The shuttle isn't the future. The space elevator is the future for exiting earths orbit. http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=2911
One thing you guys probably haven't realized yet is the earth has already exceeded it's maximum loading capacity. There's not enough water to take care of everyone. Unless we start reducing the number of bodies on it, the survival of the fittest will kick in. Fusion is the future for energy. Global warming is in the bag. Nobody is going to prevent it with any currently available technology. Conservation only has a future if the population growth trends reverse. Otherwise, another 10 years bought by 60 mpg cars is meaningless. http://www.worldpress.org/Asia/2533.cfm
Highly debatable and quite a few studies to show that. I would put money that if USA was forced to stop its vicious cycle of overconsumption & perpetual growth, you would see a change for the better quite quick. This would also require countries like China to face the real cocts of its sweatshop ways and face the real costs of their industrial manufacturing base. Most of the capacity of the Earth is being overused because of commercial ways of doing business. It's really the inherent problems of capitalism, overproduction being a requirement of the system, and the duty of corporations to grow profits any way they can. The corporations pass the true Earth threatening costs to generations down the line. Everything is short-term, noone cares about 50-100 years in the future. China is a perfect example, all short term goals while doing possible irrepairable damage to their own environment. The atmosphere, oceans and rivers were free dumping grounds for decades, still are for third world nations.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/eternity/vitri1.html vitrification is your safe way of dealing with this. furthermore, other reactor designs (ie breeder reactors that reuse fuel) also have very low radioactivity from waste in comparison to current designs.