In biology last week, we were talking about carrying capacities (i.e. how many organisms of one species can populate an area at one time), and I was wondering if the human population had a carrying capacity.
However I highly doubt it will happen, especially not until we find a more appropriate way to dispose of the inevitable waste.
Yeah, "let the future deal with it" isn't the best disposal method.
You have probably seen how touchy people get when you talk about bio-engineering.
Yes, but if it was explained as being used only for nuclear power I feel like it would have a better chance of succeeding. If nothing else we're closer than ever before to having the ability to do such a thing.
meh, If we can't find a way to bioengineer something to solve the problem, or otherwise efficiently dispose of the waste I'd say shoot it all at the sun, or at Mercury. Not really any damage it can do there :P
Maybe some of those micro organisms on mercury would evolve into something useful
I mean the only downside to this is:
A. Fuel costs (if we rely on nuclear energy we'll have money to spare) B. What if something goes wrong and nuclear waste is sprayed over half the country?
A. Fuel costs (if we rely on nuclear energy we'll have money to spare)
What?
B. What if something goes wrong and nuclear waste is sprayed over half the country?
First of all that isn't possible =P
Secondly the waste given off by modern reactors isn't really all that dangerous so on the 0.00000000000001% chance a meltdown occurred it wouldn't be extremely dangerous. Chernobyl cannot occur again.
Secondly the waste given off by modern reactors isn't really all that dangerous
Seriously? Look up 'fission by-products', 'transuranics', and 'spent fuel rods'. The vast majority of the waste created by modern nuclear reactors is in the spent rods, and it contains a whole host of very toxic, very long lived waste. On the up side, fuel rods tend to last for a fair amount of time, but they eventually will have to be gotten rid of. This is why I was talking about bioengineering some sort of bacteria or parasite that could feed, at least partially, on the toxic byproducts contained in the spent fuel rods.
But wouldn't this also raise the chances of mutation among whatever species we use into something that can be harmful to humans?
I'm not really certain, I'm not exactly well read on the effects of radiation on genome mutation. However there are many naturally occurring bacteria who thrive in highly toxic areas, especially near volcanic vents. Certainly if nature could create that we could engineer something similar but direct it more toward the specific elements present in spent rods.
Why not just harvest the bacteria, or the vents under too much pressure?
I do know humans are among the most sensitive to radiation, which explains why many insects and microorganism are said to have the ability to survive a nuclear blast. Perhaps analyze these, and find out what it is that causes them to be so immune(?) to the effects of radiation.
It's not so much the radioactivity of the waste, but the shear toxicity of it, that makes it so harmful. While radiation is an issue, the by-products are also extremely poisonous, which is why there has been so much outrage about underground storage of our spent fuel rods. This is why a bio-engineered organism which simply fed on the elements left behind in the fuel rods would be the most effective (in my mind and with my limited knowledge) solution to the clean-up issue.
The fuel rods are dangerous but are generally easy to monitor to prevent a major meltdown. There's still a significant amount of low level waste the isn't reply dangerous at all. And if I'm wrong I blame late night Google searches on my cellular device.
As for genetic mutations I beleive that the bacteria could be modified to be nearly resistant to the effects of radiation. Even if some did mutate I doubt it would be a problem.
So the problem isn't radiation itself but poisonous elements caused by the fission process. Some how I didn't pick up on that. I see what you mean about having to genetically engineer them now.
Without a doubt the human race has a carrying capacity! Haven't you seen the environmental, political, ethical issues all happening due to over population? This may sounds silly to some, however, I am being broad because i do not want to write a 6 paragraph statement.
