ALL ROADS LEAD TO THORIUM

The gentleman clad in white in the photograph to the right is a "regular guy" in Kuwait, who is the process of filling up his gas tank. The fact that he is frugal enough to pump his own gasoline should not be wasted on anyone. He is actually (metaphorically speaking, anyway) "recycling" his wealth, and stimulating the local economy of Kuwait. If I were a gambling sort of fellow, I would wager that this chap was paying a great deal less for his gasoline at the pump than you or I have to.

Crude was up and over $115 U.S. per barrel recently in the United States and in other non-oil-producing nations. These are energy-dependent countries which are populous with tremendous demands for fossil fuels and limited price elasticity of demand when it comes to the "juice of life" (years ago, this was slang for blood...now it's found its way into being slang for gasoline).

Iraq, virtually the 51st State of the U.S. (albeit tax-exempt and non Spanish-speaking), is now amassing billions of dollars from international oil sales while the United States continues to expend billions on the war effort in their country. The U.S. and many of its G-8 allies sink deeper into a horrific recession (largely precipitated and exacerbated by higher fuel prices), while Iraq enjoys a windfall. A skeptic would question exactly what is driving the price of oil up -- there are many possible answers, but none of them sounds remotely like "free enterprise," or "The Law Of Supply and Demand." Oil is a controlled commodity, and it is becoming increasingly expensive as we drag our feet in acknowledging that we need an alternative. We don't need more oil -- we need an alternative. Now. And it is right here, in the form of Thorium.

Now, after years of behaving like a heroin addict looking for a new drug dealer instead of lasting treatment, the United States is joining its energy-consuming counterparts in seriously exploring alternatives. Some of these alternatives currently under consideration include:

• SHALE - Essentially this is the same old goo (oil) from a neglected source;

• SAND OIL - About as viable as Shale, but ridiculously expensive to process;

• ETHANOL FROM CORN - While this is good fuel (ask any hillbilly), it appears that the transformation from oil to ethanol will be quite time-consuming, expensive and risky -- corn farmers, anticipating a bonanza, are actually cutting their plantings to elevate the price of corn through "manufactured" scarcity. There could be a whole future generation of corn sheiks. So much for the myth that farmers are fools;

• COAL - It's filthy, it's poisonous, but it persists like a bad case of psoriasis -- and many Green Lobby proponents simply do not have a grasp of the facts concerning the inherent hazards of coal power;

• HYDROELECTRIC POWER - A romantic idea (it brings to mind Niagra Falls, etc.), but not economically or logistically practical. Also, as water shortages increase, or power supply decreases;

• WINDPOWER - The Men Of La Mancha are still tilting at windmills -- just not enough power capability;

• SOLAR ENERGY - A sensible back-up in equatorial countries, but simply not viable as a primary source;

• BEANS (See "Windpower"... just kidding) - and

• THORIUM-BASED REACTORS.

Canada and China are working aggressively toward Thorium-powered safe reactors as a primary substitute for oil. India is the most progressive in the race to throw off the yoke of oil dependency through Thorium-fueled atomic power. In New Delhi, the first experimental Thorium-based reactor, commissioned by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), attained first criticality (power-producing capability) last week!

BARC's 300 MW Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), will derive more than two-thirds of its power from Thorium. A recent article describes India's program and planning in detail. It is indeed worth reading.

For years the Western world joked about China's being a backward nation. Let us be careful not to make the same mistake again: Let's watch India very closely.

- THORIUM ENERGY, INC.

COAL REVISITED - THIS TIME, AS THORIUM'S "DIRTY COUSIN"

There is plenty of coal in the ground, both within the United States, and internationally. It has been used as a fuel before, with limited viability, and at great cost to the environment and to all life within its vicinity. It continues to be a topic of revisitation whenever oil prices (and resultant prices at the gasoline pump) are rising or whenever the availability of oil is threatened due to political or economic instability.

Proponents of coal persist in reciting the virtues of its availability, its price, and its safety. These same adherents will always cite a nuclear power plant tragedy (i.e., the Chernobyl meltdown) as the reason that we have to turn away from nuclear power and revert to coal, the preferred fuel in the romantic days of Charles Dickens.

The essence of the argument is always this: "If we stick with coal, we'll never have to worry about a nuclear reactor incident." This is not unlike saying, "If we drive everywhere, then we'll never have to worry about dying in a plane crash."

Both comparisons are equally ridiculous, and are unsupported by actual logic or statistics. They are both based upon sensationalized misperceptions. In the same manner that automobile-related fatalities outnumber airline disasters by several orders of magnitude, coal-related problems are far more dangerous, and do far more damage (consistently and cumulatively) than the additive consequences of every leakage or meltdown incident involving conventional nuclear reactors since the beginning of the era of nuclear energy!

Burning coal produces smoke, ash and particulate matter laden with toxins (poisonous carbon monoxide, sufides, acidic corrosives and even airborne radioactive material, all of which accelerate global warming, all of which are toxic to plant and animal life, and all of which befoul the atmosphere). This does not happen occasionally, or by accident -- it is an inherent hazard associated with burning fuels through combustion. Remember "coal miner's lung"?

If I were a canary (which is quite a stretch, admittedly), I would rather have my family picnic several yards away from a Thorium-based (or even a Uranium-based) reactor than several miles away from a coal-burning plant. I would be much safer. So would my family.

The irony here is that it is becoming increasingly well-recognized that coal-burning produces more radioactive thorium ash (which is thrown into the air and blown about by the wind) than a nuclear reactor. That's correct -- burning coal produces more air-borne radiation than a nuclear reactor does.

There are several interesting blogs of note which discuss this. Click on http://greenoptions.com/ and http://ecoscraps.com/ .

Thorium-based reactors are a safer alternative. Ask any canary.

-THORIUM ENERGY, INC.

SPOTLIGHTING THORIUM AND THE RARE EARTH ELEMENTS

As of the date of this writing, here in the United States:

• Oil prices have climbed to an average $105.35 per barrel, with consequent price increases at the gasoline pumps;


• Unemployment statistics are on the rise as outsourcing and offshore continue to effectively export jobs, and eventually, entire industries;


• The Euro is fast overtaking the U.S. Dollar as the currency of choice for transaction payments and as a store of value -- The Euro is roughly worth 150% of the U.S. Dollar;


• New housing starts are declining, signaling the onset of a "classical" recession;


• There is a growing trend toward a flight to value from the equity and debt markets toward commodities and tangibles;


• Active discussions are taking place amongst lawmakers about the tremendous burden on the stability of our domestic economy imposed by our dependency on oil, and about government-sponsored incentives to be instituted for developers and providers of alternative energy sources;

Concurrently, and interestingly:

• Search engine inquiries (Google) regarding thorium (as a word or theme included in the searches) were greater in number from the period of 1st March to 15th March (e.g., the most recent half-month period) than during the three-month period immediately preceding it. Interest in Thorium is growing, as evidenced by the surge in request for information about thorium in various contexts;


• Search engine inquiries (Google) regarding the Rare Earth Elements (as a word or theme included in the searches, and not including searches for specific member elements of the Actinide Series or the Lanthanide Series) were greater in number during this same period than in the two-month period immediately preceding it. Interest in the Rare Earth Elements is also growing, based on the surge in inquiries;


• Both private-sector enterprises and public-sector agencies are spending an increasing percentage of their total budgets on research involving Thorium and its capabilites as a reactor fuel (Floride Reactor, CANDU Reactor and variants, both existing and in the design phase) and as a readily available radiation shielding component for reactors. Various green-friendly organizations are "coming around" to endorsing thorium-fueled power because of its reduced transuranic waste profile -- this is important, as it perceived to be a less likely environmental pollutant and accelerant of Global Warming than any other serious, large-output alternative.

The United States, as well as numerous other nations throughout the world are looking increasingly to thorium. As a side note, a colleague mentioned to me several days ago, "Any day now, I'm expecting that gold will be worth its weight in thorium." I've been told that many a statement made in jest contains a significant element of truth.

Jack Lifton of RESOURCE INVESTOR has written a number of articles about thorium and the Rare Earth Elements. Direct links to those articles are set forth below. The most recent ones are first. Click on these articles and see if they don't seem increasingly prophetic, especially in light of the present economy.

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=41041

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=40856

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=40786

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=39820

You also might want to take a look at the economic highlights set forth in THE GLOBAL FUTURIST. Click on http://theglobalfuturist.blogspot.com/

When you have finished your review of this material, and you take a second look at the trends in the economy and in the energy sector, you'll want to dig into THORIUM ENERGY, INC. much more deeply.

--THORIUM ENERGY, INC.