These topics are interdependent.
Some of our inflation is related to the high cost of energy. Energy is expensive because of the Biden administration’s hostility to fossil fuels. Some people think the administration’s hostility to fossil fuels has decreased, because it will now allow new leases for oil and gas exploration on public lands. But leases are not the pinch point in energy production — permits are. Suppose an energy company actually finds the fossil fuels they are searching for. When found, the cheapest and safest way to get them to market is via pipeline. But the government is slow walking the process for permitting pipelines. The government’s hostility to fossil fuels exists because it is believed that the burning of fossil fuels negatively impacts the climate by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
But if we have a different system for generating electricity, one that doesn’t produce carbon dioxide, i.e. one that doesn’t negatively impact the environment, then there shouldn’t be any regulatory hurdles in its development.
Thorium is a radioactive element, like uranium. We have the second most thorium reserves of any nation on the planet — 400,000 tons. So we possess it in abundance.
We could build a few thorium reactors to supplement our energy production system, thus making us less reliant on fossil fuels for the energy we need. People who own electric cars can be happy in the knowledge that a good percentage of the electricity they are pulling from the system did not involve putting more carbon dioxide into the air.
Up until now, many of the leading voices in the environmental movement had a problem with using nuclear energy to produce electricity. However, several decades of experience with the shortcomings of other carbon-dioxide production free methods have made them more open to its use.
Having several thorium reactors come on line will also make us energy independent. We will no longer have to rely on the good will of any adversarial nation to provide resources to fill any shortfall in our needs.
So, we have a way of eliminating any need for energy importation, abundant resources to do the job, and a method of energy production that is cleaner, cheaper and safer than that which we now use.
I believe the use of nuclear energy for utility purposes is an idea whose time has come again. For this reason I will make drafting and passing legislation for the construction of thorium reactors a priority in my time in office.
