France, Japan, US cooperate on nuclear reactors

[phantom power]

I wonder why they are pursuing sodium, as opposed to something like this:
http://thoriumenergy.blogspot.com/2006/04/introducing-liquid-fluoride-reactor.html

France, Japan and the United States agreed Friday to cooperate in making prototypes of so-called "4th generation" nuclear reactors, according to statements released by each country's energy ministries.

These sodium-cooled reactors, which would not come on line until mid-century, produce more energy per unit of fuel than nuclear reactors currently in operation.

But early prototypes have been plagued with problems. The liquid sodium cooling agent is highly volatile, bursting into flames if it comes into contact with air, and exploding if it comes into contact with water.

http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/France_Japan_US_cooperate_on_nuclear_reactors_999.html

[DCKit]

1. Perfection of a Na reactor is as unlikely as a hydrogen economy.

While the U.S. spends tens of billions and several decades trying to perfect an acceptably safe sodium reactor, Big Oil and the military-industrial complex will continue to rake in trillions in profits.

Through the 90's, U.S. automakers received hundreds of millions from the government to develop alternative vehicles and spent most of that on fuel cell development, knowing full well that the hydrogen required to run fuel cell vehicles will become widely available and inexpensive ONLY when we become so filthy with energy, we have no other use for it than making hydrogen. That can't happen without some incredible technological advance bordering on "free energy" or perpetual motion.

The DOE's and industry's promotion of the hydrogen economy is an excellent case study of how the government and business collude to create huge pie-in-the-sky projects with the grandiose goals of cheap and easy solutions which have no prayer of succeeding.

If any of these schemes did work, they'd bury them right next to the EV-1 until after the oil ran out, then trot them out in order to take credit for saving civilization.