Canada eyes putting nuclear reactors on the moon

I couldn't make that up; it's a headline from the CBC News website today. Since Canada hasn't built any nuclear powerplants since Darlington was completed over 30 years ago, you'd think maybe that's a longshot. It's an even longer shot considering we don't actually have any way to get to the moon. I guess our lunar nuclear reactor could hitch a ride on one of Musk's Mars missions. This story is an example of the "we coulda been a contenda" genre of Canadian journalism. We coulda been a contenda in AI, in quantuum computing, in cellphone tech, in clean power, but every time, we squander our advantages and become also-rans. If we all pull together we can make Canada great again! Diversity is our strength, after all! The main source for the story is Dan Sax, a self-proclaimed "visionary motivated to move the needle for humanity." Dan has quite the resume. Everything from developing the Mickelson National Golf Course in Alberta to engineering the Hudson Bay Company's purchase of Germany's biggest department store. A true renaissance man, in 2020 Dan had the foresight to register the name "Canadian Space Mining Corporation," and that's how he became an expert source for the CBC. It should be noted that before being motivated to move the needle, he had already moved the bong for humanity by founding the first exclusively cannabis-focused real estate fund, Sensi Properties. You'd think a CBC journo would have more robust bullshit detection skills than what's on display in this story. Canada isn't leading anything when it comes to small modular reactors. Installing four GE-Hitachi SMRs at Darlington doesn't make them Canadian technology. The world leaders in SMRs are Russia and China. Between them, Russia and China produce upwards of four million STEM grads per year. Canada produces about 64,000. And they're not dumbing down their STEM curricula to accomodate "equity-deserving communities." So, Dan's company isn't going to be doing any mining, not in space and not anywhere else. Instead, he's already eyeing a future in health care, energy, and climate change abatement. Were I a betting man, I'd bet these ventures will go the way of Sinsi Properties; up in smoke!