We Are Rich!
The used once fuel from CANDU reactors in Canada is a vast energy reserve. We now know how to build fast reactors that can utilize it. There is enough energy held in this fuel to provide all of Canada's energy needs for a hundred years. That is a century of clean, free energy without any need for mining - completely clean energy without any green house gas emissions of any kind. None. Anyone who uses the word "waste" to refer to this uranium treasure is an environmental criminal.
My "complaint" is about organizations such as the NWMO which uses the w-word in its title, for goodness sake! The waste concept was invented in the US to create legal and technical problems for the nuclear industry. Carbon industry lobbyists wanted to keep this new technology hobbled so it would not affect their profits. I see no reason for Canadian institutions to get involved in this waste silliness. We have a stored uranium treasure. We are rich! We should be celebrating!
Instead of a Deep Geological Repository we should set up an Energy Cleanliness Laboratory. This exciting research facility would provide lots of high paying jobs for researchers who will study and develop the cleanest energy possible. One of the resources provided to this laboratory will be a uranium treasure worth 10,000 billion dollars which would be donated by the Canadian government. This fantastic opportunity to make a real contribution to solving the global warming crisis would be an economic miracle for the community that wins the bid to host it. As an incentive every citizen in the winning bid community should receive a $100,000 bonus award, tax free.
