MSR 3

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

"[I]f we could somehow harvest all the thorium in the Earth's crust and use it in this way, we could power civilization for tens of billions of years." 

"The technology is viable, the science has been demonstrated."

It's clear that this efficient, reliable, safe, inexpensive energy source does work. Two prototypes of molten-salt reactors were built in the 1960's - and then closed.

Today in America certain entrepreneurs have the faith to make a big investment in this technology. Kirk Sorensen, a former NASA engineer, believes that thorium-powered MSR's will bring revolutionary change to the world's energy needs.

He started Flibe Energy to get this technology into production because  . . 

"We Stand at the Dawn of the Thorium Age"

Here is Sorensen's TED Talk:

Best

Political independence for African countries was won years ago, but "today our challenge is for Africa to gain economic independence . . economic participation and prosperity, that's the challenge of our time." So says Malik Fal, a key player in the wave of wealth that is going to be created there.



Paternalism is not the answer. Instead, he says, "it is real business that results from hard work, genuine good products and services that other people need to buy."

Better

(cont'd)

Rock star Bob Geldof is changing his approach to Africa's problems. After decades of demanding aid from the people and governments of the West (and getting it), he now advocates business investment. 

Health or famine crises call for humanitarian aid to ease suffering during emergencies. But the billions upon billions of dollars of development aid that went to government programs over recent decades was often squandered. 

Instead of raising standards of living for the people, it more often funded armies and lined the pockets of dictators. This was Dambisa Moyo's point in Dead Aid.

"Bob Geldof, once the unlikeliest face of capitalism, has extolled the virtues of private equity for spurring development in Africa . . ."I have learned that private equity . .  can be a major vehicle for positive change in this world."

Good labor

During the Middle Ages (used to be incorrectly called Dark Ages) a new view of human work developed.  Though the Classics of ancient Rome and Greece considered work or labor to be the dirty duty of inferiors, the Bible demonstrates admiration and respect for human work.

Jesus tells this story of the "talents" (large sums of money in that day) in Matthew 25:   A wealthy man gave some employees 1-10 talents to invest.  The ones who used their talent to achieve something were praised.  The timid one who did nothing with his talent was scolded.

"The Parable of the Talents shows us we will be held accountable for what we do while we wait for the return of our King," says Hugh Whelchel.  "Thankfully, we are not held to some arbitrary standard.  What God expects from us is based on what he has given us."  Working and achieving are good things.

Think about what you are good at.  It probably gives you a great feeling to produce good results in your area of giftedness.  I think God is pleased with that.  He gave you the aptitude so you could work it, whatever it is.  All the rest of us are blessed that you do it well.

RRs invest in safety

(cont'd)

Oil has been a big part of this surge in rail transport.  The first crude oil coming out of the Bakken formation in North Dakota was moved by train in 2009.  Burlington Northern is now moving 600,000 barrels per day:  compare to 54,000 in 2010.

Moving so much oil increases the risk of accidents and there have been several.  

"Congress passed legislation requiring the country’s major railroads to fund, build and implement a new, safer “Positive Train Control” system by the end of 2015. The law called for Union Pacific alone to refit an average of 2.5 locomotives and 10 miles of track per day for seven years, placing GPS devices on every locomotive."

Beyond this program, there's "92,000 cars that need to be retrofitted."  At what cost, who knows.

Unlike wind energy and car manufacturing, the railroad industry is footing the bill with no government subsidies,  to the tune of billions and billions of dollars.