THORIUM AND THE RARE EARTH ELEMENTS ("REEs")

Please scroll down past the current articles, or wander through the links and other sections in the right-hand margin for the Internet's best informational resources on Thorium and the Rare Earth Elements. THIS SITE IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH OR SPONSORED BY THORIUM ENERGY, INC.

Thank you for joining us.

LINK TO THIS SITE! - Right Click On The Picture...

LINK TO THIS SITE! - Right Click On The Picture...

SIMPLY RIGHT-CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ACQUIRE A LINK.

ARTICLES ABOUT THE REES AND THORIUM

Monday, November 16, 2009

Public Service Announcement: HEALTHCARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS

Public Service Announcement: HEALTHCARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS ["HAI"]

Dear Friends:

I recently received the email which follows from Ms. Barbara Dunn, of HAI Watch News, an affiliate of Kimberly-Clark Health Care. It deals with some of the real-life infection hazards, some of which can be debilitating or fatal, which are all-too-often caused during the course of a routine healthcare visit, medical procedure or treatment. Simply stated...you can check into the hospital for a minor procedure and wind up with a life-threatening infection. The better-informed you are about the nature of this danger, the more proactive that you can be in minimizing your own risks, and those of the ones whom you love.

Some years back, school teachers would quote Poor Richard's and chant, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

While I heartily agree with that sentiment, I would also suggest that you remember the old Internal Energy Plus/ TNNW equation: KNOWLEDGE + APPLICATION = POWER. Educate yourself and stay healthy!

I found the hyperlink in Barbara's letter to be of great interest. Please read on, and click on the link in the letter.

Faithfully, and wishing you the best of health,

Douglas Castle

p.s. Please join our Interworked Cooperative Business Community ("ICBC") at THE NATIONAL NETWORKER COMPANIES. Just click here for our your free weekly TNNW Newsletter and BLUE TUESDAY Report. http://twitlik.com/IN
####

Douglas:

One thing everyone can agree on, no matter where they come down on the current health care debates, is that no one should get sick as a result of visiting the doctor.

Hospitals are rightfully expected to get you better but that's not always the case.  Sometimes people are picking up infections, from pneumonia to antibiotic-resistant staph (MRSA), while under treatment for other health problems, or even while just in the hospital having a baby.  That's a situation that could, and should, be completely avoidable.

Kimberly-Clark Health Care is on the forefront of protecting patients from Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) and has put together a site dedicated to that prevention called HAI Watch: Not on My Watch.  The site has information for both healthcare professionals and healthcare consumers.

I would like to ask for your help getting the word out on The National Networker.   Here's a microsite which explains everything.  Please use any of the images, logos, videos, etc, on your site:

http://www.haiwatchnews.com/

Please let me know if you have any questions and if you are able to post, I'd really appreciated it if you'd send me the link.

Thank you,


Barbara
--
Barbara Dunn
barbara@haiwatchnews.com
http://www.haiwatch.com/






Labels and Tags:  accredited education, acinetobacter, aids, bloodborne pathogens, burkholderia cepacia, cdc, ce, centers for disease control, chickenpox, cjd, clinical research, clostridium difficile, clostridium sordellii, continuing education, creutzfeldt jakob disease, cross contamination, digestive health, drug resistant, ebola, gastrointestinal infections, gi infections, global crisis, hai, hai education bus, hai education program, hais, hand hygiene, healthcare associated, healthcare associated infection, healthcare associated infections, healthcare facilities, healthcare professionals, healthcare settings, healthcare workers, hepatitis a, hepatitis b, hepatitis c, hiv, hospital acquired, hospital acquired infection, hospital infection, in service training, infection awareness campaign, infection control, infection management, infection prevention, infectious diseases, influenza, kimberly clark, kimberly clark corporation, kimberly clark health care, lengthening hospitalization, methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, mrsa, mumps, nationwide doctors, norovirus, nosocomial infections, not on my watch, pain management, parvovirus, patients, pneumonia, poliovirus, post operative normothermia, rubella, s. pneumoniae, sars, ssis, surgical site infections, tuberculosis, vancomycin intermediate staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin resistant enterococci, vap, varicella, ventilator associated pneumonia, ventilator associated pneumonia and surgical site infections, viral hemorrhagic fever, visa, vre, who, world health organization, The National Networker, Articles by Douglas Castle, Blue Tuesday, Braintenance, Taking Command, The Global Futurist, Global Edge Technologies Group LLC, Speedlight ProKit, Lightshop Design, TNNW Buzzworks, Public Service Announcements, Canon EOS, SpeedlightProKitUSA, ICBC, Interworked Cooperative Business Communities, health hazards, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Social Media, education, US Healthcare System, The Internationalist Page, Blogging for Humanity.

KEYWORD REFERENCE:
THORIUM, ENERGY, ATOMIC, NUCLEAR, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, ALTERNATIVE FUELS, URANIUM, LEMHI PASS, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, REACTOR, POWER, MINING, MINERALS, THORIUM, SHIELDING, SMALL REACTORS, KIRK SORENSEN, BLOGS ON THORIUM, NEWS ABOUT THORIUM, NUCLEAR TREATIES, INDIA POWER, THORIUM POWER, SSTAR REACTOR, NUCLEAR SUBMARINES, SALT WATER REACTORS, LIQUID FLORINE,LIQUID THORIUM, ATOMIC ELEMENTS, MINERALS, HADRON COLLIDER, COMMODITIES INVESTMENTS,THORIUM ENERGY, THORIUM POWER, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, ATOMIC POWER, THORIUM-FUELED REACTORS, ATOMIC ENERGY, NON-WEAPONIZABLE FUEL, COAL, HYDROELECTRIC POWER, BURNING COAL, COAL AND CO2 POLLUTION , HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER, WIND-POWER, SOLAR POWER, PETROLEUM ALTERNATIVES, OIL PRICES, COMMODITIES, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, LEMHI PASS, MINING AND MINERALS, RISING OIL PRICES, OPEC, ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, THORIUM POWER IN INDIA, CANADA, CHINA GERMANY, ENGLAND, SWEDEN, SOUTH KOREA, FLORIDE REACTOR, ETHANOL, SHALE, SAND OIL, NUCLEAR SAFETY, THORIUM BLOGS, BIG OIL, THORIUM ENERGY BLOG, URANIUM, REACTOR SHIELDING, PLUTONIUM WASTE, GREEN ENERGY, GLOBAL WARMING, RESOURCES, RESERVES, MINERAL AND MINING CLAIMS, ATOMIC ENERGY, FISSION, FUSION, LFTR, DOUGLAS CASTLE, JACK LIFTON, CLEAN COAL, GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL, POLLUTION, GEOTHERMAL POWER, THORIUM-BASED ENERGY, THORIUM TECHNOLOGIES, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, ENERGY RESOURCES, THORIUM SUPPLIES, REID-HATCH BILL, GREEN POWER, GREEN FUELS, KIRK SORENSEN, LIQUID FLORIDE THERMONUCLEAR REACTOR, TH, THORIUM OXIDES, COMMODITIES FUTURES, NON-PRECIOUS METALS, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, CLIMATIC CHANGE, BLOGS ABOUT THORIUM, GOOGLE ALERTS ABOUT THORIUM, YAHOO ALERTS ABOUT THORIUM, THORIUM NEWS, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY POLICY, G-8, INDIA'S THORIUM, GREENHOUSE GASES, BLOGOSPHERE, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE, BRAINTENANCE, ABOUT DOUGLAS CASTLE, ENERGY INITIATIVES, THE NATIONAL NETWORKER, TNNW, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PATRICK KENNEDY

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Douglas Castle Is Away - But He'll Be Back...He Promises.

Douglas Castle Is Away - But He'll Be Back...He Promises.

I'll be out of town until 9/17 and will not be able to post, check email or telephone messages until then. Faithfully, Douglas




KEYWORD REFERENCE:
THORIUM, ENERGY, ATOMIC, NUCLEAR, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, ALTERNATIVE FUELS, URANIUM, LEMHI PASS, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, REACTOR, POWER, MINING, MINERALS, THORIUM, SHIELDING, SMALL REACTORS, KIRK SORENSEN, BLOGS ON THORIUM, NEWS ABOUT THORIUM, NUCLEAR TREATIES, INDIA POWER, THORIUM POWER, SSTAR REACTOR, NUCLEAR SUBMARINES, SALT WATER REACTORS, LIQUID FLORINE,LIQUID THORIUM, ATOMIC ELEMENTS, MINERALS, HADRON COLLIDER, COMMODITIES INVESTMENTS,THORIUM ENERGY, THORIUM POWER, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, ATOMIC POWER, THORIUM-FUELED REACTORS, ATOMIC ENERGY, NON-WEAPONIZABLE FUEL, COAL, HYDROELECTRIC POWER, BURNING COAL, COAL AND CO2 POLLUTION , HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER, WIND-POWER, SOLAR POWER, PETROLEUM ALTERNATIVES, OIL PRICES, COMMODITIES, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, LEMHI PASS, MINING AND MINERALS, RISING OIL PRICES, OPEC, ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, THORIUM POWER IN INDIA, CANADA, CHINA GERMANY, ENGLAND, SWEDEN, SOUTH KOREA, FLORIDE REACTOR, ETHANOL, SHALE, SAND OIL, NUCLEAR SAFETY, THORIUM BLOGS, BIG OIL, THORIUM ENERGY BLOG, URANIUM, REACTOR SHIELDING, PLUTONIUM WASTE, GREEN ENERGY, GLOBAL WARMING, RESOURCES, RESERVES, MINERAL AND MINING CLAIMS, ATOMIC ENERGY, FISSION, FUSION, LFTR, DOUGLAS CASTLE, JACK LIFTON, CLEAN COAL, GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL, POLLUTION, GEOTHERMAL POWER, THORIUM-BASED ENERGY, THORIUM TECHNOLOGIES, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, ENERGY RESOURCES, THORIUM SUPPLIES, REID-HATCH BILL, GREEN POWER, GREEN FUELS, KIRK SORENSEN, LIQUID FLORIDE THERMONUCLEAR REACTOR, TH, THORIUM OXIDES, COMMODITIES FUTURES, NON-PRECIOUS METALS, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, CLIMATIC CHANGE, BLOGS ABOUT THORIUM, GOOGLE ALERTS ABOUT THORIUM, YAHOO ALERTS ABOUT THORIUM, THORIUM NEWS, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY POLICY, G-8, INDIA'S THORIUM, GREENHOUSE GASES, BLOGOSPHERE, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE, BRAINTENANCE, ABOUT DOUGLAS CASTLE, ENERGY INITIATIVES, THE NATIONAL NETWORKER, TNNW, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PATRICK KENNEDY

Friday, July 17, 2009

Make your vote count in the battle against global warming

Here are the top-10 shortlisted solutions to tackle climate change.

The ideas will be published in the Manchester Report and circulated to policymakers around the world.

To Vote, Click on this Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/poll/2009/jul/08/manchester-report-poll


KEYWORD REFERENCE:
THORIUM, ENERGY, ATOMIC, NUCLEAR, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, ALTERNATIVE FUELS, URANIUM, LEMHI PASS, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, REACTOR, POWER, MINING, MINERALS, THORIUM, SHIELDING, SMALL REACTORS, KIRK SORENSEN, BLOGS ON THORIUM, NEWS ABOUT THORIUM, NUCLEAR TREATIES, INDIA POWER, THORIUM POWER, SSTAR REACTOR, NUCLEAR SUBMARINES, SALT WATER REACTORS, LIQUID FLORINE,LIQUID THORIUM, ATOMIC ELEMENTS, MINERALS, HADRON COLLIDER, COMMODITIES INVESTMENTS,THORIUM ENERGY, THORIUM POWER, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, ATOMIC POWER, THORIUM-FUELED REACTORS, ATOMIC ENERGY, NON-WEAPONIZABLE FUEL, COAL, HYDROELECTRIC POWER, BURNING COAL, COAL AND CO2 POLLUTION , HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER, WIND-POWER, SOLAR POWER, PETROLEUM ALTERNATIVES, OIL PRICES, COMMODITIES, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, LEMHI PASS, MINING AND MINERALS, RISING OIL PRICES, OPEC, ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, THORIUM POWER IN INDIA, CANADA, CHINA GERMANY, ENGLAND, SWEDEN, SOUTH KOREA, FLORIDE REACTOR, ETHANOL, SHALE, SAND OIL, NUCLEAR SAFETY, THORIUM BLOGS, BIG OIL, THORIUM ENERGY BLOG, URANIUM, REACTOR SHIELDING, PLUTONIUM WASTE, GREEN ENERGY, GLOBAL WARMING, RESOURCES, RESERVES, MINERAL AND MINING CLAIMS, ATOMIC ENERGY, FISSION, FUSION, LFTR, DOUGLAS CASTLE, JACK LIFTON, CLEAN COAL, GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL, POLLUTION, GEOTHERMAL POWER, THORIUM-BASED ENERGY, THORIUM TECHNOLOGIES, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, ENERGY RESOURCES, THORIUM SUPPLIES, REID-HATCH BILL, GREEN POWER, GREEN FUELS, KIRK SORENSEN, LIQUID FLORIDE THERMONUCLEAR REACTOR, TH, THORIUM OXIDES, COMMODITIES FUTURES, NON-PRECIOUS METALS, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, CLIMATIC CHANGE, BLOGS ABOUT THORIUM, GOOGLE ALERTS ABOUT THORIUM, YAHOO ALERTS ABOUT THORIUM, THORIUM NEWS, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY POLICY, G-8, INDIA'S THORIUM, GREENHOUSE GASES, BLOGOSPHERE, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE, BRAINTENANCE, ABOUT DOUGLAS CASTLE, ENERGY INITIATIVES, THE NATIONAL NETWORKER, TNNW, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PATRICK KENNEDY

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

America's New Energy Dependency: China's Metals

Reprinted from: US News & World Report

A clean-energy economy needs rare-earth metals to succeed. China has a near monopoly

By Kent Garber

Posted July 1, 2009

In 2007, a standoff unfolded between China and several American companies, including W.R. Grace, a major supplier of oil refining products. China was threatening to withhold supplies that keep refiners in business.

A worried State Department intervened. By then, W.R. Grace had only a three-month supply of the special metals it needs for its refining products. Because the metals come almost exclusively from China, if the government had not acted, sources say, oil refineries could have been forced to shut down, possibly triggering shortages across the country.

The metals W.R. Grace needed belong to a group known as "rare earths." They are the backbone of the Information Age and, potentially, the clean energy future. They are in iPods, Blackberry’s, and plasma TVs. They are powerful and compact; they are exceedingly efficient. In many cases, there are no substitutes. On the periodic table, they have their own section, 17 metals in all, reflecting their unique atomic structure.

Fifty years ago, the world's economy was built on steel, aluminum, and iron. Today, rare-earth metals are reshaping it. But they are not easy to acquire, not anymore. In the 1970s and 1980s, the United States was the world's leading producer. Today, China provides nearly 97 percent of the world's supply. It has a near monopoly, and it is cutting exports.

Dominance. The strategic implications of this growing imbalance are vast, particularly for defense and energy. Wind turbines and electric cars have become clean energy symbols, but they are merely final products, the visible results of a supply chain that spans international borders and, for the most part, is largely overlooked by policymakers. At the bottom of this chain, at its most basic level, are rare-earth metals mined from the Earth's crust and made into magnets or other parts, then put into motors or batteries.

China's dominance in this arena, and its displacement of American leadership, are not accidental. In 1992, Deng Xiaoping, then the country's most powerful politician, outlined a plan. "The Middle East has oil; we have rare earths," he said. "We must develop these rare earths." Today this phrase is emblazoned, like a campaign slogan, across the roof of at least one Chinese factory.
Deng's call to arms has been carried out nearly flawlessly. China dominates the world market and in recent months has taken control of mines in Brazil and Australia, thereby eliminating potential competitors. It is poised to do with rare earths what the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has done with oil: make the world dependent. In 2002, China exported about 60,000 tons of rare-earth metals. In 2008, it exported about 45,000 tons. In 2009, based upon preliminary estimates, that will drop into the 30,000s.

The slide will most likely continue, with potentially serious implications for President Obama's energy goals. In 2008, an Australian analyst named Dudley Kingsnorth released a report in which he calculated that China's rare-earth supplies could become off limits to the world as early as 2012. The severity of Kingsnorth's projection has been questioned by some, and the global recession has probably pushed the date back a few years. But the general trend holds. Resource production is limited, and China's internal demand is soaring, fueled by consumers and new energy ambitions. Within five years, China wants to be the world's leading manufacturer of wind turbines and electric batteries.

Global demand for rare-earth metals, meanwhile, is expected to grow at least 10 percent annually. If no new mines open, the scenarios are daunting. At best, if China continues exporting, global prices seem sure to rise. At worst, the West could be shut off altogether, left scrambling to find new sources of these metals for turbines, batteries, and other parts. "The very basic question is 'Are we going to trade dependence on Mideast oil for Chinese rare earths?' ”says Jeff Green, a lobbyist who specializes in metals. ”I think the answer is 'Probably.' "

Falling behind. This is not just a story about metals, though. It is also a story about decline and innovation, about what has happened to American manufacturing, and about the gap that exists between where the country's political leaders want to go—to a "clean-energy economy," with thriving factories and state-of-the-art research facilities—and where some industries stand today.

That the United States was once the leader in this field is a fascinating byproduct of the country's nuclear past. In the aftermath of World War II, with the Cold War setting in, U.S. officials were terrified that the country would run out of uranium. So they began encouraging prospectors to look for uranium deposits.

Radioactive materials were rarely found alone. They came with other metals, like rare earths. This was the case at Mountain Pass, Calif., in the Mojave Desert, where the world's largest rare-earth mine opened in the early 1950s. Thus began a nearly half-century reign for the United States. By the late 1960s, Mountain Pass was the world's leading supplier of europium, a rare-earth metal that creates the red color in color TVs. The mine's owner, Molycorp, poured millions into research.

By the mid-1980s, China wised up. The terrain of Inner Mongolia, where there was already extensive iron mining, became ground zero for a new venture. Backed by a deliberate national push, rare-earth production boomed.

China's rise eventually triggered the end of a proud chapter of American innovation. But this fate was not immediately apparent. A poignant example involves General Motors. In the early 1980s, GM scientists invented a new way to make magnets. Rather than use pure magnets, they developed a magnetic powder, which they could mix with rubber and inject where needed. This powder, like many high-performance magnets, required neodymium, a very strong rare earth. With the powder, less metal was needed, so car parts could be lighter—in the auto industry, a good thing. GM's magnet division got its own name, Magnequench, and a 175,000-square-foot facility was built in Indiana in 1986.

But the timing proved terrible. As the 1980s wore on, China's strip mining accelerated. Production soared, and global prices dropped. American magnet companies began to close down or, seeking cheaper resources, moved to China. In 1995, two Chinese companies, with the help of American investors, purchased Magnequench. The move, a report to Congress later found, was part of a "detailed strategy" by China to control rare earths. To win U.S. approval, the buyers had promised to keep the magnet facility in Indiana. They moved it to China in 2002.
By then the mine at Mountain Pass had fallen idle, hurt by excess supplies and, some say, Chinese competition and fallout from a mid-1990s incident involving a contaminated water spill. This leaves the United States with no active rare-earth mine (although Molycorp continues to process ore it had already dug up at Mountain Pass). Meanwhile, the number of workers in the U.S. high-performance magnet industry has fallen 80 percent over the past decade. Not a single American company today makes neodymium magnets for wind turbines, smart bombs, or anything else.

All this is very likely just the first act of a bigger drama. For the past year or so, Western analysts had been buzzing about the potential opening of a rare earth mine in western Australia by Lynas Corp., an Australian company. Many saw it as potential counter to Chinese dominance, a friendly foothold in an uncertain market. It is a large mine, with the potential to supply a decent fraction of the world's rare earth needs. But in May, hopes faded. Offering $366 million, a company owned by the Chinese government bought a majority stake in the mine. "I think they've worked their plan to perfection," says Ed Richardson of Thomas & Skinner, one of the remaining U.S. high-performance magnet companies. "If we look at how dependent the world has become on rare-earth elements, it's kind of scary. It all happened right under our nose."

An idle mine, niche companies fleeing to China—all this may sound like another case of globalization ills. But it's also a telling example of what's necessary for innovation and economic growth.

In Washington, there is bipartisan support for renewable electricity and next-generation cars, which will require significant innovation. The disagreement is over how to spur it. Republicans favor private investment. Democrats favor public funding and regulations, such as requiring utilities to generate more of their electricity from renewable sources.

Both sides may be missing a key element. Economists generally agree that innovation is a major driver of economic growth. Innovation, however, does not occur in isolation. It is not the product of one company's efforts or of a single lab's work. It is the result of a whole cluster of things, including raw material suppliers, research labs, and manufacturing firms, working together. Remove one of these links, and the innovation chain weakens or breaks.

In the case of American energy technologies, the rare-earth component has been absent for a while. According to a paper published by Brian Fifarek of Carnegie Mellon University last year, its absence has left a mark. As domestic resources have vanished, he found, the number of successful patent applications filed by American companies for technologies using rare earths has declined precipitously since the early 1990s.

There is also anecdotal evidence to suggest that research and development activity, the lifeblood of innovation, has followed resources overseas. In 1999, Magnequench opened a research facility in North Carolina. In 2004, the company, citing access to resources, moved it to Singapore. Another rare-earth facility, in Ames, Iowa, closed in 2002.

Understandably, it has taken some countries and companies a while to make connections between innovation and resources. Mainly, someone in power has to look pretty far down the supply chain, through several layers of middlemen, to spot a problem. In some cases, they haven't or say they don't see problems. "I don't think about it that much," says Siemens CEO Peter Loscher.

But events have started to open some stakeholders' eyes.
In 2005, the Chinese national offshore oil company, CNOOC, made a hostile bid to take over American oil giant Unocal. Congress rejected it, fearing that the Chinese might gain a foothold in the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico. Ultimately, Chevron acquired the company. But many observers now believe China was also after something else: the Mountain Pass rare-earth mine, which Unocal had acquired in the 1990s. "I was getting phone calls from the highest levels of management at Unocal, asking what it would take to sell Mountain Pass," says Molycorp CEO Mark Smith. "I don't think it's too hard to put the two together."

Next was the incident in 2007 in which W.R. Grace and others felt squeezed by China's threat to withhold rare earth shipments. Then, in 2008, prices for all commodities, including rare earths, began to skyrocket. Neodymium jumped from $8 per kilogram to $50 per kg. Suddenly, people became concerned about the supplies of rare earths. The same year, a report by the National Research Council found that shortages of rare earths would have a bigger impact on manufacturers than problems with the supply of any other commonly used metal.

U.S. revival. Can the United States make a comeback? "When you have given up the capacity to innovate and manufacture and build, it is difficult just to buy it back," says Mary Poulton, a geological engineering professor at the University of Arizona and a coauthor of the NRC report. "You've given up a lot of the leads to other countries."

There is first the challenge of reopening a mine; that in itself is difficult enough, requiring money and an appetite for risk. In the business world, mining investments are considered among the riskiest of deals. The full challenge, rebuilding a supply chain, is much greater. Metals have to be purified, refined, and assembled into components. These steps require money, technology, and expertise. In the United States, according to government estimates, there are only three facilities that refine rare earths. Most of the engineers who understand the processes are either retired or dead.

But the start of a revival may be underway. Molycorp is trying to restart mining by 2012. Another company, Thorium Energy, Inc. which owns an enormous swath of land in Idaho's rare-earth-rich Lemhi Pass, is seeking investors. Both Smith and Thorium Energy CEO Ed Cowle have been trekking to Washington to talk to congressmen, senators, and agency officials.

Part of their problem, they say, is getting people to realize there is actually a problem. "This portion of the supply chain is buried deep," says Smith. "You really have to understand this whole supply chain concept. I sit down with car companies and wind turbine companies, and the first response you will get is 'Oh, I don't worry about that. I buy my motors or generators from this company or that company and I didn't know there were rare earths in them.'" As Jack Lifton, a longtime metal analyst, says, "The Chinese are depending, as they always do, on the myopia of the American investment community that only sees to the end of its nose."

Some say the concerns are overblown, that China will do everything it can do to ensure steady exports. And for certain technologies, researchers say there are potential alternatives to rare earths. The leading technology in electric batteries, nickel metal hydride, requires them, but a possible alternative, lithium ion, does not. "Lithium batteries have higher energy and power," says Gary Yang, a scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "That is their advantage over rare earths." But lithium ion batteries require years more research.

Nevertheless, a global quest for new mines is dawning. "They are all out looking for money," says Richardson. 'The Canadians, the Australians, Molycorp here in the U.S., Thorium Energy—all these mines are looking for big bucks, but it's high risk." Environmental issues can crop up, as they have in the past for Molycorp. Investors can pull out, as they have in Australia. A new mine will cost hundreds of millions.

On Capitol Hill, interest is tepid but picking up. "Folks are finally starting to say, 'How are we going to advance the ball?' ”says Green.” The Chinese are expected to consume all their production by 2012, 2013, or 2014. I think these needs to cause alarm in the U.S. government." In 2007, supporters managed to secure an earmark for a Defense Metals Technology Center in Ohio, which advises the military on strategic metals.

Last month, Rep. Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican, slipped an amendment into the House's defense budget bill that would require the watchdog Government Accountability Office to review rare-earth concerns. And Sen. Evan Bayh, an Indiana Democrat, has just proposed requiring the defense department to evaluate the extent to which the country's weapons are dependent upon rare earth metal supplies "that could be interrupted."But that's about it. So far, the focus of most politicians and the American public is still at the top of the supply chain—on the gleaming turbines and electric vehicle prototypes—rather than on the dusty metals at the bottom.


KEYWORD REFERENCE: THORIUM, ENERGY, ED COWLE, ATOMIC, NUCLEAR, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, ALTERNATIVE FUELS, URANIUM, LEMHI PASS, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, REACTOR, POWER, MINING, MINERALS, THORIUM, SHIELDING, SMALL REACTORS, KIRK SORENSEN, BLOGS ON THORIUM, NEWS ABOUT THORIUM, NUCLEAR TREATIES, INDIA POWER, THORIUM POWER, SSTAR REACTOR, NUCLEAR SUBMARINES, SALT WATER REACTORS, LIQUID FLORINE,LIQUID THORIUM, ATOMIC ELEMENTS, MINERALS, HADRON COLLIDER, COMMODITIES INVESTMENTS,THORIUM ENERGY, THORIUM POWER, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, ATOMIC POWER, THORIUM-FUELED REACTORS, ATOMIC ENERGY, NON-WEAPONIZABLE FUEL, COAL, HYDROELECTRIC POWER, BURNING COAL, COAL AND CO2 POLLUTION , HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER, WIND-POWER, SOLAR POWER, PETROLEUM ALTERNATIVES, OIL PRICES, COMMODITIES, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, LEMHI PASS, MINING AND MINERALS, RISING OIL PRICES, OPEC, ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, THORIUM POWER IN INDIA, CANADA, CHINA GERMANY, ENGLAND, SWEDEN, SOUTH KOREA, FLORIDE REACTOR, ETHANOL, SHALE, SAND OIL, NUCLEAR SAFETY, THORIUM BLOGS, BIG OIL, THORIUM ENERGY BLOG, URANIUM, REACTOR SHIELDING, PLUTONIUM WASTE, GREEN ENERGY, GLOBAL WARMING, RESOURCES, RESERVES, MINERAL AND MINING CLAIMS, ATOMIC ENERGY, FISSION, FUSION, LFTR, DOUGLAS CASTLE, JACK LIFTON, CLEAN COAL, GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL, POLLUTION, GEOTHERMAL POWER, THORIUM-BASED ENERGY, THORIUM TECHNOLOGIES, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, ENERGY RESOURCES, THORIUM SUPPLIES, REID-HATCH BILL, GREEN POWER, GREEN FUELS, KIRK SORENSEN, LIQUID FLORIDE THERMONUCLEAR REACTOR, TH, THORIUM OXIDES, COMMODITIES FUTURES, NON-PRECIOUS METALS, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, CLIMATIC CHANGE, BLOGS ABOUT THORIUM, GOOGLE ALERTS ABOUT THORIUM, YAHOO ALERTS ABOUT THORIUM, THORIUM NEWS, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY POLICY, G-8, INDIA'S THORIUM, CLIMATIC CHANGE, BLOGOSPHERE...

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Green Energy & Thorium Solutions

The Green Economy/Thorium Energy
Presenting: working solutions for big Problems

Problems:

How to create 5+ million new jobs during the Obama Administration

How to generate these jobs by stimulating the “Green” economy

How to diminish fossil fuel usage

How to save 30-50% of the electrical energy now being lost on the “grid”

How to make US buildings energy efficient without raising monthly budgets or down payments

How to increase every buildings value, utilizing capital now wasted in energy inefficiencies

How every building owner can use all available “green retrofit” tax credits and subsidies

How to preserve our environment and air quality

How to do all of the above and preserve our capitalistic model without raising taxes

Premise:

It would be possible to save 50% of a buildings electrical and/or heating bill by completely retrofitting it with the latest (proven) energy saving technologies such as;

Solar panels (buildings)

Large arrays of solar power dishes (concentrators) per each community

Solar outdoor lighting

Single dwelling wind generators

Large arrays of wind generators per each community

New tech insulation and weather striping

New technology in thermal windows

Energy saving appliances (including; washers/dryers, air conditioning/heaters, refrigerators/freezers, ovens/stoves, lamps/light bulbs etc., etc..

Building owners would be willing to allow this retrofitting to take place if the construction did not involve an increase, of any amount, to their existing monthly budget or require a down payment.

The US government would guarantee a local (15 year) bond issue sufficient to retrofit every building in its community (utilizing financial models that are now commonly employed to build roads, schools and other city or community improvements etc.).

Solutions – Phase I (Immediate action Plan)

Each building’s electrical bills for the previous 10 years are evaluated; the highest annual bill and the lowest annual bill are eliminated. The annual bills for the remaining 8 years are averaged and a “Base Annual Energy Cost (BAEC)” is established.This BAEC is divided by 50% (the amount of the expected energy savings, as described above) and multiplied by the number of years of the bond issue (hypothetically 15 years).

This “saved” money (50% of their existing electric utility bill) would be calculated by the local government entity and used to; hire and/or contract local, unemployed, US citizens to install the energy efficient equipment and measures. US suppliers (with a concentration on local community suppliers) of equipment would submit bids on the equipment portion of the jobs to the local government entity empowered to complete the retrofitting.

This amount of money should be sufficient to cover materials, labor, management, administration including a 1% fee to a consulting firm (oversees all community projects as described above) and to pay the interest on the bond (Excel Spread sheet available).

All amounts and percentages are hypothetical and can be adjusted.

Example; A 3,000 Sq. Ft. building with a Base Annual Electricity Cost of $4,800 divided by 50% (savings) = $2,400 X (15 years – suggested bond period) = $36,000.

Assume; the total bond and administrative expenses as $3,600 with a material cost of $23,400 and labor at $9,000.If this were the average building (including commercial buildings) in a community of 5,000 buildings then; the total bond needed would be $180,000,000, total expenses would be $18,000,000, total material cost would be $117,000,000 and the total labor costs would be $45,000,000.

A community of 5,000 buildings would require 458 crews of 3 or 1,374 workers, working full time for 1 year, all working within the green economy. These workers would now be trained installers and could travel to neighboring communities to train their crews.

As a practical matter this work would probably be completed over a period of 5 or more years by fewer crews thus expanding the employment period.

Suppose that over time we could retrofit 20 million buildings; this would create more than 5,500,000 new jobs; increase the value of each building by about 30,000; save about $180,000,000 annually in fossil fuel and give each family of 4 an annual stimulus of about $2,000. All of this can be accomplished without; raising anyone’s taxes or anyone’s monthly budget and all within the “green” economy.

All numbers are assumptions; participation would be volunteered and dependent upon a pre-inspection for acceptance to the program. Buildings that would be incapable of achieving a 50% savings (even with a higher dollar input) would be tuned down or have their BAEC adjusted. Buildings that are being or have been retrofitted by the owners (and could not achieve an additional 50% savings) would not be placed in the Phase I program or have the BAEC adjusted down. A mortgage lien for the amount expended would be placed on each building for the bond period with monthly payments equal to ½ of their current monthly electric utility bill.

The lien would need to be assumed or settled if the building were sold. Building buyers would be very likely to want to assume a partially paid debt that would guarantee that ½ of their electrical bill was stabilized at a constant (low) price and that the additional equity would pay them back many times over the years. Buildings that had repaid their original bond obligation and that were into Phase II (the Thorium Nuclear bond issue), allowing very inexpensive clean electrical energy, would likely sell at a premium.

Because none of the energy saved comes over the national electrical grid, and due to the fact that as much as 50% of the energy carried over the grid is lost in transmission, an amount of energy is also saved (as much as 30-50%) which would be difficult to measure but is extremely important.

The energy created by solar and/or wind for the building will be substantial and could be critical in the event that the national grid or the local grid should go down for any reason.Solutions –

Phase II (Thorium Follow-up Action Plan)

Within 7 years (or upon the final technology approval and acceptance) of the implementation of Phase I, a new guarantee for local community bonds should be issued to employ a “community sized” Liquid-Fluoride Thorium Nuclear Reactor. The costs per capita will be very close to the retrofitting scenario suggested in Phase I and the financial model will remain much the same.

The resultant energy from the installation will be capable of supplying the balance of the electrical energy requirements for the entire community at a measured price far below that of fossil fuel levels with no carbon footprint.

After the completion of Phase II, the local community will have no need to depend on the national grid and the local elected government will operate as the power requirement/management facility (as a community coop). After the Phase II bond debt is paid, the buildings will be billed service charges and for thorium fuel replacement (estimated to be once every 10 years). There will be no need to buy any other electrical energy.

The Safety and Stability Advantages of a Liquid-Fluoride Reactor in the Environment

By; Kirk Sorensen (summarized)

“The generation and use of energy is central to the maintenance of organization. Life itself is a state of organization maintained by the continual use of sources of energy. Human civilization has reached the state it has by the widespread use of energy, and for the large fraction of the world that aspires to a higher standard of living; more energy will be required to achieve it. We should never waste energy, and should always seek to use energy efficiently as possible and practical, but energy itself will always be needed.

This section is about the use of thorium as an energy source of sufficient magnitude for thousands of years of future energy needs. Thorium, if used efficiently, can be converted to energy far more easily and safely than any other energy source of comparable magnitude, including nuclear fusion and uranium fission.”

Thorium nuclear does not lend itself to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and should be acceptable as a world-wide nuclear fuel – India, Norway, Russia, The United Arab Emirates and many other countries are now developing and/or considering thorium nuclear facilities.
“Briefly, the basic principles are:

1. Nuclear reactions (changes in the binding energy of nuclei) release about a million times more energy than chemical reactions (changes in the binding energy of electrons), therefore, it is logical to pursue nuclear reactions as dense sources of energy.

2. Changing the binding energy of the nucleus with uncharged particles (neutrons inducing fission) is much easier than changing the nuclear state with charged particles (fusion), because fission does not contend with electrostatic repulsion as fusion does.

3. Naturally occurring fissile material (uranium-235) will not sustain us for millennia due to its scarcity. We must fission fertile isotopes (uranium-238, thorium-232) which are abundant in order to sustain energy production for millennia,” (Thorium Energy, Inc. has properties in the Lemhi Pass (USA) that could supply the world’s energy needs for centuries.) “Fertile isotopes such as U-238 and Th-232 basically require 2 neutrons to fission (one to convert, one to fission), and require fission reactions that generate more than 2 neutrons per absorption in a fissile nucleus.

4. For maximum safety, nuclear reactions should proceed in a thermal (slowed-down) neutron spectrum because only thermal reactors can be designed to be in their most critical configuration, where any alteration to the reactor configuration (whether through accident or intention) leads to less nuclear reactions, not more. Thermal reactors also afford more options for achieving negative temperature coefficients of reactivity (which are the basic measurement of the safety of a nuclear reactor). Reactors that require neutrons that have not been slowed significantly from their initial energy (fast-spectrum reactors) can always be altered in some fashion, either through accident or intention, into a more critical configuration that could be dangerously uncontrollable because of the increased reactivity of the fuel. Basically, any fast-spectrum reactor that is barely critical will be extremely supercritical if its neutrons are moderated in some way.

5. "Burning" uranium-238 produces a fissile isotope (plutonium-239) that "burns" inefficiently in a thermal (slowed-down) neutron spectrum and does not produce enough neutrons to sustain the consumption of uranium-238. "Burning" thorium-232 produces a fissile isotope (uranium-233) that burns efficiently in a thermal neutron spectrum and produces enough neutrons to sustain the consumption of thorium. Therefore, thorium is a preferable fuel, if used in a neutronically efficient reactor.

6. Achieving high neutronic efficiency in solid-fueled nuclear reactors is difficult because the fuel sustains radiation damage, the fuel retains gaseous xenon (which is a strong neutron poison), and solid fuel is difficult to reprocess because it must be converted to a liquid stream before it is reprocessed.

7. Fluid-fuel reactors can continuously strip xenon and adjust the concentration of fuel and fission products while operating. More importantly, they have an inherently strong negative temperature coefficient of reactivity which leads to inherent safety and vastly simplified control. Furthermore, decay heat from fission products can be passively removed (in case of an accident) by draining the core fluid into a passively cooled configuration.

8. Liquid-fluoride reactors have all the advantages of a fluid-fueled reactor plus they are chemically stable across a large temperature range, are impervious to radiation damage due to the ionic nature of their chemical bond. They can dissolve sufficient amounts of nuclear fuel (thorium, uranium) in the form of tetrafluorides in a neutronically inert carrier salt (lithium7 fluoride-beryllium fluoride). This leads to the capability for high-temperature, low-pressure operation, no fuel damage, and no danger of fuel precipitation and concentration.

9. The liquid-fluoride reactor is very neutronically efficient due to its lack of core internals and neutron absorbers; it does not need "burnable poisons" to control reactivity because reactivity can continuously be added. The reactor can achieve the conversion ratio (1.0) to "burn" thorium, and has superior operational, safety, and development characteristics.

10. Liquid-fluoride reactors can retain actinides while discharging only fission products, which will decay to background levels of radiation in ~300 years and do not require long duration (>10,000 year) geologic burial.

11. A liquid-fluoride reactor operating only on thorium and using a "start charge" of pure U-233 will produce almost no transuranic isotopes. This is because neutron capture in U-233 (which occurs about 10% of the time) will produce U-234, which will further absorb another neutron to produce U-235, which is fissile. U-235 will fission about 85% of the time in a thermal-neutron spectrum, and when it doesn't it will produce U-236. U-236 will further absorb another neutron to produce Np-237, which will be removed by the fluorination system. But the production rate of Np-237 will be exceedingly low because of all the fission "off-ramps" in its production.

12. We must build thousands of thorium reactors to displace coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium as energy sources. This would be impractical if liquid-fluoride reactors were as difficult to build as pressurized water reactors. But they will be much simpler and smaller for several reasons;

They will operate at a higher power density (leading to a smaller core),

They will not need refueling shutdowns (eliminating the complicated refueling equipment),

They will operate at ambient pressure and have no pressurized water in the core (shrinking the containment vessel dramatically),

They will not require the complicated emergency core cooling systems and their backups that solid-core reactors require (because of their passive approach to decay heat removal),

Their power conversion system will be much smaller and power-dense (since in a closed-cycle gas turbine you can vary both initial cycle pressure and overall pressure ratio).

In short, these plants will be much smaller, much simpler, much, much safer, and more secure. A fundamental mistake was made when thorium was overlooked as the prime nuclear fuel in favor of uranium. In such a position, there is some good company; Dr. Alvin Weinberg, former director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and inventor of the pressurized-water reactor (he holds the patent) said in 1970:

As all readers of Nuclear Applications & Technology know, the prevailing view holds that the LMFBR is the proper path to ubiquitous, permanent energy. It is no secret that I, as well as many of my colleagues at Oak Ridge National Laboratories, have always felt differently. When the idea of the breeder was first suggested in 1943, the rapid and efficient recycle of the partially spent core was regarded as the main problem. Nothing that has happened in the ensuing quarter-century has fundamentally changed this.

The successful breeder will be the one that can deal with the spent core most rationally—either by achieving extremely long burnup, or by greatly simplifying the entire recycle step. We at Oak Ridge have always been intrigued by this latter possibility. It explains our long commitment to liquid-fueled reactors-first, the aqueous homogeneous and now, the molten salt.

Only in the liquid-fluoride reactor can we find the safety, economy, and efficiency needed to unlock the potential of thorium energy for tens of thousands of years.”

Summary

We can;

Create 5+ million new jobs.

Generate these jobs inside the “Green” economy.

Diminish fossil fuel usage by 25% (with Thorium Nuclear 40+ %).

Save 30-50% of the electrical energy (with Thorium Nuclear 100%) now lost on the “grid”.

Make US buildings energy efficient without raising monthly budgets or down payments.

Increase every buildings value, utilizing capital now wasted in energy inefficiencies.

Give every building owner all available “green retrofit” tax credits and subsidies.

Preserve our environment and air quality.

Stimulate the overall economy of every community.

Do all of the above and preserve our capitalistic model without raising taxes.

But, we need your help to find a champion with some political clout.

If you have any suggestions, comments, referrals, edits or willingness to assist in bringing these solutions to your senator or to the public, email me at; www.kennedy200@sbcglobal.net

I will respond!

Implementation Concept by;
Patrick Kennedy, Public Relations
Thorium Energy, Inc.




KEYWORD REFERENCE: THORIUM, ENERGY, ATOMIC, NUCLEAR, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, ALTERNATIVE FUELS, URANIUM, LEMHI PASS, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, REACTOR, POWER, MINING, MINERALS, THORIUM, SHIELDING, SMALL REACTORS, KIRK SORENSEN, BLOGS ON THORIUM, NEWS ABOUT THORIUM, NUCLEAR TREATIES, INDIA POWER, THORIUM POWER, SSTAR REACTOR, NUCLEAR SUBMARINES, SALT WATER REACTORS, LIQUID FLORINE,LIQUID THORIUM, ATOMIC ELEMENTS, MINERALS, HADRON COLLIDER, COMMODITIES INVESTMENTS,THORIUM ENERGY, THORIUM POWER, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, ATOMIC POWER, THORIUM-FUELED REACTORS, ATOMIC ENERGY, NON-WEAPONIZABLE FUEL, COAL, HYDROELECTRIC POWER, BURNING COAL, COAL AND CO2 POLLUTION , HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER, WIND-POWER, SOLAR POWER, PETROLEUM ALTERNATIVES, OIL PRICES, COMMODITIES, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, LEMHI PASS, MINING AND MINERALS, RISING OIL PRICES, OPEC, ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, THORIUM POWER IN INDIA, CANADA, CHINA GERMANY, ENGLAND, SWEDEN, SOUTH KOREA, FLORIDE REACTOR, ETHANOL, SHALE, SAND OIL, NUCLEAR SAFETY, THORIUM BLOGS, BIG OIL, THORIUM ENERGY BLOG, URANIUM, REACTOR SHIELDING, PLUTONIUM WASTE, GREEN ENERGY, GLOBAL WARMING, RESOURCES, RESERVES, MINERAL AND MINING CLAIMS, ATOMIC ENERGY, FISSION, FUSION, LFTR, DOUGLAS CASTLE, JACK LIFTON, CLEAN COAL, GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL, POLLUTION, GEOTHERMAL POWER, THORIUM-BASED ENERGY, THORIUM TECHNOLOGIES, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, ENERGY RESOURCES, THORIUM SUPPLIES, REID-HATCH BILL, GREEN POWER, GREEN FUELS, KIRK SORENSEN, LIQUID FLORIDE THERMONUCLEAR REACTOR, TH, THORIUM OXIDES, COMMODITIES FUTURES, NON-PRECIOUS METALS, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, CLIMATIC CHANGE, BLOGS ABOUT THORIUM, GOOGLE ALERTS ABOUT THORIUM, YAHOO ALERTS ABOUT THORIUM, THORIUM NEWS, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY POLICY, G-8, INDIA'S THORIUM, CLIMATIC CHANGE, BLOGOSPHERE...

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES FOR THORIUM AND THE RARE EARTH ELEMENTS



Please bear with us while this portion of the site is under construction. Thank you.

THORIUM AND REE - RELATED KEY WORDS, TAGS, LABELS, AND TOPICS.

THORIUM ENERGY, THORIUM POWER, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, ATOMIC POWER, THORIUM-FUELED REACTORS, ATOMIC ENERGY, NON-WEAPONIZABLE FUEL, COAL, HYDROELECTRIC POWER, BURNING COAL, COAL AND CO2 POLLUTION , HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER, WIND-POWER, SOLAR POWER, PETROLEUM ALTERNATIVES, OIL PRICES, COMMODITIES, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, LEMHI PASS, MINING AND MINERALS, RISING OIL PRICES, OPEC, ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, THORIUM POWER IN INDIA, CANADA, CHINA, GERMANY, ENGLAND, SWEDEN, SOUTH KOREA, FLORIDE REACTOR, ETHANOL, SHALE, SAND OIL, NUCLEAR SAFETY, THORIUM BLOGS, BIG OIL, THORIUM ENERGY BLOG, URANIUM, REACTOR SHIELDING, PLUTONIUM WASTE, GREEN ENERGY, GLOBAL WARMING, RESOURCES, RESERVES, MINERAL AND MINING CLAIMS, ATOMIC ENERGY, FISSION, FUSION, LFTR, DOUGLAS CASTLE, CLEAN COAL, GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL, POLLUTION, GEOTHERMAL POWER, THORIUM-BASED ENERGY, THORIUM TECHNOLOGIES, RARE EARTH ELEMENTS, ENERGY RESOURCES, THORIUM SUPPLIES, REID-HATCH BILL, GREEN POWER, GREEN FUELS, KIRK SORENSEN, LIQUID FLORIDE THERMONUCLEAR REACTOR, TH, THORIUM OXIDES, COMMODITIES FUTURES, NON-PRECIOUS METALS, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, CLIMATIC CHANGE, BLOGS ABOUT THORIUM, GOOGLE ALERTS ABOUT THORIUM, YAHOO ALERTS ABOUT THORIUM, THORIUM NEWS, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY POLICY, G-8, INDIA'S THORIUM, CLIMATIC CHANGE, BLOGOSPHERE, THORIUM BLOGS, THORIUM NEWS, ENERGY SELF-SUFFICIENCY, DOUGLAS CASTLE, INCENTIVES, RECESSION, ECONOMY, CONSERVATION, SOLAR POWER, WIND POWER, NUCLEAR SHIELDING, NON-WEAPONIZABLE ATOMIC REACTOR FUELS, NUCLEAR IRAN, NUCLEAR SAFEGUARDS, DOUGLAS CASTLE BLOGS AND WIDGETS at http://www.DouglasCastleBlogosphere.com, http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/, THE NATIONAL NETWORKER, http://www.thenationalnetworker.com/, TNNWC GROUP, http://www.TNNWCGroup.com, SEARCH ENGINES, SEO, BARACK OBAMA, MSM, GOOGLE, YAHOO, OMNIGADGET, BRAINTENANCE, DAILY BURST OF BRILLIANCE, METALS, ELEMENTS, THORIUM FUSION, ANTI-TERRORISM, GASOLINE PRICES, THORIUM AUTHORS, THORIUM MINING, THORIUM GEOLOGY, THORIUM PROPERTIES, THORIUM USES, ORRIN HATCH, REID, THORIUM LEGISLATION, THORIUM INVESTMENTS, SEMI-PRECIOUS METALS, RARE EARTH DEPENDENT INDUSTRIES, COMMODITIES, COMMODITIES CONTRACTS, FINANCIAL FUTURES, ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS, THORIUM INVESTMENTS, THORIUM INVESTMENT VEHICLES, THORIUM STICKS, RARE EARTH STOCKS, PATRIOTISM, ECONOMIC BAILOUTS, RENEWABLE ENERGY, SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, OPEC, NATURAL RESOURCES, CNN, CNBC, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, LINKED IN, SOCIAL MEDIA, RADIATION, RADIOACTIVITY, ENERGY SOLUTIONS, LANTHANIDE, ACTINIDE, PLUTONIUM, HALF-LIFE, THE WAR ON TERROR, POWERING THE FUTURE, LIVING OFF OF THE GRID, SOLAR POWER, WIND POWER, GEOTHERMAL POWER, OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING, PAT KENNEDY, PRIVATE INVESTMENTS, TNNW, TH, IEP, THOR, THORR,
PRACTICAL ENERGY, ENERGY INCENTIVES, COMMODITIES TRADING, COMMODITIES MARKETS, FLORIDE, FLORINE, ATOMICS, ATOMIC SUBMARINES, POLITICS OF ENERGY, ENERGY INNOVATIONS, INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS, FUEL, REDUCING FUEL COSTS, http://thoriumenergy.blogspot.com/, ENERGY BLOGGERS, ENERGY BLOGS, ENERGY WEBSITES, COMPANIES INVOLVED IN THORIUM, MINIATURE REACTORS FOR HOMES AND BUSINESSES, POWER PLANTS, ENERGY-EFFICIENT HOMES, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST at http://TheGlobalFuturist.blogspot.com, THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE at http://TheInternationalistPage.blogspot.com.