Re: background vs man-made emmissions

[Bob Flood <bflood@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>]

>>As well as a real commitment to efficiency.
>
>My current electricity supplier will pay me to give them an older, less
efficient
>refrigerator, and will also dispose of that bad old refrigerant too. That's
a commitment,

My own opinion is that the development of practical room temperature
superconductors will cause the revolution in demand for power. Beating the
drum to shut down nuclear and fossil plants right now runs the risk of
succeeding. Suppose you got what you wanted and someone (the Supreme Court?)
issued an order to shut 'em all down tonight - what would you tell the
American public it should do to live on less than 40% of the present supply
of electricity? Hospitals, police departments, prisons would have priority
for power, followed by trying to keep as many businesses running as
possible, which would leave residential customers about 10 or 20% or what
they use today. Could you explain to them how to live that way, and why it's
worth their while to have to do so?

The anti-nuclear and anti-fossil communities are loud and persistent about
what they perceive as a problem that needs an immediate solution, but they
never seem to offer any ways of dealing with the consequences. Shouldn't
there be a viable method of producing replacement power before pulling the
plug on ________ (fill in the power production method you most love to
hate)?

I used to have a sign in my office years ago that said "Never take a problem
to your boss without a solution - you are paid to think, not whine."   :^)
============================
Bob Flood
Dosimetry Group Leader
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
bflood@slac.stanford.edu


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