Energetics
With the increasing world population, global energy needs and consumption will continue to grow. Furthermore, future communities will need to utilize other energy sources as human communities move to other environments including sea, orbit, space.
Students should have an understanding of macro-energetics with an appreciation of societal consumption (petajoules, megawatt) and the capacity of each of the available energy sources.
Students should understand the environmental impacts of each energy source on atmosphere, land and ocean.
Students should be acquainted with the pros and cons of solid fuel fission reactors and the pros and cons of molten salt reactors (MSRs). Specifically, with regard to molten salt reactors, students should be acquainted with the availability of fuel, potential for enhanced accessibility & distribution of reactors (due to small size), reactor safety profile, waste product profile, circumvention of weapon proliferation.
Action Plan:
Educational Institutions will need to undergo instructor training and provide student training to improve competence in the field of energetics. Students should understand broadly the benefits, limitations and adverse effects of energy sources.
Educational content providers will be expected to provide standardized training to both educators and to students that meet industry quality standards with the goal of instilling proficiency in the subject of energetics. Educational materials should be fairly priced and free from overt marketing bias.