Not only petty, but stubborn

Once again, the possibility of building a reactor to explore the development of fusion energy has been stymied by a rift in the six-nation consortium over where it should be built, the BBC told us on Tuesday.

Officials had gathered in Vienna at the International Atomic Energy Agency to discuss the project, which will be based in either France or Japan.

The parties are deadlocked over the decision - and neither Japan nor the EU will back down in favour of the other.

Japan has the support of the US and South Korea; the French site has the support of the EU, Russia, and China.

What's infuriating about this dispute is that it likely would have been solved a year ago were it not for the petulant attitude of the Bush administration. As I noted last December 21 in the wake of the first meeting, the BBC reported

[t]he US has been against the French option because of France's opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Get that? It had nothing to do with the merits of the two sites, it had to do with a childish desire to spite the French. A year later and the spoiled brats of the White House are still riding that hobby horse. Jerks.

Footnote: Let it be noted that for all its potential, potential which theoretically could offer what would be in human terms an inexhaustible energy source, fusion power is not without its drawbacks. For one thing, by its nature it would require large, centrally-run plants, even more so than today - and with that comes centralized control. Second, it does produce nuclear waste, since the shielding will be subject to intense neutron radiation. However, in that area is has two huge advantages over fission reactors: The quantities produced are far less and the resulting waste consists of solids, not liquids, making containment much more feasible.

I still say about fusion power "prove it to me." But I would like it to be given the chance to offer that proof.