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Fusion Energy

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EarthTalk®
From the Editors of E – The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: What is fusion energy and why are environmentalists so bullish on it?

                                                                                                            — Mickey Brent, Milwaukee, WI


Nuclear fusion may be the most promising energy source that most of us have never heard of. Scientists first discovered fusion as a potential energy source in the 1930’s and have been quietly working on it ever since. Only recently, given societal pressure to find alternatives to fossil fuels, has fusion started to capture the attention of the media and policymakers—and now researchers are hoping the process can become a key source of safe, clean, reliable energy in the near future.

Nuclear fusion is the fusing of two atoms into one. Fusion is very different from fission, in which atoms are split in half. Although both emit energy, fusion emits much more. Fusion takes an immense amount of heat and pressure and is the reaction that happens inside of stars, including our own sun. The temperature at the center of the sun is around 15 million Kelvin (27 million degrees Fahrenheit)! Scientists have achieved temperatures of around 100 million degrees inside experimental fusion devices but have yet to make the process net energy positive. The issue with doing reactions at such high heats is that the heated substance cannot touch anything or the container will melt. Therefore, fusion reactions are done in a donut of floating plasma, suspended by magnetic fields.

When compared to other energy sources, fusion energy seems like it might be our best bet in the long term. Compared to fossil fuels and renewable energy sources, fusion is wildly more efficient and no more dangerous. Fusion is three to four times more efficient even than nuclear fission, without the downsides such as the risk of nuclear meltdown or dirty bombs. While nuclear fission requires uranium to function, fusion reactors only require deuterium, which occurs naturally in seawater, and tritium, which can be produced through a reaction of deuterium and lithium. These low raw material costs cause fusion to be considered a potential source of limitless energy. Due to the low radioactivity of fusion, even in the case of an explosion, radioactivity would be contained to the reactor site. Fusion reactors’ small input and extremely high output have made them a popular idea.

So what are the drawbacks of nuclear fusion? Or is it the perfect energy source? Most critics of fusion energy point to the timeline as its greatest weakness. The majority of projections see 2050 as the first year fusion reactors could be commercially available. This is too late for fusion energy to solve our current energy crisis. Some environmentalists claim that funding for fusion energy could be better spent on renewable sources such as solar and hydro that give us clean energy now. Another concern with fusion is public opinion. People tend to be wary of anything nuclear, if only because of the incredible devastation of nuclear bombs. While nuclear fusion is far safer than fission, many activists in France, for example, are protesting all forms of nuclear energy.

The biggest fusion energy project in the world is called the ITER which means “the way” in Latin. ITER is located in Southern France and funded by the European Union, the U.S., China, India, Korea, Russia and Japan. ITER will be a fusion reactor used for research and is currently under construction. Current plans are for ITER to be ready for the first test of plasma by 2025. The main other research on fusion energy is being done at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Though commercial fusion reactors are far from a reality, the abundant raw materials and high safety, paired with enormous energy output, make it an outstanding possibility for the future.


CONTACT: ITER, www.iter.org.

EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of the nonprofit Earth Action Network. To donate, visit www.earthtalk.orgSend questions to: [email protected].

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Water line break sprays water to the sky

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City of Bowie water crews repaired a break in this eight-inch water line on Tarrant Street in between Lindsey and Mason Wednesday. It started as a small trickle, but once the dirt was removed the line blew out, but it was soon repaired on the water supply was turned off. There were no shutdown to the water supply during the work. (Photo by Barbara Green)
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Vera Rae

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Vera Rae

April 19, 1940 to October 29, 2023
AUSTRALIA – Vera Rae, 82, passed away peacefully after a set of health issues following a fall on Oct. 7, 2023.
Vera was born in Stockport, England to John “Jack” and Alice Gooch. They migrated to Australia following the Second World War, settling in Western Australia.
Vera met the love of her life in 1957, Robert John Rae, and they married on May 30, 1959. They were blessed with two daughters, Jenny and Debby.
Vera loved the Lord, had a strong faith, and was a prayer warrior. Throughout her various illnesses in life, she remained cheerful, gracious, and loving.
Vera was preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Alice Gooch; in-laws, Don and Amy Rae, and nephew, Justin Gooch.
Vera is survived by her loving husband, Robert Rae, Port Kennedy, Western Australia; daughter, Jenny Rae Rizzolo and partner Paul, Bowie, TX, and Debby Rae Harvey and husband Ian, Waikiki, Western Australia; grandchildren, Mandy Jones, Jodie Ehle, Jacilyn Kenny and Bronwyn Has; and great grandchildren, Tahlia, Tanaya, Shelby, Khy, Jordyn, Mollie, Bryce, Brett, Kobe, Lilly, Caitlin, Morgan and Olivia.
Funeral arrangements entrusted to Greenfield’s Funerals, Port Kennedy Western Australia.
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Alton “Fred” Allen

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Fred Allen

March 17, 1945 – May 15, 2022
RINGGOLD – Alton “Fred” Allen, 77, longtime resident of Ringgold, passed away on May 15, 2022 in Bowie.
The family received friends from 7 – 8 p.m. on May 17 at the White Family Funeral Home in Bowie. A graveside service will take place at 11 a.m. on May 18 at Cowboy’s Last Ride Cemetery in Bowie with Richard Allen officiating.
Fred was born March 17, 1945 in Decatur to Alton “Frank” and Zula Prestwood Allen. He was a lifelong worker in the oil field and in his free time enjoyed fishing, hunting and spending time with his grandchildren.
He is preceded in death by his parents and brothers, Dick Allen and Gene Allen.
Fred is survived by his children, Lynn Allen, Ringgold and Zula Carol Dietrich and husband Steve, Petrolia; grandchildren, Blake Allen, Brady Allen, Barrett Allen, Jason Gray, Jennifer Gray, Terry Dietrich and Timothy Dietrich; great-grandchildren Cody and Kendra Harralson and Lincoln Gray; sister Zelta Baker, Bloomfield, NM and numerous nieces and nephews.
Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
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