The Great Distractions

From Incredible Opportunities

Jan 12, 2024

What’s the greatest crime committed by the monsters of the world? What do Putin, Trump, Orban and all the other dictators or wannabe kings have in common? Aside from being self absorbed and vicious?

Answer: they distract us from focusing on the issue that threatens every living thing on this planet. Every minute we think about Trumps trials or Putins bombing of civilians is a minute we are not devoting time to saving the planet. Isn’t that the biggest crime in the history of humanity?

Let’s start with this article from the New York Times. (paywall bypassed).
”Carlo Buontempo, the director of Copernicus, said that average temperatures his team had documented were the highest in the climate organization’s records dating back to 1850. But evidence suggests, he added, that Earth hasn’t been this warm in at least 100,000 years.”

Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post writes in her article titled “Will We Turn Away from Fossil Fuels in Time? (paywall bypassed)
”There are several selfish reasons we — as Americans, as humans — should be motivated to accelerate this process. The obvious one is the already apparent rise in deadly and costly heat waves, drought, famine, hurricanes, floods, infectious diseases. As well as the destabilizing mass migration that accompanies climate change. Americans have already begun seeing the consequences of failing to act, both at home and along our borders. Furthermore, building out our renewable-energy infrastructure would make the United States less vulnerable to the whims of oil-rich authoritarians.”

Need any more reasons to act as fast as possible?

There is progress. U.S. electricity generated by wind and solar is forecast to surpass coal-fired power in 2024

But it’s obviously not enough. Not enough, not fast enough.

Radioactive waste can remain dangerous for 100,000 years

I have always been a “No Nukes” person. True, power based on nuclear fission is not warming the Earth. But it’s just too expensive and too dangerous. It takes decades to create a nuclear power plant and we still haven’t figured out what to do with the deadly material it produces. Would you like radioactive waste that will be lethal for thousands of years buried in your state? While it would be foolish to abandon the nuclear power we have now, we can replace it. Someday, far away.

But don’t wallow in despair, there is a glimmer of hope. Long term, big hope. Can we think long term? Can we care about what the planet will be like in 2124?

My brilliant wife (some who know her well will not be surprised) sent me an article recently that sent me on an exploration of what could and can be a world altering project.

There is another form of nuclear power on the horizon that doesn’t have such dangers and that has the potential to replace fossil fuels. Nuclear Fusion is about to happen. Not immediately. But based on what you will read next, there is the possibility that a completely safe and very powerful form of “fusion” will power our infrastructure - our lives. Everything has its downsides and drawbacks. But this one could be Earth altering - in the most positive way.

”Fusion reactors are not subject to catastrophic meltdown.^”

For a deep dive into Nuclear Fusion, you can go here. Beware, it’s deep :)

There are currently 25 Fusion projects around the world. 8 of these are in the US. And the Department of Energy has awarded each of them $46 million to continue their research. One of them is a short drive from our home near Boston! Read about our local project here: “Commonwealth Fusion Systems”

SPARC device, designed to be the world’s first net-positive fusion machine.

This Scientific American article provides a realistic assessment of the future of fusion as an answer to our energy needs. It’s not going to happen soon. But it may be our only hope in the long run. Can we think about the long run? Or are we just going to be totally and continuously distracted by our greedy, murderous, headline grabbing monsters?

”Even if fusion can't save us from the immediate climate crisis, over the long term it may be the best option to satisfy our energy needs without destroying the planet.”

Hotter than the center of a sun - but safe.

There is a race to bring this source of power on line. Huge fortunes will be made and lost. I think that an interesting and revealing way to view all this is to tell you that one of the major investors in this technology is Chevron. Yes, the same company that is all about extracting oil and gas. Another investor is Google.

So here is an idea. What if Congress authorized a VERY large amount of funding for this effort. What if it became a “Manhattan Project”? What if we performed a quantum leap ahead of other nations again? I think Einstein and Oppenheimer would be proud.

In my opinion, if we are ultimately to be thought of as an intelligent species, we will walk and chew gum at the same time. We can fight authoritarianism, defend democracy - and plan for a world our grandchildren and great grandchildren can thrive in. Do you think we can do that?

The Great Distractions

From Incredible Opportunities

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