Nuclear reactor only solution to energy crisis

The great world powers are on the verge of a major agreement to develop a nuclear fusion reactor in France. Many are hopeful that the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) will be a panacea for the dire energy crunch that we are facing.

The reactor, if successful, will be the first of its kind. The reactors currently in use generate energy by a process known as fission, which splits atoms. The ITER will replicate the way the sun produces energy, a process known as fusion, that sticks atoms together. It will be necessary to mimic many of the conditions that exist on the sun, including the extremely high temperatures.

Development of the reactor is projected to cost $13 billion. The European Union has pledged to cover 40 percent of the total cost, with the rest covered by Japan, Russia, China, South Korea and the United States.

The ITER is an attempt by the major industrial powers to shift gears from non-renewable energy sources to potentially infinite sources of energy. There are tremendous technical hurdles to overcome, and the reactor is not expected to generate electricity until 2050. By that time we will be in the throes of a major crisis, and there will be little capital available for investment in energy alternatives. It would be foolish for us to place our faith in this unproven reactor. Unfortunately, there are no other magic solutions on the horizon.

The truth is, there is no easy way out of our dependence on fossil fuels.

A shortage of available hydrocarbon energy will be the issue that defines the 21st century. Humanity has received a tremendous endowment of natural energy reserves in the form of coal, oil and natural gas. These reserves are finite in their nature, and they have provided billions of people with relatively easy lives when compared with their not so distant ancestors.

The carrying capacity of the planet has been augmented by a factor of five or six thanks to the temporary abundance of fertilizers and pesticides derived from oil and natural gas.

The abundance of these resources is slowly coming to an end. The inevitable shortages will cause severe stress to the systems that sustain us, and we will be thrust into one depression after another. Further growth of the human population will be rendered impossible, and contraction will come whether we like it or not.

Despite the posturing of the vice president, we must negotiate our way of life. The only Band-Aid that we can afford in the face of energy depletion is conservation. It is of utmost importance that we embark on an international effort to conserve coal, oil and natural gas.

On this issue, the European Union is leagues ahead of the United States. They are facing the energy crunch head on, and their leaders have placed far more faith in their populace than ours have. Four more years of wanton consumption will have serious consequences down the road. We must take it upon ourselves to educate and organize to meet perhaps the greatest challenge we have ever faced.

Sterling Harris is a history major at CSULB.