Fast fission

When it comes to fusion there is an intermediate step that has been sidelined because of the large supply of inexpensive natural gas. This is a fast fission reactor. Yes fission is what our current nuclear reactors are but fast fission is different. It does not produce large amounts of radioactive waste and what is produced is not long lived. Fast reactors can’t melt down or blow up, and don’t use water to cool. We have those designs now, and have built many that work fine. Some submarines are even powered with fast reactors. We just need to start building them on a commercial scale for energy. Making them as small modular reactors would be an ideal way to start. These reactors use up all of the fuel instead of leaving some unspent as radioactive waste. They can even use up all of the stored waste we have accumulated since the first nuke power plant was built. There is enough fuel to last 50,000 years. Research should continue on fusion as we make the transition from coal to oil to natural gas and finally hydrogen. But it is very likely that we will pass through fast fission before we hit hydrogen. This does not preclude the discovery of some new and better method of producing energy, something that no one has even dreamed of……yet!