Introduction for people concerned about nuclear power, fossil fuels, and man-made global warming John A. Shanahan Civil Engineer Founder - Editor of the Website: allaboutenergy.net email: john.shanahan@allaboutenergy.net May 24, 2022
People who were born in the 1940s and 50s have seen many wonderful changes in the modern world, my goodness so many wonderful changes. They have also witnessed horrors and tragedies. Particularly for those who have a good education, studied history, traveled outside the United States, or served in the military in war time. People born in the 1980s or more recently and who have not traveled outside the United States may take the modern world for granted and be under the influence of media, politicians, and power-hungry alarmists, etc. Some, of all ages worry too much. Can’t explain it. My family and I lived in Germany for six years in the 1960s and in Switzerland six years in the 1980s all work or education related. We have many German and Swiss friends. We had wonderful years in Europe, living among Europeans, not in American enclaves. I traveled to Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru solo with backpack, with friends, and with family. I have good friends from Bolivia, Chile, and Mexico. I read German and Spanish articles daily or weekly. I speak German fluently and Spanish moderately well.
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Have good friends in Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda on the African continent. Have good friends in Australia and New Zealand. Have good friends in all provinces of Canada. Have good friends in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, and the UK. I’m Irish. Have good friends in India, Nepal and Tibet. Have climbed (by walking - not technical climbing) to between 18,500 feet and 19,300 feet elevation on mountains in Ecuador, Nepal, and Tibet, I’ve climbed many mountains in Europe and the USA. Have pedaled a bicycle around Canada, the United States, and many countries in Europe. All a lot of fun and beautiful. Most of my friends support the content of 2,800 articles about energy on the website: allaboutenergy.net. Some live in doubt and fear of carbon dioxide, the molecule of life, thinking it causes catastrophic global warming, hate fossil fuels, and fear nuclear power. Haven’t been able to convince them that these things are safe and necessary in the modern world. Win some. Lose some. Don’t worry. Be Happy! I work with people in 124 countries to educate them about the importance of energy from fossil fuels and nuclear power. I am not alone in these efforts. Hundreds of scientists and engineers, like astrophysicist, Dr. Willie Soon, are doing the same. I am 81 years old. Have been around. And hope to be around for a while longer. The modern world is totally dependent on fossil fuels now and will be totally dependent on nuclear power when fossil fuels have been used up. In the meantime, there must be a transition to nuclear power for electricity, heat, and manufacturing synthetic liquid and gaseous fuels. Many politicians and fear-mongering organizations like Greenpeace insist that the world stop using fossil fuels in a few decades. That will bring the end of the modern world and a lot of suffering and death.
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Take away fossil fuels now and nuclear power for the future and people won’t be able to do essential things: make bread, have toothpaste, charge cell phones, operate farms for a large population, ride in cars, buses, trains or airplanes, or go on vacation far from home. Most won’t go to grade school, high school, or university. Just like for 50,000 years before the widespread use of fossil fuels in the 1800s. Nuclear power is one of the safest things mankind has ever developed, even with the accidents of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. Nuclear medicine, nuclear technologies, and nuclear science will make the future even greater. Driving a car, riding a bicycle, meeting friends, playing sports, going to church, using the Internet, lying in bed, and attending family reunions are riskier than living near an American designed nuclear power plant. This applies to most other nuclear power plants around the world as well. Today, I can explain this in short, simple ZOOM presentations. In the future, we will have video presentations where you can go at your own pace. Since 2010, I have worked with homeschooled high school students, university students, and some of their parents. Public and private schools want to keep control over what the students are told they must know. I can refer students and adults to many other experts and sources of information. Contact me at: john.shanahan@allaboutenergy.net
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