Oh dear, oh dear. Sure fusion research is fascinating, but few have ever claimed fusion as
main source of energy before 2050.
I.e. See the earlier article, "
Nuclear fusion: A necessary investment"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6158040.stm , which says; "
As for the timescale, fusion certainly wouldn't be available in the short-term, but the problem of providing viable energy sources is not going to get easier even if conservation, CO2 sequestration, fission and renewables are more widely used, and there are currently no other large-scale options beyond the 20-50-year timeframe"
Like most new research their is absolutely no guarantees when it comes to results. If you don't try, you don't know. "Fusion falters under soaring costs" - is really misleading.
The problem is far more likely to do with the global turndown where research programs have been stalled for a year or two before funding is reintroduced. With the US being the major source of the funding
As for them saying; "
Emails leaked to the BBC indicate that construction costs for the experimental fusion project called Iter have more than doubled." I'd really love to know who leaked them, because if MI5 catch 'em, they should be put in jail for eternity for espionage. So much for the project's security!
This is yet again the BBC spreading more disinformation and out and out trying to grab the headline.
Note: I think it would have better suggested that it would be better to visit the Iter site at http://www.iter.org/default.aspx Just read the topics in the Menu - especially the sections as "The Science" and "The Project."
Note 2: If you want to read much more on the topic regarding the budget issue; http://www.lesechos.fr/journal200906...-plus-cher.htm
(As it is in French, you can translate it using Yahoo! Babel Fish at http://babelfish.yahoo.com/, and just paste the above address into the "Translate a Webpage.")
Note 3: Ron, just a small suggestion. If you must post these articles, I would suggest you also look at the linked articles, and if necessary, compare them to the original sources. If you see significant differences, it is best to be sceptical and critical. Any article on fusion IMO is interesting, but I do suggest for more interest you might like to see how basic news articles fit into the primary sources.