of oil left, enough for 36 years consumption at 2035 levels.

Thee are 1,900 quads of Uranium left, enough for 38 years consumption at 2035 levels. The efficiency of using all the Uranium could be increased by a factor of 200 in fast breeder reactors, but in the U.S they are still experimental, but a couple exist in Russia. Alone in the world the U.S has already used up 78% of the reserves, and the fact that they sold 20% of the remaining ore to Russia does not help.

Renewables are forever, but they cannot exceed more than about 20% of the totel energy need until the battery storage problem is solved for when the wind doesn’t blow an the sun doesn’t shine.

Fusion does exist, and when solved will solve our energy problem forever, but the energy production solution is still 20 years away. as they were 60 years ago. Right now they exist as neutron producers.

Which leaves us Thorium. The world supply is about 6,355,000 tons of easily obtainable Thorium supplies or about 700 years of supply, if Thorium supplied all our energy, 2200 years if Thorium supplied all our electricity and 20% is supplied by renewable energy.

There are of course the sustainable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, biomass, geothermal, tidal and wave energy, and they should be pursued where economically and environmentally appropriate. These are separate but important subjects.