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The environmental impact on shipping is massive:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_shippi...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1229857/How-1...

Utilizing nuclear power would be a great way of minimizing greenhouse emissions, plus it would be more cost effective in the long run. It's a shame the engineers were lazy and dumped eradicated waste overboard in their designs.




Note that that Daily Mail article is incredibly misleading (as you can infer from the domain name). It says "as much pollution as all the cars in the world" but in fact it's one specific type of pollution where that is true.

The overall point is good, that's just not a good source.


I'm curious how the new attempts at wind will work out. Some of the hybrid designs seem to be a good attempt especially since a lot of the bigger ships were being run at half-speed anyway.


Probably just much easier to drop Thorium reactors onboard in armored cargo containers. No meltdown risk, no proliferation risk, easy refueling, zero carbon impact.

You could even provide power to local ports if necessary during humanitarian efforts. Or sell power to the local utility while docked and get a check in the mail.

EDIT: Are you a Thorium startup reading this on HN? GO AFTER THIS MARKET.


I propose that when we finally get thorium working, they should call them "Thorium Batteries" and avoid the word reactor or nuclear all together.

I think the sail technology is much nearer term, but thorium will probably be the long-term. Helps the space industry if I understand the waste product correctly.


"Thorium Thermal Batteries". Yeah, I dig that.


It worked for MRIs. The technology was originally called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging.


I could not even find a thorium commodities contract nor a stockpile of thorium. Same for monazite which is 23% thorium on average. That's how fresh or bottom floor" this market would be.

Torium Investing: http://www.thenuclearmetals.com/thorium/


The articles you submitted when written should have been the coup de grace for anti nuclear sentiments. Perhaps radioactivity as an plot device for movies and video games have made an undereducated public superstitious and very afraid? Thus people rather live with the devil they know then the invisible thing they can't see.




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