If these power plants can further miniaturized as power source for transportation, this will be huge. Sorry, I'm not a believer in rechargeable batteries as a large scale solution. Especially given the current state of our national power grid. I love all things wireless and untethered. But does this technology should put environmentalists in a bit of a quandary? Yep.

Mini nuclear plants to power 20,000 homes
"Nuclear power plants smaller than a garden shed and able to power 20,000 homes will be on sale within five years, say scientists at Los Alamos, the US government laboratory which developed the first atomic bomb. The miniature reactors will be factory-sealed, contain no weapons-grade material, have no moving parts and will be nearly impossible to steal because they will be encased in concrete and buried underground...

Other companies are known to be designing micro-reactors. Toshiba has been testing 200KW reactors measuring roughly six metres by two metres. Designed to fuel smaller numbers of homes for longer, they could power a single building for up to 40 years." - Guardian.co.uk

Will environmentalists respond with their typical knee jerk, China Syndrome hysterics? What would Ed Begley Jr. say? What about the promised liberal Skittle power? What will Begley do with all his composted poo? To answer these and other questions, visit the Hyperion homepage here. You'll wish you payed attention in science class.

"Face It. Nukes Are the Most Climate-Friendly Industrial-Scale Form of Energy" - WIRED
Smoke and mirrors subsidies, "Carbon crash hits Europe's emission trading scheme" - AWSJ