Ardennes posted:

Yeah, I don't know if the latest issue is such a big deal (Western reporting...), but certainly the battle over births is going to be a greater and greater deal from this point forward. It is also why I suspect at least something maybe passed regarding more child tax credits due to the fact that the US generally does need to incentive births at the moment (also more cash for insurers will probably be part of it because why not).

wikipedia posted:

At the 2011 annual conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it was announced that "China has initiated a research and development project in thorium MSR technology." In addition, Dr. Jiang Mianheng, son of China's former leader Jiang Zemin, led a thorium delegation in non-disclosure talks at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, and by late 2013 China had officially partnered with Oak Ridge to aid China in its own development. The World Nuclear Association notes that the China Academy of Sciences in January 2011 announced its R&D program, "claiming to have the world's largest national effort on it, hoping to obtain full intellectual property rights on the technology." According to Martin, "China has made clear its intention to go it alone," adding that China already has a monopoly over most of the world's rare earth minerals.

In March 2014, with their reliance on coal-fired power having become a major cause of their current "smog crisis", they reduced their original goal of creating a working reactor from 25 years down to 10. "In the past, the government was interested in nuclear power because of the energy shortage. Now they are more interested because of smog", said Professor Li Zhong, a scientist working on the project. "This is definitely a race", he added.

In early 2012, it was reported that China, using components produced by the West and Russia, planned to build two prototypes, one of them a molten salt-cooled pebble-bed reactor by 2015, and a research molten salt reactor by 2017, had budgeted the project at $400 million and requiring 400 workers. China also finalized an agreement with a Canadian nuclear technology company to develop improved CANDU reactors using thorium and uranium as a fuel. By 2019 two of the reactors were under construction in the Gobi desert, with completion expected around 2025. China expects to put thorium reactors into commercial use by 2030. At least one of the 2MW thorium prototypes, either a molten salt reactor, or a molten salt-cooled reactor, is nearing completion, with startup in September 2021.

As of 24 June 2021, China has reported that the Gobi Molten salt reactor will be completed on schedule with tests beginning as early as September 2021. The new reactor is a part of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's drive to make China carbon-neutral by 2060. China also has plans to expand Thorium in up to 30 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

dead gay comedy forums posted:

about the economy, went to read some basic primer on the thorium energy stuff and well

if China manages to have viable and commercially effective reactors of safe nuclear energy that have very low weaponization use to cut electricity needs from oil and gas, and they are willing to build that poo poo everywhere in the belt and road, loving lmao it's over

genericnick posted:

And by "it's over" you mean "we might not all die in the climate apocalypse"?

Grapplejack posted:

I mean if they can solve the power issue and it's done via tech from their country, yes, but also it'll be the end of US hegemony

Shear Modulus posted:

shouldnt they be pouring all the money they can find into it if it would actually be an instant win technology

genericnick posted:

And by "it's over" you mean "we might not all die in the climate apocalypse"?

quote:

1.2 Thorium Resources
Thorium averages 7.2 parts per million (ppm) in the earth's crust and is the 39th most abundant of the 78 crustal elements. Soil commonly contains an average of 6 wppm of thorium. It is about three times more abundant than uranium.

Grapplejack posted:

I mean if they can solve the power issue and it's done via tech from their country, yes, but also it'll be the end of US hegemony

genericnick posted:

Shear Modulus posted:

shouldnt they be pouring all the money they can find into it if it would actually be an instant win technology

indigi posted:

this doesn’t really tell us anything new tbh, by what methods are they seeking to reduce them?

indigi posted:

it reads like the law (or whatever it actually is, from what I’ve read some people make it seem like a policy proposal rather than a law and idk how to tell what’s what) emphasizes contraception availability and education for both men and women, which (if they’re trying to encourage more births) seems odd, but is surely a way to help reduce abortion. so that’s good at least. still not ideal to curb women’s rights

sexpig by night posted:

I don't see the contradiction, contraception should be freely available and people should be able to expect good and correct information about family planning from their health officials, this has nothing to do with birth rate as a concept but just allowing grown people to have the resources to plan their lives freely. It will likely reduce abortion because the chain is pretty obvious, more contraception/family planning education = less unplanned/crisis pregnancies that get aborted, win win for everyone.

fart simpson posted:

well it's been illegal for a long time in china for the doctor to tell you the sex of your unborn baby, for exactly that reason

Atrocious Joe posted:

is there still a panic over mini food pantries being a communist plot

Grapplejack posted:

I mean if they can solve the power issue and it's done via tech from their country, yes, but also it'll be the end of US hegemony

Anime Schoolgirl posted:

lmao when the US starts throwing nukes because china proliferates safe nuclear power

Shear Modulus posted:

the US will probably attempt more stuxnet poo poo

mawarannahr posted:

baseless conspiracy theories about Stuxnet, on cspam? what a surprise.

mawarannahr posted:

It’s much more in line with China’s MO, according to actual subject matter experts. Make of that what you will

https://thediplomat.com/2010/10/was-china-behind-stuxnet/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/firewall/2010/12/14/stuxnets-finnish-chinese-connection/?sh=615a671b2b58

https://www.businessinsider.com/stuxnet-china-iran-2010-12

You always need to ask: cui bono?

gradenko_2000 posted:

we virused some folks

mawarannahr posted:

I am speaking in jest, dear friends.

Pener Kropoopkin posted:

Goons are having a lot of trouble picking up on sarcasm or facetiousness lately.