The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 4 of 12)

, was all about "electrons that meets all four criteria: abundant, clean, reliable, and cheap" and it was written over sixty years ago by R.H. Heinlien. Yes, it was science fiction back then too. br> -- Ira M. Kessel br> Rochester, NY /p> p> Your W. Tucker is quite right in criticizing the false precepts of T. Freedman. What he forgot to mention is the fact that these "new future alternative energy sources" are not new. The geothermal power plants have been in existence for at least 70 years -- they are necessarily small, expensive, and deadly polluting. They leave behind enormous amounts of arsenic and radioactive Cesium and Strontium. Solar and wind power plants have also been in existence for some 40 years -- they are also small, ten to twenty times more expensive in spite of all tax breaks and government mandates, and utterly unreliable. How do I know this? Well, I worked over 30 years on all kinds of power plants -- coal-fired, oil-fired, gas-fired, nuclear, solar, geothermal, and wind-powered. This whole hue and cry for "new, reliable, renewable, non-polluting" technologies reminds me of the medieval alchemists searching for perpetuum mobile , trying to convert lead into gold, and inventing eternal youth stone. Destined for failure no matter how many billions we throw at them! br> -- Marc Jeric br> Las Vegas, Nevada /p> p> William Tucker's review doesn't tell us whether "...In fact, the (world population) numbers are generally expected to level off at around 8-10 billion in 2050..." is his own assertion or was paraphrased from the book he is reviewing. May I ask, "generally expected" by whom? Why? What reason is there to believe that human reproduction will do anything other than what it always has done, namely, increase at about 150 percent of the rate of the growth in economic accommodations available to it? As for Friedman's book (I haven't read it and I won't if Thomas Malthus isn't in the index), what point is there in rigging the planet for an additional five billion souls (nuclear power is the only non-pipe dream option) if, while it is being done, 7.5 billion more souls appear. Nothing will have been gained; everyone still will end up standing back-to-back and belly-to-belly, ankle deep in each others (radioactive) jelly. Sooner or later, some are going to have to go over the side of lifeboat, or not be allowed onto the lifeboat in the first place (think China's policy: one child per female). br> -- Ty Knoy

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