http://thoriumenergyalliance.com/

Alvin’s old liquid-fuel reactor design (the “3P” — a pot, a pipe, and a pump) could be engineered into commercial reality within two or three years. Coal generators could be completely phased out in 15 to 20 years. All our nuclear waste and weapons could be used as fuel and eliminated. Saudi Arabia, Iran and North Korea could have all the reactors they need without fear of nuclear weapon proliferation. All this with 1/1000th the toxic waste of existing reactors, and nearly 50% efficiency.

As a bonus, there’s enough cheap thorium (400 times more than uranium) to keep all the liquid-fuel reactors in the world running for the next one thousand years, and to desalinate all the water the world will ever need with the leftover heat. India, China and Russia are all researching liquid-fuel reactors. Let’s finish what we started 50 years ago and get there first.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/nearly-a-year-after-a-water-well-explosion-dimock-twp-residents-thirst-for-gas-well-fix-1.365743

The contamination in virtually all cases is not direct but instead due to inadequate sealing of the well as it is drilled. I encourage everyone to look at

http://www.columbiapetroleum.com/Websites/columbiapetroleum/templates/cpTheme/video/hsd.html

because it is clear where in the drilling and well-sealing process the contamination of the groundwater aquifer will occur. That said, somehow we must be able to explore safely for energy resources while protecting the groundwater resources essential to all of us. That will require additional regulatory oversight and development of techniques both to correct a damaged wellbore and to remove methane contamination from the pumped groundwater at its point of use.

Conventional water softening systems are used to remove mostly calcium oxide/hydroxide and iron from “hard” groundwater. Such systems have been in use since the early years of the 20th century, and no one thinks of them as the decontamination systems they really are. But the common single-stage water softening systems replace calcium ions with sodium ions, rendering the softened water unsuitable for drinking, particularly for those with high blood pressure. A second-stage of purification is necessary to remove the sodium ions and make the water drinkable. In order for us to become energy-independent by using all of our natural gas resources, including those that require shale fracturing that will contaminate ground water resources, we will have to develop domestic and industrial-scale “water softening” systems that remove dissolved methane from groundwater and that prevent methane accumulations that can lead to water well explosions, one of which is described in the article referenced above.

Paul M. Rybski, Physics, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

The moral rot that has despoiled all our institutions : business, government, politics, courts, entertainment, sports, media must be cleansed , or as De Toqueville said, “when America ceases to be good, America will no longer be great . “