Presenter Information

Cavan Stone, Dartmouth CollegeFollow

Presenter Bio(s)

Cavan Stone is a physics graduate student at Dartmouth College. He received a BS degree from Lafayette College and an MS degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston. At Dartmouth he has been active in the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth (ILEAD) led by Professor Robert Hargraves. Cavan has dealt with questions about energy policy and nuclear alternatives, and in particular the Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR) being pursued in India and other countries. Cavan’s grandfather, also a physicist, has been a strong influence on Cavan, as he helped Admiral Rickover design the reactor for the U.S. submarine Seawolf.

Location

Auditorium, Campus Center, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Event Website

http://blogs.umass.edu/nes2011/

Start Date

18-11-2011 4:50 PM

End Date

18-11-2011 5:40 PM

Description

This century, we face significant environmental challenges. Our demand for limited natural resources is rapidly increasing and much of humanity is concerned about the consequences. Our unsustainably growing population drives these challenges, and humanely stabilizing it would alleviate these pressures. Demographic data clearly shows that prosperity stabilizes population and it also shows that prosperity critically requires energy. In spite of the pressing and demonstrable nature of these challenges however, politically there is no international consensus on global energy policy. Developing nations simply will not accept a policy that will hamper their economic growth. Yet, we do have a solution to these challenges, an idea conceived and experimentally tested by Alvin Weinberg at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor. Presently, various laboratories and start-up companies, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences have begun efforts to commercialize the technology. By delivering the promise of inexpensive energy it will be in the economic interest of the developing nations to use this carbon-free energy source. By delivering superior performance on longstanding public concerns about nuclear energy, it will be technologically and politically feasible for developing nations to stabilize their population with the bounty of energy cheaper than coal.

Included in

Nuclear Commons

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Nov 18th, 4:50 PM Nov 18th, 5:40 PM

Session B: The Future of Nuclear Power - Aim High! Thorium Energy Cheaper Than From Coal

Auditorium, Campus Center, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

This century, we face significant environmental challenges. Our demand for limited natural resources is rapidly increasing and much of humanity is concerned about the consequences. Our unsustainably growing population drives these challenges, and humanely stabilizing it would alleviate these pressures. Demographic data clearly shows that prosperity stabilizes population and it also shows that prosperity critically requires energy. In spite of the pressing and demonstrable nature of these challenges however, politically there is no international consensus on global energy policy. Developing nations simply will not accept a policy that will hamper their economic growth. Yet, we do have a solution to these challenges, an idea conceived and experimentally tested by Alvin Weinberg at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor. Presently, various laboratories and start-up companies, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences have begun efforts to commercialize the technology. By delivering the promise of inexpensive energy it will be in the economic interest of the developing nations to use this carbon-free energy source. By delivering superior performance on longstanding public concerns about nuclear energy, it will be technologically and politically feasible for developing nations to stabilize their population with the bounty of energy cheaper than coal.

https://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/8