Fusion Energy won't be Perfect
Fusion energy, cold or hot, is not "renewable" and is very
unlikely to be "non-polluting". Wood energy is called renewable
because the sun's rays can regenerate it. The sun, or anything else,
cannot regenerate Hydrogen from Helium. There is, of course, an
effectively unlimited supply of fuel long into the future.
The main pollution of fusion will be heat, which could be a problem
if we really get into it, producing another cause of global warming.
Early working versions of fusion plants will no doubt be very
inefficient. They will use a small percent of the available energy,
dissipating a large percent (eventually all of it) into the
environment.
Free Oxygen, released by consumption of
Hydrogen, is also a pollutant, but that's another story.
Send me your thoughts.
Dan Robinson, danrob@efn.org,
Eugene, Oregon
My home page:
http://www.efn.org/~danrob/