Not A Comforting Thought

[Woodlouse2002]

my fear with shooting nuclear waste into space. It explodes in the atmosphere as has happend in the past with shuttle launches. How much of the planet is gone. Sorry if this has been asked.

We can create containers for waste that last 1000 years at the bottom of the sea. We can create containers for it that can survive an explosion. Have done, can do.

[Hagar]

We can create containers for waste that last 1000 years at the bottom of the sea. We can create containers for it that can survive an explosion. Have done, can do.

What worries me is that they might last a lot less than 1,000 years. Even if they're as safe as "they" tell us, what happens in 1,000 years time, assuming the human race is still around in 1,000 years? It won't worry any of us lot but I don't think our generation will be too popular.

It also occurs to me that these containers must weigh a considerable amount. I think the payload of your average space rocket is comparatively limited. The best way is not to create contaminated waste products in the first place. We already have more than we can cope with now.

[jknight8907]

Space Shuttles neither run on kerosene, nor on nuclear power. They're just using liquid oxygewn & liquid hydrogen as 'fuel'. Hence all the ice on the boosters & tanks.
Source

That's for the main engines. The SRBs, (solid rocket boosters) burn solid fuel.

The solid fuel consists of 69.6% ammonium perchlorate, 16% aluminum, .4% iron oxide,  12.04% polymer binder, and 1.96% epoxy curer.

[Souichiro]

If we tend to believe Nostradamus and a coloured pope is chosen we are screwed in 2012 anywayz
(Don't know the details maybe someone else does)

[Hagar]

If we tend to believe Nostradamus and a coloured pope is chosen we are screwed in 2012 anywayz
(Don't know the details maybe someone else does)

I never believed in any of that old nonsense.

[Woodlouse2002]

If we tend to believe Nostradamus and a coloured pope is chosen we are screwed in 2012 anywayz
(Don't know the details maybe someone else does)

Well that settles it. I'm off to hide in a mountain with several tins of beans and a can opener.

See you all at Armageddon (outta here).

[Katahu]

I don't care if oil disappears tommorrow or a few centuries from now.

Reasons:

1. We can still create other types of cars and aircraft with other types of manufacturing methods [we humans are as resilient and as resourceful as we come to believe].

2. We will soon stop poluting the air at such a high rate [I have been riding my bike long enough to treat it like a car].

3. Oil [as you already know] is used as a lubricant in cars. A couple of good environmental researchers [don't know their names] discovered how to use a combination of tree saps and natural liquids [entirely renewable] as a substitute for engine oil.

4. Wooden sail planes and other froms of wind-prepelled gliding can still be made [take Leonardo De-Vinci for example].

5. We will still have computers going arounds [the Romans - or Greeks - I'm not sure which] developed a safisticated gear-driven computer that can not only pinpoint the location of our planets but can also show any result of any value that you put in. However, I doubt Flight Simulator would be incorporated in that.

In other words, the loss of oil will not be our concern. It's the stupidity that many people have that might concern us all.

If we tend to believe Nostradamus and a coloured pope is chosen we are screwed in 2012 anywayz  
(Don't know the details maybe someone else does)

The Mayas predicted that in 21 Dec 2012 [twelve of December in two-thousand twelve], a great change will happen. I guess the oil has something to do with it.

[Hagar]

I don't care if oil disappears tommorrow or a few centuries from now.

Reasons:

1. We can still create other types of cars and aircraft with other types of manufacturing methods [we humans are as resilient and as resourceful as we come to believe].

The first thing everyone seems to associate with oil is cars & aircraft. We can do without either if it comes to the crunch. Almost anything you can think of involves oil somewhere in its manufacture. You have to look at this in a much broader sense.

It's the stupidity that many people have that might concern us all.

I agree with you on that point. Stupidity & greed.

[Katahu]

In that case. I'll still use my bike. At $2.35 per gallon at our US gas stations, I'm lucky to NOT own a car.

[Woodlouse2002]

Well, it's been proved that you can sail around the world in 71 day's. You really couldn't do much better with an engine so who need's em?

There ain't much oil used in a wooden boat I can tell ya. You can even run the diesel engine off vegetable stuff.

[Hagar]

There ain't much oil used in a wooden boat I can tell ya. You can even run the diesel engine off vegetable stuff.

Unless you already have the boat you would need to go back to traditional methods for building it. That includes everything from felling the trees & sawing the planks by hand to making the nails & screws that hold it all together.

[Woodlouse2002]

Unless you already have the boat you would need to go back to traditional methods for building it. That includes everything from felling the trees & sawing the planks by hand to making the nails & screws that hold it all together.

I know people who do that.

Though admittedly the don't do the tree felling. You buy the wood in big rough planks which you then cut into the correct shape.

http://www.workingsail.co.uk/

[TacitBlue]

Ill bet they could fell the trees if they really needed to though.

I just remembered an artical* I read. If our oil lasts long enough for nanotechnology to really pick up, then we coud use tiney machine to make more oil, or what ever we want to use for fuel.

* heres that article - http://science.howstuffworks.com/nanotechnology.htm

[MattNW]

I agree with commoner. They probably have thought of alternatives and have some ready but want to milk the oil for everything it's worth. Also in addition they are looking for a way to monopolize the manufacture and distribution of that alternative. It's only good business sense.

There are lots of possible alternatives. The most promising I can see for gasoline is alcohol. I know experiments have been made that weren't too encouraging but the mistake made then was to make alcohol a gasoline additive. Cars weren't made to run on alcohol nor were they modified for it.

When properly manufactured or modified cars are available alcohol is a viable alternative fuel. Race cars use it right now. The fact is however that the car must be set up to use alcohol and once set up for that it can't use gasoline again unless remodified.

Also alcohol is easy to make. I know this because I have a number of moonshiners in my family tree.

[jordonj]

When properly manufactured or modified cars are available alcohol is a viable alternative fuel.

Interesting you should mention that...I remember reading that Eastern Bloc aircraft ran an an alcohol based fuel (and people drinking the fuel became a problem...)

Any truth to that?