Well, talk about coincidence!  In a post a couple of days ago I mentioned Thorium reactors as a possible nuclear energy alternative.

I linked a video, embedded below for your convenience, which discusses the potential for Thorium Molten-Salt Reactors as well as the political discussion which discarded it some 40 years ago:

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As luck would have it, in today’s online Grand Rapids Herald-Review, Terry Mejdrich has a very interesting article titled Thorium Revisited.  In his column, Mr. Mejdrich makes a serious case for considering Thorium as a replacement for Uranium.

Mr. Mejdrich seems to suggest however, that even with the many positives of Thorium v Uranium, “a serious effort to replace or even supplement existing energy sources with Thorium would cut into the profits of the fossil fuel and Uranium-based energy industry. No elected official is anxious to take on that powerful lobby. The fossil fuel and nuclear industry has grown into an institution which provides millions of jobs and wields tremendous political power.”  Ahhhhh – Politics!

Mr. Mejdrich notes that Thorium technology research will likely require the efforts of “a forward thinking private individual or company with lots of investment capitol” or, perhaps, “development will have to come from another country, like China, that is currently studying the original U.S. Thorium research with the goal of developing it into a new cheap energy source.”

(I really like the thought of fueling up the car once every ten years or so but, to achieve that, I hope I don’t have to by my car from China!)

Please be sure to read Mr. Mejdrich’s full commentary here – Thorium Revisited