The Alternative Energy Of Politics Missing - 1271 Words

What is Alternative Energy in Politics Missing? Issues like global warming, pollution, or energy consumption are very mainstream and hot topics in today’s political world. Changing the United State’s energy agenda is something that does not happen overnight, so a lot of governmental and social support is required to make a difference. This means alternative energy and alternative energy sources are a weighty issue in governmental campaigns. Many heads turn toward the candidates on what side of the issue they stand. Many candidates provide a clear stance on topics like wind, solar, or fossil fueled energyÍ ¾ however, I noticed the nuclear energy industry in politics does not get much attention. Even though the US has heavy private sector†¦show more content†¦Well first I have to answer, what exactly is thorium? Thorium is the alternate energy path that was never taken. Thorium ­based nuclear power is produced from the fission of a specific uranium isotope derived from the father atom, thorium. It has several upsides that uranium or plutonium does not possess. It’s main advantages include it’s huge abundance on earth, superior physical properties, reduced nuclear waste production, and the lack of weaponization as most of the world is antinuclear. Thorium is a healthier, cheaper, and safer alternative to uranium, and is essential to the future and success of the nuclear industry. Well, it’s crazy the difference a couple of neutrons make. The substance that actually runs a thorium based reactor is a certain isotope of uranium. An isotope is a form of the same element with the same number of protons but differs in the number of neutrons. Uranium has three major isotopes: uranium ­238, uranium ­235, and uranium ­234. The isotope used to power a thorium based reactor is uranium ­233. It is only produced by blasting the thorium atoms with neutrons, actually a relatively simple process. Now considering thorium is three times more abundant than uranium, only 0.7% of natural uranium is a fissionable isotope. That is the uranium ­235 isotope, whereas the other 98%, uranium ­238, has to undergo a strenuous preparation process before it is reactor ­ready. It has to be enriched by