COULD the solution to the world’s energy problems lie in nuclear power? Yes, if we switch the fuel, argues energy expert Richard Martin in Superfuel. He makes the case that thorium, an abundant, safe element that cannot easily be turned into a weapon, should be fuelling our reactors instead of uranium. And indeed, energy-hungry emerging powers China and India are both now banking on thorium for their nuclear power programmes.
Thorium reactors are not new, though, and Martin is at his best when describing the human struggles of the cold-war era that spelled their doom – most notably the…
