A report was released by the US Energy Department yesterday, estimating that the Yucca Mountain Nuclear waste project will cost $38.7 billion more than the 2001 estimate. A simple, effective, cheaper, and more permanent solution is to direct this funding into research and completion of the Space Elevator, which is estimated to cost $40 million dollars to complete according to the 55th International Astronautical Congress in 2004. [more] …getting rid of the country’s nuclear waste will cost $96.2 billion and require a major expansion of the planned Nevada waste dump beyond limits imposed by Congress, the Energy Department said Tuesday. Space Elevator? Never heard of it? It may sound like something of science fiction, but in fact, it is a real possibility using currently known technologies. NASA is actively exploring the elevator and is providing monetary prizes (like the X-Prize) for various components of the elevator. Aquick “Google” of nasa.gov …keep reading …