Sunday, June 20, 2010

Ed Moses : Clean Fusion Power This Decade - The Long Now


fossil fuels (oil, coal) have accumulated over 1-2 billion years
now, we are burning about 10-20 million of years of carbon hydrates every year
(around 15:30 minute of presentation)

in 1900 we ware 98% "carbon burning society" today: 90%

To head off climate change, fossil fuel combustion has to end by about 2050. The crucial period for conversion to something better is between 2030 and 2050. The ideal new power source would be: affordable; clean; non-geopolitical; using inexhaustible fuel and existing infrastructure; capable of rapid development and evolution. Moses' candidate is the "laser inertial fusion engine"---acronym LIFE---being developed at Lawrence Livermore.