ITER, What do you think?

What do you think about the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor?
I'm completely behind nuclear fusion research, and I'd argue that it's probably the one thing that deserves most research at this time.
One thing that some people don't appear to notice is that fusion is not fission: it doesn't produce long-lived radioactive waste like fission, and it couldn't go wrong to cause a runaway chain reaction, as the small amount of fuel in the reactor is "only enough to sustain the reaction for an hour at maximum." Besides, contact with the walls of the torus would contaminate and cool the plasma to unworkable temperatures.
I probably don't need to say all of that, but I always feel that I should defend nuclear fusion (even though nobody has attacked it :rolleyes: ).
Back to the question, what do you think of it?

I, too, entirely support this. Nuclear power is one of the cleanest. Fusion reactors must be extremely expensive to build, but as technology improves, we might find more and more of them. I also like the bit about international cooperation.

There's always some criticism.

I believe that people who oppose nuclear power for environmental reasons are either ignorant or just fanatical. There is no such thing as a perfectly clean way to produce electricity, but nuclear power comes very close to it. There's some radioactive waste, but the quantities are negligible compared to the pollution that coal or gas power plants can produce. And it's much more efficient than wind or solar power.

One solution I've thought about for nuclear waste disposal: why not just send it out into space? Just strap a few tons of radioactive gunk to a cheap rocket and send it into the wild black yonder...? It'd cost some, but it would mean basically clean energy.

Breeder reactors also hold potential for "neutralizing" dangerous radioactive waste and recycling it into usable material.

Uhuh...and what happens if we there is another Challenger incident? Or even if the waste just gets sucked back in by earths gravity? Then you have tons of highly radioactive waste plummeting to the earth at hundreds or miles and hour. Sounds like fun, no?

I do agree though that ITER is good though. Obviously the nuclear power we have now isnt very economical(plus just the name conjures up terrifying images of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island *shivers*)

And "green" energy sources like hyrdo and wind just arent working. I dont remember where I heard(probably PBS) but if you covered the entire continental USA with wind turbines, not only would you kill something like 1/3 of the Americas' bird populations, but it would only generate about 40% of or current energy use. Solar on the other hand has a bit more promise. There is still much research that can be done but that too is going to take time and LOT$ of money.